Highway To Armageddon (50 page)

           
“You just made the biggest mistake of your life, you traitorous bitch!” he
hisses.

           
I aim my gun directly at his forehead and pull the trigger.

           
It clicks blank.

           
I drop the gun and stagger back. My entire body goes numb as I realize this is
it. I’ve escaped death more times than I can remember. This time, however, my
luck has run out.

           
“Red, move!”

           
I glance to my right. Arrow is coming at me like an out-of-control freight
train. I turn back to Rasputin just as lightning spirals toward me.

           
Arrow barrels into me, knocking me to the ground. My vision is flooded by a
brilliant burst of blue light. The light vanishes just as suddenly as it
appeared.

           
I ignore the pain from my rough landing and look up. Rasputin and Klaxton are
gone. Arrow, however, is still standing.

           
He looks at me, his eyes wide with agony and fear. Spirals of electricity
crackle all over his smoldering body.

           
“Arrow?” I whisper as hot tears stream down my cheeks.

           
Arrow reaches out to me, his fingers clawing the air.

           
In a raspy voice filled with pain and regret, he whispers, “Red…”

           
Then his eyes roll into the back of his head and he topples backwards.

           
“ARROW!!”

           
I jump up and rush to his side, ignoring the bullets careening overhead. I hear
a woman screaming for her son. I think it’s Machete, but I’m not really paying
attention. All I’m focused on right now is Arrow.

           
I grab his hand. It’s burning hot from the electricity.

           
“Arrow?” I sob, wiping his long, silky hair out of his eyes.

           
“Arrow!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

           
But he doesn’t answer.

           
I touch his neck.

           
There’s no pulse.

           
Arrow is
dead.             

Chapter
Nineteen: Lance

           
I’m crouched behind an overturned table, trading shots with Igor and Norma,
when a bloodcurdling scream cuts through the dungeon.

           
“NOOOOO!”

           
“Machete?”

           
I spin around and watch in confusion as Machete slides beside Boom Boom.

           
That’s when I see the body.

           
Arrow.

           
Smoke billows from his chest. He must have been zapped by Rasputin.

           
A cold chill runs down my spine. Arrow and I would never be confused for best
friends. In fact, at times we truly detested each other. But I never actually
hated the guy. And I certainly never wished for him to die.

           
I’m most concerned, however, for Boom Boom. This is going to mess her up… big
time.

           
Two of Rasputin’s bodyguards charge toward Machete and Boom Boom, firing their
guns. I fire a shot at one of the bodyguards, hitting him in the shoulder. I
don’t have to fire again, though, because Machete unleashes a feral growl and
lunges toward the bodyguards while clutching a blade.

           
“YOU BASTARDS KILLED MY SON!” she shrieks like an enraged banshee, slashing at
their throats. Poor Machete is caught in the throes of a full-fledged berserker
rage, attacking anything that moves. I have to look away from her violent
assault. It’s too gruesome even for me.

           
I dash through the crossfire and slide beside Boom Boom. She’s beside herself
with grief. I shake her shoulders and say, “I’m sorry about Arrow, Firecracker,
but we have to go after Rasputin. He’s getting away.”

           
That gets Boom Boom’s attention. She looks at me through red, bleary eyes and
says, “Let’s get the son of a bitch.”

           
I grab Boom Boom’s shaky hand and pull her toward the tunnel. I glance over my
shoulder one last time before I enter the passageway. None of the bad guys are
paying attention to us; they’re all focused on taking down Pitbull and the
ninjas. Machete continues to hack up every secret service agent and Russian
mobster she can get her hands on. I gasp when Yin gets blasted in the back of
the head by Igor. She collapses into a puddle of blood, never to move again. I
ignore the part of my brain that screams for vengeance. We need to get
Rasputin. If we don’t, all of our blood and sacrifice will have been for nothing.
And the world will hurtle toward the black hole of war.

           
We dash through the passageway, moving as fast as our bruised and battered
bodies will allow us. We never see Rasputin or Klaxton off in the distance
because the winding tunnel goes around in circles, but I can hear them grunting
and panting. They both must be injured from the shootout. Even body armor
doesn’t prevent a speeding bullet from causing bumps and bruises. I know that
from experience.

           
Boom Boom and I finally burst out from behind the bookcase in the cabin’s
living room, just in time to see Klaxton and Rasputin stagger out the front
door. Boom Boom and I sprint after them, firing at their backs.

           
“Give it up, Rasputin!” I shout. “Your days of terror and destruction are
over!”

           
Rasputin responds by spinning around and firing a bolt of lightning. I shove
Boom Boom to the ground just as the sizzling electrical blast whizzes over our
heads. The bolt slams into the front of the cabin, causing it to erupt in
flames. I hope Machete and the gang make it out before they burn alive. Pitbull
especially has seen enough fire over the past several days to last a lifetime.

           
I crawl to my hands and knees as Rasputin and Klaxton climb aboard a sleek Blackhawk
helicopter. The presidential seal is emblazoned on the side. Rasputin shoots us
a fleeting glance before disappearing inside. He must think we’re no longer a
threat. Fatal mistake.

           
“C’mon, Boom Boom,” I growl, pulling her to her feet. We lumber toward the
helicopter, but we’re too far away. The propellers begin whipping around,
kicking up a cloud of dirt, grass, and leaves.

           
I try to speed up, but it’s no use. By the time I reach the chopper it’s
already 30 feet off the ground, well out of reach. If only I had my utility
belt, then I could fire my grappling hook.

