“Saints, no,” Hallie said. “But I’m guessing even a rough layout is going to help. That man needs to be stopped.” She realised that she was assuming that Peredur Roth would agree with her strongly enough to send the Conclave Investigators’ armed tactical unit to deal with Jonah and his men. She pressed her lips together before she could add that Nicholas needed dealt with, too. She’d seen enough of the investigators andhochlenmore generally to think that even Peredur Roth might believe Nicholas Rigg was more of a local issue for the islanders themselves to deal with. But there was that air of ruthlessness around Jonah that set him apart from Nicholas, and the governor had also mentioned connections to the wider world. Determination took hold. The man most definitely needed to be stopped. She would just have to convince the director one way or another, and thensee what she might be able to do to help the islanders deal with Nicholas.
“Alright. Yes,” Girard agreed, breaking through her mental scheming.
“First off, we need that transport,” Hallie said, doing her best to make a visual assessment of the distance to the ATV and the distance between the ATV and the gunners. Definitely doable. “I drive and you shoot?” Hallie suggested. It was practical. She was much better at driving than shooting any kind of weapon.
“Sounds like a plan,” Girard agreed. “We go on three?”
“On three,” Hallie agreed.
Girard counted down, and the two of them exploded out of the undergrowth onthree, running as fast as they could manage, heading for the ATV. Hallie didn’t think she’d ever run as hard in her life before. Her leg muscles screamed at her, threatening to cramp, and she mentally screamed back, telling them to keep working. Her lungs were burning with a lack of air, whole body weighted with fatigue. It didn’t help that Girard easily outpaced her, reaching the ATV long before she did, and almost before the gunners had realised anything was happening. He launched himself into the back of the vehicle, rising with a snub-nosed shotgun in his hands, taking aim at the gunners as they shouted in alarm and raised their own weapons.
Then Hallie didn’t have time or energy or attention to notice anything else as she’d reached the ATV. She flung herself into the driver’s seat and found that the gunners had, indeed, left the key in the ignition. She turned the key, the engine shockingly loud in the night, even with the shouts of the gunners and the flat crack of weapons fire. She ducked down behind the wheel, put her foot on the accelerator, and drove off, trusting Girard to stay in place as she wheeled the vehicle back up onto the road, as the fastest means of travel, and headed away from New Hope.
A bullet whipped past her, too close for comfort, and shattered the windscreen, the safety glass cracking into a crazed spider’s web that blinded her to anything in front of the ATV. She leant forward, punching out the broken glass, the speed of travel sending cold air biting into her face, drawing tears to her eyes.
There were people approaching from the side. Vinny and Jonah and at least two more. Jonah must have brought more men with him. She made an inarticulate sound of alarm, and pressed the accelerator again.
Girard somehow heard and understood her as the boom of a shotgun sounded just behind her ear, the round striking one of the approaching men in the chest. Hallie heard Girard reload the weapon and fire again. This time he wasn’t aiming at the people but at their ATV. A direct hit. The other ATV burst into flames and Hallie wanted to cheer.
“Go after them. On foot if you have to, you idiots. And shoot them if you can’t catch them.” That was Jonah, fury almost rippling through the air.
Hallie risked a quick glance over her shoulder and saw four men scrambling up the bank of the ditch and into the road, silhouetted by the night sky as they set off at a run after the ATV. Hallie laughed. She couldn’t help it. The vehicle wasn’t anywhere near as fast as anything she’d driven before, but it was more than fast enough to outpace humans, and she had at least a half tank of fuel. No one was going to catch her now.
Chapter twenty
Shecouldn’thearmuchover the grumble of the ATV engine, but she thought that the men chasing them on foot were some distance behind. It was still too dark to see much, and Hallie hadn’t bothered to try and find out whether the ATV had headlights. There was enough light for her to keep the ATV on the road and that was what mattered.
