about Mai, and Mai herself had not known them since she was a child. Neither sister knew of their whereabouts and had privately thought they might have passed away. The broken hearted tended to die young.
Mai grasped the rail, trying to steady herself. “ You mean you have them imprisoned? In your village?”
“They reside in the Clan village,” Gyuki acknowledged. “We have a job for you.” He produced a manila folder from deep inside the folds of his cloak. “Everything is in there. Do this job, Mai Kitano, or you will never see your parents alive again. And even after them we would sacrifice Chika, and Hibiki, and then you. For the Clan”
Gyuki turned to walk away. “The quicker you get it done, the quicker yo u will see your parents.”
“You must let them go!” Mai called after him. “If I do this you must let them go.”
Gyuki did not answer.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lomas gunned the Ducati forward so hard Alicia was thrown backwards and almost dismounted. Blood lust coursed through the man’s veins, mixed with more than a little fear. Alicia steadied herself and yanked out her pistol. She leaned around her boyfriend’s bulk, sighting down the barrel. A blue Nissan sped toward her with a man hanging out the passenger side, rifle in hand. The driver toted a small handgun through his own window. More Nissans stretched across the three-lane Autobahn. Half of Lomas’s biker gang peeled out beside him, filling the road; the other half shot off in the other direction.
“Crash an ’ burn, boys,” Lomas breathed into his helmet mic. “It was always gonna come down to this.”
Both enemies raced toward each other at reckless speed, the cluttered row of bikes grumbling toward the screaming pearl-blue line-up of cars. Lomas shouted over the uproar, “So here’s another first for you!”
“Oh, I ’ve been in a charge before,” Alicia said, remembering Czechoslovakia. “But never whilst riding a Monster!”
Lomas ducked his head even lower. “ Crazy beautiful,” he mumbled. “Now I know what Slash meant.”
Alicia fired, destroying her enemy’s windscreen. Shots drilled back, zipping overhead. A single bullet clanged off the engine block, ricocheting harmlessly away. Alicia switched her aim to the tires and fired twice, mindful that she only had one spare clip. Both her shots bounced off the tarmac.
To their left a bike went down, scraping along at high speed with a noise like a felled leviathan. Its rider, JPS, spun beside it, shredding his leathers as he went. He was one of the unarmed bikers, but determined to help distract their attackers. In seconds, the bikes and cars ate up the ground separating them and came together. One bike struck the side of a car, bouncing off and sending its rider screaming over the parapet of the bridge. Lomas cursed heavily. The car veered across the path of another, sending both vehicles into a slide. Two more bikes went down, one with its rider shot, the other through sheer bad luck.
Lomas hung low over his engine as his bike shot through the gap between two cars. Bullets flew horizontally. Alicia ducked to the left, firing blindly to the right. They were past in less than two seconds. When she breathed again and turned around, all four cars were already lining back up, preparing for another charge. Beyond them, the rest of the bikers hustled through their own bullet-strewn gauntlet, taking fire.
The blue Nissans screamed in unison. The vehicles spurted forward, laying down acres of rubber. Clouds of bluish smoke obscured the scene behind them. Lomas blipped the throttle of the Ducati, looking across the line at his men and women.
“Hit it.”
The column surged ahead. Whipper’s bike ran next to theirs, letting her notorious weapon unfurl behind as she took off. Alicia popped a Nissan’s driver-side tire with her first shot this time, then the tire of the one running beside it. One of the cars started to swerve crazily toward them.
“Shit ,” Lomas
Mai grasped the rail, trying to steady herself. “ You mean you have them imprisoned? In your village?”
“They reside in the Clan village,” Gyuki acknowledged. “We have a job for you.” He produced a manila folder from deep inside the folds of his cloak. “Everything is in there. Do this job, Mai Kitano, or you will never see your parents alive again. And even after them we would sacrifice Chika, and Hibiki, and then you. For the Clan”
Gyuki turned to walk away. “The quicker you get it done, the quicker yo u will see your parents.”
“You must let them go!” Mai called after him. “If I do this you must let them go.”
Gyuki did not answer.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lomas gunned the Ducati forward so hard Alicia was thrown backwards and almost dismounted. Blood lust coursed through the man’s veins, mixed with more than a little fear. Alicia steadied herself and yanked out her pistol. She leaned around her boyfriend’s bulk, sighting down the barrel. A blue Nissan sped toward her with a man hanging out the passenger side, rifle in hand. The driver toted a small handgun through his own window. More Nissans stretched across the three-lane Autobahn. Half of Lomas’s biker gang peeled out beside him, filling the road; the other half shot off in the other direction.
“Crash an ’ burn, boys,” Lomas breathed into his helmet mic. “It was always gonna come down to this.”
Both enemies raced toward each other at reckless speed, the cluttered row of bikes grumbling toward the screaming pearl-blue line-up of cars. Lomas shouted over the uproar, “So here’s another first for you!”
“Oh, I ’ve been in a charge before,” Alicia said, remembering Czechoslovakia. “But never whilst riding a Monster!”
Lomas ducked his head even lower. “ Crazy beautiful,” he mumbled. “Now I know what Slash meant.”
Alicia fired, destroying her enemy’s windscreen. Shots drilled back, zipping overhead. A single bullet clanged off the engine block, ricocheting harmlessly away. Alicia switched her aim to the tires and fired twice, mindful that she only had one spare clip. Both her shots bounced off the tarmac.
To their left a bike went down, scraping along at high speed with a noise like a felled leviathan. Its rider, JPS, spun beside it, shredding his leathers as he went. He was one of the unarmed bikers, but determined to help distract their attackers. In seconds, the bikes and cars ate up the ground separating them and came together. One bike struck the side of a car, bouncing off and sending its rider screaming over the parapet of the bridge. Lomas cursed heavily. The car veered across the path of another, sending both vehicles into a slide. Two more bikes went down, one with its rider shot, the other through sheer bad luck.
Lomas hung low over his engine as his bike shot through the gap between two cars. Bullets flew horizontally. Alicia ducked to the left, firing blindly to the right. They were past in less than two seconds. When she breathed again and turned around, all four cars were already lining back up, preparing for another charge. Beyond them, the rest of the bikers hustled through their own bullet-strewn gauntlet, taking fire.
The blue Nissans screamed in unison. The vehicles spurted forward, laying down acres of rubber. Clouds of bluish smoke obscured the scene behind them. Lomas blipped the throttle of the Ducati, looking across the line at his men and women.
“Hit it.”
The column surged ahead. Whipper’s bike ran next to theirs, letting her notorious weapon unfurl behind as she took off. Alicia popped a Nissan’s driver-side tire with her first shot this time, then the tire of the one running beside it. One of the cars started to swerve crazily toward them.
“Shit ,” Lomas
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