Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix

by Thackston, Anthony

  As if on cue, Stack slows down and veers to the left, letting the car catch up. He signals for Falcon to lower the window. Falcon reaches up and unhooks a latch before pushing the widow out, letting it swing down to the door. "Yeah?"

  "I forgot to tell you. Don't use the nitrous," Stack yells over the sound of the engines. "I had it working once. It blew up on me. I patched it up but never got around to fixing it proper."

  "So it doesn't work?" Falcon asks.

  "No, so don't try."

  Falcon stares ahead then looks down at the nitro button on the steering wheel. It may be necessary to make a really fast getaway.

  "Don't blow up my car, Falcon!"

  A sudden explosion bursts near Stack. He swerves the bike close to the car but quickly gets control of it.

  "Wasters!" Falcon yells as two military Jeeps head toward them from a field.

  Phoenix hands him a gun and he shoots at the oncoming Jeeps. Stack pulls his rifle and fires at the vehicles as well. His aim is better than Falcon's as he hits the driver of one, forcing it to turn away from the road. He ratchets the lever, loading another bullet.

  Another explosion hits the road just behind the car. "Fuel tanks!" Phoenix yells.

  "Watch your side!" Falcon tells her as two more Jeeps race toward them from the other side of the road.

  Phoenix lowers her window and fires at the newcomers. She hits a soldier standing in the back of one Jeep with a rocket launcher. As the troop falls out, he hits the trigger, sending a rocket flying toward the sky.

  Several more humvees charge toward the road, roaring up behind the Jeeps.

  "We can definitely go faster than these guys, right?" Phoenix asks.

  "Yeah. But if we can take them out then we—”

  "Don't we still have to go through Marauder lands?"

  "Yeah."

  "I'd rather save the bullets for them."

  Falcon watches Stack fire at the Jeeps. "Stack. Stack! Save the ammo. We'll just get ahead of them."

  "This is the North Waste. These guys are almost as bad as Marauders. We need to take them out."

  "We won't have enough ammo for the Marauders, then."

  Stack takes another shot then looks behind them. More military vehicles enter the road. "Ok. Floor it."

  Stack switches gears, speeding up his bike while Falcon floors the gas pedal. The engine roars and exhaust spews from the pipes on the sides. A few bullets bounce off the rear of the car as the two vehicles race well ahead of their pursuers.

  Stack looks backward and sees them getting further away. He shakes his head and holsters his rifle. Running doesn't sit right with him. "Give me that gun."

  "What?” Falcon asks.

  "That gun you had me looking at. Let me have it."

  "What are you gonna do?"

  "You just worry about my car."

  Phoenix reaches in the back seat and grabs the gun to hand it to a disapproving Falcon.

  "No time to discuss it," Stack says.

  Reluctant, Falcon takes the odd gun and holds it out of the window. The man on the bike grabs the weapon and drops down a gear, letting the car pass him. Falcon and Phoenix watch as he clamps his brake. White smoke trails behind him and rubber streaks the road as he comes out of the turn, heading back toward the pursuit vehicles.

  Falcon stares in the rearview mirror, easing off the gas pedal, as they drive up an incline. Phoenix turns in her seat and watches Stack disappear from view as the car coasts over the top of the incline and descends.

  A heavy boot slams on the brake pedal, bringing the car to a screeching halt. "I can't leave him," Falcon says.

  He puts the car in reverse and turns over his shoulder just in time to see a blue flash of light.

  "What was that?" Phoenix asks.

  Falcon puts the car in park and they both step out, guns raised. Another blue flash lights up the sky, just over the hill. It's followed by another and another. Falcon and Phoenix make slow steps up the hill. Another flash goes off. There is no sound except for that of normal gunfire, a sound which quickly lessens in frequency. Another flash goes off. Two more after that and finally the sound of gunshots no longer fills the air.

  The two Freelancers look at each other and quicken their pace up the hill. The sound of an engine gets louder as they get closer. Whoever it is, they're just on the other side of the hill. Falcon runs to the front of Jerin for cover. Phoenix posts up near the rear for a better line of sight.

