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.” Bark looked once more out the door and back to Emilie.“Ready?”“Yes.”Bark holstered the pistol and gently pushed the door open.She glanced from side to side and cautiously stepped into the street.“Let’s go.”Emilie clutched the shotgun against her body and followed.The street was slick with moisture but the rain had stopped.The air tasted of the sea and she savored it.The sea was freedom.They walked past empty apartment buildings and sealed storefronts.Most of them looked hastily shut up while others looked jammed open or bolted shut.Bark’s stride was confident, like she belonged.Emilie’s pace was short, stuttered, and she nearly stumbled at every step.“Relax,” Bark said casually over her shoulder.“I’m trying,” Emilie replied, still scared.The memories of the night before hadn’t faded.Bark glanced above her at the apartment buildings and smiled when she looked at Emilie.“Look pleasant.” Her eyes snapped up and back down to Emilie.“In case someone’s watching.”Emilie caught on and her eyes, involuntarily, darted up.A curtain moved above them while in another building she could see a silhouette.“They wouldn’t!”A loud screeching sounded from behind them and a light transport truck came into view.A white X was painted on the hood and in the back half a dozen men stood with rifles and shotguns.The truck stopped with a stuttering rumble and one of the men got out at the entrance gate to the processing facility.Bark grabbed Emilie and pulled her.“Faster!”A voice cried out and a horn sounded.Emilie stumbled and the shotgun clattered to the ground.Fear raced through her and she could sense them behind her.The sound of the truck accelerating burned into her skull.She grabbed the weapon in her wet fingers and broke into a run after Bark.They ran around the corner with the sounds of the gear drive humming behind them.A small transport truck, the sort that would carry a daily delivery, was parked askew beneath an alloy awning.Bark opened the back and ran around and jumped into the driver’s seat.Emilie crawled into the rear and shut the door about the same time Bark stabbed the throttle.The sound of a rising gear was punctuated with the release of a capacitor, and the vehicle lurched forward.Emilie lost her balance and rolled onto the floor.She clambered back up and was tossed to one side.A crack sounded, followed by a thud.She poked her head up and looked out the rear window.She shrieked and saw the corrosion pitted grill of the pursuing truck a meter away from the transport.She fell back onto the floor and the grill crashed into them and slammed the vehicle forward.The entire back door crumbled forward and the plastic window tumbled to the floor.“Shoot the fucker!” Bark yelled.Emilie grabbed the gun and braced herself against the wall, pushed the barrel out the empty window frame, and squeezed.Nothing.The truck slammed on the brakes.The front end wobbled and the men in the back pitched from side to side.“Fuckin’ safety!” Bark screamed.Emilie looked down and flipped the little black lever.She pointed it once again and opened fire.The round exploded out in a puff of gray smoke that tasted like a bad barbeque.Pock marks stained the front of the truck with a slender filament hanging like a spiderweb on the front of the vehicle.A man grinned back and the truck raced forward.“Wait ‘til he’s close for fuck’s sake!”Empty streets blew past.Emilie tucked back down and heard another thud, followed by a second.The dull rumbling was louder and most definitely not thunder.She couldn’t place the sound, almost like someone was dropping trucks onto a road.She squeezed the weapon tight and braced herself for another shot.“Hold on!” Bark yelled.The truck slammed sideways and the tires chattered on the wet pavement.The chase truck slammed the brakes and wobbled on two wheels before bouncing down and surging forward again.Emilie felt blood running down her face and tasted it on her lips.She grabbed the Krieghof shotgun and popped up.She punched the barrel through the opening and squinted through a drop of blood.The chase truck was almost on them.She could see the eyes of the man driving it and saw a look of concern spread across his face.Then she pulled the trigger.A wad of filament with a core of tungsten slammed into the plastic windshield and sliced through it.Filament exploded out inside of the cab and ricocheted off the window.Each individual piece had enough energy for a single slice, but when coupled with a hundred meters worth of carbon fiber.the driver was a bloody mess and the truck tipped sideways [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]