Chapter 5: The Ambush**
On Aurelio’s sixteenth birthday, Mateo broke his golden rule and personally drove his vintage sedan to take the young man out for his first real driving lesson. It was a crisp autumn afternoon, and for a few fleeting miles on the mountain highway, Mateo felt normal.
Suddenly, an armored flatbed truck blew through a red light at an intersection, t-boning the rear quarter of Mateo’s car.
The impact sent them spinning off the asphalt into a shallow ditch. Smoke hissed from the radiator. Mateo’s military training took over instantly; he kicked open his jammed door, drew a concealed sidearm, and shielded Aurelio with his own body as masked gunmen exited two chasing SUVs.
Gunfire echoed across the empty mountain pass. Mateo fired back with cold, surgical precision, dropping two attackers before taking a bullet to the shoulder.
"Get behind the embankment, Aurelio! Run!" Mateo shouted, reloading with one hand.
Instead of running, Aurelio grabbed a fallen tire iron from the shattered trunk. When a third gunman flanked Mateo’s blind spot, Aurelio lunged without hesitation, striking the assailant’s weapon arm and buying Mateo the split second he needed to neutralize the threat.
May you like
Sirens wailed in the distance. The remaining attackers scattered into the hills.
---
