Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix (17 page)

"
A
ny time
, now," Falcon says as Stack swings back and forth below him.

Phoenix watches Stack appear and disappear under the bridge. Her knuckles turn white, gripping the steering wheel, as she tries to keep all three ofd them from falling. Her arm feels like it will be pulled off as she holds onto Falcon's pants leg. The top of his boot slides a little further off of the concrete with each swing.

"Stop swinging," she strains.

Falcon tries to pull Stack up but Phoenix cries out at the sudden resistance. She looks back under the car to see the Marauder switching back and forth from one lane to another in an 'S' pattern. It’s a psychological tactic to instill more fear into his prey. It only makes Phoenix angry.

She lifts her head to look at the hand brake then back at Falcon's foot. "I have an idea."

Stack looks down at the river far below. "Anything is better than this."

With difficulty, Falcon brings his free hand down to reinforce his grip on Stack's arm. "Just do it."

Phoenix looks back at the hand brake and kicks down on it with her heel. The first hit does nothing. She tries again but her foot slips, throwing her balance off and making Falcon's foot slide completely off the edge. The sudden jerk pulls her wrist to the jagged concrete.

"Phoenix!" Falcon yells.

She looks back at the Marauder as another biker makes its way up the bridge. She refocuses on the fastback’s hand brake, bringing her leg up again. It's a strange angle but she brings it down. The hit knocks the hand brake down halfway and the car lurches forward a little. Phoenix strikes it again. This time, it drops all the way down and the fastback slowly moves forward.

Falcon's foot appears above the ledge, followed by his leg. Phoenix pulls him and manages to almost sit up in the driver's seat. It's an uncomfortable angle but she gets her foot on the gas pedal and pushes it down, gently.

"Faster is ok with me," Stack yells up as he watches Falcon's legs make it over the edge.

Both bikers have stopped moving forward. Phoenix accelerates a little faster and Falcon's head finally makes it over the edge. He looks back and sees Phoenix still gripping his pants leg. A small trickle of blood drips from her wrist. He nods his head in gratitude and as a signal that she can let go.

Phoenix releases Falcon once she sees Stack's arms finally make it to the surface then she straightens in the seat and returns her gaze to the Marauders.

Falcon pulls Stack to solid ground. Out of immediate danger, Stack rolls away from the edge before getting to his feet.

Phoenix looks back and sees both of them are fine. Stack nods to her as Falcon did.

"Keep her around," he tells Falcon.

Both men look down the bridge to see the bikers nearby and even more Marauders at the bottom of the bridge, just waiting for them to come down.

"I hate feeling trapped," Falcon says.

"What do we got left?" Phoenix asks.

"Your gun. Mine and..." Falcon looks at Stack.

"Mine went with the bike. I got these." He pats the satchel under his arm.

"I guess you're riding with us."

Stack stares at the closest biker. "I appreciate that but I got a ride."

He walks to Jerin and opens the passenger side, grabbing one of the hand guns in the floor board. Stack fires the weapon at the nearest biker just to get his attention.

The biker revs his motor and lifts up the front end in a wheelie. Stack drops the gun back in the car and runs toward the Marauder. It's not the best way to play chicken but he plows ahead anyway.

The biker drops the wheel back to the pavement and charges ahead. Stack picks up his own pace.

"Wait—” Phoenix starts.

"Just watch,” Falcon tells her.

As a crash seems imminent and clearly in favor of the Marauder, Stack leaps into the air, feet first. He spins his body sideways at the oncoming biker, driving his boots square into the biker’s head. The Marauder falls backwards onto the concrete while Stack's hands grab for the handlebars, pulling himself onto the bike.

Phoenix’ eyebrows rise in surprise at the maneuver. Stack squeezes the brake and, with one foot on the concrete, spins the bike around, facing the horde at the bottom of the bridge. He revs the motor and looks back at Falcon and Phoenix. "Ya'll ready?" He reaches into the satchel, pulling out a stick of dynamite. "I'll clear a path."

Falcon runs to the passenger side of Jerin and climbs inside.

Phoenix pulls up next to Stack. "You sure you don't want
us
to clear the way?"

"Trust me." Stack waves the stick of TNT. "We get to the intersection and take a right."

"Won't they follow us?" Phoenix asks.