           
Boom Boom arrives at my side a couple seconds later. We both fire at the
chopper, but it’s just a waste of ammunition. Soon the chopper is nothing but a
blinking light in the night sky.

           
We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves, though, because Krystal and
Dorothy drop out of the sky in our battered, bullet-riddled car.

           
Dorothy hops out and throws her arms around me. I pull her tight and kiss her
head. What happened to Arrow could just as easily happen to her. I intend to do
everything I can to keep her out of harm’s way.

           
“You guys okay?” Krystal asks as Dorothy and I climb into the back. Boom Boom
hops into the front.   

           
“We’re a little beat up, but we’ll survive,” I groan, clutching my injured
ribs.

           
“Where’s Machete and Arrow?” Dorothy asks, glancing back at the burning cabin.

           
“Machete stayed behind to deal with Igor and the rest of the Dragons,” I say.
“And Arrow…”

           
“Arrow’s dead,” Boom Boom says in a choked sob.

           
“WHAT?!” Dorothy screams. “NO!”

           
Krystal’s face becomes engulfed in sorrow.

           
“Oh Boom Boom, I’m so sorry!”

           
“We can grieve later,” Boom Boom says, wiping away her tears. “Right now I want
to rip out Rasputin’s heart and shove it down his throat.”

           
“Where did he go?” Krystal asks as we float into the sky. “And is that psycho
Klaxton with him? Dorothy and I saw everything on the internet. She’s one crazy
bitch.”

           
I lean over Krystal’s seat and point out the shattered windshield. “He’s that
blinking dot of light. And yep, Klaxton is with him. I say we blow both of them
out of the sky.”

           
“Roger that.” Krystal presses down on the accelerator and we zoom toward the
helicopter at close to 200 miles an hour. The cold wind slams into my face so
fiercely it feels like my skin is about to peel off.

           
As we get closer I check my gun to make sure I have enough ammo for a prolonged
aerial dogfight, which is probably what it’s going to take to bring them down.

           
Dorothy pops an ammo cartridge into her gun.

           
“What are you doing with that?” I ask.

           
Dorothy cocks an eyebrow. “What do you think? To shoot Rasputin.”

           
“I don’t think so.” I snatch the gun out of his hand. “I want you to crouch
down on the floor and cover your head. Boom Boom, Krystal and I will take care
of Rasputin.”

           
“But I can help!” Dorothy protests! “I can--”

           
“Damn it, Dorothy, don’t argue with me!” I explode. Krystal and Boom Boom stare
at me in shock. I usually don’t go off like this.

           
“This isn’t a game!” I continue. “This is life and death!”

           
Dorothy appears heartbroken. I instantly feel like the worst person on Earth. I
gently touch Dorothy’s shoulder. In a much quieter and less hostile voice, I
say, “I’m sorry, Dorothy. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. So
please… please stay down.”

           
Dorothy lowers her gaze and whispers, “Okay.”

           
She places the gun on the seat and crouches to the floor. I feel bad I hurt her
feelings, but if that’s what it takes to keep her safe, then I’m willing to do
it.

           
We’re flying so fast that we catch up to Klaxton’s helicopter in no time.

           
“So what’s the plan?” I ask, aiming my pistol at the chopper’s still-open hatch
door.

           
“The plan is to kill them,” Boom Boom growls.

           
We pull up alongside the chopper. I can now see directly inside the hatch door.
Klaxton and Rasputin are nowhere to be seen. They must be up in the cockpit.

           
“Anyone got a grenade?” I ask.

           
“Here,” Krystal says, handing me one.

           
I yank out the pin and hurl the grenade inside the chopper. I’m stunned when
Rasputin suddenly dives into view, snatches up the grenade, and tosses it back
at us.

           
“Incoming!” I scream, ducking to the floor alongside Dorothy.

           
Krystal takes us into a nosedive a split-second before the grenade detonates.
Pieces of shrapnel rip up our left wing, but miraculously none of us are hurt.

           
Krystal takes us out of the nosedive and zooms back up toward the chopper,
giving me whiplash. Our damaged wing wobbles like crazy. I’m not sure how much
longer our beat-up car will be able to stay in the air.

           
Rasputin is still standing by the open hatch door. He releases a barrage of
electricity. A few of the bolts hit the front of the car. The engine sputters
and spews smoke.

           
“That’s not a good sign!” I shout.

           
“We’re losing power, fast!” Krystal cries, banging on the control panel. The
car starts beeping and all the lights on the dashboard flicker.

           
Rasputin continues to hurl lightning bolts like he’s Zeus suffering a mid-life
crisis. Krystal does her best to avoid the blasts. She violently swerves back
and forth, sending me colliding into Dorothy and then into my door. Still,
despite all of Krystal’s crazy swerving, a few tendrils of electricity zap the
smoking engine.

           
“We’re seriously about to go down, guys!” Krystal cries over the car’s
incessant beeping. “Maybe we should land!”

           
“No!” Boom Boom shrieks. “If we lose Rasputin now, we’ll never find him again!
Keep the car steady, I got this!”

           
Boom Boom snatches a flash grenade from Krystal’s utility belt and pulls the
pin. Unlike with the grenade I tossed, Boom Boom hangs on to hers for a few
extra seconds. She then hurls the grenade through the hatch door, right in
Mikhail’s face. She times the throw perfectly. The flash grenade detonates just
as it sails inside the chopper, enveloping Rasputin in ball of intense,
blinding light. Rasputin wobbles out of view, holding his hands over his eyes.

           
“Nice shot, Boom Boom!” I exclaim.

           
Boom Boom growls and hops into the back of the car, clutching a gun in one hand
and her electric sword in the other.