Falcon runs to the passenger side of Jerin and climbs inside.
Phoenix pulls up next to Stack. "You sure you don't want us to clear the way?"
"Trust me." Stack waves the stick of TNT. "We get to the intersection and take a right."
"Won't they follow us?" Phoenix asks.
"For a while, they will. We take out who we can and keep moving forward."
Falcon and Phoenix check their guns. "Ready," Falcon says.
She hits the accelerator and races back down the bridge. Stack revs the bike up, spinning the tire out, leaving a trail of white smoke in the air. He speeds past the fastback, holding one hand out. Phoenix watches him flick the lighter on the dynamite, only stopping when the fuse is lit.
An overhand throw takes the stick toward the Marauders. It lands in the back of a truck and explodes, taking the truck with it in a bigger fireball than any of the grenades had created.
Stack speeds through the smoke while Phoenix slams the front of Jerin into the back of the burning truck, spinning it off the road.
"Steel girders make good bumpers," Falcon says as he covers his head with his arm, shielding himself from the flames.
Bullets hit the back of the fastback as the Marauders turn to chase after it. Stack pulls another stick and lights the fuse. He tosses it back just high enough to go over Jerin, landing in the road behind her. The dynamite explodes. It doesn't hit any of the pursuit vehicles but it does make a small crater in the concrete. Another biker goes down the crater and then up it, ramping into the air. Just behind it, a car drops into the crater and crashes to the bottom of the hole. It’s non-fatal but the occupants are out of the fight. The other vehicles drive around the hole, undeterred by it.
"What about that?" Falcon points to the RV blocking the road.
"How's this thing off-road?" Phoenix asks.
"It's better on the road."
Stack heads toward the RV, lighting another fuse. He tosses it toward the road blocking vehicle before turning off into the grass. A single Marauder runs out of the RV and grabs the TNT, throwing it just before it explodes. Falcon and Phoenix watch as the explosion rocks the RV sideways but causes no damage. The sides of the big vehicle extend outward, widening it. Phoenix doesn't wait to find out what's next. She eases the car off the road, following Stack through the grass while Falcon hangs out of the window, taking a couple of shots at the cars behind them.
As the car straightens out on the intersecting road, Falcon notices the other side of the RV is extended. The extensions have been hollowed, revealing Marauders standing on either side with what look like mini-guns. The passenger side windshield is gone and two more Marauders stand behind it. One of them has a rocket launcher.
"Where are they getting these things?" Falcon asks.
A rocket-propelled grenade blasts off from the RV.
"Left!" Falcon yells.
Phoenix cuts the car to the left as the RPG streaks past them. The quick maneuver almost throws Falcon out of the window. He kicks his legs up at the car ceiling to keep from falling out.
Stack turns to see the rocket blasting toward him. He veers the bike left and eases off the throttle, slowing down, letting the rocket get well ahead of him. The rocket hits a wrecked car, exploding several yards away.
Falcon steadies himself then moves back inside the car. A rattling catches his attention and he looks up to see a latch in the roof. "That's new." He unlatches it and slides the armored shutter back. Falcon stands up through the unexpected moonroof and takes aim at a nearby truck. He fires at the driver, taking the Marauder vehicle out.
Stack looks over his shoulder and sees numerous cars and trucks catching up to the car. He slows down, allowing the car to catch up with him.
Falcon hears the bike engine coming from the front and turns to face Stack. "What are you doing?"
Stack doesn't answer. He pulls another stick of dynamite and lights the fuse before throwing it backwards at nothing in particular. A truck rolls right over it but it’s the biker behind who hits the stick just as it explodes.
Other cars swerve away from the blast, hoping to avoid it. Some vehicle windows are blown inward, cutting the drivers. They are surface wounds, nothing that takes them out of the fight. And there are many left to fight.
Falcon reaches an open hand down into the car. Phoenix already knows what he wants. She grabs the second pistol from the floorboard and hands it to him. With two pistols, Falcon takes on two vehicles. The first is a truck trying to side-swipe them. His bullets crack the window, making the truck back off. The second is a Jeep with Lances attached to the roll bar, ready to impale anyone who might try to jump onto the vehicle. Falcon shoots the front right tire, blowing it out. The Jeep slows but keeps on the chase.