“We’ve lost the followers for now,” Girard said, pitching his voice to carry over the engine. Hallie realised that she hadn’t heard the shotgun for a few moments. “Once we’re around this bend we’ll be out of sight for a bit.”
“Easier if we split up,” Hallie suggested, calling over her shoulder. “It won’t be long before there are more vehicles after us.”
There was a short pause and she could almost hear Girard wanting to argue with her.
“Is there any food and water in the back? We should each take some,” she suggested. Even though her heart was thumping, shewas aware of being light headed and dry mouthed. It had been a long time since either of them had stopped for anything to eat or drink.
“There’s bottled water and protein bars,” Girard said. He sounded reluctant, but willing. “And another weapon. A handgun.”
A moment later and a small canvas sack slid over her shoulder, dropping into her lap. From the weight of it, Girard had included the gun in her provisions. “Thank you,” she said.
“I don’t like the idea of splitting up,” Girard said, “but it will help keep our pursuers on their toes.”
“We’re coming up on the sharp corner now,” Hallie said, seeing the bowed shapes of the ancient trees to one side of the road. As she wrestled the ATV around the turn she saw that the road forked. Or, rather, that there was a trail leading off the road and up the hill. Hallie almost turned the ATV up the trail, sure it must eventually lead to Jonah’s base. She held her course, though. There were more armed men up there and she didn’t want to announce their arrival with a noisy vehicle.
“Pull over once we’re around the corner. You get out and run, find somewhere to hide in the forest. I’ll lead them away, get to the packs. I’ll come and find you as soon as I can,” Girard said.
Their pursuers would almost certainly follow the noisy ATV rather than head into the trees, so driving was more dangerous. Hallie wanted to argue, but she knew she’d be lost in moments and with his greater experience of life outside a city, Girard was much better placed to lead their pursuers on a fine dance through the trees.
“I’ll rest for a bit. Then head up the hill, see what intel I can get on Jonah’s operation,” she told him.
“Be careful. Observe only,” Girard told her, raising his voice to be heard as she gunned the engine, putting on a burst of speed around the final curve to make absolutely sure that they wereout of sight. Once on the straighter stretch of road, she took her foot off the pedal, letting the vehicle slow. She didn’t wait for it to come to a complete stop - Girard would need the momentum - instead bundling the sack of provisions under one arm as she jumped out of the moving vehicle, then taking off from the road at a dead run into the forest, moving as fast as her legs would take her.
It was a miracle that she didn’t trip over a tree root, or run straight into a tree in the first moments after she’d left the road, all her senses overwhelmed by the scents and sounds around her, the early morning darkness and thick canopy of leaves overhead making it impossible to see anything clearly. But she stayed on her feet and kept going. From what she remembered, the hill was very high, so she had a long way to go.
The canvas bag of provisions slipped out from under her arm and she paused, assessing where she was. Right in the heart of the forest, absolutely lost apart from knowing that if she headed uphill she’d eventually get to Jonah’s base. Her vision wavered and she remembered telling Girard she’d rest for a bit. That seemed like a splendid idea. There was a thick clump of head-high shrubs not far away and she eased her way inside, finding there was just enough room in the middle for her to settle on the ground, every muscle protesting as she did so. She rummaged in the sack and came up with one of the water bottles and a protein bar. When she’d finished both, she took the handgun out and put it into the holster at her hip. It was a bit large, but it seemed secure. Girard had given her another water bottle and a few more protein bars and she slipped them into her pockets so they would be easier to carry.
Then she curled down on the hard ground and closed her eyes, slowing her breathing. The forest floor was uncomfortable - hard and lumpy - but it was dry and no one was trying to kill her just then. It was enough to let her get a bit of rest.
Hallie woke with a start, breath caught in her throat, aware of a vague headache and a dry mouth, and for a horrible moment didn’t know where she was. She struggled into a sitting position, putting her hands on the bare soil around her for extra leverage. The soil and the cold air against her face reminded her. She was lost. Deep in the forest near the bottom of the hill where Jonah had his base.