  They both wait, tense. Finally the approaching vehicle makes it to the top of the hill. It's Stack. He coasts down and parks just behind the fastback.

  "What was all that?" Phoenix asks as she and Falcon join him.

  Stack looks at the back of his car. There are no holes but the bullet marks are fairly obvious. "You got my car shot." He glares at Falcon with a crazed look in his eyes.

  “What were those flashes?" Falcon asks.

  "I told you not to get my car messed up." He gets off of his bike and looks like he wants to lunge for something or someone.

  "Stack? Did you get them?" Phoenix asks.

  The man doesn’t look well as he falls against the fuel tanks of his car.

  "Are you ok?" Falcon asks.

  Stack holds up the odd gun. "Sorry. I couldn't...couldn't think straight for a minute."

  Falcon and Phoenix look at each other then at the strange gun.

  "I got them all. Don't use this thing. I tried to get one more shot off but nothing happened. It's some kind of plasma or radiation cannon.”

  Phoenix gets a water bottle out of the back seat.

  "Highly concentrated. Narrow focus. Unless you don't have a choice. I'd just get rid of it," Stack says.

  Falcon starts walking toward the top of the hill.

  "No," Stack says. "Trust me. You don't want to see."

  Phoenix hands Stack the water and takes the gun. "You gonna be ok to keep going?"

  "Yeah. I just want to catch my breath. Starting to get a headache."

  Falcon pulls the bottle of painkillers from his jacket. He dumps two out and hands one to Stack. He holds the other out toward Phoenix.

  "I don't need it," she says.

  "We make the rest of this ride, we get out of the Waste. Then it's Marauders."

  "Maybe," Phoenix argues.

  "It's not worth the risk." He tosses her the little pill. She relents and pops it in her mouth. Her face scrunches a little as she chews the bitter thing up.

  "Alright, I'm good." Stack walks back to his bike.

  Phoenix walks back to the passenger side and tosses the gun in the back seat while Stack rides up next to Falcon.

  "I'm serious about that gun." He looks at Phoenix. "Even if you think you can get it to work again, don't let him use that thing unless it's the only choice you've got left."

  "It won't come to that," she says.

  "I hope not. There's gonna be one more checkpoint up this way." He pulls out his rifle and reloads it before sliding it back in its scabbard. "Alright, let's move." Stack pulls out in front of the car.

  Falcon and Phoenix get inside the car.

  "I guess it doesn't get easier," Phoenix says.

  "Not in our line of work." Falcon pulls up the window and latches it.

  "I just figured, catch you, shoot you. Bring you west and collect. Instead, I get shot and you save my life."

  "Sorry to disappoint you." Falcon puts the car in drive and hits the gas. "One more checkpoint. Then who knows what’s next. You want to close that window?"

  "Not yet. I have an idea."

  "Is it to get shot? Because, if so, that's a genius way to do it."

  "Trust me."

  32

  Falcon watches Stack pull his rifle as he steers into the curve up ahead. He grabs a pistol and readies himself for whatever the man on the bike is gearing up for. Phoenix brings the pack up front and starts going through it.

  Stack swerves left and right, firing his rifle at a still unseen assailant. Falcon and Phoenix watch him stra
ighten out of the curve, flipping the rifle forward, his fingers locked into the lever. He pulls it back to chamber a round and fires it off.

  As the car straightens out of the curve, they finally see the checkpoint. Another guard shack stands with two jeeps on either side of the road. Stack steers his bike right around the guard shack, completely bypassing the gate. Falcon reaches for the window latch.

  "Leave it," Phoenix tells him as she takes a grenade out of the pack and pulls the pin. "Drive straight through."

  Falcon presses the gas pedal down, watching the speedometer hover between seventy-eight and eighty. The guards fire their weapons at the oncoming vehicle but the bullets bounce off of the metal slats, leaving only scuff marks. Other bullets bounce off of the steel girder bumper, leaving no marks at all. Phoenix holds the grenade just outside of her window.

  As the car crashes through the gate, she drops the grenade and they speed away from the checkpoint as the little explosive rolls toward one of the jeeps. When it explodes, so does the jeep. Phoenix sticks her head out of the window, looking back to make sure they aren't being followed. Her hair whips in front of her eyes as the car speeds along the road. There is no sign that the other jeep is following them.