He looks at all of the vehicles behind them. Some are on the road. Some are in the field. There are more cars than they have bullets. Falcon looks at Stack who tosses back another stick. The dynamite falls onto the front bumper of what looks like an armored SUV. It explodes, destroying the front end and causing the truck to flip over, crashing onto its roof. Another car, too close behind, runs straight into the burning heap, smashing its front end.
Stack glances at Falcon. There are still too many Marauders. Phoenix checks her rearview mirror, shaking her head, unsure how they're going to get out of this.
"RPG!" Falcon drops into the moonroof as the rocket streaks overhead, landing in front of them. Phoenix hits the brakes and turns the wheel, narrowly avoiding the explosion. Stack speeds ahead while the Marauders catch up to the car.
Falcon pops back up and fires at the vehicles coming up on either side of Jerin. One of the guns clicks. Falcon drops it into the car. Phoenix grabs the gun and reloads it then aims at a truck pulling alongside her window. The Marauder inside stares at her wild-eyed, grossly sticking out his tongue. Phoenix pulls the trigger.
The bullet shatters the window and hits the Marauder right through the mouth, making the truck steer toward the fastback and slam into it. Phoenix makes a hard right then a hard left into the truck, knocking it away from them and into the field.
Falcon flinches as bullets hit the fuel tanks. The solid steel holds up but too many hits are going to send them up in a fireball. He notices the mini gun in the RV starting to spin and takes careful aim at the Marauder preparing to fire three thousand rounds a minute. Falcon squeezes the trigger. The headshot sends the Marauder backwards into the RV. The mini gun falls back with her, blasting rapid bullets throughout the modified vehicle, shredding it from the inside.
The rapid gunfire grabs Stack’s attention. He turns around to see the RV swerve left then right as the driver tries to maintain control under the hail of bullets ripping through the large vehicle. The extended sides keep it off balance and the RV falls to its side, crunching the extension as it falls on two Marauder bikers before grinding to a stop. Other Marauders look back at the damage but continue forward.
Stack slows again, letting the fastback catch up as Falcon takes out a mounted gunner only to find it quickly replaced. "There's too many. We gotta split up," Stack yells.
"To where? There's only forward and back," Phoenix tells him.
"I'll go back."
"You're on a bike," Falcon says as if the notion of riding through the chasing horde on a motorcycle is the worst idea in the world. "We'll go back."
"You want to go west. I'm just helping."
"Just stay with us and we'll get ahead of them," Falcon tries to convince him.
"It's decided." Stack loosens up on the throttle. "I better get Jerin back, Falcon."
"Good luck," Phoenix yells as Stack pulls another stick of TNT. He flicks the lighter, turning the bike around. The fuse sparks and he lobs it into the back of a passing truck.
The explosion blasts off, separating Stack from Falcon and Phoenix. Falcon watches the man ride past oncoming Marauders, many of them turning around to chase after him, figuring that a motorcycle will be easier to get than an armored car. Falcon watches as a
nother explosion takes out another car before he snaps back to reality and refocuses on the Marauders still pursuing them.
Phoenix fires at the exposed engine of a truck. A lucky shot hits the radiator, sending smoke upward from the truck’s cooling system, obscuring the driver's vision. Not far ahead, the ruined trailer of an eighteen wheeler sits just on the road's shoulder. She slows a little to let the smoking vehicle catch up before sideswiping it, pushing the Marauder truck to the left and running it straight into the trailer. The collision sends pieces of it and the trailer flying off in all directions.
Falcon lowers the gun into the moonroof and ejects the magazine. Phoenix slides a new one in and Falcon chambers a round, continuing to fire at approaching vehicles. Some bullets hit. Others don't.
