“Buggy?” Haju asked.
Taylor directed the Sumatozou’s attention toward the fleet of vehicles. “We’re leavin’ in those. Hopefully we’ll be able to fit you into one, or you ain’t makin’ the trip with us.”
“Oh, my.” Haju studied the vehicle. “That is going to be tight.”
“I get that,” Taylor said. “What I need to know is can you fit in one?”
“With three other people?” Haju asked.
“No, just yourself,” Taylor replied.
Haju stepped to the nearest dune buggy, reached over the roll bar, and yanked out the driver’s seat. “If I have to get in one of them to get out of here, I’ll make myself fit…somehow.”
Taylor barely caught that last part, but he was damn sure glad to hear the rest. “Good deal. I’ll take the first buggy and lead us to the gate.”
“Works for me,” Torrio agreed.
“Wait a moment.” Haju set down the seat he’d just snatched out of the vehicle. “I need to be in the first buggy through the gate.”
“No way,” Taylor said. “I’m leading.”
“No, I should be first,” Haju insisted. “I have the mass to help break down the gate if needed, and besides, whoever is in the first vehicle will be exposed to the greatest amount of enemy fire. Do you have the ability to shrug off an enemy MAC?”
Taylor scoffed. “No. Do you?”
“Well, no, when it comes right down to it,” Haju said. “However, my hide is thicker than yours, and it can shrug off glancing laser beams, and I’m more likely to survive a direct hit from either a MAC or a laser than you are.”
“You’re also a whole lot bigger target, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Torrio added.
Haju walked to the large door—a roll-up-style metal covering—reached up, and yanked it from its mounting drum. Then he ripped several pieces from it and draped them over the front and sides of his buggy. He shrugged his massive shoulders. “A little less room inside for me, but a bit more protection.”
“All right, fine,” Taylor relented. “You can lead.”
“Assuming the buggy can move with all that weight in it,” a River Hawk said.
Haju looked down his trunks at the private and patted his belly. “I’ll have you know, this is all muscle.”
“Enough,” Taylor said. “Haju, if you can still fit in that damn thing, you can lead.”
“Better hurry,” Jack said. He fired a couple of rounds. “Big swarm of the KzSha inbound.”
“Let’s go!” Taylor said. “Everyone but Jack, mount up!”
“Come on, River Hawks!” Torrio yelled. “We’re leaving!”
Taylor stopped at Haju’s vehicle as the Sumatozou got in. He’d broken off the roll bar on the back, which let him keep the makeshift armor draped over the other roll bars. He stepped onto the back of the vehicle, and the front wheels came off the ground. Taylor winced, but Haju worked his way forward, and the vehicle righted itself and the shocks held. Somehow.
He worked himself into the vehicle, shrugging his shoulders and immense bulk from side to side, and was just able to squeeze himself into it, although his head stuck up above the roll bars.
Taylor shook his head. “Good on you, Haju.”
Jack fired again, but then his rifle clicked empty. “Last battery, Chief,” he said as he reloaded.
Taylor threw himself into the driver’s seat of one of the vehicles. “Get in, then. We’re out of here!”
Jack jumped into the passenger seat, and Frank and House took the back seats.
With Haju in the lead, they rolled out the door, took a right, and raced away from the approaching KzSha.
* * * * *
Chapter 22: Firing Line
Although the vehicles’ motors were strong—they were meant to tow trailers of ore, after all—they were built to operate in mines, not the highway, and they were anything but swift. The KzSha charged toward them and were almost able to keep up with Taylor’s group, until they made it to the first intersection and turned right. Putting a building between them and their pursuers cut down on the fire they were taking from behind, but Taylor could see the flashing lights of KzSha communicating in nearly every direction.
As they passed the first cross street, they again took fire from their pursuers.
“They’re paralleling us!” Frank yelled. “Go faster!”
“I’ve got the fargin throttles almost maxed out!” Taylor yelled back. He nodded to Haju’s vehicle in front of them. “Besides, if I go any faster, I’m gonna pass ol’ Speedy up in front of us.”
“Maybe we ought to,” Frank grumbled.
Haju made another right at the next cross street, which got them pointed in the direction of the dome exit. It also got them headed back toward their pursuers.
“Heads up to the front!” Taylor yelled as the KzSha began to appear in front of them and take them under fire.
The escapees returned fire as the KzSha poured into the intersection. The firefight was nearly equal; the KzSha and the vehicles dodged back and forth, both trying to evade fire while simultaneously returning it.
Jack fired at one in front of Haju’s vehicle, but it was a glancing blow that reflected off the insectoid’s carapace. It dodged out of the way of Haju’s vehicle and turned to fire at Haju from the side, but Taylor swerved and slammed into it. The KzSha was thrown to the side by the impact. “Woohoo! Take that!” Taylor yelled as they made it through the intersection and left their pursuit behind.
Taylor’s excitement was short lived as he approached the next intersection, where the road ran uphill to the mine on the left. Two pairs of lights were rushing toward them.
“Vehicles from the left!” Jack called.
“I see ‘em.” Taylor grunted. “Can’t do anything about—”
The first truck entered
