Cliff Ryder - The Finish Line

"He's blocking both lanes. I can't risk putting the SUV in the ditch. Besides, that .50-caliber has a good arc of fire — he might be able to tag us anyway. Hold on!"

Jay tried to swerve out of the way of another burst. This time he wasn't so lucky. The bullets chewed into the front driver's-side panel of the SUV, piercing the rolled steel-lined body panel and hitting the tire, which burst, sending the SUV's corner lurching down for a moment before the run-flat propped it up.

Jay hunched over the steering wheel, trying to minimize his profile in the driver's seat. "We can't take another hit like that — you ready?"

"Just give me three seconds!" David snugged the butt of the XM25 into his shoulder and put his eye to the built-in targeting scope, which used a laser rangefinder to give the exact distance between the launcher and the target and adjust the fuse on the grenade itself, making it detonate at the most optimal time, allowing for increased lethality. The only problem was whether the system could compensate for a moving target, not to mention that David was not exactly on a stable platform himself. "Hold it steady!" he shouted.

"Easier said than done!" To his credit, Jay did his best, jinking left, then right, then left again and falling back suddenly. "Hit it!"

The deceleration caught David by surprise, but he adjusted and set the sight on the heavy machine gun that was already tracking toward them. He got a firm tone, then squeezed the trigger just as the .50-caliber spit another long burst at them. The SUV's windshield exploded, the bulletproof glass fragmenting under the ball ammunition's onslaught. David huddled behind his armored door, praying that he wasn't going to die from either the SUV rolling over or a bullet punching through his gut.

The clamor of the rounds piercing the upper part of the Range Rover's roof was almost immediately drowned out by the blast of the 25 mm grenade exploding within a yard of the machine gun. The gun immediately stopped firing, its barrel sagging toward the ground.

Jay poked his head up from underneath the dashboard. "You okay?"

David clung to his moving barricade, checking to see if all of his body parts were still intact. "Yeah, so far so good. Give me another shot at that SOB, will you?"

"Sure, if I can drive a straight line!" The Range Rover was wobbling severely, throwing David's aim off each time he tried to draw a bead.

"Stop the vehicle!" he shouted, slamming into the door barrier as the SUV screeched to a halt. David put his eye to the scope again and aimed at the back of the fleeing van. He waited until he got lock on again, then pumped two rounds at the back of his target.

The van's cargo area might have survived one detonation, but two were beyond even its reinforced capability. The first round impacted on the rear doors, punching one in and tearing the other off completely. The second one hit low, and blew out both rear tires, sending the back of the van crashing to the ground in a spray of sparks as it ground to a halt about two hundred yards away.

Through the sight, David saw the brown-haired man stagger out of the van, dragging Maggie with him into a nearby field, where a helicopter was waiting, its rotor already whirling lazily around. He swung over and got a lock on the chopper, but stopped. "They're heading for the helicopter — I don't want to hit it, the shrapnel might take them out, too!"

"Hold on!" Jay floored the gas pedal again, sending the limping, shuddering SUV off-road. David wrestled himself back into the backseat, leaving the door open in case he needed to get out quickly.

Although they closed the distance quickly, their targets reached the helicopter first, and David watched the man shove Maggie aboard. "Get closer!" he urged.

Jay obeyed, gunning the engine, and sending the crippled Range Rover hurtling over the grassy field. David dropped the launcher and jammed the HK pistol into his waistband. They were only about fifty yards away, but the helicopter's blades were whirling even faster now, as the man climbed in and pulled the door closed behind him. Through the window, he grinned wickedly at them, and shook his head as he tapped the pilot on the shoulder.

"Faster, Jay!"

"This is all she's got!"

The chopper's rotor sliced through the air, straining to haul the aircraft aloft. David knew there was only one chance left. "Drive underneath it!" Opening the door again, he climbed onto the roof, spread-eagled to maintain his position. A wrong jolt or bump at this speed would send him flying, and probably kill him on impact.

The helicopter had gotten enough lift, and slowly rose off the ground. Somehow, Jay managed to coax an extra burst of speed out of the laboring SUV, and brought the vehicle right below the rising aircraft. The downdraft from the rotor flattened David against the roof, but he got to his knees in time to wrap his arms around the landing skid just as the helicopter cleared the Range Rover's roof and accelerated into the air.

Kate rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the graininess out of them. Her palms weren't much help. Now up for more than thirty-four hours, the world had taken on that slightly surreal aspect that she had never liked with sleep deprivation. It was as if everything around her were one tenth of a second off — just enough lag to notice, but not enough to be able to focus on and fix. Blinking, she considered mainlining another shot of espresso, but decided to hold off for now.

An insistent beep from her computer slowly drew her attention. Answering it brought another young hacker on-screen. Automa8 had logged off after a full day of demanding duty, but only at Kate's direct order. He would have much rather stayed on until the mission was completed, but she had insisted, wanting her people as fresh and alert as possible. Unlike myself, she admitted.

Still, at least her avatar projected the composed, confident aura that Kate usually wore like invisible armor. "Yes."

"I've got Jay on the line for you. He's already passed our security check."

"Put him through." The man called Jay was, in actuality, Jonas Schrader, Room 59's Eastern European director. While normally his attention would have been directed on the reemerging, post-Cold War Russia and other former Soviet Bloc countries, Kate had needed someone she could absolutely trust to get the job done in Brussels, and had tapped him. Although almost sixty years old, he had the body of a man fifteen years younger, and was still incredibly capable. A founding member of GSG-9, Jonas was also an accomplished sniper. That skill probably wouldn't come in handy on this mission — at least, not as far as she knew, but from what had happened up to this point, who could tell anymore. However, he had many other talents that had probably already come into play. Kate's fatigue fell away as she heard his calm voice.

"Primary, this is Jay. There have been some complications on this end."

Kate sighed. "Jay, that is not how I expect your reports to begin."

"There was little choice in the matter. We moved to reacquire the target at a meeting house, but encountered the other hostiles there, who tried to set up an a ambush. We took out one, and had one of our own injured. I think he'll be all right, but we'll have to get him and Julio out of the country."

"That's the least of our worries right now. Go on."

"Mr. Vert and I pursued the hostile into the countryside — no doubt there will be a report on the local news about it shortly — where they pulled a heavy machine gun on us. It was built into their vehicle."

"Jesus — are you okay?"

" Ja, I'm still breathing. Mr. Vert disabled the gun with a well-placed grenade and then stopped their vehicle, but they managed to make it to their escape helicopter. Mr. Vert decided to follow."