“That?” Zahra asked. “That was nothing more than petty revenge! I wanted to pay them back for what they did to those people back there.”
Rabia nodded. “I would have done the same thing, but with fewer bullets. Your emotions are your strength, Zahra. Use that strength when the time comes.”
Zahra gave an exhausted laugh. “And you? The ‘Emotionless Ice Queen?’”
Rabia's eyes narrowed. “Just because I’m better at hiding my feelings doesn’t mean I don’t feel them. Here, if you show weakness, you are that weakness.” She sighed and patted the front seat. “Come. Let’s find our friends before more of Ayad’s men arrive.”
Zahra climbed back into the front, leaving the AK-103 behind. “You think they’re doing okay?”
Rabia shrugged again. “I’m not sure. Let’s hope so.”
Chapter 73
Cork
“Ali, you fucking bastard. I’m going to kill you!”
Cork was not pleased with her navigator. Ali had claimed to know Port Said inside and out, boasting that Ayad’s men would soon lose them. Instead, he led them directly into a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam reminiscent of those in major metropolitan cities like London and Los Angeles. Still, Ali wasn’t about to admit defeat.
“You are the so-called expert driver, yes?” He held out his hand, motioning to the congestion of vehicles. “Time for you to get us out of this mess, if you can…”
“The mess you got us into!”
He grinned. “Semantics.”
That pissed Cork off. He was mocking her, using her own words against her. She smashed down on the horn and hopped the curb. They continued south along the eastern sidewalk. Cork was careful not to hit anyone, allowing people to clear the footpath before pushing forward. Ayad’s men followed closely behind them, not giving the pedestrians the same courtesy. Luckily, everyone had already moved off, squeezing into nearby storefronts, and even leaping out into traffic.
“I swear,” Cork shouted. “If we get out of this, I’m going to kick you in your tiny little pecker!”
She meant it, too.
Ali leaned away from the irate woman, doing what was best for him and keeping his mouth shut. For now, it was up to Cork to keep them alive.
A car rolled forward, stopping directly atop the crosswalk up ahead. The driver looked both ways, snapping his attention back to Cork and her white SUV as they zoomed down the sidewalk. The man threw his car into reverse and tried to back up but instantly met resistance in the form of another automobile.
Holy shit! Cork thought. There was nowhere to go except straight through him.
Thankfully, Ali had already spotted a way out. “There!”
Cork saw it a second later. Up ahead, mere feet from the impending collision, traffic was thinning out enough for her to conceivably re-enter the roadway. It wouldn’t be pretty, however. To pull off the gutsy maneuver, she’d have to slow and squeeze their bulbous SUV through a gap no bigger than it. And on either side of the opening stood a concrete telephone pole and a fire hydrant.
She bit her lip and drifted the SUV to the left, skimming the blur of storefronts. Cork planted both of her feet on the brake and yanked the steering wheel right. The passenger side mirror was sheared off by the telephone pole and the SUV’s left rear quarter panel clipped the fire hydrant, sending a geyser of water high into the sky.
“Bloody hell!” Cork yelped, swerving around a massive garbage truck.
In her overhead mirror, she spied the big four-door truck directly behind them, attempting to complete the same move. Somehow, it successfully passed through the tight pathway but was hit with a wash of water as gravity took hold of the newly created fountain. It obstructed the driver’s view just enough for him not to see the garbage truck. The much heavier vehicle t-boned the truck, causing it to barrel roll into the middle of the intersection, coming to a rest on its roof.
Cork pried her eyes away from the joyous carnage, smiling wide. She glared at Ali. Her jubilant expression vanished in an instant.
“Just so you know, I wear a men’s size eleven.”
Chapter 74
Zahra
Even after ridding themselves of their lead pursuer, Rabia couldn’t shake off the next one. The smaller sedan was quicker and constantly vanished in and out of the larger SUV’s blind spots. Zahra only spoke when pointing out the vehicle’s location, allowing Rabia to concentrate on not getting them killed. Traffic was beginning to thin out, and their speeds increased. She turned and spotted her rifle.
No dice, she thought, biting her lip, and thinking. It was out of ammo. The only thing they had was her pistol. They still had Rabia’s massive sniper rifle, but Zahra quickly pushed aside that option. You couldn’t have paid her enough money to attempt to use that thing while inside a moving vehicle.
So, she gazed past the four-door, and the pair of men within, and was happy to see that it was alone. Its buddy had yet to unclog itself from the traffic jam further behind them.
Good… All they needed to do was lose this guy, and they’d be home free.
Rabia was on the same wavelength.
“We need to say goodbye to our friend before meeting the others,” she said. “Any ideas?”
Zahra drew her sidearm.
Rabia shook her head. “That won’t do. We need something that hits harder.”
Now, it was Zahra’s turn to shake her head. “My gun is spent.”
“Mine is not.”
Zahra sat and stared at the woman. “You’re kidding me, right? You want me to use that ‘monster’ inside a moving vehicle.”
“One that will be swerving back and forth while also rapidly braking and accelerating, yes.”
Zahra laughed. “You’re crazy. You know that?”
Rabia shrugged. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
So was Zahra. She was still alive after so many daring escapes because she did what she had to do to survive. As much as Zahra didn’t want to admit it, she and the sniper were very similar to one another.
“I’ll walk you through it, okay?”
Zahra sighed and nodded. Next, she went about the arduous task of working the four-foot-long McMillan TAC-338 precision rifle into position. What made matters worse was that Zahra had to kneel in her seat while facing the rear of the SUV. If she didn’t get shot during the attempt, she’d surely get car sick.
“Okie-dokie,” Zahra muttered. “Here we go.”
She lifted the weapon, setting the barrel across the back bench seat. Rabia pulled the steering wheel hard to the left, sending them sliding around a corner. When their tires caught, she shot off, but the sudden jerking motion, combined with Zahra’s awkward positioning, spilled her backward into Rabia’s lap.
“Zahra!” Rabia shouted, unable to get her hands back on the steering wheel. “Get off!”
“I can’t! I’m stuck!”
Reacting quickly, Zahra grabbed the wheel and held it in place.
“Left!” Rabia instructed, trying to yank her arms free.
But she couldn’t. Zahra was stuck, and the side-to-side rocking was working her deeper and deeper into place.
Zahra edged left.
“Back right — right!”
Following Rabia’s orders, Zahra moved them right. As she did, she left herself up into a crunch, leaning forward enough for Rabia to slip her left arm out from beneath her back. Back in control, Rabia steadied the SUV long enough for Zahra to wiggle back into her own seat. Neither woman reacted to the ridiculousness of the past couple of seconds. Zahra refused to meet the sniper’s gaze and, instead, went about realigning her shot.