dash and ripped out the panel underneath, exposing a cluster of wires.
Jim walked closer towards the opening of the garage. He started to smell something. It was faint and distant. Smoke? He thought to himself. When he stepped out onto the street, he saw plumes of smoke rising into the sky. The black pillars polluted the oranges and reds of the fading sunset-colored backdrop.
Looters were tossing lit torches and Molotov cocktails into stores along Main Street. Men with bandanas around their faces were tearing down stop signs and anything else they could with sheer muscle. The fires were spreading.
Twink kept twisting wires together and then there was a spark underneath the dash as the engine turned over and came to life.
“Got it!” Twink said.
They piled into the car when Hult and three of his men came barreling into the garage from the stairway door.
“Jim!” Brett said.
Jim whipped around and dropped behind a yellow parking pillar. He opened fire on Hult and his men. Bullets were sent back in retaliation, peppering the concrete around Jim.
Twink slowed down enough for Jim to hop in the truck bed and they took off. Twink took a right out of the garage away from the looters and headed for the highway. Samantha opened the small, sliding window of the truck.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” Jim said.
“Anyone know where we’re going now? Cuz we sure as hell can’t go back to the camp. Hult will have radioed what happened by now,” Brett said.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Jim.
“What are you talking about, Jim? You just shot at a Sergeant in the United States Military. That’s a federal offense. We’re all fugitives now,” Brett said.
“I think Hult is in on what’s been happening. I think he wants this,” Jim said pulling th drive out of his pocket. “He wants the drive so they can finish whatever it was they were planning. Matt told me he thought there was a high level lead in the military ranks. I think Locke and Hult are in on it.”
“Holy shit,” Twink said.
Annie smacked Twink on his shoulder.
“Sorry,” Twink replied.
“So how do we know if Hult and Locke are really in on it?” Brett asked.
“We check in on the base and we wait. If there isn’t a commotion, then we know Hult didn’t report us leaving, meaning he wants to find us himself. If there is, then we turn ourselves in and get the drive to Matt, so he can do find out who’s behind this,” Jim said.
“Fugitives on the run. My mom would be so proud,” Coyle said.
The truck drove off towards the falling sun as the fires began to spread across downtown Phoenix behind them.
Chapter 4
Jim used a pair of binoculars, but didn’t see any movement on the ground. The most activity he saw was of some troops sent to escort a group of firefighters into the city. There was a full blaze of fury in the distance. The smoke from the fires blanketed the night sky and the glow from the flames washed over the desert in an unearthly orange tinge.
Jim climbed back down the dune to where they were camped. Brett and Twink did an inventory of what ammo and supplies they had left while Annie sat curled in a ball in Samantha’s lap.
“Mommy, when can we go home?” Annie asked.
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” she responded.
Jim walked over to Coyle who was leaned up against the wheel of the truck with his eyes half closed. Jim slid down next to him.
“How are you doing?” Jim asked.
“I could use some of that mush right about now,” Coyle replied.
Jim rested his head back on the metal siding of the truck. The glow from the fires rose up above the dunes. The shadows from the city danced across his face. He wondered how many died for some mad man’s search for power.
“I can see why you got out. This job’s very high risk,” Coyle said.
“That’s not why I got
Jim walked closer towards the opening of the garage. He started to smell something. It was faint and distant. Smoke? He thought to himself. When he stepped out onto the street, he saw plumes of smoke rising into the sky. The black pillars polluted the oranges and reds of the fading sunset-colored backdrop.
Looters were tossing lit torches and Molotov cocktails into stores along Main Street. Men with bandanas around their faces were tearing down stop signs and anything else they could with sheer muscle. The fires were spreading.
Twink kept twisting wires together and then there was a spark underneath the dash as the engine turned over and came to life.
“Got it!” Twink said.
They piled into the car when Hult and three of his men came barreling into the garage from the stairway door.
“Jim!” Brett said.
Jim whipped around and dropped behind a yellow parking pillar. He opened fire on Hult and his men. Bullets were sent back in retaliation, peppering the concrete around Jim.
Twink slowed down enough for Jim to hop in the truck bed and they took off. Twink took a right out of the garage away from the looters and headed for the highway. Samantha opened the small, sliding window of the truck.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” Jim said.
“Anyone know where we’re going now? Cuz we sure as hell can’t go back to the camp. Hult will have radioed what happened by now,” Brett said.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Jim.
“What are you talking about, Jim? You just shot at a Sergeant in the United States Military. That’s a federal offense. We’re all fugitives now,” Brett said.
“I think Hult is in on what’s been happening. I think he wants this,” Jim said pulling th drive out of his pocket. “He wants the drive so they can finish whatever it was they were planning. Matt told me he thought there was a high level lead in the military ranks. I think Locke and Hult are in on it.”
“Holy shit,” Twink said.
Annie smacked Twink on his shoulder.
“Sorry,” Twink replied.
“So how do we know if Hult and Locke are really in on it?” Brett asked.
“We check in on the base and we wait. If there isn’t a commotion, then we know Hult didn’t report us leaving, meaning he wants to find us himself. If there is, then we turn ourselves in and get the drive to Matt, so he can do find out who’s behind this,” Jim said.
“Fugitives on the run. My mom would be so proud,” Coyle said.
The truck drove off towards the falling sun as the fires began to spread across downtown Phoenix behind them.
Chapter 4
Jim used a pair of binoculars, but didn’t see any movement on the ground. The most activity he saw was of some troops sent to escort a group of firefighters into the city. There was a full blaze of fury in the distance. The smoke from the fires blanketed the night sky and the glow from the flames washed over the desert in an unearthly orange tinge.
Jim climbed back down the dune to where they were camped. Brett and Twink did an inventory of what ammo and supplies they had left while Annie sat curled in a ball in Samantha’s lap.
“Mommy, when can we go home?” Annie asked.
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” she responded.
Jim walked over to Coyle who was leaned up against the wheel of the truck with his eyes half closed. Jim slid down next to him.
“How are you doing?” Jim asked.
“I could use some of that mush right about now,” Coyle replied.
Jim rested his head back on the metal siding of the truck. The glow from the fires rose up above the dunes. The shadows from the city danced across his face. He wondered how many died for some mad man’s search for power.
“I can see why you got out. This job’s very high risk,” Coyle said.
“That’s not why I got
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