Chapter Nineteen
Özalp, Turkey
Murat cursed out loud. He turned the steering wheel slowly to the left. Bullets kept pounding the drum at the back.
When he looked at Jack, Murat did a double-take.
Jack had already pulled out his pistol.
Riley had his AK-47 with the folded stock at the ready.
Murat’s cigarette fell out of the corner of his mouth. “You no tourist…”
“Sorry,” Jack said. He looked through the rear glass window, but couldn’t see the attackers. “Riley, you got them?”
“No, boss.”
Jack leaned over Murat. A white Audi sedan was about thirty meters behind the truck. A man armed with a rifle had slid half his body out of the front seat. He fired a quick volley that missed the truck’s cab. A couple of rounds lifted sparks out of the drum’s side.
Jack returned fire. A three-round burst. One of the bullets cracked the sedan’s windshield but didn’t hit anyone. The Audi shortened the distance, then the driver switched lanes, falling behind the truck.
“Where is he?” Riley asked.
“Behind us.”
Jack looked again, but the Audi was out of sight.
More pounding came from the back of the drum.
Jack worried the attackers would blow one of the truck’s tires, forcing them to a stop. Or worse: cause the truck to roll over to a deadly crash. He couldn’t let that happen. He returned to his seat, and turned around. He placed the muzzle of his pistol against the window and squeezed the trigger. The window shattered with a loud noise.
Murat flinched and looked at Jack. “What you do?”
“Saving our lives.”
He reached for the AK rifle in his rucksack. He inserted a magazine and flicked down the safety lever. Next, he racked back the bolt. The weapon was now ready to fire. Jack looked at Riley, who nodded. “I’ve got your back.”
Jack smiled and slid his body through the window.
He landed on the chassis next to the water tank. A blast of sharp wind buffeted his face. The smell of diesel fumes and smoke engulfed him. He stepped carefully around the hydraulic transmission system hoses and held onto the handle on the side of the cab. He aimed his rifle with his right hand and waited.
The Audi appeared a moment later.
Jack fired a short burst. His bullets struck the Audi’s hood and windshield. The driver seemed to lose control of the vehicle for a moment. It veered toward the concrete barriers dividing the highway. At the last moment, the driver swung the steering wheel.
Jack squeezed the trigger. His rounds hit the front passenger, who was trying to fire his rifle. The weapon fell out of his hands, then the sedan disappeared behind the truck.
Jack looked at Murat. “Turn left, left,” he shouted.
He wasn’t sure if Murat heard him over the engine’s deafening rumble and the bullets hammering the back of the truck.
Jack took a couple of careful steps along the side. He held on to one of the hydraulic hoses, searching for the Audi.
He couldn’t see it, but he knew it was right there behind them.
A loud popping sound, followed by hissing, came from the back. The truck’s rear end skidded hard left. Jack was thrown off the chassis, but he was able to hang on to the hose. He struggled to get his feet back onto the frame, but Murat turned the wheel in the other direction. Jack’s body hit the side of the mixer tank. He clenched his fingers tighter against the rubber hose, his feet almost touching the spinning tire.
The Audi came into view.
Jack had only a moment to fire.
He aimed his rifle, but before he could squeeze the trigger, Murat jerked the wheel.
Jack was thrown back onto the chassis. His right arm struck the water tank, and he almost dropped the rifle.
Almost.
As a man opened up from the back of the Audi, Jack fired back. His bullets shattered the windshield, striking the driver. The sedan began to speed toward the concrete barriers. It crashed into them and spun around.
Jack smiled, but it was short-lived.
The cement truck began to topple on its left side.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion. Jack stepped back toward the cab, his rifle falling from his hands. If the truck flipped on its side, Jack would be crushed by the mixing drum.
He ran across the chassis and behind the cab. His eyes caught a glimpse of Riley’s face twisted in shock. As the truck turned, Jack jumped in the other direction as far as he could.
He landed on his feet on the highway’s shoulder, then rolled onto his side. Sharp pain shot from his left heel and right shoulder. Not the best landing, but it could have been much worse.
Jack looked behind him at the site of the crash. The truck’s windshield had shattered. The mixer drum had become detached from the chassis. The hopper, the feeding system, and other parts were scattered across the highway. Riley, Jack thought.
He stood up, ignoring the pain searing through his side. He collected his rifle, which had fallen a few meters away, then looked toward the Audi sedan in the distance. A man was struggling to get out of the back door. A couple of vehicles had stopped to help.
“Riley? Riley?” Jack called.
“I’m here,” came the reply.
Jack looked at his partner still in the seat. A trickle of blood ran down the right side of his face. He had another deep gushing wound on his right arm. “How are you?”
“Still in one piece.”
“Barely.” Jack grinned and unbuckled Riley. He helped him out of the cab and looked at Murat. The driver was unconscious, but alive. His neck was twisted awkwardly to the side, and his body was crumpled against the door. Jack thought about pulling him out, but he wondered if that would do more harm than good. “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “I never wanted it to go this way.”
Riley had taken their rucksacks out of the truck. He was leaning against the cab, his body weight on his right leg. “Can you walk?” Jack asked.
“Of course. Which way?”
Jack looked toward the Audi. A second man was being pulled out of the sedan. “They’re still back there. We need to get going.”
“We need a car, something fast.”
“Not a cement truck?”
“No, thanks.”
Jack looked at a few houses and apartment buildings to their left. He tossed his rifle inside his rucksack and zipped it up. “Let’s see if we can find something there. But first, let’s get your arm all fixed up.”