Chapter 12 - Collisions
The tachometer needle climbed into the red zone as Evander's sedan tore down the highway toward the George Washington Bridge.
Rain began to fall again, slicking the asphalt with a dangerous sheen of water.
Ahead of them, Sabine’s taillights flickered through the mist.
"He's heading for the docks," Tamson shouted over the roar of the engine.
"There's a private freighter waiting to take him out of the country."
Evander gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, his eyes locked on the target ahead.
"He's not making it out of the city," Evander said coldly.
Suddenly, Sabine’s car swerved violently across two lanes, cutting off a semi-truck before slamming its brakes.
Squeaaal!
Sparks flew as Sabine's vehicle spun 180 degrees, facing them head-on in the middle of the highway.
Before Evander could react, Sabine’s passenger door flew open, and a gunman emerged, firing a burst of automatic rifle rounds directly at their windshield.
Bang! Bang!
Bullet holes spiderwebbed across the glass right in front of Evander's face.
"Get down!" Evander yelled, shoving Tamson's head toward the floorboard.
He jerked the steering wheel hard to the left, ramming their armored sedan straight into the side of Sabine's parked car.
Metal crunched against metal with a deafening roar of destruction.
Sabine’s vehicle was knocked off the highway, tumbling down a grassy embankment before coming to a violent stop against a concrete barrier.
Evander brought his car to a skidding halt on the shoulder.
He killed the engine, drew his weapon, and kicked his door open.
"Stay here," Evander ordered Tamson.
"Not a chance," Tamson said, popping her door open as well.
She grabbed a heavy steel tire iron from the floorboard.
They crept down the embankment through the mud and tall weeds.
Sabine’s car was smoking heavily, its front end smashed into a twisted heap of steel.
The driver's side door was jammed shut.
Inside, Sabine was struggling to crawl out through the shattered window, his right shoulder bleeding profusely from Evander's earlier shot.
"It's over, Sabine," Evander said, stepping into the headlights and pointing his gun straight at the lawyer's face.
Sabine coughed, spitting blood onto the steering wheel. A twisted, desperate smile crossed his face.
"You think... you won, Evander?" Sabine wheezed.
"The board... already has your accounts frozen. Your empire... is finished."
"My empire was built on loyalty, not corruption," Evander said.
He holstered his weapon and pulled a pair of heavy steel zip-ties from his coat.
"You're going to confess to everything. Every murder. Every framing. Starting with Abel Hollis."
Sabine laughed, a wet, rattling sound.
"You think a confession will bring him back?"
Tamson stepped forward, her face inches from Sabine's window.
"No," Tamson said softly, raising the heavy steel tire iron.
"But it will put you in a cage for the rest of your natural life."
She brought the iron down on the chassis right beside his door, shattering the remaining glass.
May you like
Sabine flinched, all color draining from his face as he looked into her eyes.
He realized then that the girl from Ridgewood had beaten him.
