Chapter 16 - The Ambush on the Bridge
The rain began as we reached the midpoint of the Queensboro Bridge, heavy, gray sheets of water slamming against the armored glass of Vincent’s reinforced SUV.
Traffic had been cleared ahead by Marcus’s lead vehicle, but as we rounded the upper span, a massive flatbed semi-truck jackknifed across the lanes, screeching metal throwing up a shower of sparks that illuminated the stormy twilight.
"Brake!" I shouted.
Our driver slammed on the anti-lock brakes. The heavy SUV skidded, tires smoking against wet asphalt, coming to an abrupt halt barely ten feet from the steel barrier of the truck. Behind us, a second heavy utility vehicle roared out of the rain, ramming our rear bumper with the force of an artillery shell, boxing us in completely.
"Down! Both of you, get on the floor!" I ordered, throwing my body over Leo and Maya in the back seat.
"Marcus, report!" Vincent barked into his tactical radio, pulling a customized Sig Sauer from under his arm.
Static hissed through the speaker, followed by the sharp, rhythmic crack of automatic gunfire. *"Ambush! It’s Aegis contractors! They’ve closed both ends of the bridge! Target is the package—repeat, target is the children!"*
The side windows of our SUV shattered in a web of cracks as high-caliber rounds slammed into the bullet-resistant glass. Maya let out a terrified shriek, burying her face into my chest, while Leo clutched my arm, his small body trembling but his eyes wide and startlingly focused.
"Mama, the gas tank under the flatbed," Leo yelled over the deafening cacophony of bullets. "It’s leaking fuel! The sparks from the brakes are reaching it!"
Even in the middle of a firefight, my son saw the mechanics of the world before the fear.
"Hold on to Maya!" I shouted, pulling off my seatbelt.
Vincent kicked his door open an inch, firing three precise shots through the gap, dropping a masked mercenary advancing with an assault rifle. "Elena, I’m drawing their fire to the left barrier! When the rear clears, take the kids and run for the pedestrian tower!"
"Vincent, no! You can't take them all alone!"
"They want the drive, and they want Julian’s bloodline erased so Aegis can seal the legal succession!" Vincent roared, turning to look at me, his dark eyes ablaze with an intensity that took my breath away. "I spent seven years regretting that I didn't reach that burning lab in time to pull you out myself, Elena. I will not fail you twice!"
Before I could grab his sleeve, Vincent kicked the heavy door wide open, diving into the rain and muzzle flashes.
He moved with lethal, military precision. A former naval intelligence officer, Vincent was not a CEO who hid behind desks. His weapon barked twice, dropping another shooter, before he vaulted onto the hood of an abandoned sedan, drawing the crossfire away from our passenger side.
A bullet tore through Vincent’s left shoulder. Blood bloomed instantly across his white shirt, but he didn't even stumble. He returned fire, taking out the sniper perched on the truck’s cabin.
"Now, Mama!" Leo pulled my sleeve.
I shoved the passenger door open, hauling Maya in one arm and pulling Leo with the other. The smell of burning rubber, cordite, and rain-soaked iron filled my lungs—a terrifying echo of seven years ago. But this time, I wasn't running to escape; I was fighting to protect.
A mercenary stepped out from behind the trailing vehicle, raising an MP5 directly at Leo.
"Hey!" I screamed, grabbing an iron tire iron that had fallen from the truck’s cargo bed.
With every ounce of rage, every memory of the agony of skin grafts, every sleepless night nursing two premature infants while hiding under assumed names, I swung the heavy iron bar with both hands. It struck the mercenary’s wrist with a sickening crack. His weapon clattered to the asphalt, and before he could recover, I drove the tapered end of the iron into his solar plexus, dropping him gasping into the puddles.
"Leo, Maya, run!" I yelled, pushing them toward the reinforced steel door of the bridge maintenance tower.
Behind us, a deafening explosion ripped through the air. The leaking fuel tank on the flatbed ignited, sending a massive fireball forty feet into the stormy sky, blowing the mercenary vehicles apart in a wave of concussive heat.
Through the smoke and raining debris, Vincent emerged, his left arm hanging limp, his face streaked with soot and blood, but his gun still raised. Behind him, the remaining attackers broke ranks, fleeing toward the Queens exit as the distant wails of dozens of police sirens signaled the arrival of state troopers.
Vincent stumbled, dropping to one knee beside the maintenance door.
"Vincent!" I dropped the tire iron, falling to my knees beside him, wrapping my arms around his broad chest to keep him upright. His blood soaked through my hands, hot and terrifyingly real.
He looked up at me, a faint, ragged smile touching his lips despite the agony etched into his features. "The kids... are they safe?"
"They're safe," I sobbed, tears finally breaking through my defenses as I pressed my scarf against the bullet wound in his shoulder. "You idiot, you took a bullet for them."
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"I told you," he whispered, his vision flickering as he leaned his forehead against mine, his breath hot and ragged against my skin. "Nobody burns you again. Not while I draw breath."
***