"For a while, they will. We take out who we can and keep moving forward."

Falcon and Phoenix check their guns. "Ready," Falcon says.

She hits the accelerator and races back down the bridge. Stack revs the bike up, spinning the tire out, leaving a trail of white smoke in the air. He speeds past the fastback, holding one hand out. Phoenix watches him flick the lighter on the dynamite, only stopping when the fuse is lit.

An overhand throw takes the stick toward the Marauders. It lands in the back of a truck and explodes, taking the truck with it in a bigger fireball than any of the grenades had created.

Stack speeds through the smoke while Phoenix slams the front of Jerin into the back of the burning truck, spinning it off the road.

"Steel girders make good bumpers," Falcon says as he covers his head with his arm, shielding himself from the flames.

Bullets hit the back of the fastback as the Marauders turn to chase after it. Stack pulls another stick and lights the fuse. He tosses it back just high enough to go over Jerin, landing in the road behind her. The dynamite explodes. It doesn't hit any of the pursuit vehicles but it does make a small crater in the concrete. Another biker goes down the crater and then up it, ramping into the air. Just behind it, a car drops into the crater and crashes to the bottom of the hole. It’s non-fatal but the occupants are out of the fight. The other vehicles drive around the hole, undeterred by it.

"What about that?" Falcon points to the RV blocking the road.

"How's this thing off-road?" Phoenix asks.

"It's better on the road."

Stack heads toward the RV, lighting another fuse. He tosses it toward the road blocking vehicle before turning off into the grass. A single Marauder runs out of the RV and grabs the TNT, throwing it just before it explodes. Falcon and Phoenix watch as the explosion rocks the RV sideways but causes no damage. The sides of the big vehicle extend outward, widening it. Phoenix doesn't wait to find out what's next. She eases the car off the road, following Stack through the grass while Falcon hangs out of the window, taking a couple of shots at the cars behind them.

As the car straightens out on the intersecting road, Falcon notices the other side of the RV is extended. The extensions have been hollowed, revealing Marauders standing on either side with what look like mini-guns. The passenger side windshield is gone and two more Marauders stand behind it. One of them has a rocket launcher.

"Where are they getting these things?" Falcon asks.

A rocket-propelled grenade blasts off from the RV.

"Left!" Falcon yells.

Phoenix cuts the car to the left as the RPG streaks past them. The quick maneuver almost throws Falcon out of the window. He kicks his legs up at the car ceiling to keep from falling out.

Stack turns to see the rocket blasting toward him. He veers the bike left and eases off the throttle, slowing down, letting the rocket get well ahead of him. The rocket hits a wrecked car, exploding several yards away.

Falcon steadies himself then moves back inside the car. A rattling catches his attention and he looks up to see a latch in the roof. "That's new." He unlatches it and slides the armored shutter back. Falcon stands up through the unexpected moonroof and takes aim at a nearby truck. He fires at the driver, taking the Marauder vehicle out.

Stack looks over his shoulder and sees numerous cars and trucks catching up to the car. He slows down, allowing the car to catch up with him.

Falcon hears the bike engine coming from the front and turns to face Stack. "What are you doing?"

Stack doesn't answer. He pulls another stick of dynamite and lights the fuse before throwing it backwards at nothing in particular. A truck rolls right over it but it’s the biker behind who hits the stick just as it explodes.

Other cars swerve away from the blast, hoping to avoid it. Some vehicle windows are blown inward, cutting the drivers. They are surface wounds, nothing that takes them out of the fight. And there are many left to fight.

Falcon reaches an open hand down into the car. Phoenix already knows what he wants. She grabs the second pistol from the floorboard and hands it to him. With two pistols, Falcon takes on two vehicles. The first is a truck trying to side-swipe them. His bullets crack the window, making the truck back off. The second is a Jeep with Lances attached to the roll bar, ready to impale anyone who might try to jump onto the vehicle. Falcon shoots the front right tire, blowing it out. The Jeep slows but keeps on the chase.

He looks at all of the vehicles behind them. Some are on the road. Some are in the field. There are more cars than they have bullets. Falcon looks at Stack who tosses back another stick. The dynamite falls onto the front bumper of what looks like an armored SUV. It explodes, destroying the front end and causing the truck to flip over, crashing onto its roof. Another car, too close behind, runs straight into the burning heap, smashing its front end.

