"Thanks," I muttered, concentrating on the narrow swath of illumination ahead of us, aligning us to make our escape.
Pushing the gas pedal to the floor, we barreled towards the entrance to the camp. As we approached, a glaring hole in my plan landed squarely in the beam of my headlights. They had blocked the sole road that led into the camp with two cement blocks and a rolling gate made of razor wire. While it wouldn't stop anybody on foot, it could wreak havoc on a vehicle.
I slammed on the brakes and the Jeep skidded to a stop twenty feet from the gate. On either side of the concrete barricades, dense jungle dropped away from the ridgeline that the road had been constructed on.
"Uh, Chase," Miles said from the backseat. "We're about to have a very bad day. Bardales is loading up men in the trucks. And about a dozen more look like they're headed this way."
I looked behind us in the rearview mirror. Bardales' entire force had abandoned the raging fire and was now heading our way. Just then, I saw the muzzle flash of several rifles. The sounds of gunfire and bullets whizzing by was enough to spur me forward. Saying a silent prayer, I once again stomped on the accelerator.
Going through the concrete and barbed wire would not work. That left one option, I had to go around. Both sides of the gate ran downwards as steep slopes, but the left side looked to have fewer trees. And, knowing that the road ran along the coast, I chose the side farther away from the cliffs and water.
I slowed as much as I dared, and approached the barricade. I let the driver's side wheels roll over the flat road and onto the sloped hillside. The jeep leaned hard to the left, and I gripped the steering wheel tighter. All of us braced ourselves against the shift in gravity.
"You know what you're doing, right?" Jaye asked, shifting in her seat.
"I've seen it done on YouTube, how hard can it be?" I replied, concentrating so hard that I couldn't even manage one of my disarming winks.
The Jeep's tires spun and slid, trying to slip down the embankment. I kept the throttle steady, feathering it as needed. We passed by the concrete barricade with barely an inch to spare on the passenger side. As soon as it was behind us, I gunned the Jeep and turned the wheel, letting the rear tires break loose. They slid down the hill until we were perpendicular to the road. A moment later, they caught traction, and the Jeep began to climb. The ancient vehicle powered up the steep incline and onto the rough road with relative ease, fishtailing slightly as I turned to head down the mountain.
I could see headlights bouncing wildly in the rearview mirror, but turned my attention back to the rough road ahead that snaked left and right.
"Is anyone following us?" I asked, braking for a sharp turn.
Miles, who had turned completely around in his seat and was now staring out of the back of the Jeep, was the one who replied. "It looks like they opened the gates and both trucks are trying to catch up to us."
"If they get close enough, do you think you could hit them?" I asked Jaye, motioning to her pistol.
"The way you're driving?"
I glanced back in the rearview again and saw two headlights coming around the sharp curve, somehow gaining on us. "Well, you're about to find out. They know this road better than I do, and they're catching up."
Another sharp curve appeared ahead of us and we nearly slipped off the narrow path, the rear passenger wheel spinning furiously as it left the gravel. The rest of the vehicle would have followed, but the quarter panel sideswiped one of the many tropical trees that grew alongside the road and knocked us more or less back on course.
The collision ripped away the rear fender, and I suspected it must have messed up the alignment of the rear axle because the jeep, already difficult to control, started pulling towards the right. Worse, I could feel something rubbing against the body.
"Whoops," I said.
"Whoops? What the hell, Chase? Could you please try not killing us?" Jaye demanded. Her face was ashen and pale, and her expression was one of stark fear.
I braked for another sharp curve and then smiled with relief as the road suddenly straightened and opened up. It was no longer a green tunnel with steep drop offs on either side. Now there was room for two vehicles to run side by side, though there was still the drop off on the seaward side.
"Uh, Chase, they're catching up," Blatt yelled, panic growing in his voice.
He was right. The first truck was nearly on top of us now.
"Can't you go any faster?" Jaye asked, looking over her shoulder at the massive vehicle right behind us.
"This is as fast as we go. I think my little mishap with the tree slowed us down some."
The huge green truck kept gaining on us, its headlights illuminating the entire Jeep. Their reflection was blinding in the mirrors, but I was glad I was in Cuba and not The States. At least they were old incandescent bulbs and not the horrifyingly bright LED bulbs most cars used today.
"Chase..." Miles said before the entire Jeep jerked forward, causing all of our heads to whiplash backward with the sudden jolt. The heavy truck had rammed us and once again I had to fight the steering on the Jeep. I recovered quickly, but the massive truck was already ramming us again.
The second jolt was much more severe, but I had been prepared for it and remained in control of the Jeep, if just barely. "Do you think you could do something about these assholes?" I barked at Jaye, who was already turning around in the passenger seat.
"I'm on
