6. DRIVE
DRIVE
“Drive.”
Chris didn’t need to be told twice.His right foot went down.The Dodge Charger responded immediately.The engine roared as the transmission dropped a gear and the car surged forward, pressing Mateo into the leather seat.Fifty-two.Sixty-one.Seventy.Chris watched the road.Not the speedometer.Not Mateo.And definitely not the black SUV behind them.Because Special Agent Chris Walker knew exactly who was driving it.Logan Price.
He knew exactly what Logan had been instructed to do.He knew approximately where the SUV would close the distance.He knew the planned route.He knew where the pursuit was supposed to end.But Chris Roman knew none of that.And right now, Roman had a cartel boss in the back seat and an unknown vehicle coming after them.So Chris gave Mateo exactly what Roman would give him.Nothing.No questions.No panic.No hesitation.
Just speed.The traffic light ahead changed yellow.Chris calculated distance.Too late to stop naturally.Perfect.He accelerated.“Roman.”
“I see it.”The light turned red just as they entered the intersection.A horn exploded from the right.Chris’s head snapped toward it.A pickup had started forward.He adjusted left.
Missed the truck.Straightened.The Charger shot through.Chris checked the mirror.
Logan stopped at the red.Good.For half a second Chris thought the pursuit might end too early.Then Logan swung into the opposite lane, cleared the intersection when traffic opened, and accelerated after them.Chris almost smiled.Show-off.“Still there?” Mateo asked.
Chris glanced at the mirror.“Yeah.”
“Know them?”
“No.”
“Lose them.”Chris’s hands settled at nine and three.
“Working on it.”His voice had changed.Mateo noticed.Chris knew he did.The sarcasm was gone.The casual arrogance was gone.Even the faint smile disappeared.This was the part of Chris Roman that had been built almost entirely from Chris Walker.Calm.Focused.Controlled.Danger did something strange to Chris.It didn’t make his world faster.It slowed everything down.Every vehicle became a moving calculation.Every intersection became geometry.Every gap became possibility.
Every sound became information.His heartbeat stayed steady.His breathing stayed even.
His eyes never stopped moving.Mirror.Road.Side street.Traffic light.Pedestrian.Mirror.
SUV.Escape route.Threat.Decision.Move.“Hold on.”Mateo grabbed the overhead handle.
Chris cut right.Hard.The Charger’s tires protested as they turned onto a narrower road.
The rear end stepped out.Chris corrected immediately.Throttle.Straighten.Accelerate.
The engine screamed.Forty-five.Fifty-seven.Sixty-eight.They were entering the first industrial section now.Traffic thinned.Exactly as planned.Chris checked the mirror.The SUV appeared around the corner.Closer.Mateo saw it.“They’re good.”Chris’s mouth twitched.“You sound impressed.”
“Should I be?”
“No.”Chris accelerated.Logan closed the distance.Three car lengths.Two and a half.
Chris didn’t like that.Too close.He could practically hear the conversation from the briefing.Two to three car lengths during the aggressive portion.Chris had said too close.
Apparently Logan had decided two qualified.Asshole.The SUV moved left.Chris did the same.SUV moved right.Chris blocked.Mateo leaned forward slightly.“What are they doing?”
“Trying to get beside us.”
“Don’t let them.”
“That was the idea.”Chris glanced ahead.A delivery truck occupied the right lane.Sedan in the left.Gap between them.Closing.He could brake.Wait.Let one move.Roman wouldn’t.
Chris judged the width.Charger: just under six and a half feet wide.Gap: enough.Barely.
He accelerated.Mateo looked ahead.“Roman.”
“I know.”
“You’re not fitting through that.”Chris’s eyes narrowed.
“Sure I am.”The sedan drifted slightly right.Chris tapped the horn.The driver jerked left.Gap widened.Chris threaded the Charger between the two vehicles.Mirrors passed with what felt like inches.The truck driver blasted his horn.Mateo swore.Chris emerged ahead of both vehicles.The SUV couldn’t follow.It braked.Chris gained distance.Mateo looked at him. “What the fuck was that?”
“A gap.”
“That was not a gap.”
“We’re on the other side of it.”
“That doesn’t make it a gap.”Chris almost smiled.Almost.Then the SUV appeared again.
Mateo saw it.His amusement disappeared.“Persistent.”Chris checked the mirror.“You piss somebody off?”Mateo’s gaze snapped toward him.Chris shrugged.“Had to ask.”
“Drive.”
“Right.”Seventy-two.Seventy-eight.Chris backed off.Too fast for the approaching curve.
Not because he couldn’t make it.Because there was an uncontrolled vehicle ahead.Civilian.That changed everything.He braked.Downshifted.Weight transferred forward.The Charger settled.Chris turned.Smooth.No dramatic slide.No unnecessary risk.
Mateo watched him.Chris could feel it.That was important.Anyone could mash an accelerator.Mateo needed to see that Roman wasn’t reckless.Roman was skilled.
There was a difference.The road straightened.Chris accelerated again.The SUV followed.
