“Stop!” Phoenix yells.
Movement on the other side of the road catches Falcon’s attention. He turns to face the downed Marauder bus. “No.” The side door of the bus opens and someone climbs out. Two more tumble out of the rear door. “Don’t stop. Try again.” He puts his shoulder back into the car. Little Wang hits the accelerator while the Freelancers push. The car just skids side to side in the mud, widening the trench.
“Stop. This isn’t working,” Phoenix says.
“It has to.” Falcon looks in the direction of the bus just in time for a Marauder bullet to hit the car.
Little Wang rolls out of the driver’s side to take cover. Phoenix drags Falcon around to the car to do the same.
“We’re gonna die. They’re gonna eat us,” Little Wang complains.
“No, we’re not,” Falcon says. “There’s three of us and three of them.”
“They have bullets and we don’t,” Phoenix tells him.
Falcon takes a moment to try and think of a way out of their situation. Two bullets hit the car, snapping him out of his thought. “Un-cuff me.” He holds his arm up.
“I told you—”
“I can’t get away if we’re dead. What do you have to lose?”
“I’ll think of another way.”
The Marauders start grunting and yelling unintelligibly.
“You hear that? They’ve got us outgunned and I can’t punch my way out of bullets. Can you? You want to get through this, you’re gonna have to trust me.”
Phoenix weighs her options.
“What is there to think about?” Little Wang flinches as another bullet hits the car. “They’re almost here.”
She reaches into the car and grabs her gun out of the floor board. Before joining the others, she peeks up through the passenger window to see the Marauders. They’re close enough to make out their features. One of them has missing ears. One has a missing eye. All three are horribly scarred. Walking nightmares from a bus full of even more. The one in the middle has no lips and teeth that are filed to jagged edges.
Phoenix backs out of the car, gun in hand.
Falcon looks at the weapon. “Are you going to throw that at them?”
“If I have to.”
“What you have to do is trust me.” Falcon jerks the cuffs. “Where am I gonna go? I’m in the same boat as him.” He nods toward Little Wang.
Phoenix looks at both of them, distrustfully.
A bullet goes right through the passenger side window. It hits the edge of the driver’s seat just inches from her shoulder.
“Do it!” Falcon jerks her toward him.
12
Rapid fire bullets hit the passenger side of the car and the unintelligible guttural sounds of the Marauders getting closer quickly makes up Phoenix’s mind. She pulls a small key from her jacket and jerks Falcon’s arm toward her to unlock the cuff.
“Don’t make me regret this,” she tells him as she clasps the loose cuff to her wrist like a bracelet.
“If anything, you’ll thank me.” Falcon reaches into the car and pops the trunk open. The sudden movement of the hood rising makes the Marauders focus their fire on it.
“I need a distraction,” Falcon tells Phoenix.
She glares at him before crawling to the front of the car. Reaching up and banging her hand on the car hood pays off as the Marauders divert their gunfire in that direction. Falcon peeks up through the car window to see the assailants moving toward the front. He crawls to the back of the car and looks inside the trunk. No traditional weapons. Not even a spare tire or tool box. At this point he’d be happy with a screw driver. The four-sided tire iron will just have to do. He grabs it and ducks back down.
“We need a gun,” Little Wang gripes at Falcon’s defensive choice.
“I need a gun,” Falcon corrects him. “But this is all we’ve got. Phoenix.” He tosses the tire iron to the ground next to her.
“I’m not running out there.”
“Not yet, you aren’t.” He crawls to the fallen car door and lifts it. “It’s not too heavy.”
Phoenix’s first reaction is confusion. It only takes her another second before she looks back at the tire iron and starts piecing together Falcon’s plan.
The shooting stops for a moment as the Marauders reload their guns. The one on the left is interrupted by a gun flying at him and hitting him in the head. The other two laugh at the notion that anyone would use the gun as a projectile. That gives Phoenix all the time she needs to rear the tire iron back and let it loose. The four sided bar hits the same Marauder square in the head, instantly knocking him down. The others stop laughing as they watch him fall then return their attention to the banged up car.
Falcon charges toward the Marauder on the right, holding the car door in front of him. Both Marauders fire their newly reloaded weapons at the charging Freelancer. It’s a lucky gamble as the bullets go into the door but not through it.
Falcon crashes into the closest Marauder, knocking him to the ground and making him drop his machine gun. He scrambles to the weapon, scoops it up and fires just as the Marauder sits up to throw the car door off of himself. The bullets hit the wild looking man, knocking him back to the ground. He doesn’t get back up. Falcon turns his attention to the last one only to see Phoenix trading blows with him. He tries to get a shot but they’re both moving around too much. There’s no other choice. He has to let her handle it.
Phoenix blocks the rifle swing at her head and snaps her foot forward, kicking the Marauder in the mid section. The wild man topples over, jabbing his rifle in the ground as a crutch. Phoenix spins to the ground and kicks the gun away, bringing the Marauder to his knees still gasping for breath from her kick to his stomach.
