slip them on. Now I could drive through a dust storm and it wouldn’t bother me. I then glance in the rearview mirror and see that my mug is lightly dotted with streaks of blood. Sons of bitches. I draw my own handgun and speed up. Most of the other drivers on the freeway are now aware of us and try to give us a wide berth. It’s as if they’re all communicating with each other—“Stay away from those mad-men in the limos!” Only in Hollywood.
I’m now neck and neck with Enemy Limo, riding alongside his left. I lower the passenger window, point the Five-seveN, and squeeze the trigger. The round sears the driver’s nose, destroying his window in the process. I hear the guy yell as he grabs his face. Enemy Limo skids into mine and we both careen across the lanes, out of control. I’m forced to apply the brakes to avoid spinning into another goddamned limousine. They’re all over this town! Enemy Limo has a few seconds to recover and the driver picks up speed. I straighten the wheel and take off again in pursuit. With the gun in my left hand, I reach out the window and fire at the limo’s back tires. The road is too bumpy and my aim isn’t great with my left. I succeed in knocking out a taillight but that does little good except prompting the bozo with the weapon to lean out his window again. This time, however, he’s got a rifle.
The guy is Yvan Putnik! Katia’s killer! He was in Enemy Limo all along.
He fires but I’m already jerking the wheel to the left and guiding the limo into the next lane with the force of a tank. I broadside a taxicab but bounce back into the lane as I hear police sirens growing louder. I can see them now, three patrol cars with lights blazing, making their way through the scattered traffic behind us. We’re getting closer to the 405 again as we cross over Sherman Oaks on the left and Van Nuys on the right. I can see another block of congestion ahead and I dread there’s going to be some real carnage if I don’t put a stop to this real soon.
Enemy Limo finds itself trapped between a ten-wheeler in front and a bus in back. This gives me the chance to floor the pedal and shoot up the lane beside it. I raise the handgun, aim out the passenger window, and squeeze the trigger as I pass the driver. This time I don’t miss. The guy’s head explodes in a mass of red and black goo.
Whatever causes the ten-wheeler’s driver to suddenly change lanes, I don’t know, but that’s what he does — right in front of me. With no one at the wheel, Enemy Limo wavers, finally moving on a collision course with the right rail. I desperately try to steer around the stupid ten-wheeler when the asshole slams on his brakes. I remember two things. The first is that I see someone in Enemy Limo climbing over the partition to grab the steering wheel. The second thing is the back end of the ten-wheeler in my face.
“Sam? Sam? Sam? Sam?
I think I hear Coen’s voice. I’m not sure if it’s a dream or what the hell it is. I feel pain in my shoulders and back. I’m aware of a puffy balloonlike
And then everything goes dark.
31
I open my eyes inside an ambulance. Coen is sitting beside me with an expression of concern on her face. The vehicle shakes and bounces over the road and I hear the piercing siren above the rumble of the engine. I take stock of my body and am happy to find no oxygen mask attached to my face. I feel pain in my side but for some reason I’m not dead.
“Hey,” Coen says. “Look who’s still with us.”
“What’s going on?” I manage to ask. My voice comes out hoarse.
“You’re on the way to the hospital, pal. Doesn’t look too serious, so you can relax.”
Then I remember. “I wiped out.”
“Yeah, but your bulletproof vest saved your life. And the air bag.”
Damn, I forgot about that, too. Lambert and Coen made me put it on under my civvies before I left the Sofitel.
“They have to X-ray you,” she continues. “You’re gonna be pretty bruised up. And your face looks like a pizza. But other than that you’re probably gonna be fine.”
I’m suddenly overwhelmed by fatigue. “Then if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap until we get there,” I say.
“Go right ahead.”
And I do.
I’m released from the hospital around dinnertime. Coen was right, it wasn’t too bad. I have two cracked ribs that should heal on their own
However, for the wound on my heart — Katia’s death — they couldn’t do anything.
In the morning I’ll be flying to China via Osprey. Lambert and I had a long talk at the hospital and we agreed it was the best thing for me to do. If I went home to Maryland now I’d simply go nuts. I’d be so consumed with the thirst for revenge that I’d probably go berserk in a shopping mall. Cracked ribs aside, I’m in good enough shape to go after the bastards. Mentally, I’m focused and determined. I have to see this mission through to the end.
The three characters in Enemy Limo got away, of course. By the time the police arrived at the scene, the dead driver had been thrown onto the road and someone else had taken the wheel. Because of the rainstorm there were no police helicopters in the air to follow the car. However, the limo was found abandoned off of one of the freeway’s exits. We figure the passengers were Oskar Herzog, Eddie Wu, and Yvan Putnik. Where the trio is now is anyone’s guess but Lambert believes they’re already out of the country. A chartered plane registered to GyroTechnics and carrying three passengers left Burbank Airport a couple of hours after the freeway incident. An hour ago, when the FBI figured out that GyroTechnics was now a defunct company, it was too late to stop them. The plane had already landed in Hawaii and was left on a private runway. The three fugitives must have caught another means of transportation back to Hong Kong or wherever they’re headed. My guess is that they’re going straight to China to meet up with the controversial General Tun in Fuzhou. And they’re most likely carrying the MRUUV guidance system device.
As for the outspoken general, Tun has stepped up his television appearances in China. For the past two days he’s been delivering barbed speeches against his own government, accusing them of not having the guts to take what naturally belongs to them — that is, Taiwan. He pointedly states that China is afraid of the United Nations and the United States. The main thrust of his rhetoric is that it’s time for him to take the matter into his own hands, with or without the support of the Chinese government. Of particular concern is that Tun’s army, which has mobilized in Fuzhou across the bay from Taiwan, appears to be readying for an offensive strike.
The vice president has flown to Beijing to speak with China’s president. So far the word is that General Tun has been sternly warned to temper his statements but we all know that means nothing. General Tun apparently has the support of most of the CCP Politburo. The highest authority in China rests with the Standing Committee of the Politburo, which comprises twenty-five members, and, below that, a 210-member Central Committee made up of younger party members and provincial party leaders. The CCP also controls the State Council, which supervises the day-to-day running of the country.
Another wild card in all this is the power of the military branch in China. The nearly three million members of the People’s Liberation Army are divided into seven military regions, each with its own leadership and strong territorial affiliations. The Chinese army, navy, and air force function under one banner and stand as a very strong voice in the actions of the government. General Tun is considered something of a folk hero in his region and has been successful in recruiting the common men and women from the rural areas around Fuzhou to join his cause. To
