Part 19 (2/2)
”The bodies look like they've been picked clean,” said Nathan.
Keira looked away from the scene, squeezing Owen's hand.
”This happened a few weeks ago. Desert animals did their work already,” said David. ”Alpha wasn't kidding when he said this place was dead.”
She wanted to scream. They were driving an SUV with Mexican plates, in the dead of the night, through a military free-fire zone on the United StatesMexico border, and to top it off, David and her husband were narrating the entire f.u.c.king experience.
”Can we just get through this without the commentary?” she said.
”Sorry,” said Nathan.
David navigated through the kill zone, coming to a complete stop twice to open his door and verify that they could squeeze through an opening in the packed debris field. Once through, the SUV accelerated toward the center of town.
The rest of the road approaching Sonoyta's business district was free of destruction, the United States military's sledgehammer tactics seemingly confined to the outskirts. After they turned due south into the densest part of town, Keira started to miss the carnage. The emptiness left her unsettled. Her night-vision goggles didn't register a single artificial light source, and the street was completely devoid of parked cars. Sonoyta was a ghost town.
The SUV lurched forward, picking up speed moments after they entered the busiest stretch of downtown road. The winds.h.i.+eld HUD read seventy miles per hour, which was excessive for an urban street-even a deserted one.
”You might want to take it easy here,” said Nathan, echoing her thoughts.
”Take a look at your ten o'clock,” said David.
They looked to their left.
A dark gore stain smeared against the tan stucco wall of an OXXO convenience store marked the location of a slumped body on the sidewalk.
”Drive-by shooting?” said Nathan.
”I don't think so,” replied David. ”Looked like a single shot.”
”Snipers?” she said.
”That's why I'm driving like a maniac.”
”There's another one. Right side,” said Nathan.
Keira looked too late, barely glimpsing the repeated scene. Snipers on both sides?
”That one had a rifle,” added her husband.
”They have this place locked down tight,” said David, pus.h.i.+ng the SUV up to eighty-five miles per hour.
An earsplitting bang filled the car, creating a moment of pandemonium. Keira instinctively pulled Owen over her lap before David slammed on the brakes, forcing her against her seat belt, then floored the SUV, rocketing them back against the seat. When she looked up, she couldn't see through her window. She started to form words, but a hollow thump vibrated the car, a brief shower of sparks bouncing off the winds.h.i.+eld and disappearing.
”Stay down!” yelled David, the SUV veering into the oncoming traffic lane.
Owen tried to raise his head, but she kept him buried under her arms, leaning over his torso. A sharp crack, immediately followed by a shower of gla.s.s, kept her locked into position over her son. The SUV accelerated faster than she thought possible, the rough street rumbling furiously underneath them.
”Are you OK?” yelled Nathan.
She lifted her head far enough to see Nathan turned in his seat, partially leaning over the center console. He extended a hand, which she grasped and squeezed.
The SUV shuddered, traveling at breakneck speed for another minute or so before slowing.
”We're out of the town,” said David. ”Whose window got hit?”
”Mine,” said Keira.
”Mom, you're crus.h.i.+ng me,” protested Owen.
”I don't really care. You're not sitting up until the town is out of sight.”
”Describe the window for me,” David said.
”Shattered in place,” said Nathan.
”Probably took a hit from a military-grade armor-piercing bullet,” said David. ”You're lucky to be alive.”
”I feel like the luckiest girl in the world,” she said bitterly. ”Is my window useless now?”
”Another bullet like that will go right through, but it should stand up to more conventional rounds for now.”
”Should?” she said.
David shrugged. ”I've seen this type of gla.s.s take a beating long after I would have guessed it was useless, and I've seen it fail miserably under the same circ.u.mstances.”
”Which situation happened most often?”
”The first.”
”Finally some good news,” said Keira.
”Want to hear something even better?” said David.
”I can't wait.”
”We're still alive,” said David.
”Hard to beat that.”
”Seriously. One of their bullets grazed the middle of hood. If it had struck the side of the vehicle, we'd still be in town-most likely dead or bleeding out.”
”The good news express keeps delivering.”
Owen and Nathan laughed.
”What are you laughing at?” she said to her son, at last letting him sit up.
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