Chapter 93 The First Day of Escape
Four speeding black SUVs were chasing us like wild wolves, right on our tail.
"Speed up! Lose them!" I ordered sharply. Cole slammed on the gas, and the car shot forward.
Marcus rolled down the window, aiming his M9 Pistol at the enemy vehicles' tires, but they were experienced and dodged using serpentine driving.
"Damn! Not enough firepower." Marcus was frustrated with his gun, but our heavy weapons were all in the trunk - we hadn't had time to get them out.
The roar of the engine was deafening.
After rounding a bend, one of their SUVs caught up. The window rolled down, revealing a dark gun barrel pointed at us.
Marcus pushed my head down to make me duck. Cole suddenly slowed down, creating a gap between them and us, hesitating whether to turn back or keep going forward.
There were still three cars behind us. Going back would be walking into a trap - we had to go forward!
"Ram them!" I ordered Cole.
Cole decisively crashed into the car ahead. They were trying to force us to stop by blocking the road, so we pushed against their vehicle to move forward. Cole gripped the steering wheel, curling up his body as much as possible. Marcus kept me down, too. Dense bullets came whistling at us, the continuous gunfire and sounds of shattering glass and damaged metal making my ears ring.
Despite such close-range fire, Marcus boldly fought back. He aimed for a gap in their attack and shot out the gas tank of the car in front with one shot!
I asked Cole, "Can the car still run?"
"Yes!" As he answered, Cole got the car moving again and continued forward.
The three SUVs behind us were blocked by our other two cars for a few seconds. I seized the moment - when those two cars passed the leaking SUV, I shouted for them to speed up while Marcus tossed out a lighter.
The fire ignited instantly. Cole sprinted at full speed. A few seconds later, we heard an explosion behind us.
The shockwave wasn't too strong. I steadied myself against the front seat and looked back - flames were burning, black smoke billowing. The other SUVs didn't catch up. We'd survived the first wave of pursuit.
Racing down the highway's slope, we ditched the cars by the roadside once there were more buildings around. Each car's occupants formed a group, and we scattered, moving on foot.
Not knowing when the second wave would come, Marcus, Cole, Adrian, and I didn't dare relax for a moment. We headed straight for the nearest shopping district.
This wasn't downtown - the shopping street wasn't very busy, but there were plenty of stores, good for hiding.
We first went to a clothing store to get some outfits, then, after disguising ourselves, entered an ordinary-looking fast food restaurant and sat down to order like regular customers.
The pursuers would definitely think we were rushing to escape or leave the city. Even if they passed by the shopping district, they wouldn't imagine we were hiding inside, leisurely eating.
I changed from my Chanel suit and dress into gray sportswear, swapped my heels for sneakers, and put on a wig and headphones, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.
Marcus stuck on a brown fake mustache - a short tuft, like an eyebrow stuck above his lip.
I didn't understand his obsession with mustaches when he looked so young.
Adrian disguised himself as a young college student. Cole put on a baseball cap and stuck on a thick beard.
Marcus looked at Cole enviously several times. "My dream is to grow a beard like that. Bella, when I die, remember to give me a big curly beard when you prepare my body!"
"I'll cover your tombstone with fake mustaches," I rolled my eyes. "Just eat!"
Even though we weren't very hungry, we made time to eat. Years of experience on the run had taught us we might not find time for our next meal.
Marcus looked at the simple pasta set - the "steak" was just a few pieces of chopped synthetic meat, plus a tiny sausage and a few cherry tomatoes. He pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. "This is terrible. We swore we wouldn't let you suffer like this anymore."
"Being able to sit in a clean restaurant and eat without worrying about money - that's not suffering," I shrugged. "Besides, I went to many poor, backward places with Mr. Cunningham before. I've eaten food a hundred times worse than this."
Marcus still frowned with concern. As I stirred the pasta in front of me, I changed the subject. "Just running away is too passive. We'd better do something to turn the tables."
Marcus's eyes lit up. "Bella, what's your idea?"
I thought for a moment, then contacted Gale and Brian, asking them to spread the word about my bet with Holden - the bigger the fuss, the better.
Dawnharbor wasn't Holden's exclusive territory. He had plenty of enemies in both the underworld and the government. If any of his rivals wanted to see him embarrassed, it might help us.
Basically, I wanted to stir up chaos in Dawnharbor.
After eating, we set our next destination as a university town about three hours away on foot.
Once the pursuers found our abandoned cars, they'd guess we were moving on foot now. Although the city had transportation everywhere, we needed to avoid surveillance cameras as much as possible, so we couldn't take public transport. Flying or taking a train out was even more impossible.
And Holden knew our goal was to leave the city - the main roads and exit routes were definitely within their search range. They'd probably already set up ambushes, so Marcus and I had to be extremely careful.
Near the university town were internet cafes, cheap motels for couples, bars, and clubs - hiding there to rest for the night was a relatively safe choice.
As dusk fell and we'd just entered the university town, my phone suddenly rang.
Luckily, my brothers' and my phones all had anti-tracking software installed; otherwise, I would have ditched my phone already.
The call was from Elias, which surprised me.
"Hello, how has your recovery been lately?" I instinctively asked with a doctor's attitude toward a patient.
Elias wasn't calling for a post-op follow-up. He asked good-naturedly, "Isabella, I heard you've run into some trouble?"
I was somewhat surprised and asked cautiously, "What 'trouble' are you referring to?"
Elias said gently, "I have a friend in Dawnharbor who runs a dyeing workshop. I'll send you the address. You can stay there tonight - he can provide dinner and breakfast, plus a car and weapons. Unfortunately, I'm not in Dawnharbor, so this is all I can do to help."
"This is more than enough - you've helped me tremendously!" When I'd treated him, I never expected such a return. After hanging up, I still couldn't quite believe it.
Marcus asked hesitantly, "Can we trust him? Should we go to this dyeing workshop?"
"Although Roger was the lead surgeon for his operation, Elias knows I designed the surgical plan," I thought for a moment and shook my head. "He shouldn't help Holden harm me - there's no benefit in it for him."
Marcus nodded. "Then let's go to the dyeing workshop now! The conditions there must be better than here."
I agreed with Marcus and called the phone number Elias had sent. Before long, a car came to pick us up.
Shortly after getting in the car, Lucas messaged me saying he was near the university town.
We'd missed each other by just a few minutes.