“Shit! More cars incoming!” Keryn looked out the window on the side and warned everyone in the car with her.

  Gloria looked the same way as Keryn, and saw two black SUVs driving off the fork slightly behind them on the left. With what little bit of lighting from the street lamps, she could only make out that the drivers were in black clothing.

  “How the fuck did they catch up so fast?” The driver took a look at the rearview mirror before fixing his eyes on the cars in front of him again: “Did they bug our car?”

  “They might have used something to track Mick.” Keryn narrowed her eyes: “When you were fighting those guys, did you catch any one of them coming near him?”

  “I - I don’t remember.” The driver shook his head.

  “I think maybe one or two of them brushed against him during the fight, maybe a few times.” The man on the passenger seat scratched his jaw.

  “Okay - do you have a way to talk to them? Like a walkie talkie?” Keryn asked.

  “No - unfortunately because we came out here as soon as we intercepted the signal, and we forgot them.” The man in the passenger seat shook his head: “We were only able to pull off these cars and the fake uniforms.”

  “What about light signals? Do you have one of those?” Gloria asked.

  “No - I fucking wish.”

  “Alright - then we’re outgunned on communication as well - ” Keryn sighed: “Phone? Do you have phones? Call your friends over there!”

  “We deliberately stashed our phones away before this.” The driver sighed.

  “Yeah - yeah, I’d do that too.” Gloria looked out of the window once again. The black SUVs were moving in closer.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Faster. Faster!” Gloria rushed.

  “I’m going as fast as I can! ” The driver barked: “And yelling at me isn’t helping!”

  “I’ll take my shot when they get too close. But we must be careful.” Keryn sighed and checked her gun: “Three shots, that’s all we’ve got right now.”

  “Do you have anything sharp I can throw?” Gloria asked after only a brief moment of thought: “Knives, razors, pens - or even CDs - do you have any of those?”

  The man in the passenger seat opened up the glove compartment and looked inside - there were a few piles of envelopes, some fake IDs, one pen, one pocket knife and what looked like a small, empty glass liquor bottle. He handed the pocket knife, the pen and the bottle to Gloria, then took the empty gun from the dash as well.

  “Not a lot, but at least one knife - and one pen.” Gloria took a deep breath as she checked the potential throwing weapons. She handed the gun back: “It’ll be a waste - just keep it for now.”

  “Yeah, I hope we can find the chance to use it the right way.” The man shrugged: “Or - not at all - ”

  The black SUVs were only two or even less car lengths away behind them. Keryn clutched her gun tight and took another look. The two SUVs were side by side, and apparently driving at the maximum speed that they could. But the drivers were not looking at them, they were aiming for the cars in front.

  “Can we bust their tires?” The driver asked, looking at Keryn and Gloria through the rearview mirror: “Or do anything to stop them. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, but they might shoot back. And we have only three bullets.” The man in the passenger seat said.

  “They’re gonna retaliate anyway.” Keryn sighed: “We might as well divert the pressure. Otherwise if they intercept Mick, we’ll be in big trouble.”

  The driver took a deep breath and spoke through his teeth: “Fine. Do it! I’ll slow down and watch the road.”

  Keryn took a deep breath and was ready to raise her handgun. But Gloria pushed her hand down: “Let me try first - save your bullets.”

  Gloria opened the left back window just by a little bit, just when their car was gradually being surpassed by the two SUVs. After a short moment of consideration, Gloria picked the pen as her first weapon of choice - she was not experienced in tossing blades at a moving target while sitting in a moving vehicle, much less throwing a pen. So she would need to get familiar first.

  She infused her Qi into the pen, especially focusing it on the tip. With a swift swing of her arm and twist of her wrist, the pen shot at the left rear tire of the black SUV closest to them in the front like a crossbow bolt.

  The black SUV moved forward a little, the pen struck a spot on the ground right behind the wheel, then bounced onto the rim. Sparks shot from the contact point, and the pen stuck in the side of the rim.

  “Shit!” Keryn cursed with a low voice, then checked on Gloria.

  Gloria nodded at Keryn with an assuring look, took a deep breath then raised her hand again - this time she was holding the pocket knife.

  The pocket knife made a pleasant ringing sound as it curved through the air, leaving a trail of light blue afterimages behind. The blade sunk into the spinning tire, being rolled into the rotation and causing a bump of the vehicle’s body. The SUV swerved a little, but nothing else happened.

  “What the - ” Keryn opened her eyes wide and was about to shoot the tire.

  “Boom!” The tire exploded after an anxiety-inducing delay. The entire vehicle spun to the left and crashed into the rails on the side of the road.