Chapter 17
The armored truck tore out of the thick tree line and slammed heavily onto an old,
cracked asphalt road that led directly into the forgotten industrial sector,
the tires screeching violently as they struggled to find grip on the wet,
decayed surface.
Behind us,
the brilliant headlights of three high-speed tactical combat vehicles burst through the foliage,
their mounted heavy machine guns immediately opening fire with a terrifying,
rhythmic thump that echoed across the desolate valley.
Heavy armor-piercing rounds slammed brutally into our rear security plates,
creating an incredibly loud,
deafening metallic clanging that reverberated through the cabin like a series of explosions.
Lily ducked low into the passenger footwell,
shielding her head with her hands while her tablet remained firmly wedged between her knees,
its screen rapidly flashing through rows of red diagnostic warnings.
The rear defensive matrix is failing rapidly,
she shouted through the absolute chaos of the incoming fire,
and the structural integrity of the main fuel cell is dropping below critical levels.
I looked into the side mirror and saw the lead mercenary vehicle pulling up fast on our left flank,
the driver wearing a cold,
faceless tactical visor that reflected the brilliant flashes of his weapon.
Not today,
I snarled,
and I suddenly slammed the brakes while spinning the steering wheel violently to the left,
performing a massive,
uncontrolled fishtail that caught the pursuing vehicle completely off guard.
The heavy reinforced steel bumper of my truck smashed into the side of the lighter combat vehicle,
crushing the frame with a sickening crunch of tearing metal,
and sending it spinning wildly out of control into a massive concrete barrier,
where it exploded into a brilliant,
furious ball of orange fire.
The remaining two pursuers immediately backed off slightly,
shifting their tactical formation to box us in from a safer distance,
while preparing to launch a twin wire-guided anti-tank missile.
Lily saw the laser targeting reticles painting the interior of our cabin with tiny,
dancing red dots.
They have a solid lock on us,
she screamed,
and she frantically tapped a sequence on her tablet to override the truck's manual exhaust vents.
I am dumping our raw fuel vapors directly into the main catalytic converter,
she explained,
aiming to create a massive,
blinding cloud of thermal smoke to disrupt their infrared guidance systems.
A massive plume of thick,
black,
superheated smoke erupted from the side pipes,
completely engulfing the road behind us in an impenetrable screen of absolute darkness.
The two launched missiles slammed violently into the asphalt just twenty yards behind our position,
the dual explosions creating a massive shockwave that lifted the rear wheels of our truck completely off the ground,
before we slammed back down with a bone-jarring impact that nearly shattered the suspension entirely.
I maintained absolute focus,
steering through the blinding debris field until the dark outline of the abandoned mining facility loomed ahead,
its massive concrete structures standing like decayed monoliths against the stormy sky.
The heavy iron security gates were locked shut with thick chains,
but I absolutely refused to slow down for a single second.
Hold on,
I roared,
and I braced my arms as the truck collided with the heavy gates at seventy miles per hour,
shattering the iron links into lethal shrapnel and bursting into the dark courtyard.
I spun the vehicle into a tight,
sliding stop right next to the massive concrete blast doors of the underground bunker,
leaving the smoking,
battered truck running as a temporary shield against the approaching enemy forces.
We jumped out into the freezing rain,
our weapons drawn and ready,
May you like
as the final two mercenary vehicles tore through the shattered gates behind us,
their headlights cutting through the dark courtyard like the eyes of hungry predators.
