“How far to the highway?” Madisonasked.
Sean quickly cut across two lanes to take a right turn. “Couple ofminutes.”
If they ignored all the rules of traffic, the red lights, and one-way streets, then yes, a couple of minutes. Sean eyed the chrono onthedash.
Yeah. Ahellishcouple ofminutes.
Madison cocked her head to the side, listening intently. It was a few seconds before Sean heard the sirens in the distance. She raised an eyebrow athim. “Cops.”
“Great. Just what we need. Any chance the MDF can warnthemoff?”
“I’ll checkwithbase.”
Sean let her handle the comms again while he kept his attention on the road ahead. He’d never been so grateful for the tactical mobility training he’d gone through at the CIA and MDF in his life. That didn’t mean their escapewaseasy.
Because itwasn’t.
Cutting through traffic, taking corners on two wheels at times, and letting Trevor telekinetically drag all four wheels back to earth while dodging the occasional burst of gunfire was enough crazed excitement to give him a heart attack. But getting out of the line of fire motivated Sean like nothing else, which meant he never took his hands off thewheel.
They were halfway to the highway onramp that was their next destination when four cop cars came barreling around the corner two blocks aheadofthem.
“Aw,fuck,” Sean snarled. “Do they knowwe’reMDF?
“Apparently the local police aren’t happy with what’s going on and are refusing to listen,”Madisonsaid.
“Oh really?” Trevor said derisively from the backseat. “Someone’s getting firedafterthis.”
Sean mentally recalculated their route, saw the cop cars ahead on the street, and made a split-second decision that had everyone sliding over their seats as he yanked the wheel to the left. The SUV spun out in an arc, wheels squealing over asphalt as he got them pointed in the direction of a parking garage entrance of a businessbuilding.
Bullets slammed against the reinforced plas-glass window, impact circles marring his view. The attack didn’t come from the cops, not unless cops were driving undercover vehicles and authorized to shoot military-gradeweapons.
Sean gunned the engine, slamming through the flimsy gate to the garage and into the cavernous space. He followed the glowing holographic signs that pointed to the exit on the opposite side of the building. The loudpopthat came after the latest barrage slamming the rear of the SUV shuddered through the vehicle. The SUV jerked and lost traction for an instant, damage assessment coming up red onthedash.
“Lost a rear tire,” Madison announced grimly as she brought up the emergency mode. “Initiating emergencytraction.”
Most military-grade vehicles could lose a couple of tires and still function adequately enough. The rims would expand, folding out metal ridges that would give them enough grip to keep driving. They wouldn’t be able to drive at top speed, but considering the weight of passengers they were dealing with, Sean figured that was anacceptableloss.
They punched through the pay gate at the other exit, the SUV skidding into the street as Sean kept them on the move. He rerouted them back to the main avenue that was their route to the highway, Declan’s people still ontheirtail.
“Oh,fuckthis,” Madison said as she twisted around in her seat. “Bones, Give metheAKR.”
Trevor dutifully hauled out an AKR-75 assault rifle from under the middle seat, passing it over to her. Madison braced the rifle buttstock against her shoulder, holding onto the headrest of her seat with her left hand forbalance.
“Can you phase me and drive at the same time?” sheasked.
In response, Sean took his hand off the wheel and gripped her belt with tight fingers. He split his attention between the road and Madison as he pushed his phase power through her body. Her upper body went intangible, the rest of her remained solid to compensate for the traveling speed. Sean was keenly aware of the transition area in her body as his power flowedthroughher.
Madison got her feet underneath her and stood up on the front passenger seat, disappearing through the roof ofthecar.
“Bones, keep her steady!” Sean yelled as he cut throughtraffic.
Bones leaned forward and wrapped an arm around the back of Madison’s thighs, keeping her pinned totheseat.
“Oh my God,” Naomi said, sounding stricken. “You’re a metahuman. You got hit withSplice.”
“Not the time, Mom!” Sean snapped as he took a corner a little wider than he would’ve liked. Driving with one hand while being chased by the enemywasn’teasy.
Her background as a doctor meant she had a better understanding of Splice than the average person. Sean just didn’t have time to think about the horror in his mother’s voice, not when the people dogging their six were intent onkillingthem.