With his primary focus being on the cars closest to the driver's side, Falcon doesn't notice the truck inching its way onto the passenger side of Jerin. Two Marauders stand in the bed of the truck, waiting for it to get closer. One of them finally reaches toward Falcon. The Freelancer takes a shot at another mounted gunner and misses before he notices the man trying to grab him. Falcon spins, pointing the gun at the Marauder and pulls the trigger. Click. With no fear of being shot, the assailant grabs him and pulls Falcon out of the moonroof.
Phoenix barely has time to notice as Falcon's legs rise out of the moonroof. She looks out of the passenger side window and sees Falcon kicking in the air as he tries to hang onto the roof of the fastback.
Falcon punches at the Marauder, forcing him to let go. Once free, Falcon grabs the would-be kidnapper, pulling him out of the truck. The Marauder hits the road, the rear wheels of the truck rolling right over his legs.
The Freelancer hangs onto the side of Jerin as well as he can. Phoenix watches as the same truck comes back toward them. They're gonna crush him. "Falcon!"
Staring in the window, Falcon sees Phoenix’s outstretched arm pointing behind him. He looks over his shoulder to see the side of the truck growing larger as it nears him. Timing it just right, Falcon pushes off of the fastback just as the truck slams into it. He lands in the bed of the truck with the second Marauder. The wild looking man pulls out a heavy wrench and swings it at Falcon who ducks, grabbing the Marauder’s legs, pulling them out from under him. The wrench falls into the truck bed and Falcon jumps on top of the wild man, pinning him. He drives his fist into his face, cutting his knuckle on a jagged tooth. The unexpected cut distracts Falcon just long enough for the Marauder to grab the wrench and swing it again. The attack is blocked and Falcon throws his head down, butting the attacker and knocking him out.
Falcon stands, watching the other cars still gaining on them. The bulk of the Marauders have turned around to chase Stack. Two more explosions signal Stack is ok. That or he's blown himself up.
"Falcon!" Phoenix slows just enough for the fastback’s window to line up with the bed of the truck.
The truck turns hard, slamming into Jerin and knocking Falcon off his feet into the bed. Quickly recovering, he sees a modified El Camino getting close to the driver's side. The Marauder in the passenger seat points a shotgun at an unaware Phoenix.
The wrench rattles against the metal flooring. Falcon grabs it and puts his foot on the side of the bed rail, leaping to the hood of Jerin. Phoenix watches him, confused as he rebounds to the hood of the nearing car.
The Marauder turns his attention from Phoenix, firing the shotgun and blasting out the El Camino’s windshield. But Falcon has already moved up to the roof. He rolls to the side as another blast tears a large hole in the roof. Returning to the passenger side, Falcon swings the wrench down. The first swing hits the gun. The second swing hits the gun holder, smashing his face in. Falcon drops the wrench and reaches for the shotgun. The driver struggles to get a hold of it as well, taking his eyes off of the road.
“Falcon!” Phoenix yells.
He turns to see a rusted out gas tanker sitting halfway across the highway.
"Falcon, come on!" Phoenix fires at the truck on her right, hitting the driver. She steers Jerin away from the El Camino and opens the driver side door. "Now!"
Falcon looks at the open door and back at the oncoming tanker. He releases the shotgun and slides to the bed of the car.
Phoenix takes her foot off the gas and moves to the passenger seat. The fastback starts falling behind the El Camino.
The Marauder takes a shot through the back window, hitting nothing but glass as Falcon for the driver's seat of Jerin. Barely inside, he steers the vehicle right to avoid the tanker, staying just close enough for the door to hit the rusted trailer, slamming it shut. Phoenix watches through the rear windshield slats as the explosion from the tanker collision sends a massive fireball skyward.
Seven more vehicles break through the dark smoke and continue the chase. "How many more bullets do we have?" Falcon asks.
“I got half a mag.”
"I am so tired of these close calls." Falcon looks at a particular switch under the dashboard. He puts his finger on it and looks at Phoenix. "One shot. That's all you've got."
She looks down at the switch. A letter [E] is etched just below it.
"Boom," Falcon says. "We just ran out of gas."
Phoenix's shoulders slump in understanding. "Fine."
