Evenfall (162 page)

As if reading Boyd's mind, Sin pulled himself onto the roof of the SUV entirely, booted feet slipping as he squinted through the rain at the car that was closer to them. He'd already figured out that like the SUV they had, the one pursuing them was also armored with bullet proof glass, but judging from the dead passenger in the two-door Nissan, that wasn't the case for the smaller passenger cars.

Bullets continued to ricochet around him, some just missing him while others grazed his body, but he ignored the pain and the force of the rain slamming into him and lifted his Ruger, trying to keep aim as the car bounced onto the open and less evenly paved road outside the town. He gripped the rack and forced himself to sit up partially as the howling wind tried to force him back down but just as the Nissan inched closer to their bumper, Sin sent two bullets through the windshield and into the driver's head.

The car swerved dangerously as the man slumped forward and actually slammed into the back of their SUV before spinning out of control and colliding with the other passenger car that had rode up on its tail. The sound of tires squealing and rubber skidding across the ground resounded through the night and both cars ended up swerving off the road in a heap, tires stuck in the thick muddy sand on the sides of the road. Sin narrowed his eyes at the SUV that continued to follow relentlessly, shoving the Ruger back in his belt as he made an attempt at leaning over to grab the MP5 from where it hung on the rack but just as he reached for it, Boyd took a sudden turn and he went flying over the right side of the roof.

He caught the rack once again to keep from entirely falling off the car and into the sand, but the speed Boyd was driving at and the momentum from the fall sent him crashing through the window, not shattering the glass as it would in a normal vehicle, but instead causing it to cave inward. His boots and legs slammed into Thierry violently, sending the French man flying against the opposite side of the car as he screamed at Boyd to, "
Ralentis!
" and to no one in particular, "
On va tous mourir!
"

Boyd tried to steady the SUV for Sin but out in the open without trees and houses to slow it, the rain had created little rivers that ran powerfully across the road. Water sprayed around them as they crashed through the water and even with the windshield wipers on high and the headlights on bright, Boyd felt like he could barely see anything. Several times he felt the steering wheel shudder as the water started to catch the tires, causing the SUV to start to shift or slide on its own with no regard to where the road was. The resounding cracks of gunfire, Sin scrabbling against the roof, and the most recent, alarming crash against the window made it incredibly difficult to hear the telltale signs of water splashing in the wheel wells as a precursor to hydroplaning.

He was trying to keep the SUV steady, continue to drive as fast as possible, retain whatever little amount of traction they had left, and watch for any sudden obstacles that seemed to loom in front of him with no warning. With so much going on, he couldn't handle Thierry screaming hysterically in the background about the speed and danger. "Thierry!" he yelled to shut him up. "
Ferme ta gueule!
"

Sin ignored the shouting and climbed back out the window, pulling himself onto the roof once again and barely missing a bullet that would have sent his brains splattering across the black fiberglass. He grabbed the MP5 and began firing at the tires of their remaining pursuer, managing to blow out one of their tires and causing the driver to momentarily lose control as the rubber went flying everywhere. The high water sprayed out around the SUV as the driver tried to regain control on the slippery road and one of the back passengers, who'd been leaning out the window to aim at Sin with difficulty through the pouring rain, tumbled out and onto the road.

Sin continued to spray the car with automatic fire with the submachine gun but unfortunately it wasn't a high enough caliber to penetrate the glass and he growled in annoyance, wondering why the fuck 9mm bullets even existed in the world anymore. He was almost out of ammo anyway and just as he tossed the MP5 off the side of the roof, a bullet tore through his thigh and he grit his teeth as pain radiated through his body.

At this rate the standoff between their two vehicles would go on forever, or until he fell off the damn car, so he decided to switch tactics and forget about guns altogether. Explosives were a lot more effective anyway.

He pulled out his remaining grenade and yanked the pin out with his teeth, narrowing his eyes at the other vehicle and hoping he didn't miscalculate and blow himself up in the process. After a few seconds he flung himself over the side of the roof, once again dangling against the door and dropped the grenade on the pavement that rushed beneath him. Without a moment's hesitation, he dove back through the window just as the other SUV drove over the grenade. It exploded at the exact time he'd wanted it to, blowing up directly under the other car.

The shock have slammed into the back of the SUV as Boyd tried to control it, half a second before the other car's fuel tank exploded. The vehicle was instantly engulfed in a ball of flames that was so intense that even the rain didn't touch it at first. Between the momentum and the explosion lifting it off the ground, the destroyed car continued to skid along the road briefly even as parts scattered behind it. Debris flew through the air, bits of glass and pieces of the car smashing into the back of their SUV in what sounded for a moment like a brief hail storm. Something especially large crashed into the back window but the bulletproof glass kept it from breaking through; the window just caved inward.

Boyd lost control of the SUV for a moment; the deluge against the back of the vehicle had caused him to head straight into a larger standing puddle than he'd wanted and he felt it stop responding as all four tires lost traction on the road. The entire car started to slide to the right, the wind and rain buffeting them as he lost control and the strength of the water flowing across the ground started to push them off the road. Boyd immediately eased off the accelerator and just rested his hands on the steering wheel, allowing the SUV to coast across the road as he looked around quickly for any obstacles that may be coming up, anything he would be forced to try to avoid.

He didn't want to slam on the brakes or try to wrench the steering wheel to the side because that would probably just make the car lock up or force it to skid in a manner he couldn't recover from. The terrain was wide and open around them, with little bushes and plants dotted randomly in the ground. One bush was approaching quickly on the right and he was just about to lightly pump the brakes when he felt one of the tires catch. The SUV jerked violently to the left, throwing them to the side and Thierry against the back door, but once one tire resumed friction within seconds the others had too.