  "They'd never catch up, anyway," Falcon says. "That was a good idea."

  Phoenix reaches down for the window and pulls it up, closing them both in metal slats. "Is the glass bulletproof?"

  "Mine wasn't. I don't know if he added that."

  "You sure these slats are enough?"

  "They always worked for me. If I know Stack, these will, too."

  They catch up to the motorcycle and Falcon drops his window. "How far till the main highway?"

  "It's a few miles up. We cross the bridge then make that left. After that it's just a long ride," Stack tells them.

  "You got enough fuel to make it?" Phoenix asks.

  "If you do, I do. And I know you do." Stack glances back at the two fuel tanks.

  "So we keep our eyes and ears open, and we make it through this," Falcon says. "You good on ammo?"

  Stack points to an upcoming intersection. Coming from both sides are two convoys with vehicles of various kinds, including an RV.

  "Better hand me a little something," Stack says.

  Falcon tosses Stack his pistol then lowers his empty hand. Phoenix puts one of her guns in it.

  "Keep driving straight," Stack says as he flips his rifle. "Good luck."

  Both vehicles pass right through the intersection and the Marauders drift into their turns, chasing after them. Some of them turn right off the road, cutting through the grass. Phoenix looks back and sees the RV pull into the intersection and stop.

  "Why isn't that one following?" she asks.

  Stack swings his rifle behind him and fires at the closest truck, sending a bullet right between the driver seat and the passenger seat. Stack flips the rifle again and fires one more. This time it hits the driver and the truck veers into another car, taking them both off the road.

  Phoenix drops her window and fires at a couple of motorcycles. She hits one of the riders, knocking him off the bike. She hits the front tire of the other, making the bike wobble and flip over.

  Falcon fires at a nearby car but the steel plates shrug off the bullets. "Grenade."

  Phoenix grabs one out of the pack and hands it to him before returning to fire at more oncoming Marauders.

  Falcon pulls the pin and releases the safety lever.

  Phoenix grabs another magazine to reload her gun but the armed grenade catches her attention. "Throw that thing!"

  Falcon tosses it under the nearby car and rapidly pulls the window closed as the grenade explodes beneath the Marauder vehicle. Engulfed in flames, it bounces upward once, then falls back down, swerving toward the fastback, hitting the rear driver’s side and making them fishtail. Falcon gets Jerin under control fast and drops the window back down as the burning car races ahead. It travels across the road behind them, forcing the others to try to avoid hitting it.

  Phoenix looks back. "They're slowing down."

  "Up ahead." Falcon points to an elevated bridge. "Marauders won't cross the water. We get across and we're home free."

  "From this group, anyway."

  Falcon looks in the mirror and sees Stack, uncomfortably far behind them. Fortunately it doesn't look like he's being followed. "Would have been nice to take more of them out."

  "Better to get away fast than deal with a fight."

  "Yeah." Falcon looks back again.

  "Falcon!" Phoenix points forward. An entire section of bridge is gone. If there was a ramp, they would probably make it at their current speed. But there isn't. Just a long, stretch of bridge ending in a drop off into the river far below.

  Falcon pulls the hand-brake between the seats and cuts the wheel to the right. The rear tires skid to the side, the force of the turn knocking both of them to their right. Phoenix looks out her window, suddenly facing down the bridge. Stack rides toward them fast. Squeezing his brake, he lays the bike down before disappearing below the front of the Jerin.

  Before Phoenix even knows what's happening, Falcon shoves open his door and leaps out of the car just in time to see Stack flying off the edge. Falcon reaches out to catch him but Stack’s weight and momentum pull him over the edge as well.

  Phoenix bursts through the driver’s side door. With one hand on the steering wheel and one hand grabbing Falcon’s pants leg just in time. She looks over the edge to see the bike crash into the river far below. Stack swings from Falcon's arm. Only the top of Falcon's boot touches the road as Phoenix tries to keep them both from falling after the bike. Her muscles scream, and maintaining a hold is all she can do. And not for long. The combined weight of both of them is too much for her to pull up on her own.

