Highway To Armageddon (37 page)

           
“This is actually easier than I thought it’d be,” Boom Boom says, waving to the
Hispanic woman and African American girl as they fly off in a car with a Jewish
man and a gypsy.

           
“I know,” I say. “It’s a little too easy if you ask---”

           
I’m interrupted by a blaring siren. Spotlights materialize in the sky and spin
around in circles.

           
“What the hell?” Machete shouts. I can barely hear her over the siren.

           
We all turn to find the guard leaning against the factory wall, his hand
gripping an alarm handle. In all the excitement of the jail break we forgot to
keep an eye on him.

           
“You fools,” the guard cackles. “Now you will pay for your betrayal of the
Aryan ra—ARGH!”

           
We never hear what the guard was going to say because Arrow sends a poisoned
arrow hurtling into his heart.

           
“Damn, I only have two arrows left,” Arrow grumbles.

           
“We can stop for weapons in Alaska,” Boom Boom says, ushering the last few
prisoners into the last vehicle.

           
“Doesn’t look like there are any cars left for us,” Machete observes.

           
“That’s okay, Krystal can come get us.” I pull her up on my goggles and shout,
“Krystal, get your ass over here NOW!”

           
Krystal pops into view. “On my way. Should be there in about a minute.’

           
Dorothy pops up with her gun. “Yeah Lance, you can count on us!”

           
Krystal shoves the gun out of her face. “What did I tell you about aiming that
thing at me?”

           
Krystal and Dorothy fizzle out of view.

           
“They’ll be here in a minute!” I shout to the others.

           
“I don’t think we have a minute.” Boom Boom points to the dozens of Klansmen
and Neo-Nazis rushing toward the front gate, armed with machine guns and
swords. They stop to make sure the gate isn’t electrified, then kick it open
and rush inside, their weapons aimed directly at us.

           
“Fall back to the renewable energy factory!” Boom Boom hollers.

           
We all follow after her into the factory. We jump behind some solar panel
assembly lines in the center. Boom Boom and I crouch behind the assembly line
facing the front door. Machete and Arrow face the back. Boom Boom hands them
some of her extra weapons since they’re pretty much unarmed.

           
“Aw man, I hate guns,” Arrow gripes.

           
“Shut up and shoot!” Boom Boom hollers.

           
Almost on cue, a swarm of Klansmen and Neo-Nazis burst through the front door,
their guns a-blazing. Boom Boom and I unload a barrage of artillery, forcing
the Nazis to dive for cover behind assembly lines and piles of spare windmill
parts. I assume the Nazis have started coming through the back door because
Machete and Arrow begin firing as well.

           
We continue this crazy shootout for the next 30 seconds or so, firing off shots
and dropping back to the floor to avoid incoming artillery. Matters are
complicated by the fact that the Nazis on the opposite side of the factory are
firing at Machete and Arrow, and of course when they duck that leaves our backs
exposed. Boom Boom is actually hit in the back by one of those shots. Thankfully
the bullet hits her armor.

           
We manage to hit a few Nazis, but most of our shots miss. And more of the Nazis
keep pouring into the factory despite the fact we’re firing through the door.
Some of the Nazis dive from assembly line to assembly line, getting closer to
us with each passing second. Boom Boom tosses a flash and smoke grenade, but it
does little to stop the Nazi’s advance. We’re quickly becoming overwhelmed.

           
One of the Nazis suddenly races toward us, unloading his gun and screaming like
a lunatic. Several of his shots riddle Boom Boom’s bullet-proof vest, sending
her flat on her back.

           
“You bastard!” I shout, firing a shot directly at his chest. The Nazi spits up
blood, but his momentum keeps him moving forward. He doesn’t stop until he
collapses onto our assembly line. Blood oozes out of his mouth and onto the
ground next to us. I shove him off the assembly line, where he collapses to the
ground on the other side.

           
Boom Boom staggers back to her knees and continues shooting. She appears
rattled, but probably not as rattled as I was seeing that crazy Nazi charging
at us like a suicide bomber. If the rest of them do that, we’re screwed.

           
 And of course that’s
exactly
what the Nazis decide to do. The
Grand Wizard bursts through the door and shouts, “CHARGE!”

           
That’s the rallying cry that unleashes full-scale chaos. Dozens of Nazis leap
out of hiding and come at us like a stampede of cattle.

           
“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!” I cry, dropping down to avoid the bombardment of
bullets. Boom Boom and the others do the same.

           
I glance at Arrow and Machete. Even they look scared.

           
“Well guys, it’s been fun,” Machete says over the deafening roar of gunfire.

           
“At least we saved all those prisoners,” Boom Boom says solemnly.

           
I shake my head. I just can’t believe we’re going to meet our end like this…
torn apart by Nazis. As Boom Boom likes to say, un-freaking-believable.

           
And then, just when all seems lost, a shattering of glass signals our
salvation.

           
I look up as our stolen Chariot XX descends through the skylight. The four of
us cover our faces to protect them from the glass shards raining down on top of
us.

           
A monstrous explosion sends me and Boom Boom flying into Machete and Arrow. My
ears start ringing like crazy. I peer over the top of the assembly line and
gasp at the sight of the far end of the factory exploding in flames

           
I look up to find Dorothy hanging over the side of the car, clutching a
bazooka. Krystal, who is in the driver’s seat, points to the other side of the
factory. Dorothy aims her bazooka in that direction and fires. Another
concussive explosion sends Machete and Arrow flying into me and Boom Boom.

           
It takes a few seconds for us to regain our bearings. By the time we do,
Krystal lands the car in between the assembling lines and wildly flails her
arms.

