Chapter 12 - The EMP Ambush on the Highway
The interior of the federal transport vehicle plunged into total darkness as the localized electromagnetic pulse fried every electronic circuit within a fifty-meter radius. The engine sputtered and died instantly, the dashboard lights flickering out like dying stars.
Agent Miller groaned, pushing himself off the floorboards and pulling his service weapon from its holster with practiced speed.
"Are you hit?" Miller asked urgently, scanning Victoria in the dim amber glow cast by the abyssal silk dress's glowing LED lights.
"I'm fine," Victoria breathed, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked through the shattered side window. The tactical-masked figure outside was marching purposefully toward the passenger door, holding a heavy pneumatic breaching tool in his right hand.
"They're not here for the trial," Victoria realized, her voice hardening with sudden, steely resolve. "They're here to make sure I never reach the courtroom."
Agent Miller didn't hesitate. He kicked open the jammed back door, bracing his boots against the wet asphalt.
"Stay behind me, Ms. Sterling. We're getting to the ridge line," Miller ordered, raising his firearm toward the advancing assailant.
Before Miller could fire, a sharp crack echoed across the highway. A heavy metal projectile zipped through the air, striking the guardrail inches from Miller's shoulder and forcing him to take cover behind the disabled transport car.
"We're pinned down!" Miller shouted over the roaring wind of the coastal storm rolling in from the Atlantic.
Suddenly, the roar of a heavily modified engine broke through the storm. A matte-black vintage Ford pickup truck tore through the gap in the highway divider, kicking up a massive spray of rainwater. The passenger side door swung open, revealing Martha’s scarred face beneath a heavy waterproof hood, her robotic eyes glowing with an intense, blinding sapphire light.
"Get in!" Martha yelled over the storm, her voice cutting through the chaos with mechanical clarity.
Victoria didn't hesitate for a single second. Ignoring the heavy layers of the abyssal silk dress, she scrambled across the wet asphalt and vaulted into the passenger seat of the truck. Agent Miller covered her retreat, firing three warning shots at the advancing tactical operative before diving into the truck bed as David slammed on the gas pedal.
The pickup truck surged forward, smashing through a plastic construction barrier and careening down an unpaved coastal access road just as the tactical operative raised his weapon to fire again.
As the truck bounced violently over the rocky terrain, Victoria looked back through the rear window, panting for breath.
"How did you find us?" Victoria asked, turning to Martha, who was calmly monitoring a ruggedized satellite tracker on the dashboard.
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"We didn't find you, Victoria," Martha replied, her robotic eyes reflecting the flashing red dot of another distress signal on the screen. "We tracked the signal of the other survivors. And they are closer than you think."
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