Ronin
“Ronin, where are you?” Poet asked through the cell phone.
“Approaching The Palace now.” The whole interior of the dump truck rattled. The hell-fire fueled engine beneath me roared like a giant prodded from slumber. I could only imagine that this was what it must be like to surf on an earthquake. I felt like a god.
The Palace's big metal gates loomed before me at the end of the long road. Tully's estate was so massive that, unless personally invited, no one would ever be able to find the place. Even if they didn't have the cops in their pocket, there was probably no reason for them to ever come out this far. No one should live this far into the Everglades.
“That's not a good idea,” Poet said. “We're about to take the fanboats from the Knights and we're lining up to begun cover fire. Don't do this alone, wait for us to catch up!”
Backup sounded great, but I couldn't wait that long. The original plan was that I'd make a hole and the Steel Veins would flood in behind me. It sounded like there was a snag in the Veins' ambush. If even one of the Knights escaped to call Tully...
Flora might already—
I shook the dark thought away. Keep your head in the game, Ronin.
The Knights were transporting the girls up the river by fanboats, via the docks behind the house, so the front gates were locked up tight. They obviously weren’t in the mood for visitors. The gates looked thick enough to stop any commercial vehicle that came at it, but I wondered if it could stop seventy miles per hour of screaming dump truck?
“Sorry, Rem. I got a hot date inside and she's going to be awfully pissed if I'm late.”
I floored the gas pedal and watched the needle in the dashboard dip past the red line. Thick, black plumes of smoke belched out of the twin exhaust pipes on either side of the cab above.
If I survived, this was getting checked off the bucket list.
Poet sighed, he knew he couldn't dissuade me. He couldn't even order me to stop. “All right, give them hell.” His voice was filled with resignation and a little begrudging amusement. “We'll be there as soon as we can. Try not to die.”
The sentry posted in the guard house, just outside the gates, easily spotted me and opened fire with his assault rifle. I ducked to the side, but only a few rounds punched through the window. The rest just bounced off the truck's thick steel sides or got lodged in an engine that was larger than a few apartments I'd lived in. There was no way the guard could stop me, he might as well have been shooting at a tank.
“I make no promises,” I replied honestly to Remy. “Aside from the hole that we both agreed on.” I ended the call and blasted through the gates like they were made of tissue paper.
I'd originally planned to stop once I broke through, but with dozens of enemies pouring out of the building and no friends to draw fire from me, I didn't even bother to slow down.
The truck's massive wheels laid waste to everything in my path. I was unstoppable, until I hit the water fountain before the building's staircase entrance at just the wrong angle.
The dump truck pitched, plowing through the statues, stairs, and front doors like a giant fist. More than half the enormous truck nestled into the main foyer before it stopped moving. The engine almost immediately caught fire. Oil flooded out over the marble floors, sucked up by thirsty Persian carpets.
I had to cut my seat belt straps and kick the front windshield out to escape. I jumped out and stumbled over someone's severed arm from the crash. Who knows where the rest of him was, but by the tattoos he had, I could tell he was one of the Knights. He was still clutching a pistol, which was lucky for me, because Flora took mine.
That girl certainly knew how to raise the stakes in a rescue, I'd give her that.
The unlucky hand had gotten mashed into the trigger guard and firing mechanism. I didn't know if it would still fire, but it was the only weapon I had.
Gunfire whizzed by before I could get the fucking gun free, so I had to take the whole bloody arm with me. I ran through the right wing of the mansion, ducking into rooms and around corners to keep from getting shot.
Rallying cries went out behind me to put the flames out before they burned the whole mansion down. I heard the sprinkler system in that area turn on and several fire extinguishers being used. That was fine by me, I didn't want to set the place on fire until after I got Flora out.
I finally managed to pry out the damn fingers and free the gory gun from the dead man's twisted grasp. I heard someone running down the hall. Tucking around a book case, I hid out of sight.
When the man ran by I grabbed his blazer, slamming him into the nearby wall. He had to be one of Tully's guys. No biker would casually wear a suit and tie.
I didn't have the time to play the game, so I skipped to the part where I shot him in the gun-hand first, then asked him where the girls were being held. “Which ones?” he groaned.