He slowly accelerated and was able to move the SUV back to the road, checking a few times in his rear view mirror for any sign of pursuit. He couldn't see anyone behind them so he returned his attention to driving, and only then realized how hard his heart was pounding and how the adrenaline was rushing through his system so quickly that his hands were almost shaking.

Boyd took a moment to let out a brief breath then glanced in the rear view mirror at Sin quickly. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice sounding calmer than he felt.

Sin, who'd yanked off a strip of cloth from his shirt to use as a tourniquet, wrapped it around his bleeding thigh tightly and nodded shortly. "Nothing serious. Sorry about the fireworks, by the way. But once I got down into the holding area, there really wasn't any real way to avoid people anymore and they seemed pretty determined to kill him before they let me escape with him."

Sin's gaze flicked over to Thierry and Sin's mouth twisted slightly in an irritated scowl. Even knowing that, Thierry had still reacted as though Sin were mowing down innocent people every time he'd shot someone. It had made their escape even more difficult and him even more disgusted with the other man. Despite the fact that Thierry kept company and did business with some of the most dangerous players in the world, it seemed he was anything but used to seeing people die right in front of him.

Thierry refused to look at him and instead stared gloomily out the window as he rubbed his arms with his hands and shuddered violently. His curly brown hair was plastered against the sides of his gaunt face and after a moment he chanced a look over at Boyd. His expression was strange and it was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking or feeling at the moment but after
a while
he just shivered again, from the cold or the memories of what he'd just seen Boyd didn't know, but finally he said softly, "
C'est un monstre.
"

Sin's eyes narrowed, picking up on the sentiment even if he didn't know exactly what it meant, but he didn't say anything. He just shook his head and began going about the process of once again reloading his guns. As nonchalant as he wanted to appear, there was no hiding the stiffness in his posture and the tension in his jaw as he glared down at his Ruger, making sure it wasn't clogged by the water.

Boyd noticed the tension and returned his attention to the road. "Thierry," he said evenly, "I realize this must be an alarming time for you but don't forget that he just saved your life, risking his in the process. If you're going to insult him, at least do it in English so he knows what you're saying. I'm not going to translate everything and I won't respond to you in French. Sin," he flicked his gaze toward him in the rear view mirror, "the fact that you were spotted and the explosions that resulted actually helped me. So... Thank you."

Sin gave a one shouldered shrug and didn't reply verbally, although he did glance up to meet Boyd's eyes in the mirror. After a moment his mouth twitched up into a half smile but it quickly disappeared and he once again focused on his weapons. Thierry didn't say anything else and he returned his gaze to the window and the scenery that was rushing passed as Boyd drove to the designated pick up spot.

The silence that permeated the vehicle made the ride seem to go by slowly despite the fact that Boyd was going as fast as he dared in the weather conditions. Without the high-speed car chase, he didn't have to take any more risks could cause him to lose control of the vehicle. However it didn't stop Boyd from remaining tense as he wondered if Janus would send out additional pursuit vehicles. He continued to look behind them for a long time but no one came after them.

It was entirely possible that he'd completely lost them in the winding route he took through the terrain but it was also likely that they'd discovered Hale's body and were waiting for a higher authority to tell them what to do. He actually hoped the latter was the case; as long as someone checked on Hale, Dana would be found as well. He was counting on that for multiple reasons, the main of which was for her to spread the story that Kadin Reed had never existed as they knew him.

Nothing eventful happened for the rest of the ride and Thierry remained resolutely silent, his face grave as he seemed to resign himself to a fate within the Agency that would most likely be no better than it was with Janus. He shrunk in on himself as time went on and he seemed a shell of the confidant man that he'd been in Paris all of those months ago. He remained that way for the majority of the ride but suddenly he looked up at Boyd and cleared his throat slightly.

"I didn't betray you." His voice was weak, strained, but he said it firmly as though he wouldn't tolerate hearing anything opposite.

Boyd looked at him through the rear view mirror, his expression unreadable. Thierry met his eyes evenly and Boyd knew by those words that he meant he hadn't betrayed the Agency, but also that he hadn't betrayed him. By his body language, Boyd was almost positive that Thierry wasn't lying. He could independently verify that Thierry at the very least hadn't told Hale who he'd sold the information to. Although Hale could have been lying, Boyd really didn't believe it to be the case. When all of that was taken into consideration, it wasn't difficult to venture that Thierry truly hadn't known the information had been bad; that he'd honestly been trying to help the Agency.

Boyd returned his attention to the road but he tilted his head forward in acknowledgment.

"Okay," he said not unkindly.

Thierry nodded, looking out the window again and seeming satisfied that at least Boyd knew the truth even if no one else ever believed him. Not much else was said and Sin acted as though he hadn't heard the exchange, possibly because he didn't have anything to contribute but most likely because he really didn't care either way.

The weather slowly improved, moving from downpour to something resembling only slightly heavy rain and the wind also seemed to lighten. As they drew closer to the meeting point, Boyd was relieved to see the sleek black helicopter already waiting for them. He had barely parked the SUV when Sin and Thierry had already jumped out of the back; although neither said anything, it was clear they wanted to get out of such close quarters, even if it was short lived. Boyd grabbed the med kit and the three of them ran through the rain to the helicopter. Over the background sound of the storm and the slow whoosh of the rotary blades, Boyd could hear a man yelling something. When he drew close enough he was able to see the pilot leaning out the front and realized it was the same man who had flown Sin away before.

"Seriously," the man was yelling; Boyd faintly thought his name may have been Jim. "What is this, my new detail? Go fly to bumfuck Mexico and wait around for the hotshots to come running in last minute? Would you people fucking hurry? I got shit to do back home!" He hit the side of the helicopter a few times impatiently.