“We’re going awfully fast, Mitch!”
Decker pushed the vintage Buick harder and steered out of the park onto the road in a screech of squealing tires. “That’s sort of how you catch up with people.”
“Point taken.”
The black Merc was stretching away now, turning off San Pedro and disappearing into the labyrinthine streets of the Old Town. Decker spun the wheel hard to the left and swerved onto a side street called Sol. The Merc was ahead of them but already making a hard right out of sight.
“You’re losing them!” she said. “Maybe if your friend had bought a car from this century we might stand a better chance!”
“This car is a classic!” Cade protested. “Right, Mitch?”
“Sure is.” He gave the steering wheel a loving tap. “It’s old school. Beautiful. Great transmission, quality rear differential. This is a car to fall in love with, made back when they knew how to build cars.”
“This again…” Selena mumbled.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Sounds like you love this old car more than the Avalon.”
Decker swerved off Oficios and onto Muralla, narrowly avoiding a dangerous collision with a delivery truck. “Now, let’s not be silly. This car is beautiful, but the Avalon is pure art.”
Selena rolled her eyes and rolled down the window. “I'm going to let you quietly undress your aeroplane in your mind while I try and stop these maniacs from taking my father away!”
“Take it easy!” Decker said. “Your Dad might be in there!”
“I’m aiming for the tires!”
She fired on the Mercedes as it entered a broad plaza busy with tourists. Hearing the report of the pistol, everyone in the square bolted for safety, running into cafés and boutiques and restaurants and alleys. Decker screeched into the Plaza Vieja and was forced to steer hard to avoid the last few people still in the ancient public square.
“You have a good clear shot!” he called out.
“Maybe I might have if you could keep this old heap steady for more than a few seconds.”
“Hey!” Cade said.
Decker laughed. “And I love you too, darling…”
She fired again but missed. The Mercedes was already across the plaza and vanishing into another maze of backstreets in the city’s historic district. Then, Carlos and Miguel Mercado appeared, each leaning out of his window on either side of the Merc with Diablo at the wheel. Each one was holding a compact machine pistol.
“Incoming, Mitch!”
Decker saw the two men holding the guns a second before they opened fire and swerved hard to avoid the rounds. Bullets raked into the tiled ground as the American skidded around the fenced-off fountain in the center of the plaza. The old Buick tipped up onto its two left wheels and Decker thought they were going to tip over, but he managed to bring the car safely back to earth with a grinding crunch of the seventy year-old suspension.
“Sorry Cade…” he mumbled.
“That’s going to hurt,” said his old friend.
“Right!” Selena called out. “Go right! They’re going north.”
“Damn it all,” Decker muttered. “This is turning into another hot mess.”
“I’m taking another shot!” Selena said.
She clicked a new mag into the firearm receiver and raised the gun into the aim. Squinting down the length of the barrel at the sight, she gently squeezed the trigger and fired off a single round at the Mercedes. The round missed its mark, which was to take out one of the tires and buried itself in some plaster in a nearby building.
Decker spoke without taking his eyes off the road. “So, your aim’s getting better.”
The men fired back and hit their front tire. This time, their faster speed meant Decker was unable to control the car. As the rubber flew off the tire and spun out into the street, the car swerved violently to the right and ploughed into a sidewalk café.
“Brace!” he yelled.
Slowed by the heavy iron tables and chairs, the car came to a stop when it grinded along the side of the café and then crashed into a perpendicular wall.
“Shit, my car!” Cade said.
“We lost them, Mitch!”
He put an arm around her. “I know. I’m so sorry.”
“They still have Dad!”
“I know, damn it! I can’t believe we lost them! I need a second here.” Decker was trying to clear his head when Selena’s phone rang.
She looked down at the screen. “It’s Diana…” she said, and took the call. After a long tense silence, she thanked her old friend and hung up. Paler now, and trembling, she looked up, first at Cade and then over to Decker.
“She said they got away.”
“Damn it!” said Decker.
“Don’t worry about it,” Cade said. “I have some buddies who were CIA. They might be able to help with flight plans.”
“That’s something, at least,” said Decker.
Selena was still paling. “That’s not all. She said the Snake King’s men fired on the SUV and forced it into a roll. She told me Charlie was knocked out and wouldn’t come around. They’re taking him to hospital right now.”
Decker and Cade exchanged a grim look.
“Shit,” Cade said. “Not good news.”
“He’ll be fine,” said Decker. “Which hospital?”
“Hermanos Ameijeiras,” she said.
“That’s good,” Cade said. “It’s a good, modern hospital. In Barrio San Lazaro.”
“How quickly can we be there?” Selena asked.
“With traffic, twenty minutes.”
Decker had already got outside and opened the trunk. “Then let’s get this tire fixed and get over there. Right now this whole mission feels like