Logan was closer than expected.Chris’s jaw tightened.He’d have words for him later.
Assuming there was a later.“Who knows you were at that club?” Chris asked.Mateo didn’t answer.Chris looked at the mirror.“Mateo.”First name.No Mr. Vargas.No sir.Mateo noticed that too.“Enough people.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“You’re not paid to investigate.”
“No. I’m paid to keep your ass in this car.”A beat.Chris realized what he’d said.Too far?
Mateo stared at the back of his head.Then:“Then keep it there.”Good.Chris looked ahead.
The planned left turn was coming.He could take it.But there was a problem.Roadwork.
Chris’s eyes narrowed.That wasn’t in the briefing.A construction truck partially blocked the lane.Two workers stood beside it.No.Chris stayed straight.The SUV behind him hesitated.Chris could imagine Logan swearing.Mateo said, “You missed the turn.”
“Changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Construction.”
“You saw that from here?”
“Yes.”Mateo looked back.Then forward.The construction zone was already disappearing behind them.Chris filed the moment away.Another detail Mateo would remember.Useful.
The route was changing now.That meant the FBI’s carefully designed plan was officially worthless.Chris preferred it that way.The radio in the Charger played quietly.Some old rock song.Chris reached down and turned it off.He wanted sound.Engine.Tires.Traffic.Anything behind them.The SUV accelerated again.This time it moved alongside.Not fully.Front bumper reached the Charger’s rear quarter.Chris’s eyes hardened.That wasn’t supposed to happen.No boxing.No aggressive lane blocking.Logan knew that.
“What the hell are they doing?” Mateo asked.Chris didn’t answer.He increased speed.SUV matched.Chris increased again.Seventy.Seventy-five.Industrial road.Long straightaway.Minimal traffic.The SUV stayed with them.Mateo’s hand moved inside his jacket.Chris saw it in the mirror. “Don’t.”
Mateo froze.“What?”
“Whatever you’re reaching for.”Mateo’s eyes hardened.“Excuse me?”
“If that’s a gun, keep it where it is.”
“You giving me orders now?”
“Yes.”Mateo stared at him.Chris kept his eyes forward.“If you start shooting, this changes from somebody following us to everybody in the city looking for us.”Silence.
“Let me drive.”Another beat.Mateo slowly removed his empty hand.Good.Chris’s pulse never changed.But inside, Special Agent Walker released a fraction of tension.The last thing this operation needed was Mateo Vargas shooting at Logan Price.Logan would never shut up about it.The SUV fell back.Chris took the next right.Wrong route.Didn’t matter.He knew the city.Years of tactical training included more than controlling a vehicle.Route planning.
Counter-surveillance.Environmental awareness.Escape corridors.He’d studied the area before the operation.Chris didn’t memorize roads.He memorized choices.Three blocks ahead.Left would lead toward downtown.Bad.Straight led toward residential.Worse.Right led toward warehouses and rail yards.Good.Right. “Where are we going?” Mateo asked.
“Away from them.”
“This isn’t the way to my house.”
“No shit.”Mateo stared.Then laughed.Actually laughed.Chris shook his head.“Glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“You’re weird.”
“You calling me weird?”
“Yes.”Mateo laughed again.That was unexpected.Chris didn’t have time to think about it.The SUV reappeared.“Jesus, Price,” Chris muttered.Mateo leaned forward.“What?”Chris realized he’d spoken aloud.“Persistent.”
“You said that already.”
“Still true.”Chris accelerated.The rail-yard road narrowed.Perfect.This was where Chris could end it.Not according to the original plan.According to him.Ahead was an underpass.
Beyond it, the road split.One route curved sharply left around an old warehouse.The other continued straight.Chris knew something Logan didn’t.There was a service lane hidden immediately after the curve.Narrow.Easy to miss at speed.Chris smiled.Mateo saw it in the mirror.“What?”
“I’ve got an idea.”
“That smile doesn’t make me feel better.”
“It should.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Hold on.”Mateo grabbed the handle again.Chris braked late.Very late.The SUV behind them closed.Sixty-eight.Sixty.Fifty-one.Chris downshifted.Turned hard left.The Charger rotated.Rear tires broke traction.Mateo’s shoulder slammed against the seat.Chris countersteered.Throttle.Catch.Straight.They came out of the turn at forty-eight.The SUV appeared behind them.Chris accelerated.Fifty-five.Sixty-two.Then—service lane.Right.
Chris hit the brakes.Turned.The Charger disappeared between two warehouse buildings.
The lane was barely wider than the car.Brick wall left.Chain-link fence right.Mateo looked toward the passenger window.“Jesus Christ.”Chris kept going.Thirty-five.Forty.
Forty-seven.The lane ended.T-intersection.Chris already knew.Left.Immediate right.
Then another left behind a row of shipping containers.He executed all three without hesitation.Mateo was silent now.Watching.Studying.The black SUV flew past the original service-lane entrance.Didn’t see them.Chris almost laughed.Got you.He kept moving.