PADORA : Behind the masks (Book #1)

CHAPTER 6/THE JUMP

She tucked the hair back in clumsily wishing desperately that she could see behind his helmet. He was looking at her, that much she knew, but in what way? Were his features amused, teasing, angry? Was there a spark of recognition in his eyes?  

Does he know? She studied the stranger in blue. His posture was relaxed, his head slightly tilted to the left, as if he was examining her.   

For once, she was grateful that the visor hid her panic struck face. For the first time ever, she was really terrified. 

If he knows, is he going to tell? She had no idea what the answer was to either of those questions. They glared at each other, both of them silent. The silence itself was a warning to Nadia. The Sapphire was never silent. 

I need to get out of here! Her instincts warned her. But before she could react, her senses registered another type of danger. 

The energy shifted suddenly as the cheers turned to screams, muffled by the sound of ellipses turning above their heads. Then, a bright light coming from above blinded her.

It took her a while to realize what was happening as she watched people dispersing in panic. As the sirens filled the night air and helicopters hovered above them, Nadia turned to the Sapphire rider. 

His posture mirrored hers - they both stood there motionless and their eyes met under the visors. 

"Padora forces! Don't move! You are under arrest!" the mechanic voice shouted from above them. 

That seems to have awakened them both. They looked at each other, both of them grabbing a strong hold of their bikes, leaning forward, clutching the gas.  They will not get us, an unspoken understanding passed between them. 

  A dozen of Force vehicles came rushing through the main gate. A cordon blocked the entrance...  and that was the only way in and out of these grounds. How in hell are they ever going to make it out? 

"Follow me!" the Sapphire shouted. Nodding, Nadia sped up, the dirt road forming a cloud of dust around them. 

The Sapphire turned a sharp left and led them to the West side of the estate, where a maze of dozen hangars surrounded a three store building. Nadia rode by his side, following his lead. The road was open in front of them, leading them closer to the boundaries of the estate. The West building was quite close to the fence, maybe even close enough to.... But, he can't be... surely, he has another plan....

In the distance, Nadia heard gunshots accompanied by screams. But, she had no time to dwell on that. A car approached them from the right, falling behind Nadia by only a few meters.

"Stop and surrender!" a voice came from behind them.

Not gonna happen. They both sped up in response. Then, the gunshots deaftened her and she instinctively severed to the left, almost loosing the balance and crushing into the Sapphire.

They are firing at us! These are actual gunshots! Funny enough, fear wasn't the first emotion that swamped her. She laughed at the irony of the situation. What would your commander do if he knew you were firing at his only child? 

The Sapphire turned to the left avoiding Nadia. Then something interesting happened. He was suddenly to her right, as if he was shielding her from the shots. Why?

Another vehicle came approaching them, and then another. The beam of light from the helicopter was following them and their now growing entourage. More gunshots were fired and they both severed to left and right sporadically. There was some primal excitement in the situation. It was almost as if there was a mental link between the two of them, they red each other's movements that well. Nadia wasn't even surprised...  it seemed natural in a weird way.  But, there was too many cars behind them. Too many bullets. And a dead end street in front of them. 

They reached the first hangar and Nadia sighted with a slight relief. They had a slight advantage here: they both raced through this maze a couple of times.  They glanced at each other and nodded, again understanding each other without words. Nadia went to the right, while the Sapphire took the left side. They navigated the maze maneuvering the obstacles with ease, gaining an advantage over their chasers as they came in through the wide double gate of the West building. Ahead of them was a big empty hall and another set of doors, these ones locked. What now smartass? 

The Sapphire came to a stop and looked at her. Again, Nadia wished he wasn't wearing that stupid helmet. Then, he drove in the direction of concrete steps. Shit. He really means to do it.  

The West building was partly damaged during the War. The back side of the building had no walls from the second floor up, leaving an open space facing the fence and the surrounding forest.  Is the open space large enough? She had no idea. But she knew one thing: they will soon find out. 

She followed him up the concrete stairs to the first, second and then the third floor. It wasn't an easy climb with their bikes, but the hardest test was still in front of them. And this time it wasn't for the cheers and the glory.

There was nothing above them or in front of them, but the dark of the night as the rode to the furthest edge.  She saw the fence rising in the distance and the pine trees some 50 meters behind it. Was the building too far away from the fence? Was there enough space to gain enough speed to make that jump? Will they manage to land on the flat ground or are they going to drive into the trees? There was too many questions and too little time to figure out the answers. 

Nadia heard the sirens of the cars catching up to them.  She turned to look at her partner in crime, his head turned to face her. 

"Scared?" he asked.

"Am not!" Nadia replied with a childish defense, which made her smile under her helmet. 

 In the back, she heard the cars enter the building.  

"Are too..." The Sapphire mimicked her tone and she laughed at it, the conversation remind her of the dream she had not that long ago....

Helicopter was hovering above them. It was just a question of seconds before the beam of light finds them. 

"Maybe you are the one who's scared!" She teased him. 

She heard footsteps in the ground floor. 

Instead of answering the Sapphire just tilted his head slightly to the right, examining her for a second time tonight. Then, his hand went up, as if he wanted to lift his visor up. 

Then the light blinded them. 

"Two riders on the roof!" the mechanic voice rang through the night.

Sapphire leaned forward grabbing a firm hold on the handles. A new sense of determination and excitement filled Nadia. Shit. Shit. We are doing this!

"Ready to fly little Raven?"

Nadia leaned down on her bike, heart racing fast, a smile curving her full lips. 

"Hell yes!" She shouted back before they both rushed to the edge and found themselves in the air.