Chapter 7 - A CITY ON FIRE
Marcus fought the steering wheel with every muscle in his forearms.
The SUV shrieked across the wet concrete, sparks showering the undercarriage as the bare steel rim ground into the asphalt.
We slammed into the highway shoulder barrier, coming to an abrupt halt fifty feet from the Broad Street exit ramp.
"Spike strip," Marcus growled, kicking his door open.
"They anticipated our route."
High above the highway, on the street-level bridge, two black sedans idled silently in the dark.
Their high beams cut through the rain like blinding white spears.
"Out of the vehicle!" Julian commanded.
He grabbed Mason under the arms, while Arthur and I scrambled through the passenger door.
We ducked beneath the concrete overpass just as a hail of submachine-gun fire shredded the roof of our Explorer.
Glass rained down onto the highway.
"They're not trying to capture us anymore," Marcus said, reloading his sidearm.
"This is an extermination."
"We can't stay on the highway," I said, pointing toward an iron service gate built into the stone retaining wall.
"That leads to the abandoned Reading Viaduct rail line. It runs above the streets all the way into Center City."
Julian looked at the rusted gate, then down at me.
"How do you know that?"
"My grandfather worked on the Reading Railroad for thirty years," I said.
"He used to walk me along the old high lines when I was ten."
Julian kicked the rusted padlock off the gate with one brutal strike of his combat boot.
The iron bars swung inward with a screech.
We helped Mason up the narrow concrete steps onto the elevated railway embankment.
Weeds and wild sumac grew through the rotting wooden ties.
Below us, police sirens wailed across the city.
Searchlights swept the clouds from news helicopters circling overhead.
Julian pulled a burner phone from his pocket and checked the local news feed.
He swore under his breath.
"Look at this."
He turned the screen toward me.
My breath caught in my throat.
My own face was staring back at me on the front page of the city’s major news portal.
WANTED FOR FELONY KIDNAPPING AND CORPORATE SABOTAGE: LILY CARTER.
Below my photo was a statement from Vanessa Price:
"A disgruntled former server at The Meridian Room conspired with armed militants to abduct an elderly patron and attack restaurant staff. A million-dollar reward is offered for her immediate capture."
"She framed me," I whispered, trembling with shock.
"The entire city is looking for you," Julian said grimly.
"Every patrol car, every transit cop, every bounty hunter in the tri-state area."
"They're trying to make sure nobody listens to her if she talks," Mason said, leaning heavily against a rusted signal tower.
"If the police find Lily first, Price’s corrupt detectives will shoot her on sight and claim self-defense."
Arthur walked up to me, standing straight in the freezing wind.
He placed his warm, heavy hand on my trembling shoulder.
"They underestimate you, Lily."
"They think because you wear a server's uniform, you are weak."
"They don't know the steel inside you."
I looked across the glittering skyline of Philadelphia.
The high-rise Calder Tower stood tall in the distance, its glowing corporate logo cutting through the midnight fog.
The men in that tower had destroyed my husband’s career.
They had tried to kill an innocent old man.
They had hunted us through the rain like animals.
And they thought a million-dollar bounty would make me hide.
My trembling stopped.
My hands clenched into fists.
"What's the plan, Julian?" I asked.
Julian looked at me, a glimmer of genuine respect flashing in his dark eyes.
"We walk the high line to 12th Street."
"We hole up in the old rail yard until sunrise."
May you like
"And at 7:00 AM, we take back my father’s empire."
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