Chapter 3 #2
Gideon turned, and Zadie felt every muscle in his body go rigid. His arm dropped from her waist, and his hand moved to the strap of his backpack.
"I think that’s an excellent idea, sweetheart." He turned to Praline. "Can we hide in your kitchen? Give my buddies a chance to get settled and then come out and give them a good old surprise."
Praline's mouth opened, but nothing came out. She just nodded.
Not a good sign, because that meant Praline probably knew this was all for show. But what difference did it make?
Gideon took Zadie’s hand and they hurried through the narrow hall past the restrooms. He pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen with his foot.
"What the hell?" The cook glanced up from behind the grill. "You can’t be back here."
"We’re not staying." Gideon shoved open the back door with his shoulder.
The cool Canadian air spread against her skin as she took off running, weapon in hand, Gideon right next to her.
"There they are," a man shouted.
Gideon grabbed her arm and hurled her toward the dumpster.
The first shot pinged against the metal.
"You okay?" Gideon set his back against the structure, pistol in hand.
She nodded, pulling the keys from her pocket. "I’ll cover you. Get to the side by side. I’ll be right behind you."
He didn’t say a word. Just snagged the keys and took off.
A second shot chewed into the dirt near his feet.
Zadie peeked out from behind the dumpster and fired at one of the men barreling toward them. Got his firing arm, but all that did was make him drop his weapon. He barely let out a grunt.
Enhanced. Always fucking enhanced.
The second man ducked behind a tree.
She fired another two shots then took off running, legs pumping, boots slipping on the wet ground.
Another round snapped through the branches above her head. She ducked and fired once more over her shoulder.
"Hurry." Gideon fired up the SxS before turning and pointing his handgun at the men. He let loose with four quick rounds.
She hopped into the passenger seat. "Do you know how to drive—"
"Of course."
The SxS lurched forward as more bullets flew by. One hit the side of the vehicle. She turned, fired a few rounds, reached under the seat, and snagged the rifle.
"What the hell are those men on?" Gideon swiveled left. Right. He punched the gas, and the SxS nearly took flight as it crested a hill. "They’re running faster than humanly possible."
"Long story." She raised her rifle and took aim at one of the men’s chests. Head would’ve been better, but the torso was a bigger target. The bullet tore through the upper left side, closer to his shoulder than center. He dropped to his knees. He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t moving.
She fired again, aiming for the second one. Same thing.
It would at least slow them down.
Scanning the area, she searched for the other two men who’d gotten out of the truck. Nothing. They hadn’t come out the back with these two assholes. However, she knew they were here somewhere, waiting to make a move.
Turning, she clutched the rifle to her chest and blew out a puff of air.
Gideon drove for another five minutes. No words. No sound except the whine of the motor and the crack of branches under the tires. Every couple of seconds, she did a three-sixty scan. Still no sign of anyone.
Gideon twisted in the seat, glancing all around.
"One of those men," he said. "He used to work under me at Hyperion."
Zadie kept her eyes fixated on Gideon. "Did I shoot him?"
"No. He didn’t come after us. At least, not on foot."
"What did he do at Hyperion?"
"Senior analyst. He was one of my best team leaders. Smart. Really smart. And he had years of military experience. His specialty was an odd combination."
"What do you mean?" She glanced around, sweeping the area.
"Demolitions and comms." He shook his head. "How did they track us that fast? Praline couldn't have made a call—we were standing right there. And the cook—maybe—but they showed up within minutes of us walking in."
Before Zadie could open her mouth to respond, a deafening boom filled the air. A white flash strobed through the trees. It came from behind them and stretched out ahead in a wave of heat.
A second violent burst punched through her chest and rattled her teeth. The SxS rocked sideways on its suspension and Gideon fought the wheel as the shockwave rolled through the ground beneath them had come alive.
"What the hell?" Gideon tapped the brakes, swerved, and the vehicle skidded on loose dirt.
Zadie twisted in her seat, rifle up, and she froze.
