The Hidden Knife

CHAPTER 23: SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE ONE WHO BETRAYS HIMSELF

Have you ever heard of a billionaire being made to run while his whole body is in excruciating pain? Perhaps not. I am sitting beside Ethan in a wrecked car. That's luck. Because we are both being chased down by a group of armed men. The power and prestige just got slipped out of my hands. This is a planned assassination. All of my combat forces have gone invisible. Or rather they had been killed.

Ethan suddenly turns the steering wheel in a swift motion, and my mouth crashes to the window. Ethan was my normal employer a few hours ago. Now he is as equal as me in terms of survival. Or rather, he is more precious. As we speed down the dark, deserted road, I can feel the weight of the situation sink in. Ethan's quick thinking and driving skills are our only hope for survival now. The betrayal and danger surrounding us is a harsh reminder of the risks that come with power and influence. But in this moment, all that matters is staying one step ahead of our pursuers and making it out of this alive. Ethan's loyalty and determination have earned my respect, and I know that together we stand a better chance of making it out of this alive.

'Where are we going?' I ask Ethan. My voice is cracked with hopes. Perhaps fears. I can feel the fears in his eyes too. A single bullet and we must be dead. Wait. Isn't it awkward that so many militants just could not strike a bullet at us? That's too strange. They could have easily bombarded us. They literally could launch a missile or even use chemical weapons. But they didn't.

Ethan again slams the steering wheel, and this time the car drifts even further off course. I see in the rearview mirrors the empty and dark forests standing like short buildings. The night is completely dark, stranded by my fears of getting caught. The road is bumpy, but to my surprise, we are traveling smoothly. The condition of vehicle is better than atleast I expected.

'We need to get outta here as fast as possible,' Ethan says in a calm voice.

I can feel my breath evaporate in the cold. We have nowhere to go.

'Where are we going?' I repeat.

He doesn't answer. We are just traveling endlessly along a path surrounded by tall trees.

'They are probably taking the other way around, so I suppose we need to cut through the forest'.

Suddenly a gunshot separates my soul from my body. I can feel the numbness inside of me. I turn back to see another gunshot fired directly at the back of our car. If we were surrounded by militants, then that freacking lightsaber would be of no use. It is lying doiwn at the backseat , out of reach. I have my gun with me, but it isn't going to be helping. My brain might enter a state of concussion. Ethan is bleeding from his head. His sout is covered with red blood. Same as mine.

'Oh sh*t,' Ethan murmurs, and I realize what had happened. We are trapped here, with no way out. A car is directly lunging towards us from the other way. There's no space to escape. Another click, and I can feel Ethan losing his control over the steering wheel.

'The tires have been punctured' he shouts. 'I have no controlllll' his voice fading, and we crash against the oncoming car. My eyes get closed at the impact, my body in a state of unconsciousness. The airbags burst out open against my face, and I am heavily impacted by the collision. I don't know about Ethan, but I do know that he is not beside me in the car. There are gunshots going out on the outside of the car. I can only hope he isn't dead. If he's dead, then I would be too very soon.

My head starts spinning, but before all that, some shrieking communications take me up to my ears. The radio suddenly goes on and a voice crackles through, "Officer down!".

I'm too injured to open the door and fall out. But something caught me off guard. That's his voice.

Aryan? Natasha? My head spins 180 degrees, and before I could say something, I fell unconscious.

The last thing I remember are the gunshots and sirens that engulfed me.

Also not to mention the terrible car crash.