"Mrs. Morozov!" Lev twists, looking back at me. "Are you hit? Check yourself."
I unbuckle with shaking hands and drop onto the side window. "I... I'm okay. I'm okay."
"Get down!" Lev commands. "Floor! Now!"
I scramble into the footwell, covering my head. My heart drums against my ribs.
"Are we safe?" I ask, tracing the cracks in the windshield. "You said it was a tank. You said nothing could get in."
"Nothing can," Lev says, scanning the side mirrors. "The glass holds against rounds. We sit tight. I'm calling the Quick Reaction Force. They’ll be here in twenty minutes."
He reaches for the radio.
Thwack.
A heavy thud hits the roof.
I look up. The impact didn't just spin us; it twisted the chassis. The Sentinel is tough, but the torque of the crash warped the frame.
Light pokes through. There’s a gap.
Near the roofline, the door frame has buckled. The airtight seal is broken. There’s a jagged, two-inch opening to the outside world.
"Lev," I whisper, pointing. "The seal."
He glances up, face tightening.
"Contact left! Six tangos!" the rear guard shouts. "They aren't shooting! They have jerry cans!"
I peek through the shattered glass. Men in black tactical gear run toward the car. They aren't firing guns. They are splashing liquid over the hood, the vents, and onto the warped door frame.
The smell hits me instantly.
Gasoline.
"Fuel!" Lev screams. "They're burning us out!"
A lighter flickers in the hand of one of the attackers. He tosses it casually onto the hood.
Whoosh.
Flames erupt over the windshield. The orange fire licks up the glass, hungry, seeking the oxygen inside.
"The vents!" Andrei yells, hacking. "Smoke is coming in!"
The fire heats the metal hull in seconds. The temperature spikes as the vehicle transforms from a fortress to a blast furnace.
Thick, black smoke curls through the gap in the roof.
"Masks!" Lev shouts. "Mask up!"
"The compartment is jammed!" the rear guard shouts, kicking the locker under the seat. "The crash buckled the latch! I can't get them out!"
I cover my mouth with my sleeve, but it does nothing. Every breath burns as my eyes water.
"Lev!" I choke out. "I can't... It's hot."
The leather seats reek of burning chemicals. All the while, the temperature rises. We're sitting inside a steel oven.
