Hidden Depths

Chapter 25 - Outgunned

Remembering his part in the plan, Rich resisted the urge to go to Aarzam's aid and looked back at the driver.  The impact had jolted the van forward enough to activate the airbags, and it was clear that he had been dazed.  

Seizing the moment, Rich ran out from behind the Land Rover and opened the van driver's door.  For the first time, he noticed that there were three of them in the front.  All were dazed and confused by the impact, but they were also all holding wooden gripped automatic rifles, with big bendy magazines attached.

The passenger farthest from Rich noticed him first and groggily levelled his weapon, accidentally squeezing the trigger before he aimed.  In the split second before Rich dropped to the floor, the man shot the other passenger in the legs and the driver in the chest and head.  Rich could hear the men in the back of the van shouting and when he looked underneath it he saw the shooter's feet step out then stumble towards the rear of the vehicle.  

Pulling himself up to a crouch, he glanced at the bloody scene in the cab then stalked round the front and followed the shooter down the other side of the van.  Still crouched, he carefully peeped round to see him frantically using both hands to try and pull open the bent and buckled back doors.  Rich didn't know if the shooter thought he had managed to hit him, or whether he was so dazed that he'd forgotten why he had fired in the first place. Either way, it was obvious he wasn't expecting to be followed.

With both hands on the broken plastic handle of the battered door, the gunman had allowed his rifle to drop and hang from the strap that secured it round his shoulders.  Rich could see that the doors were not about to budge, so, fighting his fear, he jumped up to body slam the floundering man into them.

The man's head hit the buckled doors hard and he fell to the floor with a furious scream.  As he hit the ground, he fumbled for the rifle but found that it was firmly beneath Rich's foot.   With a twist of the hips, Rich used his other foot to aggressively stamp down on the shooter, effectively ending their struggle.

He could still hear the screams of the other passenger in the front of the van and the men in the back were kicking the doors to try and get out, but Rich was confident that the threat had been contained.  He pulled the rifle from the shooter's limp shoulders and carefully put it out of reach on the grass verge that Aarzam had landed on.  Stepping over the battered bike, he made his way to his schoolmate who had managed to heave himself up to rest on his elbow and observe the action.

'You were bloody lucky,' he said, making it obvious that the crash hadn't knocked any manners into him.  'I take it he accidentally shot the other one, then?'

'There are two of them, the driver has definitely been killed, but I don't know about the other one.'

'What are you like at first aid?' asked Aarzam.  Rich had never heard him ask for help before, but thought it was an understandable request in the circumstances.

'Alright. Where does it hurt?'  

'Not for me you idiot.  It could be the boss bleeding out in that cab, we need him alive.'

Aarzam reached a hand up and Rich helped him to his feet.

'Come on, let's go and have a look at him,' said Aarzam

Despite his dislike for the boy, Rich couldn't fault Aarzam's commitment to the cause.  It was pretty obvious that he had at least broken a leg, but the only thing that concerned him was finding out where Bertie was being held.

The road had been quiet while the battle had taken place, but a few cars were passing by now and Rich noticed some horrified looks on the faces of the drivers, who slowed to gawp at the gruesome view in the cab.

'Ok, but we need to get a move on, the police will be here any minute,' said Rich. 

Aarzam winced as Rich pulled an arm over his shoulders to take the weight off his broken leg. 

'Great, looks like that's gone as well,' Aarzam said, nodding at the offending limb. 'Do you have any idea how hard it is to use crutches with a broken arm?' 

Rich didn't reply, but helped him hobble up to the white van, which was now rocking from the frantic movements of the machine gun team inside.  Despite his broken bones, Aarzam had the presence of mind to keep the Brethren apprised.

'Control, do you read me?' he said.

As no reply came over their headsets, Aarzam assumed that his phone had taken a battering during the destructive dismount he had just performed.  He used his working arm to offer Rich an open palm.  'We're going to have to call in from yours.' 

Rich was unsure what he wanted. 

'Come on then, hand it over.' 

Rich hesitated a split second too long.

'Your P-H-O-N-E!' Aarzam spoke to him like he was a complete simpleton. 

With a little less effort than was necessary to put him down carefully, Rich plonked his demanding companion on the floor. He had just handed over his phone when the dead driver fell out the van.  Aarzam couldn't see the corpse, but noticed Rich's reaction a second before he heard the door slam shut and the van's engine ignite.

It jerked backwards and would have hit Aarzam, had its wheels not been stopped by the legs of the gunman, who was lying on his side behind it.  The unconscious man woke up and expressed his fresh agony. Then the gears crunched and the van lurched forward before it turned sharply in the road.  Both Rich and Aarzam could now see that the wounded passenger had taken the wheel and was battling through his pain and blood loss to try and flee the scene.

'Are you expecting me to stop him, then?' asked Aarzam from the floor, as the new driver crunched the van back into reverse. 

Rich considered picking the rifle up from the verge, but he knew he wouldn't be able to work it. He was about to run back over to open up the door when the sound of an ear-shattering horn filled the air around him.  He turned to see an enormous matt-black van accelerate up the road then broadside the white one at such a speed that it rolled two full turns before coming to a halt on its roof.