She rushes to pick up the rifle. As she stands back up to take aim, the Marauder tackles her to the ground. A jagged knife falls down toward her eye. She brings the rifle up to block the fatal attack. Falcon finally has a shot lined up. Before he can fire, Phoenix flips her attacker onto his back and shoves the rifle down at his throat, making him drop the knife as he tries to push the gun up off of him. The angle and leverage make the task impossible. He switches tactics and kicks her up and over him.
The two lay on their backs, neither releasing the gun. They roll over at the same time and get to their feet. As they stand, fighting over ownership of the rifle, Falcon tries again to get a shot but just as before, the two keep moving.
The Marauder starts to get the upper hand by pulling her towards him. He looks in her eyes and yells at her. Not words. Just sounds. And a horrible stench rises from his body. Phoenix remains resolute. She uses the rifle as a bar and swings both of her legs up to the man’s chin. Her feet hit him before she hits the ground. The move pays off and the Marauder releases the gun, stumbling backward.
Phoenix quickly rises to one knee. She aims the gun and fires. One shot through the chin knocks the Marauder down into the mud, lifeless.
Falcon and Phoenix walk to the man she hit with the tire iron. A massive purple spot is on his forehead. “Think he’s dead, too?” She nudges him with the rifle. The Marauder doesn’t move.
Falcon watches his chest. There is no rise or fall. “He’s gone. Well?”
“Well, what?”
“I’m waiting.”
Phoenix looks at him, incredulously. “I’m not thanking you.” She crouches down and starts rummaging through the Marauder’s various pockets and pouches. Falcon does the same.
“What’s with the football pads?” she asks.
“Their idea of armor, I guess. I hear they’re big in Australia.” Falcon grabs a handful of ammo magazines.
“Are other countries going through what we are?”
“A whole world divided by race and religion? Who knows?” He looks back at the bus. “We should see what else they have. Wang.”
Little Wang rises slowly from the other side of the car. “Are they dead?”
“We need to see what’s in the bus. Come on.”
“I’m good right here.”
“Is he worth anything?” Phoenix asks.
“Never seen a contract on him or his brother.” Falcon starts to walk toward the downed bus.
Both Freelancers approach the bus with their newly acquired guns ready to fire. They ease to the roof and post up against it. Falcon glances back at Phoenix. She nods her head. He dashes to the back door. There is no movement. Cautiously, he puts his hand on the door handle and looks at Phoenix to see if she’s ready. She keeps her rifle aimed at the door while Falcon swings the door up. Phoenix quickly steps ahead, sticking the gun inside the bus. She swings the weapon left to right but is met with no resistance or movement of any kind.
Falcon holds the door open and looks inside. He points his gun backwards and pulls the trigger. The blast makes Phoenix jump back. She glares at him.
“Just checking,” he tells her.
Phoenix steps inside the bus, keeping her gun ready, just in case. Falcon steps in behind her, letting the door slam down. She spins around, annoyed that he keeps making so much noise.
“If no one moved from the gunshot, the door is fine.” He makes his way in front of her.
Men and women are piled on top of each other inside the modified bus. Falcon and Phoenix climb over the upturned jet turbine as they try and keep from tripping over the arms and legs of the fallen Marauders.
“What were they doing so deep in the empire?” Phoenix asks.
“Marauders go where they want. I heard a story where one actually got near the King.”
“Which King?”
Falcon crouches down and lifts the arm of a black Marauder. “The King.”
“The BSN wouldn’t allow that.”
“Unless he was black, how would they know?” Falcon grabs a nearby pack and slings it over his shoulder. He doesn’t even bother looking in it. “Every now and then, one of these crazies gets a smart idea. Easy to blend in when you look like you belong there. And Marauders will take anyone.”
“Just like Freelancers.” Phoenix thinks aloud.
“Just another group of law breakers and rabble rousers. Only we have a conscience.” He looks back at her for emphasis.
She narrows her eyes in response, wondering if there is some kind of meaning in his emphasis.
Phoenix notices a pair of hand guns. She picks one up and slides it into her holster. The other goes into her belt.
“Better take this, too.” Falcon hands her an ammo belt. Of the four slots only two have magazines in them. She takes the belt and straps it around her waist.
The sound of an engine revving surprises both of them and they share the same questioning glance. Falcon jumps up to the windows above them and pulls himself up. Poking his head out, he sees their car moving, slowly, forward. “That damn…” Falcon watches as their car drives through the field.
13
Phoenix doesn’t even ask as she hurries to the back door.
They run across the road to their car. Little Wang has managed to get it out of the rut and is moving toward the road but the ground is so wet that getting proper traction is an uphill battle.
As their boots step off of the concrete and onto the muddy ground, Falcon and Phoenix slow down—not only to keep themselves from slipping but because the car doesn’t seem to be getting very far as it slides and gets itself re-stuck every couple of feet.
The Freelancers step in front of the car and aim their guns at Little Wang. He puts the car in park and takes his foot off the accelerator before raising his hands into the air.
“I was just getting it unstuck.” He steps out of the car.
“Save it. You were gonna leave us here.” Falcon moves the gun to follow Little Wang’s movements.
“That’s what you were gonna do to me.”
“How far did you expect to get without any weapons?” Phoenix asks.
