A SACRIFICE WRITTEN IN THE COLD

The sudden braking maneuver caused Cole’s SUV to sideswipe the pickup with a deafening screech of crumpling sheet metal. The two vehicles locked together at seventy miles per hour, sliding across the wet steel grating of the Black River suspension bridge. Sparks sprayed into the black air like fireworks as the trucks scraped along the reinforced concrete guardrail.

"Vance! Take the wheel!" Mateo shouted, unbuckling his harness.

"What are you doing?"

"Ending this!"

Mateo kicked open the driver's door, leaning out into the howling slipstream of wind and rain. The black SUV was grinding against them, only inches away. Through the passenger window, Cole was frantically reloading his launcher. Mateo drew his backup weapon—a compact .45 caliber pistol—and fired three hollow-point rounds directly into the SUV's front left tire.

The tire disintegrated instantly. The SUV dipped sharply, its steel rim catching an expansion joint in the bridge deck. The massive vehicle flipped violently onto its roof, rolling four times across the bridge lanes in an explosive cloud of shattered safety glass, motor oil, and severed metal.

Vance regained control of the pickup, sliding to a halt thirty yards past the wreckage. The SUV lay upside down against the bridge railing, smoke and fire pouring from its crushed engine block.

"Stay here," Mateo ordered, grabbing a tactical shotgun from the passenger footwell and stepping out onto the wet bridge deck.

He approached the burning vehicle with his weapon raised. Through the cracked windshield, Cole was crawling out of the crushed cabin, dragging his shattered legs across the pavement. His face was soaked in blood, his breathing a wet, ragged gasp.

"You're too late, Cruz," Cole wheezed, spitting crimson onto the asphalt. "Sterling’s team... they’re already at the depot. The child is already on the table."

"Where is the master key?" Mateo demanded, pressing the shotgun muzzle to Cole’s chest.

Cole coughed out a sickening laugh, opening his blood-soaked palm to reveal a crushed electronic memory drive. "Nobody gets the cure... nobody gets the money. We all burn."