Chapter 13
The thick, acrid grey smoke filled room twelve within seconds, burning their eyes and catching in their throats with a suffocating bitterness.
"Keep low! Cover your mouths!" Jax coughed, sweeping his arm out to guide Sarah and Leo toward the small bathroom at the back of the suite.
Heavy boots thudded against the wooden walkway outside, accompanied by muffled shouts and the unmistakable sound of a breaching charge being primed against the front door.
"Go, go, go!" Jax urged, shoving open the bathroom door and boosting Leo through the narrow frosted-glass window first.
Leo scrambled through into the cool, rainy night air, grabbing the rungs of the rusted metal maintenance ladder bolted to the exterior wall.
"I got him!" Jax shouted back into the room through a fit of coughing. "Sarah, climb!"
Sarah grabbed the window sill, her weak arms trembling as she tried to pull herself up, her breath coming in ragged, painful gasps.
Jax stepped up behind her, placing his massive hands beneath her waist and effortlessly lifting her through the window into the alleyway just as the front door of the motel room blew inward with a tremendous, deafening explosion.
Splintered wood and shrapnel flew across the room as three heavily armed operatives in full tactical gear poured through the smoke, their automatic rifles raised.
Jax spun around, diving behind the overturned double bed for cover as a hail of bullets chewed through the mattress, sending feathers exploding into the air like a snowstorm.
"He's in the back! Flush him out!" a gruff voice shouted over the din of gunfire.
Jax didn't hesitate. He leaned out from behind the mattress and fired two rapid shots, catching the lead operative in the shoulder and sending him crashing backward into his teammate.
Throwing his empty pistol aside, Jax turned and vaulted headfirst through the small bathroom window just as a fresh wave of automatic gunfire shredded the porcelain sink behind him.
He landed hard in the muddy alleyway, rolling over gravel to absorb the impact before jumping immediately to his feet.
Sarah and Leo were already halfway down the rusted metal ladder, their forms silhouetted against the flickering neon sign of the highway in the distance.
"Down! Keep moving!" Jax yelled, grabbing the bottom rungs of the ladder and pulling them upward to prevent immediate pursuit, tossing the metal section out of reach into the deep mud.
From the second-floor window above, Vance peered down into the alley through the drifting smoke, his face twisted in a mask of pure rage.
"You can't run forever, Jax!" Vance screamed into the rain. "The whole state is locked down!"
Jax ignored him, grabbing Sarah by the arm to help her steady her unsteady steps as they plunged deeper into the dark, winding maze of industrial alleys behind the motel.
"Where... where are we going?" Sarah gasped, clutching her side as severe pain racked her body.
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"The old rail yard," Jax said, pulling her closer against his side to support her weight while keeping Leo safely tucked under his other arm. "There’s an old freight train heading north out of the county in ten minutes. It’s our only way out."
They sprinted through the pouring rain, the sound of shouting guards and barking dogs fading behind them as they plunged into the dark, industrial heart of the forgotten town.
