“I’ve been better,” Blayne yelled back to her. “You?”
“Thank God for seatbelts.”
Blayne rotated his body so his knees were firmly on the door before he unbuckled himself and rolled onto the door.Blayne is moving faster than me. Ethan grabbed the driver’s seat so he wouldn’t fall and land on Blayne when he unbuckled himself. Ethan pushed the button a few times. But it wouldn’t budge.
“I’m stuck,” he shouted.
The pinging sound of gunshots started reverberating off the SUV.
“Don’t worry,” Agent Murphy said, poking her head between the front seats. “The shots are outside.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” Kira asked, finally making it down from her seat.
“Come on, Mr. Bond. Hurry up,” Agent Murphy said. “We need to move. We’re sitting ducks out here.”
“I’m stuck,” he cried out. “I can’t get it to unbuckle.”
“Just a second.” Agent Murphy ducked back around her chair, out of sight. She returned with a metal gadget that looked like a ‘T’. “It’s a safety hammer,” Murphy yelled over the gunfight happening outside. “Use the razor to saw through your seat belt.”
Ethan reached out and grabbed the device from Agent Murphy and sawed through the polyester blend. He felt the snap as he finished cutting through it and braced himself for the quick fall to the ground. Ethan heard the thud of his feet hitting the door. Agent Murphy reached over, grabbed the safety hammer from Ethan’s hand and started using it on the front glass.
“Will the safety hammer break through?” Ethan yelled, but the words were barely audible between the ringing in his ears and the muffled sounds of gunfire going on outside.
“It’s specifically designed for these vehicles. It sure as hell better work,” Murphy yelled back. “Check on him,” she added, pointing in the driver’s direction.
Ethan looked up to see the SUV driver hanging partially from his seat. Without thinking, he reached up and touched the driver’s neck. He didn’t feel a pulse. He lifted himself back up to see if he could get a better position to test for a pulse. The head lifelessly drooped to the side when he put his fingers on the driver’s neck. The side of the man’s head was banged up pretty bad. Part of his skull was exposed.Is that…? Fuck it is!Brain matter hung out. Ethan closed his eyes and tried not to hurl as he lowered himself back down.
“I don’t think he made it,” Ethan finally squeaked out as he opened his eyes and tried to shake the image of what he’d just seen from his conscious.
Ethan turned to Blayne and saw the look of concern in his eyes. Blayne reached out and squeezed Ethan’s hand. “Remember… None of this is your fault.”
Ethan returned Blayne’s squeeze and gave him a single nod.
“Okay, before I blow this window,” Agent Murphy yelled, getting their attention again. “I’m going to go out first. Right now, we’re sitting here blind. We have no idea what’s going on.” As if to reaffirm her point, bullets ricocheted off the vehicle’s undercarriage. “Do any of you know how to shoot a gun?”
“I do,” Kira said.
“Great,” Murphy said as she unholstered the deceased agent’s gun. She handed Kira the weapon and showed her where the safety was. “Once I check things out, I’ll return and get you. If anyone else shows their face, shoot it.”
Kira nodded once. Murphy picked up the safety hammer and hit the center of the front windshield. She had to hit it three times, but it cracked like a spiderweb on the third strike. Agent Murphy positioned herself against the passenger side seat to give her leverage to kick the windshield out. She peeled back the half at street level before crawling through the hole.
Ethan, Blayne and Kira sat huddled, trying to be as quiet as possible. Ethan was the first to see Agent Murphy shimmy herself back into the SUV.
“Dear God, it looks like Fallujah out there,” Murphy muttered. “Both sides have taken some pretty heavy damages. There’s a small building about fifty feet off the side of the road. I’m going to lay down fire, and I want you to run like your lives depend on it to the backside of the shed…because they do.”
They all nodded, then Agent Murphy helped them one by one to crawl out of the front window of the SUV. Ethan felt the gravel under his palms as he slid himself out of the window before he turned and helped drag Blayne out by pulling on Blayne’s good arm. Kira was inside, giving Blayne a push. Once Blayne was out and crouched behind the SUV, Kira shimmied her way out and waited for further instructions from Agent Murphy.
Ethan watched as Agent Murphy snuck her head around the corner of the SUV. She made eye contact with someone and shot some hand signals Ethan couldn’t understand. Once she was finished, Murphy joined the group.
“Thank God, Agent Harper is out there. He’s taking fire, but his vehicle is in better shape than ours. Not great, but their SUV just fishtailed from the looks of it, though there’s a nasty dent on one side. We’re going to lay down fire in that direction. When we do, you three are going to run like hell. Understand?”
Ethan, Blayne and Kira all shook their heads. Agent Murphy gave all three of them one final once-over before she said, “Good luck,” then slid back to the SUV’s edge.
Murphy raised herself into a shooter’s stance and pulled the trigger. That was their cue.
Like runners who had been waiting for the starting pistol at the beginning of a track meet, the three stood and took off running. Kira was first followed by Blayne, with Ethan picking up the rear. Blayne stumbled in front of him, so Ethan reached out to steady Blayne. Blayne over-corrected and fell back into Ethan, causing him to take a nosedive into the ground.
Blayne turned in horror as Ethan looked at him and yelled, “Run!” Ethan lifted himself when dirt nearby hit him in the face. It took his brain a moment to realize the shooting dirt was from a bullet lodged into the ground next to him.
