––––––––
The roar of a beefy engine made Bree’s head snap around. She hid behind a snow cone stand, feeding bullets into her rifle. Adrenaline had finally gotten the better of her, and the first few attempts to reload had her dropping rounds to the pavement.
A black truck skidded around a children’s ride a few dozen meters ahead and accelerated toward the Ferris wheel.
“Incoming,” Bree shouted. Both of her hands were full and she didn’t want to waste time using the microphone beside her shoulder. She’d moved close enough to the rest of her team that they could hear her anyway.
Tate had put Shea down on the bench in front of one of the men Bree had shot. He worked at the pilot’s vest, trying to expose the wound he’d sustained. Huxx stood a few feet away, gun trained on the entrance to the underground facility.
All of them spun toward the racing truck.
Huxx fired at it.
The bullets cracked the windshield and bounced off the hood and grill.
Bree ogled at it. She’d never seen a bulletproof civilian automobile before. The Philadelphia SWAT had purchased a partially decommissioned light-armored vehicle from the Marine Corps a few years back, but the thing weighed a ton and was designed for heavy combat. The pickup truck certainly wasn’t a military vehicle.
Tate fired off a handful of rounds that continued to crack the windshield, but did little to slow the truck.
Chambering a cartridge, Bree knelt down and aimed at one of the front tires. She exhaled slowly and fired. The bullet hit the panel just behind the wheel. She hadn’t compensated enough for the vehicle’s rapid acceleration.
She worked the action and fired again.
The tire popped.
Rubber shredded as the rim of the tire crashed against the pavement.
Sparks arched from contact.
The truck cut sharply to the right, the driver losing control.
It collided into the base of the Ferris wheel with an enormous crash that boomed through the park. Glass, metal, and plastic flew through the air. A bloody splotch burst against the shattered windshield.
Steam hissed from under the crumpled hood.
The Ferris wheel squealed as it tilted sideways over Tate, Huxx, and Shea.
It teetered at the brink of falling over, but held steady. All three of them stared at it, waiting for the giant ride to collapse on top of them.
“Goddamn!” Briggs jogged up beside them. “You almost ate it there.”
Tate looked over at Bree and gave her a nod.
She would have grinned like a fool if she weren’t on the verge of a heart attack. That was the second time she’d saved his ass in the last five minutes. If they got out of there alive, she’d be sure to mention it a few hundred times.
“Helluva a shot,” Briggs said. He grinned at Bree. “Good thing we brought you along.”
“Is Shea all right?” Bree got up and ran over to them. “I saw him go down in the ball pit.”
“Took one in the ribs,” Shea hissed. “Vest stopped it, but I can’t breathe worth a damn.”
“You need an evac.”
Tate grunted. “He is the evac. He’s the only one who can fly the bird.” He glanced at the sky. “And we need to get the hell out of here. That woman-child radioed in a few minutes ago. Won’t take long for them to find out what we’re up to and bomb this place back to the Stone Age.”
“Not without Ash.” Detective Lloyd limped along behind Briggs. The side of his vest and one of his legs had soaked through with blood. He bent over slightly at the waist, as if a sharp pain stabbed at his stomach.
“Time’s up and we haven’t even made it inside yet,” Tate said. “Two of you are hit and that damn wheel is about to fall on the entrance to the facility.”
“I’m not leaving without Ash.” Lloyd straightened out. “Take him back to the chopper and get it warmed up. We’ll meet you there.”
“You don’t even know how many men are still in there.” Tate set his jaw. “And you can barely stand. No way you can get him out of there yourself.”
“I can do it. Besides, even if we get out of here alive, we’re all going away without him. He’s our bargaining chip,” Lloyd said. “They’ll toss us in a cage and throw away the key when we get back. If we have Ash with us, then at least we have something to show for all of this.”
Bree knew that the detective didn’t give a damn about having something to use to bargain with the government. He wanted to get his friend back. She admired his courage in the face of such adversity, even as he bled profusely and was in obvious pain. He wasn’t a spec-ops tough guy like the others, but he didn’t lack courage or grit.
“I’ll go with you.” She walked over to Lloyd and stood beside him. “I’ve got your six.”
Lloyd put his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
Tate glared at both of them. “And which of you is going to carry his big ass out of there if he’s wounded? Neither of you has the strength.”
“I will,” Briggs said. “No point in high-tailing it outta here without him.”
Huxx kept his attention on the Ferris wheel. “We don’t have time to argue. That thing could come down and end the party before any hellfire missiles get here.” He turned to the group. “Jack will need help getting back to the bird. Briggs is bigger than I am, so he should go with Tate and Shea and get the chopper prepped. I’ll go with the two of them to find Benson.” He glanced at Briggs. “I’ve got a helluva lot more search-and-rescue experience anyway.”
They all looked to Tate.
His perpetual frowned deepened further as he mulled it over.
“Fine. Let’s move.” He grabbed Shea under the arm and heaved him off the bench. “We’re taking off in ten minutes whether you’re with us or not.”