The rear of the van was completely enclosed separated off from the front cabin. There was an internal light which let Kim, Loomis and Evie see the man and more importantly his shotgun quite clearly. The three of them were stood, backs against the far side of the van from the side door. The man with the gun jumped in behind them, slid the door closed, slamming it into place and then he reached up and took hold of one of a number of strong leather straps that were hanging from the roof. They all felt the van accelerate away. Evie was struggling to think of a way out of their situation whilst also wondering whether Tom and or James were lying dead in the street they were leaving behind. As the van moved along, all of them reached up for a strap. The man grinned at Evie and Kim taking his time and enjoying the scenery. Suddenly the van lurched forward and Evie looked at Kim as they swayed back and forth. There was no doubt the driver had found himself in a chase and he was now trying to evade his pursuers. Evie couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. Neither Tom nor James would have left the other in the street dying or dead and to be on the van so quickly it had to be them in pursuit.
As Evie’s mind was working and she tried to bring all of her focus on her situation, the man with the shotgun moved closer. And closer still. Evie felt the hand on her leg. She looked at the man. He was maybe in his late 20s, early 30s. His head was shaved and he clearly spent a lot of time in gym. She looked at him; stared him straight in the eye. The van hit a bump in the road and both of them were thrown against the side of the van. Evie hung on tight and she made an instant decision. As she bounced back off the sidewall of the van, she used her momentum to fall back a little at the same time as she reached up her free hand, gripping the strap tightly with both hands. The man was still off balance when Evie lifted herself off her feet and landed both of them squarely in his chest. The man was propelled backwards. He hit the rear doors hard. They swung open and he continued moving out of the back, arms reaching for thin air. The rear of the van was suddenly filled with natural light and by the time Evie was back on her feet, she was looking out on Tom’s unmarked police car as it swerved to avoid the falling body and then moved back in line. She smiled at both men as they stared back at her.
‘So now what?” Kim asked as she moved to stand next to Evie. Evie shrugged. She looked back at Loomis who was hanging onto his paper bag, gripping it to his chest, with one hand and holding onto the hanging strap with the other as if his life depended upon it. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. He had never intended this.
“I guess we stop the van.”
“Oh. Right. Stop the van. From in here. And exactly how are we going to do that?” Kim responded.
“Not from in here for a start.” Evie tightened her grip again on the strap and leaned out of the back looking up. Then she looked across to the side door. In side the car behind, James watched her open mouthed.
“She isn’t about to do what I think she is, is she?”
Evie dismissed the side door. She would be seen in the side mirrors and if she were seen then Ryder would drive even more randomly. It was out the back or nothing. Kim’s thoughts were pretty much going along the same line as James.
“You’ve got to be joking. How the hell are you going to hang on?” Evie stepped back from the edge, let go of the strap for a moment and reach down to her ankle. She pulled out her back-up pistol; a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .38 calliber. She tucked it securely into the back of her pants and then looked at Kim.
“I’ll tell you later.” Evie smiled, took a deep breath and then started to scramble, using the large hinges in the door to give her a lift up high enough that she could reach over the top and pull herself up. Climbing trees with her brothers as a teenager had finally come in useful. Breathing hard, she lay flat on the roof. It was hard to see properly with the force of the air hitting her head on. It always looked much easier than this in the movies. There certainly wasn’t that much to hang on to. She reached back and pulled the Bodyguard out of her pants. ‘Now what’ she thought to herself. “This was a stupid idea.” .38 calliber bullets almost certainly wouldn’t make it through the bodywork. She had to fire through glass or hope a window was open. She could reach down and fire wildly but that would probably cause Ryder to hit the brakes sending her flying forward or hit the accelerator and probably go off the road… and then who knows where she was going to finish up. She needed to be able to get inside the cab but she couldn’t do that while there was one of Ryder’s henchmen sitting in there. She needed to get him out. Ideally voluntarily… or at least under instruction from Ryder. She needed to be seen. She took another breath and then let her right leg drop slightly off the side of the van and then she concentrated on hanging on. From where she was, she would be able to see the passenger door swing open or, if he was really stupid, she would see his head appearing first. She hung on to the edge of the rear part of the van with the left hand and held her weapon tucked under her with her right. It didn’t take long before the door opened. She waited… and waited… and then saw a man raise himself up. She imaging that he was standing on the side plate. He grinned when he saw her.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m not going anywhere. You on the other hand…” she brought her hand from under her, took no time at all the aim and fired twice in quick succession. Both bullets hit the man in the shoulder and they punched him backwards. He lost his grip easily and he was gone, leaving he passenger door swinging open. Two down. Evie peered down over the side. She had run out of ideas. Then she was aware of a car pulling alongside. She looked down and saw Tom looking up.
“Hang on” Then he accelerated a little. Evie looked around trying to find the best hand and footholds that she could. Tom drew up alongside the open door, took out the Dessert Eagle and aimed it at Ryder.
‘Pull over now!” He shouted. Ryder looked across. His own gun was tucked in the side of the door, but any move to retrieve it, aim it, fire it would give the cop all the time in the world to take him out. But would he do that with another cop on top of the roof? Ryder weighed his options… there were few which left him alive.
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