Tommy hit the button on the door and rolled down his window. He hung carefully out the side and fired off four shots before ducking back in and taking cover. The counterattack caused the other car’s driver to weave out of the way, but he quickly resumed course, tucking in close behind. Sean looked back and saw the gunman leaning out the window again. Tommy was about to do the same, but Sean stopped him.
“Just hold on for a sec,” he warned.
“What are you…”
Sean slammed his foot on the brake and pressed his head against the headrest, anticipating what was to come.
The car behind them couldn’t react fast enough and plowed into the rear bumper. The gunman was hanging too far out the window, and the force of the jolt sent him flying out of the vehicle. His luck was beyond bad, and momentum carried his body through the air until his head struck a road sign. He fell to the ground, unmoving, and the chase went on.
Sean hit the gas again. Up ahead, he saw another sign pointing to the right. The road headed north and would take them around the city and back into the countryside. At least that’s what he figured. Better to guess and be wrong than keep pressing on and know what would happen.
He barely padded the brakes and swung the car around the sharp turn and onto the new road. The tail end skidded, fishtailing into the other lane across the white paint marking the intersection. Sean stepped on the accelerator again, correcting the slide just before striking a motorcycle sitting at the stoplight. The rider’s wide eyes were a cocktail of fear and disbelief under his clear visor, certain this moment would be his last.
Sean stole another look back and saw the silver sedan easily make the turn and fall in line close behind once more. This time, two men in the backseat popped their heads out but weren’t going to make the same mistake the previous gunman made. They were more careful and only partially leaned out the window. The attackers’ sedan closed the distance between the cars again. The men in the backseat fired their handguns, sending a hail of reckless hot metal at the Americans. Most of the bullets sailed by. A few thumped into the trunk.
Tommy poked his gun out the window again and launched a counter volley of five shots. All but one of the bullets missed as the silver sedan weaved and snaked clear. The lone shot that was on target merely struck a headlight. Tommy checked his magazine, taking a quick inventory of what he had left. “Three more shots,” he informed Sean. “Got any other tricks up your sleeve?”
“Maybe,” Sean said, jerking the wheel to the side to make them as difficult a target as possible.
The one-lane road opened up into two lanes in both directions and stretched out toward the mountains a few miles away. Sean reached down to his ankle and drew his weapon. He gripped it tight, holding it next to his leg. The car suddenly lurched violently forward, accompanied by a loud bang.
The silver sedan slowed down for a few seconds after ramming the rear of the Americans’ car. They didn’t wait to make their next move, though, and veered into the other lane to pull alongside.
Sean turned the wheel hard to the left, cutting off the maneuver. The sedan shifted lanes and accelerated again. The man in the backseat on the driver’s side aimed his weapon again, but Tommy fired first, sending two of his three remaining rounds into the car’s door. Aware of the danger, the driver hit the brakes immediately and resumed the chase just behind the Americans. He ducked back to the other side, putting two wheels on the shoulder, and inched closer to the back quarter panel.
It was a move Sean had seen before. Police were trained, in a chase situation, to ease up behind the car they were pursuing and turn into the back end just behind the rear wheel. The force would send the runaway car into a nearly inescapable spin and bring it to a stop. The silver sedan appeared poised to try just such a maneuver.
As the other driver got ready to strike, Sean slammed on the brakes again and yanked his steering wheel to the left. The other car was bigger, and his little compact rental vehicle shuddered on impact, but the maneuver did enough to wedge the sedan against the guardrail, sending a shower of sparks trailing behind it from the doors grinding on the metal.
The man in the back passenger seat had fallen over from the impact but had quickly regained his balance. He popped up and took aim to end the chase with a bullet to Sean’s temple, but the American was faster. With one hand on the wheel and the other clutching his pistol, he flashed the gun out and extended it through the window. His trigger finger snapped like lightning, sending one hollow point after another through the open window of the sedan. One struck the gunman in the chest, sending him falling over backward; two other rounds found their mark in the driver’s shoulder and the side of his head. Crimson splashed on the window with the latter, and the enemy vehicle instantly slowed. Sean mashed the gas pedal again and pulled away. He watched in the rear mirror as the last man alive in the backseat panicked, trying to reach over the seat to control the wheel. The sedan pulled hard to the right; its tires caught the rough asphalt, and physics took over. The vehicle flipped up into the air, dramatically at first, like a ballerina spinning in space. The next second, it crashed to the ground on its tires then rolled bottom over top for another thirty feet until it finished its deadly dance, coming to a stop on its roof.
Sean didn’t let up. He kept the pedal to the floor and only glanced back in the rearview mirror at the smoking wreckage. Cars on the other side of the road were starting to slow down to get a better view of what happened. A few people got out and ran across the median to get a closer look or perhaps be a good Samaritan and lend a hand. Sean knew they needed to put distance between themselves and anyone else who might be following them. They’d only seen one car, but there could have been more reinforcements close behind. Sean and Tommy did not intend to stick around to find out.
Ahead, the thick, lush forests stretched into shadowy mountains. They were mere molehills compared to the mountains they would see in Bhutan. Sean stole another look back in the mirror just before their little car disappeared around a bend in the road.
Tommy looked back between the seats. There were still a few clear spots in the cracked rear window, but for the most part, it was completely destroyed. It was a miracle that any glass was still intact. He turned his focus to Sean, whose eyes were fixed on the road. “What about our stuff back in the hotel?”
Sean’s answer was quick. “Call the front desk. Have them ship it back to Atlanta. They can take it out of the company credit card.”
“Your company?” Tommy flashed a narrow grin with his eyes.
“Yours,” Sean corrected, returning the wry smile with one of his own.
“That was a risky move you made. What if you’d missed or if they’d shot first?”
Sean didn’t answer immediately. He steered the car around the curves leading up the mountain pass and slowed his speed a little, satisfied there were no other cars in pursuit.
“You weigh the risks and determine which has the best likely outcome. We couldn’t outrun them in this car. And we certainly didn’t have more weapons or ammunition. It was the only way we had a chance of getting away alive.”
“And you just always do this, what, automatically?”
It was the first time Tommy had pushed the conversation before, in spite of them being friends for decades.
“Pretty much.”
Tommy turned around and faced forward, easing back in his seat. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. When he’d finally relaxed somewhat, he said, “Well, I apologize.”