I had some idea where I wanted to go. Doc had another staging area on an industrial lot just off I-280, and I was hoping I could find a new car and maybe some backup there. Of course, all this assumed Toby would let me get that far. Surprisingly, he didn't bother me as I slipped through the minor roads needed to change onto the 280. Perhaps he was following me, or he was after a place quieter than I-78. Or maybe he just didn't like Newark

In any case we were on a fairly quiet stretch of 280 when he made his move. At the first clatter of automatic fire I started swearing. Car to car with handguns is tricky even if the other guy isn't dodging. Throw enough bullets around, however, and something - or someone - is going to get hit.

"JoJo," I yelled, "get down on the floor with Myra now!_"

Seconds later, one of the side windows exploded into a shower of glass. I checked the mirror. The Taurus was coming up fast. I tried to swing my rear end out and sideswipe him, but he was too quick. To make things even more fun, a truck was chugging along ahead of us. Wonderful.

The next time I looked at the Taurus, the guy in the passenger seat was taking aim at us with what looked like a MAC-10. I had no intention of finding out if it was. I hit the brake. The other driver was good, but not that good - he shot by me and the bullets missed by a mile. We placed musical lanes for a minute, then I decided to push it and shot past him. Somehow, the gunman managed to lock onto the limo and fired off a few rounds. My engine noise stared to change, and I hoped to God it was just the muffler.

Time for something completely desperate and stupid. It could just work if I was in a sports car; as it was, I had a better than even chance of getting us all killed. As I drew level with the truck, I checked the make - Peterbilt, just what I needed. Beneath the main container was a little metal tank with a gauge on the side. That tank was the reservoir for the air brakes. Putting my foot down on the accelerator, I inched past the truck, aware all the time that Toby was right behind me. When I felt I'd got as far ahead as I dared, I hit the button for the passenger window. The sudden gust of cold air didn't even faze me as I emptied my gun into the tank.

It helped that the trucker was doing a minor correction at the time, but the effect was still stunning. The tank exploded, and immediately the trailer brakes came hard on, clamping down on those wheels like the hand of God. The tires smoked and the trucker fought to control his bucking, squealing trailer. He failed, and the trailer whipped round, glancing off the back of the limo. Even so, it nearly sent me off the road. I never saw what happened to the Taurus, but I could imagine the reaction as the truck slid sideways on the tarmac, effectively blocking the road. Crash city.

As soon as my breathing returned to normal, I started looking for the next exit. From the way it was handling the limo was just limping along - I could probably nurse the car a few more miles. As it was, we broke down less than a mile from the exit. Fortunately there was some cover nearby and I was able to push the car behind it. I just prayed Toby and his buddies were in worse shape than we were.

After making sure the car was hidden, I popped the hood latch and uncovered the engine, swearing at the foul cloud of greasy smoke that whooshed up at me. It was pretty obvious from the black slick over everything that one of the shots had either cracked the block or blown an oil seal. I figured another few miles and the entire engine would seize. The hard decision I'd been putting off since Manhattan now seemed my only choice. Pushing my last clip into the gun, I walked around to the back of the car and opened the door. Incredibly, the slaves were both asleep, curled up together like children at a slumber party.

"Aw, hell," I muttered. Myra was still bound, of course, so the kiddie illusion wasn't perfect, but after all we'd been through together I just couldn't kill them in cold blood. One way or the other, I was going to get them back to Doc's alive.

I had to laugh. Getting back to Doc's on my own was going to be enough of a challenge as it was, considering that we were in a near-dead car with no backup or even regular clothes for the girls. Heading back to the driver's seat, I rustled up a map and scoped out where we were. An idea started to form when I realized we were close to a residential area. It was a fairly desperate plan, and it got Joe Q Public more involved than I'd have liked, but I didn't have much of a choice. Glancing back at the girls, I started the engine up and headed towards sanctuary.

Vote for this story:

Please rate this story:

You need to log in to be able to post a message.