Nodding, the girl slid sideways, tightly pressed against the vehicle. When she reached the car’s rear, she slid around its end and moved behind the vehicle, putting it between her and the men who were firing at them indiscriminately. She stayed there, frozen in place, shaking with fear as bullets whizzed by, pelting the cars around them.
From where Logan lay on the ground, he turned his head in the other direction and found Skullcrusher staring at him. “Yo!” the man yelled. “Dey witchu?”
“Fuck no!” Logan yelled. “If they were, they’d be trying to save us, not kill us!”
“You best not be lyin’” the man replied, rising to one knee and firing back at their attackers. His gun chattered as he held down the trigger, sending round after round towards the other end of the bridge. Emboldened by his actions, the men with him joined in, firing their weapons as well.
Glass broke, sparks flew, and spent shells chimed on the surface of the bridge as they exchanged gunfire with the other men.
The man named Trey cried out as a round caught him in the leg, knocking it out from under him. He fell to the ground, holding the leg with one hand as he kept a firm grip on his rifle with the other. Realizing it was only a flesh wound, the man shrugged it off and rose to feet again, favoring the leg as he leaned forward, rested his elbows on the hood of a truck, and began shooting again.
Suddenly, the gunfire coming towards them stopped. Skull Crusher put his hand out, causing the men with him to hold their fire as well.
Leaning his back against a bullet-riddled van, Skull Crusher raised his voice and yelled, “Hey, the girl here is immune!!”
Something metallic bounced along the pavement, tumbling end over end before coming to rest near Logan, Isabella, Skull Crusher, and his men.
It was a grenade.
“We know!!” A man’s voice called out.
“Shit!!” Skull Crusher said, his feet sliding on the spent casings that littered the bridge.
Logan burst into action, ignoring the pain in his calf as he rushed forward, scooping up Isabella before leaping forward, trying to reach potential safety behind a nearby taxi.
The grenade detonated, its concussive force sending a wave of energy outward, lifting cars and throwing Skull Crusher and his men into the air before shredding their bodies with shrapnel. Weakened and bloodied, the gang members landed hard, breaking bones as their bodies struck the concrete.
Still airborne with Isabella in his arms when the grenade exploded, Logan felt his legs being lifted upward, towards his head, by the power of the blast.
‘This can’t be good,’ he brain told him in that split second.
When the railing of the bridge passed by underneath them, all doubt was removed.
There was nothing between the two of them and the blue-green surface of the water, eighty feet below.
CHAPTER NINETY-THREE
Palo Alto, California
Turning onto Middlefield Road, the white SUV glistened in the mid-morning sun. Though most vehicles in the San Jose areas were dirty, the Mercedes-Benz G550 was spotless, thanks to the efforts of the workers assigned to cleaning it each evening. Well over an hour was dedicated to the effort, with their work being evaluated by Clint, who didn’t hesitate to smack one of them in the head if he found evidence of anything less than perfection.
The Scorpion demanded it.
“That’s Dirty’s ride there,” the big man said, pointing towards the low rider parked next to the curb.
Curious, the Scorpion cocked her head to the side. “Are those fuckers in that liquor store drinking?”
“Maybe, no, wait,” Clint said, peering ahead, “I think I see them in the car.”
“Probably getting high and eating munchies,” Lizette interjected, shaking her head. Looking over the woman next to her, she watched as the Scorpion scowled, transforming her face from one of beauty to one of intense anger, which, if Lizette was being totally honest, was still hot as hell.
“Fuckers.”
As Clint drove the SUV closer, he noticed something was amiss. The shapes inside the car hadn’t moved at all since he’d first been close enough to make them out. Looking closer, he was able to make out broken glass on the sidewalk near where the car was parker.
Speaking to the man next to him, he asked, “Yo, Mario, you seeing what I’m seeing?”
Lifting his sunglasses, the man leaned forward, squinting. After a moment, he said, “Yeah. Stop up here,” he said, pointing at a spot along the curb about twenty yards away from the low rider.
“Alright.”
Clint drove the SUV a bit further along the road, then pulled the Mercedes over to the curb. Leaving the engine running, he glanced back at the Scorpion and Bang. Pointing ahead, he said, “We need to check it out real quick.”
Leaning back in the plush leather seat, the Scorpion nodded and said nothing.
The two men grabbed their guns from the dash, then exited the vehicle, closing the doors behind them. Keeping their guns in front of them, they moved towards the car, walking slowly and carefully as they approached. When they got closer, they widened the space between them, with Clint heading towards the driver’s side and Mario heading towards the passenger's side.
Before they were abreast of the doors on either side of the car, they were able to tell what had happened. Shaking their heads, they backed up a few steps and paused. After a moment, Clint pointed towards the liquor store. Mario glanced that way, then nodded in response. He disappeared into the store for a few minutes, then returned, shaking his head.
The two men exchanged a few words, then Clint made his way back to the SUV.
Opening the door, he leaned inside and said, “You’re gonna need to see this, Scorpion.”
Nodding the woman opened her door and got out, while Lizette exited the vehicle from the other side. Together, the two women walked towards the car, looking in every direction for any indication that this could be a trap. It was clear through Clint’s tone that something bad had happened, and if it had, there was a possibility that the perpetrators of the assault were still in the vicinity.
