Chapter 10: The Chase Begins
1111 Words
Uma tossed the flash drive into my hands. I caught it, feeling the weight of something far heavier than just a piece of plastic and metal.
“What’s on here?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “Records. Transactions. Names. The kind of information that makes people disappear.”
I stared at the drive. “And you’ve been holding onto this?”
She nodded. “For years.”
I exhaled. “Uma, who the hell are we dealing with?”
She glanced behind me, just for a fraction of a second. That was all it took.
I spun around—just as a black-gloved hand grabbed my wrist.
Pain exploded in my side as something hard struck my ribs. I gasped, doubling over, but fought through it, swinging blindly. My fist connected with flesh, and I heard a grunt.
Uma moved fast. She reached into her coat and pulled out a taser, jamming it into our attacker’s neck. The man let out a strangled sound before collapsing to the floor.
Breathing heavily, I turned to her. “You carry a taser?”
Uma shrugged. “Like I said, I know how to survive.”
I glanced down at the unconscious figure. Black tactical gear. Mask. No identification.
My pulse pounded. “Who are these people?”
Uma didn’t answer. She just grabbed my arm. “We have to go. Now.”
We burst through the rooftop exit, sprinting down the stairwell. Footsteps echoed behind us. More of them.
I pulled Uma down the next flight, my heart hammering. “How many?”
“Too many,” she panted.
We reached the lobby just as another figure in black stepped forward. Uma and I froze.
The man removed his mask.
It was Burn.
I barely had time to process before he threw me a set of car keys. “Take the back exit. There’s a black sedan waiting. Don’t stop driving until you’re out of Manhattan.”
Uma looked at him suspiciously. “Why are you helping us?”
Burn’s expression was unreadable. “Because I know what happens if I don’t.”
Then he turned, drawing a pistol from his coat, and aimed at the figures rushing down the stairwell.
“Go. Now.”
The black sedan screeched as I swerved onto the Brooklyn Bridge, my hands gripping the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white.
Uma was beside me, her breath uneven. She kept glancing at the rearview mirror, eyes darting with fear.
“They’re following us,” she muttered.
I didn’t need to look—I could feel it. The weight of unseen eyes, the pressure of something closing in.
“Just hold on,” I said, stepping on the gas. The city lights blurred as we sped forward.
Uma gripped the flash drive in her hand. “Burn risked everything for us, Benny. What if this isn’t just about us anymore?”
I exhaled sharply. “It never was.”
A set of headlights appeared behind us. Fast. Too fast.
“They’re coming,” Uma whispered.
I clenched my jaw. “Then we don’t stop.”
The first hit came from the left.
A black SUV slammed into our side, sending the sedan skidding. Tires screeched as I fought to regain control.
Uma braced herself against the dashboard. “Do something, Benny!”
The second hit came from behind.
I cursed under my breath. These guys weren’t playing around. They weren’t just trying to stop us—they were trying to eliminate us.
I spotted an off-ramp ahead. No time to think—I took it.
The car lurched as we veered off the main road, racing down an industrial alley lined with warehouses. The SUV followed, its engine roaring.
“We need to ditch the car,” Uma said.
I shook my head. “And do what? Run?”
“Yes.”
The alley was coming to an end. No exits. No turns.
A dead end.
I slammed on the brakes. “Move!”
We threw the doors open and bolted, just as the SUV screeched to a halt behind us.
Footsteps. Heavy boots hitting pavement.
I grabbed Uma’s wrist and pulled her behind a stack of shipping crates.
“Where’s the drive?” I whispered.
She clutched it against her chest. “Still with me.”
“Good. We’re not dying tonight.”
Her eyes flickered. “You sound sure about that.”
I didn’t answer. Because, honestly, I wasn’t.
A voice cut through the night.
“Benedict Holloway.”
I froze.
A man stepped into view, his silhouette sharp under the dim streetlights. He was tall, dressed in an expensive charcoal suit, his hands casually tucked into his pockets.
He wasn’t like the others. No mask. No aggression. Just confidence—the kind that came from knowing you were already in control.
Uma tensed beside me. “Who the hell is that?”
The man smiled. “You have something that belongs to me.”
I didn’t move. “Yeah? And who are you?”
He tilted his head. “That’s not important. What is important is that drive. Hand it over, and we’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”
I let out a humorless chuckle. “That’s cute. But if you wanted to negotiate, you wouldn’t have tried to run us off the road.”
The man sighed, as if disappointed. “I had a feeling you’d be difficult.”
He nodded.
From the shadows, more figures emerged.
Six. Maybe seven. All armed.
Uma’s grip on my arm tightened.
“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” she whispered.
I took a slow breath. “Not yet.”
Before the man could speak again, I made my move.
I grabbed a loose steel pipe from the ground and swung it into the nearest guy’s knee. He crumpled with a pained yell.
Gunfire erupted.
I grabbed Uma and dove behind the crates as bullets tore through wood.
“Benny, this is insane!” she shouted.
I reached into my jacket. The pistol Burn had given me. One magazine.
Not enough.
“We need a distraction,” I said.
Uma’s eyes darted to a rusted oil barrel nearby. “That.”
I followed her gaze. One well-placed shot…
I didn’t think. I just moved.
Raising the gun, I fired.
The barrel erupted into flames.
The explosion rocked the alley, sending debris flying. Shouts echoed as smoke billowed around us.
“Run!” I grabbed Uma’s hand, and we sprinted through the chaos.
Behind us, the man in the suit didn’t chase.
He just stood there, watching us disappear into the night.
And then, he smiled.
- Writer
