Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3 (8 page)

             
"Did he get out?"
she implored, wondering if they had got the second machine gun wielding Vampire.

"No!"
Aurora shouted back.
"He's still in there!"

              Fire couldn't kill a Vampire, but it could certainly mess one up, and she knew wherever this guy had gone, he would be in excruciating pain, thinking irrationally, and hell-bent on retaliation. She couldn't go up the stairs because of the fire, but she decided to wait a few more moments, despite the fact that Cale was now engaged in heavy gunfire to her left, over by the Hummer.

             
"Aaron! This isn't working!"
She hadn't put much thought to whether or not it was appropriate to contact him for help, under the circumstances. It had just come naturally. She was almost positive he had created whatever explosive had been hurled into the top floor. Right now, he was the only person she trusted.

             
"Do you want me to come in?"
he asked, his voice even and calm as always.

              She hesitated. She had called out to him privately so no one else knew. She didn't want to give up on Cale, not yet, but she was afraid they were in over their heads. Before she could answer, the Vampire from the top of the stairs came roaring at her, completely engulfed in flames and charging more quickly than she had ever seen a bloodsucker move. He was literally flying at her. Instinctively, she began to shoot, realizing that, even if she killed him, those flames would have to go somewhere. She fired several times, fairly certain she had inflicted some mortal wounds, and then rolled out of the way, taking cover behind a crate near the landing. She peeked around the corner just in time to see an explosion of ash and flames as the vanishing Vampire snuffed himself out.

              She didn't have time to exhale, however, as it became very apparent that the shootout behind her was way out of hand. She leapt to her feet, located Cale, and made her way to where he was crouched behind a crate.
"Stay down!"
he yelled at her
. "I've already been hit twice."

"Shit!"
she replied, unwilling to test his healing powers just then. "
Quit firing!"
she directed, pulling on his arm.

             
"What?"
Why?"
he asked.

             
"Just stop!"
she insisted.
"They're going to be coming your way in a Hummer!"
she warned Aaron.

             
"I'm ready for them,"
he replied, his voice still serene.

             
"Well, wait for me!"
she shouted back. She knew she couldn't safely get up until the vehicle had exited the building, so she continued in her crouched position as she heard car doors opening and slamming. Then, another thought occurred to her.
"Aurora? You still in front of that cargo door out front?"

             
"Yeah."

             
"Move!"

              "Huh?"

She didn't have time to repeat herself as the screech of the tires fighting for traction on top of heaps of paper and shards of wood peeled through the night. The trio of Vampires took off, the driver gunning it and piling through several crates and pieces of old furniture before smashing into the cargo door, ripping it from it's pulley.

Cadence could see through her IAC that Aurora had gotten clear of the vehicle. Without so much as a word to Cale, she took off, realizing the window would be her quickest exit point. She hurled herself through it, tucking into a tight ball, shattering the glass, but landing mid-stride. Aaron had the door open for her, but he didn't wait until she closed it before taking off behind the Hummer.

              "Where are they?" she asked, pulling the door shut, not seeing the other vehicle in front of them.

              "They just turned left up here, headed toward the freeway, I assume," he replied.

              She took a deep breath, attempting to regain her composure. She still had both of her Glocks, but glancing around, she saw a Beretta propped between the seats. Pulling it out, she inspected it, making sure it was loaded and ready to fire. They rounded the corner and the gray Hummer came into view not too far in the distance, headed toward the on ramp. It wouldn't take long for the Aventador to catch up to them.

"Have you ever done this before?" he asked, driving in excess of 100 miles per hour with one hand as he reloaded his Glock with the other.

              "Killed Vampires?" she asked sarcastically. "A few times."

"No, shot from a moving vehicle," he replied as they came within a few yards of the other automobile.

              "No, but I've seen all of the
Fast and Furious
movies," she stated, rolling down her window.

              "Try to hit the Vampires, obviously, but if you can't, the tires or the gas tank also work," he explained, glancing over at her.

"The last thing I need is another fireball Vampire," she muttered. She pulled herself most of the way out the window, though she was still inside from the waist down and as they neared the back end of the Hummer, she began to fire.

"Cadence, be careful!" Aaron warned, wishing he could trade her places.

"If I fall, I won't die, right?" she asked between shots.

              "No, but it won't feel good."

"What doesn't kill ya makes you stronger...." They neared the driver's side window and the Vampire in the back opened fire. It was not a machine gun this time, at least, just a hand gun. Nevertheless, Cadence ducked back inside, fear of getting shot temporarily quelling her bravado.

              Aaron slowed down a little bit, partially to give her time to regroup and partially because they were approaching another car. He glanced over at her and could tell she was ready to try again, so he cleared the uninvolved minivan and accelerated.

              "Any advice?" she asked, pulling herself back out the window.

"Yeah, don't get shot," he replied. She snickered, so he elaborated. "Take out that guy in the back first. The driver is going to have a hard time shooting at you, and so is the passenger. You know they aren't going to be able to aim well under these circumstances."

              "Neither am I."

              "Sure you are just... be ... careful...."

Clearly, she wasn't listening. She was completely out the window now, only the heels of her purple boots resting inside the vehicle. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Killing Vampires," she replied, the calmness back in her voice. She couldn't think about the fact that she was balanced on a thin window sill traveling at 120 miles per hour. As they closed in on the back window again, she found her new position much more conducive to directing her fire. Granted, she was also much more receptive to return fire, but if she got her shots off fast enough, it wouldn't matter.

