“Guide me!” I shout.
“Target vehicle has stopped,” Varro says. “They have her, Cassian. They’re loading her in. You’re too late.”
“Open the service gate!” I shout. “Clear my path!”
“Cassian, don’t?—”
“Open it!”
I keep my foot pinned to the floor. The world blurs into streaks of rain and darkness. I’m doing ninety on a winding driveway designed for twenty. The trees are black blurs, rushing past like ink. The suspension rattles as I hit a dip, the car bottoming out, sparks flying.
I see the turn.
Jabbing the brake, I throw the wheel and the car drifts, sliding sideways across the wet turf, tearing up the manicured lawn. Mud sprays the windows. I correct the skid, punching the gas again. The headlights cut through the dark.
There.
Two hundred yards ahead. A black SUV. It’s turned around, facing the exit. The brake lights are red slits in the rain.
The back door slams shut.
If that car gets past the wall, she’s dead. She’s a loose end, and the Judge sent the scissors.
Not tonight.
The speedometer climbs.70. 80.
The SUV driver sees me. He flashes his high beams, blinding me, and guns the engine.
This motherfucker thinks he can beat me to the highway.
I aim the reinforced grill of the G-Wagon directly at his front wheel. He yanks the steering wheel to the left, trying to dodge. The SUV’s tires hit the raised earth of the embankment, tilting the truck’s center of gravity.
Perfect.
I brace myself.
Impact in 3... 2...
I slam the brakes. The nose of the truck dips, shifting the four tons of momentum forward.
CRUNCH.
The collision is violent. The G-Wagon's heavy steel acts like a battering ram against the tilting SUV. I hit the vehicle just behind the front tire.
The force launches the SUV into the air. It tips, teetering on two wheels, then crashes to the ground on its side with a deafening, earth-shaking boom. It slides across the wet asphalt, sparks showering the night, before slamming into the stone wall of the perimeter.
My car spins out, the front end crushed. Steam hisses from the radiator in a white cloud. I collide with the embankment.
The airbag deploys, punching me in the face.
Darkness washes over me for a second. Then pain. Sharp and bright.
The seatbelt locks, biting into my shoulder with the force of a sledgehammer. The world spins, a chaotic blur of shattered safety glass and hissing engine coolant. My ears ring with a high-pitched, sustained whine that drowns out the storm outside.
I blink against the stinging dust, forcing my brain to reboot. I’m dazed. I spit blood, clearing my airway. I push the deflating bag aside to kick the door open and stumble out into the rain.
The world is tilting. My nose is broken, but I push the pain down. There isn’t time for it.
