14

Then all five hunters drop in less than a second. A moment later, IC-12 falls with something in her back that looks like a sparkler. She screams once as the hissing white sparkler flares. Then it burns her to ash.

The next shot hits you dead center. You're slammed against a chain-link fence. On your knees, you hear the hiss of the flare igniting. You look down and realize that it's hit the burner phone Dr. Caul gave you. You wrench it out of your front pocket, fighting your terrified Beast, and hurl it away; a second later it explodes in a shower of white sparks, momentarily blinding you.

You hear radio chatter as white sparks dance before your eyes. "Primary target eliminated. Irregulars removed. Engaging secondary target now."

Next

Two agents with phoenix badges on their arms close in. Unlike a lot of hunters, these troops have identification. They're with the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade. The SI must be infiltrating the US Army.

They're holding modified shotguns, almost certainly dragon's breath rounds—incendiaries that will burn you to ash. Four more agents fan out behind them, armed with heavy automatic rifles. Their flak vests say FBI.

The agents aren't wearing night-vision goggles because of the flares, so they've momentarily lost you in the darkness. But they move with cool professionalism, turning on the flashlights attached to their weapons and sweeping the Quick Mart parking lot.

You really only have two choices: do you go for your car now or later? They haven't noticed your car yet. They'll find you eventually on foot, but you can try luring them away from your car…or just jump in the Mitsubishi now and peel out before they're fully organized.

The dead hunters weren't complete amateurs; their black Econoline is perfectly positioned to block quick getaways. You jump into the Mitsubishi and gun the engine. You instantly draw fire as you peel out, but you maneuver the Mitsubishi between the agents and a row of SUVs, buying yourself a few seconds.

You squeeze between the black Econoline and a Honda Element at thirty miles per hour, clipping the Element a little. You hear your headlight break, but it's not like you've got your lights on anyway. A moment later, bullets rip into the Econoline and the Honda. The Honda explodes, but you're clear; ignoring the screams of your Beast as the flames rise in your rearview mirror, you turn out onto the main drag, lights off and moving fast as bullets fly through the air all around you.

Next

You enjoy the freedom of the open road for about five seconds. Then two black Buick Avenirs peel out of the nice residential community you're driving past and try to wedge you in. You hit the brakes, and they collide with each other, not you. One of the SUVs smashes through a half dozen mailboxes, spins out, and falls behind, but the other one closes in.

You need to make a decision fast. You might be able to outdrive them, but you're also close to both Prince Lettow's territory and Julian's. You could head for either of their garages and hope that they like you enough to let you in and fend off a combined army/FBI/etc. kill team.