              Even the Vampires looked shocked at her new stance. She relished shooting the one in the backseat right between the eyes as he gawked at her, fumbling with the trigger.

              Somehow, the driver managed to get a few shots off, however, and she felt a bullet whiz by near her side. It was enough to make her lurch to the right, causing her to temporarily lose her balance. She bent her knees and corrected, but Aaron saw her wobbling and slowed the vehicle down, allowing them to drive out of her range once again.

              "Shit, Cadence, get in here," he implored. "You're scaring the hell out of me."

              Despite her innate desire to argue with everything he said, she agreed that she was possibly taking an unnecessary risk. She'd gotten three of them, however, and she was determined to get the other two.

              As soon as she began to pull herself back inside, she felt his hand on her leg, attempting to make sure she didn't fall out of the car, but the contact didn't go unnoticed, and she couldn't decide whether to embrace it or slap him away. Once she was back inside, he let go of her and picked up his gun, which he had temporarily stashed in the cup holder.

              "Damn it, I wish we could switch places," he muttered. "They could shoot me all freaking day, and it wouldn't matter."

              "Let's do it," she replied, already making the move before he had time to respond. She stashed the Berretta back where she had found it and watched as he set the cruise control. "Over or under?" she asked.

He was momentarily confused. "Who over? Who under?" She didn't give him a chance to answer that either. She placed her left hand on the steering wheel and wedged her left leg across him between his leg and the door. Realizing her technique as her ass flashed before his face, he avoided the distraction and pulled himself up and to the right, as she slid into the driver's seat. "Any contact there was purely incidental," he said, once he was mostly in the passenger's seat. She punched him in the leg, possibly harder than she had intended to, and flicked the cruise control off. Somehow, they had managed to keep the car mostly in the correct lane and the Hummer was now only a few hundred yards in front of them.

              "What's the sitch?" she asked as he double-checked the Beretta.

              "Taking out the driver," he answered.

              She nodded and concentrated on getting the car in such a position so that he could easily do just that. She knew he was probably an even better shot than she was, so she just needed to hold her line and try not to get shot herself.

Aaron also preferred the Beretta, so he holstered his Glock and grabbed the larger weapon. He didn't attempt the acrobatics he had just seen displayed on the window sill. He did pull himself out of the car a bit but only enough to steady his aim. As Cadence pulled next to the vehicle, he carefully aimed at the driver. The Vampire in the driver's seat was a burly, older man who looked like he may have been a biker in his human days. Despite his girth, he was doing a good job of keeping out of Aaron's crosshairs. He fired once, but the driver jerked the wheel in an attempt to ram the Aventador. Cadence saw it coming and swerved out of the way. The Vampire seemed to think this was a good technique, however, so he employed it a few more times, each time getting a bit closer.

              "What do you want me to do?" Cadence asked, not sure whether letting the Hummer ram them would cause her to lose control at this speed.

              "Hold your line," Aaron replied, still taking aim. The passenger had opened fire now, shooting around the driver. His aim was poor, but Aaron had to consider a stray bullet could potentially hit Cadence. He needed to end this now. As the Hummer came lurching at them again, Cadence followed directions and kept the car pointed straight. This actually helped Aaron aim, as his target grew closer, and he was able to shoot the driver in the side of the head, causing his skull to explode in a puff of ash.

              However, the driver was still pulling to the left when he began to vaporize. The Hummer continued to careen into the Aventador, the passenger unable to correct the course in time. "Swerve! Swerve!" Aaron directed, as he pulled himself back into the car.

Cadence had already started to take evasive action once she realized he had landed the shot. However, it wasn't in time, and the Aventador began to slide, fishtailing as it went, and she knew she was losing control. The Hummer slid into the side of the Lamborghini, brushing against the sports car slightly as it continued to plow across three lanes and into the median. The Aventador was following close behind.

              Aaron grabbed the wheel, and Cadence let him have it. They were approaching a small copse of trees between the north and south bound lanes, and she braced herself for impact. In front of her, she saw the Hummer crash into a tall tree, its speed still nearly what it had been during the chase, the engine immediately catching fire. She was aware that, if their car met a similar fate, she wouldn't die, but every ounce of her body knew this was going to hurt.

              Just before they reached the trees, Aaron shifted the car into neutral, turned the wheel the other direction, and Cadence instinctively slammed her foot down on the brake. The car spun the opposite way before Aaron corrected it. It came to rest just inches from the trunks of the trees.

She didn't realize he had his right arm braced against her until they had completely stopped. Clearly, he had been trying to protect her from the airbag. They locked eyes, and she finally let the breath out she'd been holding for the entire skid.

              She opened her mouth, intending to say thank you, when she realized there was one last Vampire. It had been a hard impact, and it appeared that the flames had actually reached the cab, but that did not stop the skinny thug from throwing open the passenger door and charging the Aventador, which had come to a stop approximately fifteen yards away.

              "Shit!" she exclaimed, realizing she had another flaming Vampire to contend with. He was now unarmed, which was a plus, but he was also extremely angry. He came rushing at them almost as quickly as his companion had flown down the stairs.