Chapter 27 - Highway Shootout
Mara hadn't waited at the cabin for a second strike. After neutralizing the first assault team, she had packed Leo into her reinforced SUV and fled toward the nearest state police barracks. But Arthur’s resources were vast, and his desperation made him incredibly dangerous.
As the chopper flew over Interstate 87, the pilot banked sharply. "I have visual on a high-speed pursuit on the southbound lanes!"
I leaned out the open side door of the chopper, the freezing wind tearing at my face. Below us, illuminated by the highway streetlights, Mara’s SUV was swerving aggressively, trying to shake off three black, armored Escalades that were boxing her in.
"They're trying to force her off the road!" Grant yelled, grabbing a heavy sniper rifle from the chopper's weapons rack.
I watched in absolute terror as one of the Escalades violently rammed the side of Mara's SUV. Sparks flew as metal ground against metal at ninety miles an hour. Inside that car was everything I loved in the world.
"Drop us down!" Grant ordered the pilot. "Get me a clear line of sight on the lead vehicle!"
The chopper descended rapidly, hovering just fifty feet above the highway, matching the speed of the speeding convoy. Grant stabilized the heavy rifle against the frame of the open door, taking a deep breath to steady his aim against the vibration of the rotors.
He fired a single, deafening shot.
The heavy caliber bullet punched straight through the engine block of the lead Escalade. The massive vehicle instantly seized up, smoke billowing from the hood as it lost control, flipping violently end-over-end and crashing into the highway median in a spectacular shower of glass and sparks.
The remaining two Escalades immediately hit their brakes, swerving to avoid the wreckage, abandoning the pursuit as the police chopper hovered menacingly above them.
Mara seized the opening, accelerating away from the chaos and pulling onto an exit ramp where local police cruisers, alerted by our radio calls, were already waiting to secure her.
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I collapsed back into my seat, a profound, overwhelming wave of relief washing over me. Leo was safe.
But Arthur Pendelton was still out there. And I was entirely done playing defense.