When they reached the lowrider Sanchez and Javier favored, the Scorpion saw what the others had: both men had shot at close range with what was clearly a shotgun, based on the amount of blood, bone, hair, and brains that had been splattered throughout the front part of the car’s interior. Some of it had been sprayed out onto the sidewalk as well, leaving a speckled pattern of brownish-rust colored stains and bits of grey or off-white bits of skull and brain on its surface.
“Motherfuckers....” the Scorpion muttered, shaking her head. Looking up, her eyes were filled with anger when they found Clint’s. “Whoever did this is going fucking pay.”
The man nodded in return. Looking up and down the street for clues, he saw nothing at first, then: “Hey, that looks different, don’t it?
Following his gaze, the Scorpion’s eyes found what he did. “Definitely,” she said, nodding. “For one, the driver’s body is missing.”
“Whaddaya think it was? Dogs, maybe?”
She shook her head as Lizette came over to stand next to her. “No. There’d be something left.”
Coming out of the liquor store, Mario winced in response to the sun’s brightness before sliding on his sunglasses. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Clint answered. “That armored truck. Remember when we took out the driver and emptied it out? Look - the driver’s body is gone.”
Mario looked in the direction of the truck, then nodded. “Yeah, I ‘member.”
“Looks like somethin’s hooked up to the engine, too,” Lizette said.
“Let’s check it out,” the Scorpion said, staring at the truck. “Might be the fuckers that killed Javier and Sanchez. Someone get the Benz,” she ordered.
Without saying a word, Clint turned and jogged back to the SUV, using one hand to hold up his sagging pants. A minute later he was alongside the others, who got in and rode with him down to the end of the block an
d across the intersection. He slowed in advance of the armored truck as his eyes looked for any signs of movement. Seeing none, he slowly brought the SUV alongside the front of the big truck.
“Looks like someone’s trying to charge the battery,” he said, looking at the bright yellow portable charger that had been balanced inside the engine compartment.
“That truck’s on our turf,” the Scorpion stated flatly, “it's ours.” After a moment she asked, “Anyone inside the thing?”
Clint shook his head. “Not in the front. I can see into the cab, but there’s no one there.”
Looking behind them, Scorpion said, “Back up and park by the curb in front of this thing, then you two check it out.”
“Okay,” the man replied, putting the vehicle in reverse. He parked as she’d instructed, then got out of the SUV with Mario. Together, they circled the vehicle, disappearing from sight when they got to its rear area. When they didn’t return immediately, the Scorpion knew they’d found something. After a few moments, Clint made his way back to the SUV. Reaching in, he turned off the engine as he looked into the backseat area, his eyes finding the Scorpion’s. “Someone’s in there.”
The Scorpion smiled in the wicked way she did whenever she knew she was about to exact vengeance upon someone. Without saying a word, she got out of the Mercedes-Benz SUV.
She, Clint, and Lizette walked to the rear of the armored truck, slowing only to briefly examine the portable battery charger. When they reached the back of the truck, she saw Mario standing in front of the closed reinforced steel doors.
“When we got back here, I banged on the door with my gun, and we heard someone scream inside.” Mario explained.
“Sounded like it might have been a kid, probably a little girl,” Clint added.
The Scorpion nodded. After a moment, she shook her head. “Well, I doubt the little girl killed those two, so it must have been whoever was her.” With that, she stepped forward and banged several hard times on the door. “Open up!” She commanded.
Nothing.
The truck itself was completely silent, allowing her banging to reverberate in the quiet air that hung over the street.
She looked at Mario. “You sure?”
He nodded. “Definitely,” he replied.
Clint added, “I heard it too, Scorp.”
Irritated, she banged on the door even harder. “Open the fuck up!”
Still nothing.
Instead of bangin yet again, she yelled, “Hey, I run this fuckin’ city, and I can have people wait out her all fuckin’ day and all fuckin’ night. We can wait you out. Either you’ll run out of food or water, or you’ll get tired of shittin’ and pissin’ in a fuckin’ corner.” Bringing the gun up, she banged on the door again. “So open the fuckin’ door now!”
After several long moments, a woman’s voice called out, “Please, just go away! We don’t want any trouble, and we don’t have anything you want!”
The Scorpion chuckled. “Oh sweetie, you don’t know what I want, now do you? Open up and let me see who I’m talking to.”
“No! Go away!” the woman’s voice responded in a strong, commanding tone that irritated Samantha.
Who the fuck did she think she was talking to?
She was about to bang on the door again when Lizette reached out and stopped her.
“What is it, babe?” Samantha asked, looking at her lover.
Lizette motioned with her head for the woman to step aside with her. Okay with letting the people inside wonder what was happening, the Scorpion did so.
“You wanna find out who’s inside, or just get rid of ‘em?” Lizette asked.
Looking back towards the armored truck, the Scorpion shrugged. “Ahh, I really don’t fuckin’ care.”
Lizette smiled. “Well, then, I’ve got just the thing to blow these fuckers apart.”