She stands up through the moonroof and points her gun forward. A few of the Marauders take shots at her but she holds her ground. Bullets hit the back of Jerin and the fuel tanks as mounted gunners fire rapid shots. The fast bullets finally pierce the already bullet-dented gas tank, spilling fuel on the road. Phoenix takes a deep breath smelling the fumes. "Now!"
Falcon flips the switch and the fuel line whips from the gas tank while the steel drums are ejected from the trunk. Phoenix follows the flipping gas drums and pulls the trigger. The bullet hit coupled with the sparks from the grind of metal and concrete, ignite the gas and blow up the fuel drums. A huge fireball blasts out in all directions, catching the nearest Marauder car in the brunt of it, setting off another explosion.
One car, trying to avoid being blown up, collides with a truck trying to do the same. Phoenix watches a car flipping end over end through the rising smoke, come to a crashing stop while the final three vehicles screech to a halt on the other side of the burning road. "They stopped," she says.
They both watch the three Marauder vehicles give up the chase and turn around to join in the pursuit of Stack.
Falcon brings Jerin to a slow stop and steps out.
Phoenix lets out a huge breath. She ejects the ammo magazine and clicks out two bullets. “And one in the chamber. We got another magazine?"
Falcon looks in the car and holds up one finger in answer to her question.
"You think he'll be ok?"
They both look down the road. So many fires and so much smoke rises into the air, completely blocking their view. Another explosion echoes far in the distance.
"He'll be fine," Falcon says.
"We're off course."
"Yup."
"Is there another bridge, nearby?"
"I don't know," Falcon faces the front. The road just goes on. "I know I don't want to be sitting here with three bullets and one magazine, though." Another explosion makes them look back.
"He's gonna give them hell, isn't he?" Phoenix asks.
"He is." Falcon gets in the fastback and shuts the door.
Phoenix lowers herself back inside and closes the moonroof. She switches out pistol magazines. "Probably better to run from here on out."
"Until we find more weapons," Falcon says as he closes his window. Phoenix does the same, once again putting armor on all sides of them.
"It's a long trip if we don't get across that river," he tells her.
"Let's hope we do, quick."
Falcon puts the car in drive and eases down on the accelerator.
34
The evening sun’s orange rays poke through the metal slats as the fastback drives along the narrow two-lane road. Phoenix moves her head up and down, playing with the light.
In her eyes. Out of her eyes. In them again. It has been a very difficult forty-eight hours.
"Have you had days like these before?" she asks.
"Not usually," Falcon says. "Most contracts are found and caught with no problem. The occasional shootout, maybe."
"Until your contract appeared." She looks at him.
"You mean until you accepted it." He returns her glance.
Grass grows inside of ruined vehicles in the field. Some of them look like they may have been military while others are definitely civilian. "The war was fought all over, wasn't it?" Phoenix’s question is more of a realization than a quest for knowledge. "Did you ever read about the civil war?"
"North and South? Americans fighting each other? Sure."
"This was worse."
"This one undid a lot of history."
"Think it can ever be whole, again?"
"A whole country like the Freelands? Depends on who's leading. And I don't think any of the seven nation rulers are going to give up control. Not without a fight."
"Last thing we need is another war." Phoenix looks at an oncoming road sign that says [ NEW LATIN AMERICA ] "We're going in to the NLA?"
"Yup."
"Great." Her tone is completely sarcastic. She ejects the full magazine and looks at it.
"That's the fifth time you've done that."
"You can't be too sure."
"You haven't fired it since the Marauders."
"Just nervous, I guess." She slides the magazine back into the gun.
Falcon checks in the mirror as he puts his foot down, speeding up the car.
A beeping sound comes from the dashboard.
"What is that?" Phoenix asks.
"I don't know. Mine never did that." A red light blinks near the gauges and the fuel dial hovers over the 'E'. "Oh. That might be a problem."
"What is it?" Phoenix asks.
"We're almost out of gas. You see any whole cars anywhere?"
"I hate siphoning."
"Me, too, but we won't have a choice."
Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix Page 18