Chapter 5 - The Van Over the Delaware
“That’s them!” I screamed, pointing through the windshield.
The transport van swerved violently as the driver spotted our black Suburban in
his mirrors.
We were crossing the Delaware River bridge.
Two hundred feet of empty black air and churning river water lay beneath the
rusted steel trusses.
A passenger leaned out of the van’s window holding an automatic rifle.
Muzzle flashes illuminated the bridge.
Bullets struck our front radiator grille.
Steam began hissing from under our hood.
“Rachel, take the wheel!” Adrian ordered.
“What?!”
“SLIDE OVER AND TAKE THE WHEEL!”
I scrambled over the center console, grabbing the leather rim as Adrian
unbuckled his harness.
He rolled down the driver’s window into the freezing gale.
He leveled his Sig Sauer with both hands, bracing his elbows on the door frame.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Three precise shots.
The right rear tire of the transport van shredded into flying rubber.
The van fish-tailed wildly across the slick bridge deck.
It struck the steel guardrail with a deafening screech of tearing metal.
The barrier groaned and gave way.
The rear half of the van swung out into the void, teetering precariously over
the black river.
I slammed our brakes, bringing the Suburban to a halt ten feet away.
The front doors of the van flew open.
Two armed guards jumped out into the rain, raising their weapons.
Adrian didn't wait.
He charged through the headlights like an avenging demon.
He fired twice, dropping the first guard onto the asphalt.
He tackled the second guard over the bridge railing, sending the man plummeting
two hundred feet into the dark river below.
Then, from inside the dangling van, came a child’s terrified scream:
“DADDY!”
Owen’s voice.
The van shifted.
A rivet snapped with a sound like a rifle shot.
The vehicle tilted further over the abyss.
Adrian lunged toward the open rear doors.
“OWEN!”
The entire chassis lurched.
May you like
Steel groaned against concrete.
The van was falling.
