Chapter 4 - Sins of the Grandfather
The silence in the speeding van was heavier than lead.
Rex stared at the glowing screen while his breathing became shallow and rapid.
The name on the digital file read Silas Vance.
"Silas Vance was my second-in-command," Hale said with a voice trembling from decades of repressed grief.
"He was supposed to be in that helicopter with my son."
Rex rubbed his temples as his rough hands shook.
"I don't know any Silas," Rex argued aggressively.
"The man who raised my father was named John."
Hale shook his head slowly.
"Silas faked his death and changed his identity," Hale explained.
"He stole the patch from my son's body before the craft burned."
Betty took a sharp left turn and threw them against the sides of the van.
"We have company," she yelled from the driver's seat.
Two black sedans were quickly gaining on them as they weaved through the highway traffic.
"They tracked the DNA scan," Hale realized while cursing his own mistake.
He pulled a heavy assault rifle from a hidden compartment in the floor.
He tossed it to Rex.
"Do you know how to use that?" Hale asked.
Rex racked the bolt with a satisfying metallic clack.
"I run the biggest biker syndicate in the state," Rex grinned darkly.
He kicked the van's rear doors open.
Wind howled into the cabin as Rex took aim at the trailing sedans.
He fired a burst of rounds and shattered the windshield of the closest pursuit vehicle.
The sedan swerved violently and crashed into the concrete median in an eruption of sparks.
"One down!" Rex shouted as he felt the adrenaline pump through his veins.
But the second sedan accelerated and pulled up alongside the van.
The passenger window rolled down to reveal a man holding a rocket launcher.
Betty slammed on the brakes and caused the van to skid wildly across the lanes.
The rocket fired and missed their bumper by mere inches.
It blew a massive crater in the asphalt behind them.
"Hold on!" Betty screamed as she wrenched the steering wheel toward an upcoming exit ramp.
The van barreled through a wooden barricade and plummeted down a steep dirt embankment.
They crashed hard at the bottom as the airbags deployed with violent force.
Rex groaned and pushed the deflated bag away from his face.
May you like
He looked over at Hale.
The old man was unconscious and a thick piece of metal shrapnel was protruding from his chest.
