Long Ride #207

Floyd Lawton grunted as he stepped into the prison's yard and stopped moving, raising his shackled hands to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Keep moving, convict," said the security guard as he pushed him forward with the muzzle of his rifle, seemingly not in the mood to wait for the mercenary's eyes to adjust to the light.

Lawton said nothing and merely turned to glare at the security guard, causing the latter to falter for a second before he gathered his bearings and pushed him again.

He let out another grunt but didn't bother to argue as he started walking to the prison's parking area, where an armored truck was waiting for him, surrounded by even more armed guards.

The security guard escorting Lawton briefly greeted his colleagues before opening the truck's back door. He put his hand on Lawton's shoulder and pushed him in its direction.

The mercenary complied with a calm expression that quickly turned into a frown as he spotted a familiar blonde grinning like an idiot as she raised her shackled hand and waved at him.

"Fucking great..." Lawton muttered under his breath as he climbed into the back of the truck and sat down opposite the blonde and next to another woman, a brunette he recognized as Elaine Marsh (Lady Vic).

Four security guards followed him inside, filling up the back of the armored truck.

"We're good to go," said the last security guard to climb aboard, to which one of his colleagues who remained outside nodded and closed the door with a loud bang.

"I suppose it's finally time..." Elaine calmly said as she turned to Lawton, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think he'll keep his word...?" She asked, giving the mercenary a meaningful glance.

"I don't care..." Lawton replied, shaking his head, much to Elaine's shock, as she tilted her head. "I already got what I wanted from him. Anything beyond that is a bonus..." He went on, carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"And if I get bored of prison, I could always break out..." He concluded, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone as if breaking out Blackgate was like child play, which seemed to irk the guard sitting next to him.

"Shut your traps, convicts. You're not on a tourist tour!" The guard said, jabbing the stock of his rifle into Lawton's side to shut him up, to which the latter chuckled without flinching.

"It's no tourist tour, alright..." Lawton said, letting out the faintest of smiles as he turned to the guard. "Heck, we might not even make it all the way..." he went, to which the guard instantly frowned in confusion.

"You realize who we are and where we're going, right...?" Lawton said, his smile widening as he noticed the guard's confusion. "Who's to say there won't be another attempt on our lives...?" He went on, to which the guard's befuddlement instantly turned into shock as he paled.

"And who's to say it won't be successful this time now that we're out in the open...?" Lawton concluded, chuckling in amusement as he watched the guard's hardening expression, seemingly re-evaluating his life choices.

"Stopp scarin' the poor guy..." Came a bubbly voice as the guard felt a dainty, warm hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up and see the face of a blonde grinning at him.

"It's gonna be alright big fella..." The blonde softly said as she patted his shoulder. "We've got backup too..." She went in a consoling tone, and he could only nod gratefully.

The guard was so confused by the situation and Lawton's sudden revelation that he didn't even react to Harley. His colleagues, already aware of their predicament, seemed to find the situation amusing as they merely chuckled, watching from the side.

However, their laughter eventually snapped the guard out of his daze. He immediately lashed out, brandishing his rifle in Harley's face. "Get back into your seat, convict!" He bellowed, causing Harley to pout as she returned to her seat.

She grinned as she turned to the guard sitting next to her and reached into her orange jumpsuit's pocket, retrieving a pistol, which she immediately threw into his lap.

The guard next to Lawton immediately recognized the weapon and paled further as he started rummaging through his pocket, only to freeze as he found no trace of his secondary arm.

"This is going to be a long ride..." Lawton muttered, shaking his and sighing as he watched the security guards hurriedly rummaging through their pockets to check on their belongings.

He could only shake his head as they rushed to tighten their restraints.

...

"The transport unit is on the move..." Said a man in casual street clothes, leaning into the side of a building as he watched an armored prison truck pass by him, speaking into his raised sleeve.

"The target is bound to cross team alpha. Estimated time of arrival: 20 minutes..." He concluded, lowering his hand from his mouth as he looked around before walking away.

...

The courthouse

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much, Mr. Hampton..." I said, letting go of the blonde man's hand after giving it a firm shake. "I'm sure you've been through the evidence already..." I added, confidently smiling at the district attorney, to which he could only copy the gesture, albeit nervously.

"We've got Waller by the proverbial balls..." I added, shrugging my shoulders as I trailed off at the end of my sentence. "Though they might not be so proverbial, after all," I concluded, letting out a chuckle, and the man finally relaxed, nodding at me as he went to his podium.

And speaking of the devil, Waller made her entrance at that exact time, the sound of her heels they snapped at the floor echoing all over the courtroom.

Attracted by the sound, I turned to her. Our eyes met, and we looked away simultaneously as Waller moved toward her table, followed by her lawyer as the rest of her team scattered all over her side of the court behind it.

Noticing her calm and collected demeanor, I hesitated briefly before reaching for her brain with my energy, only to freeze as it couldn't scan her mind, impeded by a thin barrier surrounding the task force director's brain.

I frowned as I tried to sense the barrier's source and promptly identified it as the earring she wore on her left ear. 'I should be able to break through it easily...' I mused as I sensed the mental shield's strength.

Still, I shook my head and abandoned the idea. I didn't know if she had a backup device or if it would alarm her to my intrusion if I broke through, so it wasn't worth it.

I'd already gone through countless scenarios, and there was essentially nothing she could do to slither her way out of the trial with her job, reputation, and freedom intact.

'Gotta play it safe... no need to take risks...' I nodded to myself, turning away from Waller as the jury members arrived and the courtroom started filling up with people.

Soon, the bailiff, the court stenographer, and other court staff arrived, taking their positions before Judge Ryme finally walked in. "All rise," The bailiff remarked, prompting everyone to their feed as Ryme took his seat.

"Department One of the Superior Court is now in session, Judge Clay presiding..." The bailiff announced the start of the trial as he turned to the judge, who nodded. "Please be seated," He went as he turned back to the court, prompting everyone to sit.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Calling the case of the People of the State of New Jersey versus Amanda. Are both sides ready?" The judge asked as he alternated his gaze between the DA and defendant tables.

"Ready for the people," said the district attorney and Waller's lawyer in that order as they stood.

...

"Command, this is alpha team leader. We have visual on the target, I repeat, we have visual on the target," said a man in a black tactical suit, carrying a futuristic assault rifle as he stood on a roof ledge over the street.

"Are we clear to engage? Over." The man asked, and the affirmative reply came almost immediately, prompting him to raise his rifle and aim at the incoming armored prison truck, waiting for a clear shot.

His colleagues spread over nearby rooftops and the alleyways near the street also received the command and prepared to attack.

None of them took any chances. They waited for the truck to get within range before reaching for the rifle triggers, waiting for the team leader to give them the order.

The leader waiter an extra second until the truck was right below him as it stopped because of the traffic.

"Open fire!" He instructed as he reached for the trigger with his finger.

...

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