Termination Orders(96)

I hate this part, he thought.

He pushed off, and his feet flailed in the air. As he swung himself back in toward the side of the roof, he was thrown off balance, and he hit his shoulder hard. He released more rope but too fast. His feet hit the ground on the lower level, and the impact made him fall onto his right knee with a scream of pain.

“Cobra,” came Lowry’s voice. “They’re coming! Get out of there!”

He got up and tossed the rope over the side, down to the ground below. There would be no do-over this time. He stood with his back to the edge.

Only one way to go, he thought, and he dropped backward into the air. He had better control this time, and he stabilized himself on the slats with his feet. He zipped down quickly, and soon his feet hit the soft ground no harder than if he had jumped off a curb.

“Conley, what’s going on?”

“Natasha’s got wheels,” said Conley through his earpiece. “I’m going after her. Where are you?”

“I’m right by the main gate. Where are you?”

He didn’t need a response when he heard the rumble of his GTO approaching, maneuvering through the crowd. The car stopped right in front of him. Conley got out.

“You drive.”

Morgan ran around the car to the driver’s door. As he got in, he looked up and saw three security guards looking down at him from the roof. Hell with them, he thought, and he sat down, feeling the powerful rumble of the engine through the wheel. Conley was already in the passenger seat.

“Get ready to see some real driving,” he said, and they peeled off, roaring down toward Independence Avenue, toward T, leaving a dozen guards scrambling behind them.





CHAPTER 43


Morgan stepped on the gas, and the GTO roared down the avenue. Tires squealed as he swerved around cars, which he passed so fast, it looked as though they were hardly moving at all, honking at him as he cut them off. Far ahead, Natasha was threading an agile little Japanese sports car through traffic, driving west toward the National Mall. Her car was newer, lighter, and easier to maneuver through tight spots, but it couldn’t match the raw power of the GTO.

“Don’t let her get out of our line of sight!” shouted Conley over the roar of the engine.

“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Morgan exclaimed.

And then, through the rearview mirror, he saw flashing red and blue lights and heard the siren of the police car.

That didn’t take long, Morgan muttered to himself, stepping harder on the gas. But the police car came with one great benefit: the other cars, hearing the siren, were now parting, opening a way for Morgan and Conley to pass. But still, Natasha was getting farther and farther away.

“Lowry, do you copy?” Morgan said.

“Copy, Cobra,“ came Lowry’s voice, barely audible in his earpiece.

“Is there any way you can track her?” said Morgan.

There was a pause, and then Lowry said, “I can, but it’s going to take a few minutes.”

“We don’t have a few minutes!” said Morgan.

“I’m going to have to tap into a military satellite,” said Lowry. “This isn’t exactly a walk in the park.” There was a pause, and then he said, “Listen, Cobra. Once I’m in, I’m going to need to get a bead on her visually. I need to find her by tracing your signal. That means you need to stay on her tail until I can access the feed.”

“Can you say that to me in plain English?”

“If you lose her, I won’t be able to find her again.”

“Copy that.”

“Cobra!” yelled Conley. They were approaching an intersection, and the lights had just turned red. The cars in their lane came to a stop, blocking their way. With no time to stop, he veered into the opposite lane, narrowly missing a car that had turned into it. The cars at the intersection stopped as they saw him careering toward them, leaving a sliver of an opening for the GTO. Morgan scraped another vehicle as he negotiated the narrow gap between cars. The pursuing police car came to a screeching halt behind them, not daring to make the same dangerous maneuver. But the victory was short-lived. The tail they lost was soon replaced by two others.

They steadily gained on Natasha as they drove past Lincoln Park and merged onto Massachusetts Avenue, until Morgan was close enough to drive in her wake. The call had definitely gone out on the police frequency, because cop cars were now attempting to cut them off. There would only be more of them the closer they got to the National Mall.

“Lowry, do you have the trace on her yet?” barked Morgan.

“Almost! Keep her in your sight!”

They zoomed down Constitution Avenue, passing the illuminated Capitol on their left. Two more cop cars turned on their flashing lights, straight ahead and hurtling toward them. Natasha took a sharp left, tires squealing. Narrowly missing the oncoming police cars, Morgan turned in pursuit of her, so that the Capitol remained on their left. Up ahead, there were another two squad cars closing in fast.