Slingers (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 1)

Chapter 3

Nolun staggered to his feet and looked around at the scene unfolding around him. The gunshots from inside the tavern were making his ears ring and making it hard to focus. Then he felt a hand with an iron grip grab his arm and spin him around. The Inferno, the pirate he had just met looked him straight in the face. "Look at me! Do you have the Piece?!" He shouted at him, hoping to be heard over the firefight. Nolun, too stunned to speak, nodded. The Inferno pulled him down underneath the window, and looked around frantically. "That soldier isn't going to be pinned down for long. He's probably already called for backup. We need to get off this planet, now! Do you have a vehicle that can get us to the spaceport?" Nolun got up and nodded. "Follow me." He drew his repeater and ran towards the transport parked outside. "That thing's too big! We won't be able to fit it through the streets!" Nolun went around to the back and pulled a latch on the back door. "That's not what I'm going for." He pulled the back door open to reveal a motorcycle, it's sleek yellow paint standing out. The Inferno looked at him incredulously. "It's better than nothing!" Nolun yelled. "You drive, I'll shoot!" As the Inferno was no doubt about to protest, Nolun saw two armoured ATV's and a pursuit car with the GDF logo on the side pull up and open fire on the tavern and the two of them. "Jump on!" Nolun shouted, and the Inferno followed suit, his black coat flying as he straddled the cycle and sped off barely after Nolun got on the back, with the GDF vehicles giving chase.

The Inferno was a surprisingly good driver, as he managed to weave through the crowded streets with ease, and managed to avoid the gunfire from the GDF vehicles. A soldier on a mounted turret on the back of the ATV was firing at the two of them, apparently paying no regard to the civilians on the streets. The bullets hit just beside them, and Nolun felt a few of them whiz past his ear. He drew his repeater and fired a few shots back, but nothing accurate enough to disable them. He leaned down to the Inferno's ear. "I can't get a clear shot!" The Inferno looked to his right and saw an entrance to a maze of alleyways and back roads. "Hold on!" "To wha-" Nolun was barely able to get out before the Inferno took a sharp turn, skidding slightly and entering the narrow street. Nolun looked behind them and saw the two ATV's still doggedly giving pursuit. "They're still behind us!" "But now you can take them out!" Nolun grit his teeth and slipped on his goggles. To anyone else, they looked like a normal set of red-tinted aviator's goggles, but in reality, the contained a miniature HUD (Heads-Up Display) that included a night vision setting and targeting system. It was the second feature that Nolun was about to put to use. The crosshairs appeared in the centre of his vision, and he aimed his pistol accordingly. The gunner was inside a rollcage, which made it difficult to take him or the driver out with one shot. So, there was only one other course of action to do. Nolun took aim, pulled the trigger...and hit the right front tire perfectly, blowing it out. The ATV began to wobble side-to-side wildly, and finally stopped when it hit a corner of a wall into another alley, causing the vehicle to burst into flame.

The other ATV drove around the flaming wreckage of it's companion, and accelerated towards the cycle, it's gunner spraying bullets around them. Nolun ducked his head, and leaned down. "He's not gonna let me get off another shot!" The Inferno looked around, weighing his options, until he noticed a bridge over a channel of water running through Miranda City rapidly approaching. Nolun, as if he could predict what was coming, gripped the side of the cycle. "Oh no. No, no, no!" The Inferno gunned the engine, the bike speeding up, and as soon as they were halfway across the bridge, he swerved to the right, ramping off the side of the bridge, flying through the air, until landing with a jolt on the lower road on the opposite of the river. Nolun managed to look back just in time to see the ATV attempt to follow them, but the heavy armour gave it less momentum than the lightweight cycle, causing it to miss and hit the side of the channel, and sinking into the water. Nolun looked forward and laughed, a grin on his face. "Haha! We made it!" The Inferno turned into another alleyway, and back onto the regular streets of the city. "The spaceport is just a few more minutes away!" Nolun nodded, then his heart dropped. Up ahead were several GDF armoured transports and pursuit cars blocking the road and surrounding alleys. There was no way out. "Shedao! We're trapped!" Nolun cursed as he looked around. The Inferno's eyes narrowed. "Maybe not. Jump off when I tell you." Nolun looked down at him like he had just grown an extra arm. "Are you crazy?!" "Just do it!" Nolun shook his head as the blockade got closer. The Inferno gripped the accelerator, and the GDF soldiers began to open fire on the vehicle. Nolun ducked his head, and just as the cycle was a few feet away, the Inferno shouted. "NOW!" They both leapt off the seat, propelling themselves up and over the blockade, as the bike crashed into one of the transports, exploding in a large ball of flame, knocking many of the GDF soldiers back. Before many of them could recover from the explosion, the Inferno and Nolun managed to get to their feet and ran into the alleyway. As Nolun tore into the darkness of the street, he heard the GDF soldier behind them call out. "They survived that crash! Spread out! Comb this entire city! Don't let them get away with that piece!"

*Shedao-FedSpeak swear word