A column of black smoke climbed into the sky where the diner had been. Orange flames curled through the smoke, feeding on everything. The fire rolled outward, licking at the tree line, and pieces of debris—wood, metal, something that might have been part of the roof—rained down from the sky.
"Jesus," she managed. Her ears rang and her hands had gone tight around the rifle.
"They blew the diner." Gideon's gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles had gone white.
A chunk of charred wood hit the ground twenty feet behind them, crashing through the brush and sending a spray of dirt into the air.
"Keep moving." Zadie reached over and grabbed his arm.
Gideon punched the gas. The SxS lurched forward, and she braced against the frame as he took them hard through the brush. He swiveled left to dodge a large tree, then right to keep from hitting another one.
"Praline and the cook…" Gideon said softly.
"Collateral damage." Zadie’s heart hammered in her throat. "They didn't want witnesses who could identify them."
"Over me shutting down a few nodes?" Gideon's voice cracked on the last word. "That's insane. Those were people. She was annoying, but she was a person."
"It's a little more complicated than nodes." She glanced behind them. The smoke thinned with distance, but the smell had caught up—charred wood, melted plastic, and something acrid underneath that she didn't want to name.
A downed tree lay across the trail, directly in their path, and there was no room to go around it.
"Hold on," Gideon said.
She braced one hand on the dashboard.
Gideon angled the SxS toward the lowest section of the trunk where the branches had snapped off and the bark had worn smooth.
The front tires hit first, launching the nose upward.
Zadie's heart flew up into her chest. The rear tires caught and for one full second, they were airborne—weightless—and then they came crashing down on the other side.
Her spine compressed. Her teeth clacked together. The rifle nearly flew from her grip.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Ask me again when my organs are back where they started."
The sound of an engine rose behind them, louder than the SxS.
"Shit. They're on us again." She checked the rifle. "Drive faster."
"I went northeast, now I’m going southeast. How would know that?" Gideon swiveled to miss a tree. "Fuck. I think I know the answer to that. Open my pack and look in the side pocket."
"What am I looking for?"
"A bag of cookies. Or brownies. Or maybe a muffin."
"Excuse me?"
"I never let anyone touch my bag." He glanced at the backpack in her lap before turning east and heading down a small ravine.
"But this morning, Praline tucked some treat in there as I was leaving. Something for me to snack on later. It annoyed me, but she’d been flirting hard for three days.
I figured it was one last ploy even though I told her I had a girlfriend. "
Zadie pulled out a small brown bag. "Let’s see what’s inside." She pulled out a cookie and then peered deeper. "I’ll be damned. Blondie’s either smarter than she looks, or someone told her what to do." Zadie held up a small, round disc.
"Son of a bitch."
Zadie tossed it—bag, cookies, and all—into the brush. "Has she given you anything else? Touched anything?"
"No. Today was the first time." He twisted, looking behind him again. "She was a little over the top and came on way too strong. But she didn't deserve to die."
"Let’s hope she got out." But Zadie knew better. She craned her ear. "Sounds like they’re slowing down. But once they realize we ditched their device, they’ll follow our tracks."
"I’ll make some loops," Gideon said. "There’s a biking trail close to here. I can pick that up for a bit. Should confuse them." He gripped the steering wheel with his arms straight and his focus dead ahead. "We’ll get to my campsite, grab just a few things I need, and head to this bunker of yours."
Zadie glanced at her watch. "It's possible we won’t make it there by nightfall. I'd rather not risk it. I’ll need to contact my team and Darwin, and we’ll need to find a place to crash."
"I know just the spot." He leaned closer. "Felicity." He lowered his chin. "And then we can talk about why you’re chasing someone named Flatline."
"How do you know…" she let the words trail off. "No way."
"In the flesh," he said. "You’ve got some explaining to do."
"Just drive." She did another quick scan, biting back a smile. This encounter was no longer anticlimactic, at all. She wasn’t sure what to call it, but Gideon Rhodes was certainly still living up to his legend status.