Chapter 11 - The Highway Pursuit
The Escalade's supercharged engine screamed as Marcus slammed the accelerator to the floor, launching the heavy vehicle away from the curb just as a volley of high-velocity rounds shattered the pavement where they had been standing a second earlier.
"Hold on!" Marcus roared, spinning the steering wheel into a hairpin turn that sent the SUV sliding sideways onto the interstate on-ramp.
Elena grabbed the overhead handle, her knuckles turning white as she watched two sleek black sedans charge up the ramp behind them, their tinted windows hiding the shooters inside. The digital dashboard flashed red as warning sensors detected an incoming radar lock from a pursuing drone overhead.
"They're painting us with target acquisition," Elena yelled over the roar of the wind rushing through a cracked window pane.
"They're trying to force us off the elevated bypass," Marcus said, his muscles locked tight as he fought the steering wheel against the high-speed crosswinds. "Keep your eyes on the exit sign for Route 9. We need to ditch this vehicle before they deploy the rolling roadblock."
"Ditch the car? At ninety miles an hour?" Elena shrieked, watching the speedometer climb higher.
"Look at the digital toll plaza coming up!" Marcus pointed ahead through the windshield, where a row of closed automated toll booths blocked the highway. "We're going to break through the gate and hit the industrial access road!"
Before Elena could protest, Marcus aimed the heavy SUV directly at the bright yellow concrete barrier of the closed toll booth. The Escalade hit the reinforced plastic arm with a deafening crash, splintering it into a thousand flying shards of yellow fiberglass as it vaulted through the toll plaza and bounced heavily onto the gravel access road below.
The pursuing sedans slammed on their brakes, unable to make the same reckless trajectory without flipping their chassis, falling back hundreds of yards in a cloud of thick white dust.
Marcus let out a ragged breath, easing off the throttle as they sped down the quiet, tree-lined industrial road. "That bought us ten minutes. No more."
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Elena reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her smartphone, watching in horror as the screen flickered, went black, and then automatically rebooted, displaying a terrifying new message across the home screen: Your location has been broadcast to all local units. Turn yourself in.
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