  Phoenix turns to look under the car. A Marauder bike makes its way, torturously slowly, up the bridge toward them.

  33

  "Any time, now," Falcon says as Stack swings back and forth below him.

  Phoenix watches Stack appear and disappear under the bridge. Her knuckles turn white, gripping the steering wheel, as she tries to keep all three ofd them from falling. Her arm feels like it will be pulled off as she holds onto Falcon's pants leg. The top of his boot slides a little further off of the concrete with each swing.

  "Stop swinging," she strains.

  Falcon tries to pull Stack up but Phoenix cries out at the sudden resistance. She looks back under the car to see the Marauder switching back and forth from one lane to another in an 'S' pattern. It’s a psychological tactic to instill more fear into his prey. It only makes Phoenix angry.

  She lifts her head to look at the hand brake then back at Falcon's foot. "I have an idea."

  Stack looks down at the river far below. "Anything is better than this."

  With difficulty, Falcon brings his free hand down to reinforce his grip on Stack's arm. "Just do it."

  Phoenix looks back at the hand brake and kicks down on it with her heel. The first hit does nothing. She tries again but her foot slips, throwing her balance off and making Falcon's foot slide completely off the edge. The sudden jerk pulls her wrist to the jagged concrete.

  "Phoenix!" Falcon yells.

  She looks back at the Marauder as another biker makes its way up the bridge. She refocuses on the fastback’s hand brake, bringing her leg up again. It's a strange angle but she brings it down. The hit knocks the hand brake down halfway and the car lurches forward a little. Phoenix strikes it again. This time, it drops all the way down and the fastback slowly moves forward.

  Falcon's foot appears above the ledge, followed by his leg. Phoenix pulls him and manages to almost sit up in the driver's seat. It's an uncomfortable angle but she gets her foot on the gas pedal and pushes it down, gently.

  "Faster is ok with me," Stack yells up as he watches Falcon's legs make it over the edge.

  Both bikers have stopped moving forward. Phoenix accelerates a little faster and Falcon's head finally makes it
over the edge. He looks back and sees Phoenix still gripping his pants leg. A small trickle of blood drips from her wrist. He nods his head in gratitude and as a signal that she can let go.

  Phoenix releases Falcon once she sees Stack's arms finally make it to the surface then she straightens in the seat and returns her gaze to the Marauders.

  Falcon pulls Stack to solid ground. Out of immediate danger, Stack rolls away from the edge before getting to his feet.

  Phoenix looks back and sees both of them are fine. Stack nods to her as Falcon did.

  "Keep her around," he tells Falcon.

  Both men look down the bridge to see the bikers nearby and even more Marauders at the bottom of the bridge, just waiting for them to come down.

  "I hate feeling trapped," Falcon says.

  "What do we got left?" Phoenix asks.

  "Your gun. Mine and..." Falcon looks at Stack.

  "Mine went with the bike. I got these." He pats the satchel under his arm.

  "I guess you're riding with us."

  Stack stares at the closest biker. "I appreciate that but I got a ride."

  He walks to Jerin and opens the passenger side, grabbing one of the hand guns in the floor board. Stack fires the weapon at the nearest biker just to get his attention.

  The biker revs his motor and lifts up the front end in a wheelie. Stack drops the gun back in the car and runs toward the Marauder. It's not the best way to play chicken but he plows ahead anyway.

  The biker drops the wheel back to the pavement and charges ahead. Stack picks up his own pace.

  "Wait—” Phoenix starts.

  "Just watch,” Falcon tells her.

  As a crash seems imminent and clearly in favor of the Marauder, Stack leaps into the air, feet first. He spins his body sideways at the oncoming biker, driving his boots square into the biker’s head. The Marauder falls backwards onto the concrete while Stack's hands grab for the handlebars, pulling himself onto the bike.

  Phoenix’ eyebrows rise in surprise at the maneuver. Stack squeezes the brake and, with one foot on the concrete, spins the bike around, facing the horde at the bottom of the bridge. He revs the motor and looks back at Falcon and Phoenix. "Ya'll ready?" He reaches into the satchel, pulling out a stick of dynamite. "I'll clear a path."