The Many Regrets of a Cyborg Werewolf

Fleeing the Scene - XIV

The parking garage was on lockdown. After a van broke through the South barricade the SWAT team were given the order to go in. Whoever was in that vehicle had just put the hostages at risk, and though lookouts reported visuals on the three captured civilians, the masked suspect and van had vanished into the lot's interior, away from the eyes of rooftop lookouts or the choppers above. This made it tricky to expect what was coming, but gave Luke the opportunity he needed. Per his instructions Mahi had followed him in the van two levels above, and Luke carefully peered from cover to the skies outside. The surrounding buildings were industrial, few if any windows, and offered good cover from street level eyes, leaving the police and news helicopters the main hurdle. That, and the SWAT team coming from below. By now they would have reached the hostages, and Luke soon heard the chatter below that confirmed it. Now he just needed to wait for his window.

"Get ready," Luke spoke into his helmet's radio, "our opportunity is about to arrive."

"I really dislike this plan," Erin said. Luke decided not to respond. Instead he ran the mental calculations one more time. His target was a divide between two halves of the industrial center next to them. Flanked by seven stories on each side, it'd be the perfect cover to escape. The problem was its width. It would barely be able to fit the van, and Luke wondered if he had enough space for a running start, but as the choppers circled out of view, he was out of time.

"Hold on, everyone," Luke said as he pulled away from his cover and up to the wall. With a few powerful kicks he smashed the four foot concrete barrier out, then darted back to the van. With as much grace as he could manage with the unwieldy nature of it, Luke picked the vehicle up by its chassis, hoisting it up and over his shoulders, then finally resting it on his back, bracing it by the edges.

"This rocks!" Mahi chuckled from the driver's seat, "I've always wanted to go on a rollercoaster!"

Luke ran, cradling the van on his back, dashing at full speed through the break in the wall. His momentum carried himself and the vehicle through the air, clearing the gap, and barely threading the needle into the narrow gap. Luke outstretched his legs, ready to take the impact, and his feet made contact with the snow-covered layer of gravel, causing him to slip and skid backwards as the van fell on top of him. He braced its undercarriage with his hands and feet, using his own body as a cushion so as not to damage the vehicle's suspension or axles, and the whole thing bounced once before coming to a stop with Luke pinned beneath.

"Lucas!" Mercer shouted as he looked out from the passenger seat, "are you injured?"

"Physically? No," Luke sighed. He pushed the van off of him as he turned over. Like rolling around in bed beneath the covers, and picked up the van once more as it rocked unevenly against the minimal area of contact that was his back.

"I feel like I'm gonna be sick," Erin muttered from the back of the van. Luke once again broke into a run, the weight of the van causing his feet to leave potholes in the roof.

"Skies are clear, though," Mahi said, sticking his head out of the window, "I think we're clear!"

"Good," Luke said, leaping across a small divide. The building was coming to an end, and he skidded to a halt just before the edge and peered down. It was an alleyway, or at least a gap large enough to fit the van. Luke carefully positioned himself parallel with the gap and hopped down, landing hard on the asphalt and leaving a small crater where his feet made contact. Finally he was able to put the vehicle down, only to hear an audible crack in his back.

"Now what?" Mahi asked as Luke shuffled around the side, one hand behind him, "we can't take this minivan back onto the streets, and Doc needs a doc."

"We can keep the van," Mercer said, still holding his leg.