“How far did you expect to get as banged up as this thing is? You don’t know if there aren’t more Marauders out here,” Falcon adds.
“The engine works. That’s good enough.”
“He’s right.” Phoenix turns her gun on Falcon. “The engine works. That’s good enough.”
“After all of that, you still—”
“Nothing’s changed. We get back on the road and I make good on your contract.”
“This isn’t like before. I’m not cuffed.” Falcon quickly raises his gun toward Phoenix. “And I’m not unarmed.”
The two stand-off with one another. Little Wang keeps his hands raised but starts to step back into the car. Phoenix draws the hand gun in her belt and aims it at the little brother.
Little Wang freezes. “Woah. Hold on. There’s no contract on me.”
“Maybe not. But you’re not taking that car.”
Falcon keeps his gun on Phoenix. “Ok. So now what?”
The three of them stare at one another. “Like I said, I take you back to the Ivory Republic. If you’re right and there are more Marauders out here, you’re not gonna risk staying. But you can’t stay in the empire, either, and the Outpost won’t take you.”
Little Wang looks at Falcon. Even he feels a little sorry at the lack of choices the other guy has. “You made a lot of people mad, Falcon. And my brother’s still out there.”
“That’s right,” Phoenix says. “So we can keep standing here until Big Wang shows up or more Marauders do. Whichever comes first. How many shots you got in that gun?”
Falcon looks down at the barrel of his gun then glances around the landscape. The darkening area makes his options even more limited. He grits his teeth and lowers the gun.
“Smart choice,” she says.
“You know we’re in the same boat, right?” He smiles.
“How’s that?” She keeps her guns up.
“You did say that you were probably banned from the Asian Empire which means you can’t go back through it. And that’s the fastest way. The Marauders will chase you down no matter what. And as far as Big Wang is concerned, you ran from him with his Emperor’s prisoner. Plus, he’s gonna want his brother back.”
“Yeah. So you have to take me with you,” Little Wang chimes in.
“Or leave him here,” Falcon says. “Either way his brother is gonna come after you.”
“Don’t listen to him, Phoenix.”
“Both of you, shut up.” Phoenix keeps the guns on them, She looks around at the dim field before turning to the road. There is no sign of anyone or any vehicle.
“Let’s make a deal,” Falcon says to her. He lets his gun drop to his side.
“A deal? With you?” Phoenix snaps back around to him.
“I want to get out of here and you want to get me out of here.”
“Then why are you so resistant?”
“Just tired of being chased. I’m tired of having this contract on me. But the only way it’s gonna stop is if I’m in front of the man who put it out in the first place.”
“So what’s the deal?”
“It’s not gonna be easy getting all the way back there. Not in this thing.” He nods toward the banged up car. “And not without a second pair of eyes and more firepower.”
“What about him?” She flicks her head toward Little Wang.
“That’s fine if you trust him. But he did just try to steal the car without us. If you think you can trust him with a gun—”
“I don’t trust either of you.”
“I understand. But I could have taken your car, before, and avoided all of this.”
Phoenix starts to lower the rifle. It’s still enough to wound Falcon but it’s no longer a headshot.
“And just like all of the chasing, I could have just sat back and let you handle it.”
“You wouldn’t have. You didn’t want to be caught. You said you’d rather go with me because I’d be easier to get away from.”
“That was before all this.” Falcon swallows. “Look. We make a pretty good team. At least we have so far. I’m tired of this contract and it’s in your best intere
sts to keep me alive. We need to work together. At this point, you’re not gonna make it back to the Ivory Republic without my help.”
Phoenix narrows her eyes again, judging whether or not to trust him. He tried to run before but who knows what would have happened if she’d have had to deal with the Marauders on her own? Of course, she wouldn’t have had to if he hadn’t run. Still, here they were.
She drops the rifle to her side. “What about him?” Her pistol still points to Little Wang.
“That’s up to you.”
“I can be a third gunner,” Little Wang says.
“I’m not giving you a gun,” she tells him.
“That’s fine. Then I can be a lookout. Just don’t leave me out here.”
Several long seconds pass before she decides. “Ok,” Phoenix says as she secures the gun back in her belt. She swings her hand out toward Falcon.
Falcon takes it.
“Looks like we have a deal,” she says. The Freelancers shake hands. She still stares at him with a cautious eye. “You drive. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Deal or no deal, Falcon knows she still doesn’t trust him. “It’s a start,” he says.
14
The only light on the road comes from the one working headlight on the car. And even it struggles to stay on as it flickers with each road imperfection it runs across. Falcon keeps his eyes toward the front, looking for anything that might be a threat. Phoenix keeps her eyes on Falcon, still perceiving him as a potential threat.
His gun lies against the passenger side door along with Phoenix’s rifle. She holds a hand gun while leaning against the door. Little Wang sits in the back, staring out of the open rear windshield, being a lookout just as he said.
“You can put that away,” Falcon glances at the gun in her hand.
“I think I’ll keep it out.”
“That gun’s not really stopping me from doing anything. It wouldn’t be hard to roll the car again.”
Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix Page 7