           
“Get your asses in the car!”

           
She doesn’t have to tell us twice. We all scramble into the back, and Krystal
blasts into the sky.

           
I look down just as the Grand Wizard emerges from some burning rubble, looking
badly injured but very much alive. He points a machine gun at us and shouts something,
but I can’t hear him.

           
Before he can fire, I unload several shots. Two red dots appear through the
Grand Wizard’s white robes, right where his heart would be. The Wizard falls
flat on his back. Now he can join his beloved Adolf Hitler in Hell.

           
We quickly emerge from the flaming factory. The cool air is a stark contrast to
the hot flames down below. I lean back into my seat and breathe a sigh of
relief. I’m both exhausted and exhilarated at what we accomplished. We saved
over 300 people from genocide. We couldn’t save those three poor souls from
being lynched, but we made up for it by freeing hundreds of others.

           
“Thanks for the save, Krystal,” I gasp, struggling to catch my breath. “That
makes up for all the times you fell asleep on the job.”

           
“Actually she did fall asleep,” Dorothy says, still holding her smoking
bazooka. ‘I just happened to hear your voice through her goggles, so I woke her
up.”

           
“Why you gotta be a snitch?” Krystal snaps.

           
“Where did you get the bazooka?” Arrow asks.

           
“We found it in the trunk,” Dorothy explains.

           
“You look very badass with a bazooka,” I say.

           
“Really?” Dorothy gushes. “Thanks! You know, I think I could learn to like this
bounty hunter stuff.”

           
“Good, you can take my place,” Krystal gripes. “I’m getting too old for this
crap.”

           
Gunfire suddenly pings the side of our car. Everyone ducks as our few remaining
windows and mirrors shatter. An intense white light envelopes the entire car,
blinding us.

           
“Ah crap, they have a spotlight on us,” Krystal cries, struggling to keep the
car steady as bullets demolish the paint job.

           
I peer over the side of the car at the ground below. Hundreds of Klansmen and
Neo-Nazis are outside the gates of the internment camp, pointing their guns at
us. Dozens of orange flashes flitter in and out of existence. It’s a good thing
most of the Nazis are drunk, otherwise we’d be getting hit a lot more than we
are.

           
I glance over at the renewable energy factor, which by now is engulfed in a
raging inferno. Right next door to it is the armory. A light bulb goes off in
my head.

           
Krystal’s just about to take off when I holler, “Hang on a second!”

           
“Why, so we can die?” Krystal hollers as bullets whiz by.

           
“Give me your bazooka, Dorothy!”

           
“Er, okay,” she says, handing it to me.

           
I grab the bulky weapon and aim it at the armory.

           
“Lance, what are you doing?” Boom Boom asks frantically.

           
I squint my left eye to get a better view of my target. “Let’s just say I
recommend you all cover your ears.”

           
I ignore the bullets whizzing past my head, lock my sights on the open doorway
of the armory… and fire.

           
What happens next seems to occur in slow motion. A grenade explodes out of the
bazooka with such force that I nearly topple out of the car. Thankfully Boom
Boom has the presence of mind to grab the front of my Kevlar vest. I regain my
balance and watch as the missile streaks toward the armory, right through the
open doorway.   

           
Bulls-eye.

           
The explosion that follows is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard. A
monstrous fireball resembling a small nuclear detonation mushrooms high into
the sky. Even with us being hundreds of yards away, I still feel the scorching
heat. Seconds later there’s a deafening KA-BOOM that shatters windows all over
town.

           
After the first big explosion, hundreds of smaller ones go off as the fireball
detonates all the bombs, grenades, mines, gun cartridges, and piles of gun
powder stacked away in the armory. The fireball grows bigger and bigger until
it engulfs the entire internment camp. But the raging inferno doesn’t stop
there. The flames leap over the fence and spread from house to house. The Nazis
stop firing at us and run away from the advancing flames.

           
“Holy crap, Lance, you blew Dresden to Hell and back,” Machete cackles.

           
A small fireball explodes out of the inferno and narrowly misses our car.

           
“That’s it, I’m getting out of here. I don’t care what you crazy people say.”
Krystal slams on the accelerator and we zoom off toward the horizon. A cool
breeze blows through the shattered front windshield, whipping my hair into a
frenzy. I look out the back and watch as the flames quickly overtake a good
chunk of the town. Thick, black smoke billows into the sky, blotting out the
stars.

           
Boom Boom shakes her head in mild amusement. “What is up with us destroying all
these places we visit?”

           
“I don’t know, but I definitely like your guys’ style,” Machete says, still
laughing.

           
“So what do we do now?” Krystal asks.

           
Boom Boom pulls up a map on her goggles. “It looks like we’re only a day and a
half from New Las Vegas. I say we keep flying for a while, stop for a few hours
to get some shut-eye, and fly all day tomorrow. We should reach Vegas sometime
the following afternoon.”

           
“Sounds like a plan to me,” I say. “Mikhail Rasputin, ready or not, here we come.”

Chapter
Fourteen: Boom Boom

           
When the bright lights of New Las Vegas come into view, the first thing I say
is, “I can’t believe we actually made it. Over 3,000 miles in four and a half
days. Un-freaking-believable.”

           
The others mumble their agreement. We went through so much crap to get here,
but as soon as we left Dresden we barely had any problems at all. I’m not
complaining, of course. But I do get the feeling the lack of action has pulled
everyone into a false sense of security. We’ll have to snap out of that, and
fast
.
The most dangerous part of our mission is about to begin.