Cliff Ryder - Out of Time

He picked up the fallen man’s rifle, a standard-issue M-16, flicked the selector switch to full-auto and opened up. Guards dived in all directions, trying to avoid the spray of bullets.

“Get that damned door open!” Alex yelled, even as he fired a quick 3-round burst into the closest guard, dropping him like a ton of rock.

“I’ve got it!” Liang shouted.

“Go!” Alex said, firing another burst to keep the guards under cover and running for the doors as low as he could.

Bullets whined and screamed around them, shattering glass and sending splinters in all directions. He dumped the last few rounds from the clip and dropped it even as he burst through the doors, the impact jarring his good shoulder and sending waves of pain through his chest. Blood rushed to his head and the roaring nearly wiped out his vision. Then he staggered, righted himself and kept moving. Liang was right in front of him. A moment later his balance evened and he risked a glance back.

The guard units left inside were rushing toward the doors, firing as they ran. The exterior guard units were rushing across the parking lot, straight for them. Liang half turned and fired into the group. They scattered, diving behind parked cars.

There was a shout from near the building, and Alex knew the second squad was joining the chase. He risked a quick glance at his watch.

“Liang!” he shouted, “Get down. Now!”

Alex dived toward the fence, covering his head and hitting hard. He felt skin scrape from his forearms and palms and his shoulder screamed in pain. He didn’t want to risk anything, so he pulled the minitransmitter out of his utility belt and pulled himself to his knees, despite the pain shooting through his legs. Alex ignored it all. He waited for the telltale sound and a second later, the first blast sounded in the building. The building shook slightly and Alex triggered the transmitter, rolled to the fence and covered his face. A second later, the earth opened up with a huge flash of fire. The MRIS complex went up in a huge ball of flame, shooting debris into the air, shattering glass and stone. Alex stayed down, then, the moment he could move, he rose and hit the fence, looking for the break. Liang was beside him. All around them debris began to rain down. Dust choked them, and they were in danger from rocks and falling glass.

“Here!” Liang called out. He kicked loose the clips Alex had left holding the wire tight, and they rolled through. Then they were up and running, making their way up the hill to where they’d first watched the parking lot through the binoculars days before.

The crest of the hill was nearly a hundred yards away. Alex’s legs were burning, his shoulder had gone numb, but still managed to pour liquid fire down his arm every time he tried to use it.

Branches lashed out at his face and he managed to fend them off with his good arm, but still he thought he could hear fast footsteps behind him.

He had no idea what Liang intended to do at the top of the hill. They had mere minutes before Dayne and his men, whatever was left of them, figured out that they were gone. The parking lot patrol had seen the two of them running away from the blast, and even if no one inside the facility was left alive, there were still off-duty guards, those in charge who never even set foot inside the facility.

Alex knew he was a white-hot commodity now and needed to get out of Beijing.

Liang pulled at Alex’s sleeve. “This way!”

Alex followed, forcing his tortured legs into a sprint. Then he saw what Liang was headed for, and he almost grinned. The big man had stashed his car behind a large stand of thick bushes and covered it with a pile of branches. It might have looked odd from the road, but from below it could have been a hedge.

They tore away the branches and cleared the car.

Within moments they were in, and Liang fired the engine. They left in a cloud of dirt, branches and leaves, careening into the street, straightening and rocketing away from the hill and the destruction below. Liang swung them into yet another of his alleys, and turned toward the city.

The road was no less rocky and winding going down than it had been going up. The small car bobbed and shuddered as the wheels battled for traction. Liang couldn’t keep the speed as high as he would have liked. It was too risky. One wrong turn and the car would tumble down the hill.

“We’ve got to get you to the airport and out of here. How are you doing?”

Alex looked down at his shoulder and grimaced.

“I’m hanging in there. I’ve been worse.”

“No, you haven’t.” Liang’s face was somber, hard.

“No, I haven’t,” Alex agreed.

“Do you think we got them all?”

Alex looked into the mirror, watched the cloud of dust behind them for signs of life. Then his gaze swung toward the compound where smoke had all but blocked out the pile of rubble that had once been the facility. He started to say something hopeful, then bit off his words.

“We definitely did not get them all.”

Behind them, the cloud parted and a long, black sedan roared after them, shooting gravel and careening wildly from side to side.

Liang looked frantically into the mirror, eyes darting between mirror and road. “Damn it!”

“Any suggestions?” Alex asked.

Liang pressed the accelerator down, taking a bit more risk for the sake of putting distance between them and their pursuers. “We’ll try to lose them in the city.”

“Really?”

“Sure.”

“You don’t sound convinced,” Alex said.

Liang shot him a lopsided smile. “I’m not.”

The path down the hill eventually intersected with the main road into the city. Liang barely slowed as he made that transition. One glance in the rearview mirror told Liang that the other car was still on their trail. He took the first left, then the next right, pushing the speed as hard as he could.

“Hang on,” he yelled. “And maybe close your eyes.”

The other car was maybe six car lengths back, and Liang took a chance. At the next intersection, he jerked the wheel to the left, at the same time yanking up on the parking brake. The small hybrid went into a skid, the rear tires sliding and at the last moment, he released the brake and gunned it. They shot down the road on the left like a rocket, scraping the curb on the right and then evening out.

Alex felt his shoulder slam against the car door and struggled to right himself as he glanced behind them. “We gained a little distance but I don’t think we’re gonna lose them.”

“Time for reinforcements.” Liang flipped open his cell phone and shouted at it. “Han Po!”

Alex watched the man’s face, wondering what he had up his sleeve. Then the car skidded to the right and rounded the next corner. Their pursuers followed close behind, but Liang slowed slightly, as if leading them.

“Hey!” Liang yelled into the phone. “I need a little roadblock. You know where the Than Tan Warehouse is? Open bay three, make sure there’s a truck in two, three and four. Drop the lifts.”

Alex looked askance at him, eyebrows rocketed nearly to his hairline.

Liang smiled in return and made another turn.

“Keep ’em running. We’ve got an ETA of fifteen minutes.”

With that, Liang slapped shut the cell phone and shoved it into his pocket. “I’ve got to get farther ahead to pull this off. Hold on tight.”

With that, he raced down the straightaway, running a light and scaring a crowd of pedestrians, who had just stepped off the curb. Alex watched them scatter, half-running toward the opposite curb, half-scuttling back over the nearest curb.

The larger car followed, hampered by the thick-ening crowd and a badly timed car in the intersection. Liang made a hard right and gunned the engine, gaining some distance and heading back toward the more industrialized section of Beijing.