The Scorpion raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Really?”
Lizette nodded. “Yup. I was gonna use it to blow up the road back at the two-eighty junction, before we saw the roadblock whatshisface put up.”
The Scorpion pointed at the armored truck. “And it can blow this thing up?”
Lizette smiled enthusiastically as she nodded. “Easy. It’s more powerful than what I used on the bridge the other day. Like then, we’ll need to get far away. That’s why I’ve got a long range detonator.” she finished, holding up a cell phone. The young woman looked like she was on pins and needles, brimming with excitement as she stood there, smiling at Samantha as she waited for her response.
“You’re excited about this, aren’t you?” the Scorpion asked slyly.
“God, yes, baby. It’ll be the biggest explosion I’ve ever detonated. Serious,” she said, her eyes widening, “we’re going to have to be at least as far away as Sanchez’s car.”
“Damn,” Samantha said, looking in that direction to see how far it was. After a moment, she nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”
Lizette bounced on her toes in excitement. “Really?”
“Yes, baby. Let’s blow these fuckers sky high.”
“Yay!” The younger woman wrapped her arms around Samantha and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Knowing the two men were watching and that she needed to show she was in control, Samantha brought her hands up. “Okay, okay.” Turning to the others, she said, “Alright, Bang’s got a plan for this. Let’s get ready to clear out while she sets it up”
The Scorpion, Clint, and Mario waited in the SUV, listening to Latin hip-hop at loud levels while Lizette set things up. When she was done, she approached the vehicle.
“It’s ready,” she said, smiling. “Wanna blow it now, or should I give them one final warning?”
The Scorpion considered her choices. She knew Lizette was eager to blow the truck up, but Samantha also wanted the young woman to take on more of the role she was grooming her for: her Vice. She wanted Lizette to be the leader she knew the beautiful young woman was capable of being.
Which meant the woman needed to see that she was trusting her to handle things.
“Tell you what, go back there and give them one last chance. If they don’t take it, we’ll blow it.”
“Okay,” the lithe Latina spun on her heel and walked back towards the armored truck, holding the cell phone in her hand. Barely able to contain her excitement, she bounced on the balls of her feet as she walked, her pony tail swinging back and forth as she moved gracefully.
After banging on the door, she yelled, “Alright you pieces of shit! Open the fuck up or I’m going to blow this damn truck into a million pieces!” Looking at the cell phone in her hand, she smiled. “And believe me, I would love to do it!”
She waited for a response.
After a moment, a voice called out from inside the truck.
“Wait!”
Knowing the Scorpion and the others were too far away to hear the muffled voice, she stepped out from behind the truck, looked in their direction, and shook her head.
Turning back towards the armored truck, she smiled.
“Alright! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
With that, she walked away happily, heading back towards the SUV.
“It’s a go!” she yelled, smiling.
CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR
Palo Alto, California
“Alright you pieces of shit! Open the fuck up or I’m going to blow this damn truck into a million pieces!”
Watching from where they were near the corner of Middlefield and Embarcadero Road, Daniel and Paul couldn’t believe what they were hearing. The two of them had been in the process of sneaking across the street when they’d seen the commotion by the armored truck. Sensing something bad was about to happen, they crouched down behind a dust-covered Honda crossover vehicle on the west side of the street and watched as the young woman had retrieved what appeared to be some type of explosive device from inside the back of the Mercedes SUV. Setting it on the street near the truck, she made a few adjustmen
ts to it before flicking on a switch and verifying something on the phone she’d been holding. Smiling and nodding, she slid the device under the truck before telling the people in the SUV that the device was ready.
A few seconds later, she was back behind the truck, banging on the door before demanding those inside open up.
“And believe me, I would love to do it!” the Latina added, before pausing to listen by the back of the truck.
Though he wasn’t certain, Daniel could have sworn he heard some kind of response from inside the truck.
The slim woman turned away from the armored truck and smiled.
“Alright! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
With that, she walked away happily, heading back towards the SUV.
“Shit, she’s going to kill the people inside that truck!” Paul whispered, his eyes wide with panic.
“I know,” Daniel replied quietly, shaking his head as he checked his gun. “We can’t let this happen.” Looking at where the woman was, he added, “She’s trying to get clear of the blast zone. Once she’s inside that SUV, we won’t be able to stop it.” Before he moved over and rested his arms atop the SUV’s hood, steadying his aim as he aimed the gun.
The woman was an amorphous blur.
Unable to focus from that distance, he cursed under his breath as he heard the woman yell, “It’s a go!”
Lowering the gun in defeat, he felt helpless as he watched the blurred form of the woman approach the SUV, bouncing on her toes in happiness as she held the cell phone detonator in her hand.
A zipping sound came from his right a second before an arrow lodged in the Latina’s side, its front half disappearing into her ribcage.
The young woman’s mouth opened in shock as she tried to process what had just occurred, looking down at where the arrow was embedded in her side in disbelief. Dropping the phone she held, she fell to her knees. Looking back into the SUV, she spoke to someone within.
Those would be her final words.
She fell forward, making no effort to catch herself as she crashed face-first into the pavement.
Surviving Rage | Book 2 Page 63