Stack glances at Falcon. There are still too many Marauders. Phoenix checks her rearview mirror, shaking her head, unsure how they're going to get out of this.

"RPG!" Falcon drops into the moonroof as the rocket streaks overhead, landing in front of them. Phoenix hits the brakes and turns the wheel, narrowly avoiding the explosion. Stack speeds ahead while the Marauders catch up to the car.

Falcon pops back up and fires at the vehicles coming up on either side of Jerin. One of the guns clicks. Falcon drops it into the car. Phoenix grabs the gun and reloads it then aims at a truck pulling alongside her window. The Marauder inside stares at her wild-eyed, grossly sticking out his tongue. Phoenix pulls the trigger.

The bullet shatters the window and hits the Marauder right through the mouth, making the truck steer toward the fastback and slam into it. Phoenix makes a hard right then a hard left into the truck, knocking it away from them and into the field.

Falcon flinches as bullets hit the fuel tanks. The solid steel holds up but too many hits are going to send them up in a fireball. He notices the mini gun in the RV starting to spin and takes careful aim at the Marauder preparing to fire three thousand rounds a minute. Falcon squeezes the trigger. The headshot sends the Marauder backwards into the RV. The mini gun falls back with her, blasting rapid bullets throughout the modified vehicle, shredding it from the inside.

The rapid gunfire grabs Stack’s attention. He turns around to see the RV swerve left then right as the driver tries to maintain control under the hail of bullets ripping through the large vehicle. The extended sides keep it off balance and the RV falls to its side, crunching the extension as it falls on two Marauder bikers before grinding to a stop. Other Marauders look back at the damage but continue forward.

Stack slows again, letting the fastback catch up as Falcon takes out a mounted gunner only to find it quickly replaced. "There's too many. We gotta split up," Stack yells.

"To where? There's only forward and back," Phoenix tells him.

"I'll go back."

"You're on a bike," Falcon says as if the notion of riding through the chasing horde on a motorcycle is the worst idea in the world. "We'll go back."

"You
want
to go west. I'm just helping."

"Just stay with us and we'll get ahead of them," Falcon tries to convince him.

"It's decided." Stack loosens up on the throttle. "I better get Jerin back, Falcon."

"Good luck," Phoenix yells as Stack pulls another stick of TNT. He flicks the lighter, turning the bike around. The fuse sparks and he lobs it into the back of a passing truck.

The explosion blasts off, separating Stack from Falcon and Phoenix. Falcon watches the man ride past oncoming Marauders, many of them turning around to chase after him, figuring that a motorcycle will be easier to get than an armored car. Falcon watches as another explosion takes out another car before he snaps back to reality and refocuses on the Marauders still pursuing them.

Phoenix fires at the exposed engine of a truck. A lucky shot hits the radiator, sending smoke upward from the truck’s cooling system, obscuring the driver's vision. Not far ahead, the ruined trailer of an eighteen wheeler sits just on the road's shoulder. She slows a little to let the smoking vehicle catch up before sideswiping it, pushing the Marauder truck to the left and running it straight into the trailer. The collision sends pieces of it and the trailer flying off in all directions.

Falcon lowers the gun into the moonroof and ejects the magazine. Phoenix slides a new one in and Falcon chambers a round, continuing to fire at approaching vehicles. Some bullets hit. Others don't.

With his primary focus being on the cars closest to the driver's side, Falcon doesn't notice the truck inching its way onto the passenger side of Jerin. Two Marauders stand in the bed of the truck, waiting for it to get closer. One of them finally reaches toward Falcon. The Freelancer takes a shot at another mounted gunner and misses before he notices the man trying to grab him. Falcon spins, pointing the gun at the Marauder and pulls the trigger. Click. With no fear of being shot, the assailant grabs him and pulls Falcon out of the moonroof.

Phoenix barely has time to notice as Falcon's legs rise out of the moonroof. She looks out of the passenger side window and sees Falcon kicking in the air as he tries to hang onto the roof of the fastback.

Falcon punches at the Marauder, forcing him to let go. Once free, Falcon grabs the would-be kidnapper, pulling him out of the truck. The Marauder hits the road, the rear wheels of the truck rolling right over his legs.