The First Job
264 Words
*Fire in the Rearview*
The back window lit up red and blue. Two city cruisers tailgated them, tight and aggressive.
"They’re closing in!" Blaze shouted.
Leo didn't flinch. His left hand adjusted the tempo on his HUD — the bass slowed slightly, his breathing synced. Time seemed to stretch.
"Torque," Leo said calmly, "you still carrying heat?"
Torque growled. "Always."
"Good. You're up."
Torque slid the window down and popped the roof panel just enough to sit up halfway. He raised a smart shotgun, eyes wild.
Leo drifted the Valen into a side street — tighter, narrower, boxed by metal bins and flickering alley lights.
"Now!" Leo shouted.
Torque fired.
The first shot took out a patrol drone buzzing overhead. Sparks showered the alley like fireworks.
Second shot — right into the grill of the lead cruiser.
The car jerked sideways and rammed the wall, flipping once before slamming roof-first into the concrete. The explosion bloomed in the rearview, painting the alley in flame.
"One down," Torque grinned, ducking back in.
Leo made a hard right, took a ramp he spotted three seconds before it existed.
They were airborne.The car soared over a construction site — sparks from the bottom scraping metal scaffolding. Blaze screamed, half-laughing, half-panicked.
They landed with a crunch. Hard. But smooth enough to keep rolling.
"Yo, this kid is f*****g insane," Blaze said.
"That’s why he’s Pulse," Torque muttered.
Leo didn’t respond. He was already planning the next turn — the escape route, the safe zone, the last twist.
Because he knew something the crew didn’t.
They weren’t alone anymore.
- Writer
