Chapter 344 Driving In
Dickson suddenly opened the driver's door and jumped into the SUV. The sound of the creaking hinge broke the tense silence between him and Lilith.
"Hop in," he called out quickly, already slamming the door shut behind him.
Lilith turned her head sharply, her golden strands whipping with the movement. She stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Her eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a cold glare. Was this idiot really planning to drive a full-size SUV into the mansion?
But she hesitated only for a moment. Against her better judgment, she walked around and yanked the passenger door open. Sliding into the seat, she slammed it shut, her movements sharp with irritation.
The moment she sat down, she turned her piercing gaze toward him. "What the hell is your plan?" she demanded, her voice low and cutting.
Dickson slapped the steering wheel with both hands, a wide grin spreading across his face as if he had just solved some impossible puzzle. "My plan?" he repeated, excitement flashing in his eyes. "I'm going to drive this car straight through that gate—and I won't stop until we're at the mansion."
Lilith blinked slowly, her face blank for half a second before she dragged her hand up and slapped her own face in disbelief. The sound echoed inside the vehicle. "Unbelievable," she muttered under her breath. "This idiot actually planned what I thought he did."
She let her hand fall, shaking her head. "Your intelligence is becoming… concerning," she said flatly.
Without another word, she reached for the door handle. The door clicked once under her pull, but it didn't budge. She tried again, harder this time. Nothing. Dickson had already locked it.
Her eyes flared dangerously as she turned her head toward him. Her voice dropped cold, each word sharp as a blade. "Open. The. Door."
Dickson tightened his grip on the steering wheel but didn't look at her. "Trust me," he said, his tone annoyingly casual, almost playful. "This will work."
Lilith's brows furrowed. "Trust you?" she repeated, her voice dripping with disbelief. "Even if you don't kill me with your reckless driving before we reach the gate, do you even realize how many guns will be aimed at this car the second we move? With that many bullets flying around, you think not even one will hit the fuel tank?"
Dickson leaned back in his seat, his grin unshaken. "Let's find out," he said, almost enjoying the recklessness of it.
Lilith was frozen for a moment, caught off guard by the sheer stupidity—or bravery—that spilled out of him. For once, she didn't have an immediate comeback.
Then the rumble of the engine snapped her out of her thoughts. Dickson twisted the key, the SUV growled to life, and before she could open her mouth again, he slammed the gear into drive. The tires squealed against the gravel as the heavy vehicle lurched forward.
Lilith's hands gripped the edges of her seat instinctively, her jaw tightening as the acceleration pushed her back. "You're insane," she hissed under her breath.
The black SUV tore forward, kicking up dust behind it.
At the gate, the two guards stationed outside leaned against their rifles lazily, their eyes scanning the perimeter like they had done a hundred times already that morning. One of them was chewing gum, his jaw moving slow and uninterested. The other scratched the back of his neck, already bored from standing still for hours.
When they noticed the SUV that had earlier dropped off Vanessa and Kelly starting up, they straightened slightly.
"What's this?" the gum-chewing guard muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The other tilted his head. "Looks like he's turning around."
"Turning around?" the gum-chewer repeated, spitting the gum onto the gravel and squinting. "Why? Wasn't he supposed to wait here for the girls?"
Confusion spread between them as the SUV rolled closer, but its speed picked up fast enough that their brows furrowed. The gum-chewer raised his hand to signal, but before he could, the vehicle's engine roared louder.
Inside the compound, Stormzy was making his way toward the gate. He was heading out to handle other business. His heavy boots crunched against the pavement as he moved, his sharp eyes already catching the movement of the SUV in the distance.
He slowed his steps, narrowing his gaze. Something wasn't right.
The SUV wasn't turning. It wasn't slowing either. It was accelerating—hard.
Stormzy's jaw tightened, a dark scowl forming across his face. He muttered under his breath, his voice thick with irritation. "What the fuck is this idiot doing?"
The guards at the gate now raised their rifles, confusion melting into alarm. The SUV thundered closer, dust kicking into the air like a cloud following in its wake.
Inside, Lilith pressed her back against the seat, her eyes narrowing but her body tense, ready for the inevitable storm. "Dickson," she said coldly, her voice steady even though the car jolted violently forward. "If we die in the next ten seconds, I'm haunting you for eternity."
But Dickson only grinned wider, his hands gripping the wheel tighter as the mansion gates grew larger and larger in the windshield.
——
The two guards at the gate didn't hesitate. The second the SUV closed in at reckless speed, they raised their rifles and opened fire.
Ratatatatatatata
The echo of bullets cut through the air, casings flying from their weapons as muzzle flashes lit their faces.
Whoever was inside that vehicle had to be high on something. No sane man would drive headfirst into the mansion gates.
Inside the SUV, Dickson let out a wild, unhinged scream. His eyes bulged, his knuckles white on the steering wheel as his foot slammed harder on the accelerator. The SUV surged forward like a raging bull, engine roaring with everything it had left.
"Faster!" he yelled, his voice cracked with mania. "We're not stopping!"
Lilith shot him a look of pure disbelief. He sounded like a lunatic, but she had no time to argue.
The two guards realized a fraction too late that the SUV wasn't going to slow down. Their gunfire stopped abruptly as panic hit them. Dropping their rifles mid-motion, they dove off to the side just as the massive vehicle roared through.
The gates didn't stand a chance. They were never built to withstand such momentum.
CRASH!
The metal hinges snapped instantly, the reinforced bars twisting like paper. The heavy gates tore free from their mounts, one half flung violently aside while the other screeched across the ground before slamming into a nearby wall.
The entire compound shook from the impact.
Ratatatatatatata
Gunfire erupted instantly from deeper inside the mansion grounds. The storm of bullets was deafening, drowning out even the thunder of the SUV's engine. Guards from balconies, courtyards, and corners opened fire, filling the air with deadly lead.
Inside, Dickson ducked his head low, barely looking at the road anymore. His wild grin stayed plastered on his face, but his forehead almost touched the steering wheel as if that would save him.
"Keep it down!" he shouted, though his voice cracked in manic laughter. "If I can't see them, they can't see me!"
Lilith exhaled sharply, her patience stretched thin. Without hesitation, she raised her right hand. Cold mist poured out from her palm, and a shield of jagged ice quickly formed inside the vehicle, wrapping across the windows and reinforcing the interior like crystalline armor.
Bullets struck the ice with loud, violent thuds. Cracks appeared, but none of them penetrated. Sharp white frost shimmered with every impact, sealing itself in thin layers each time the bullets chipped at it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The SUV rattled under the relentless storm of fire. Tires screeched, metal groaned, but the car refused to stop. Dickson's foot was glued to the pedal, his weight pressing down with everything he had.
Then came the final moment.
BANG!
The SUV slammed into the front steps of the mansion. The massive staircase, solid stone, rose like a barrier too high for the wheels to mount. The impact sent a thunderous jolt through the vehicle.
Dickson had already smashed his foot against the brake pedal seconds earlier, reducing some of the impact, but it wasn't enough to make it clean. The front bumper crumpled like foil, the hood folding in as metal screamed against stone. The entire vehicle jolted violently to a halt, rocking back and forth before going still.
The sudden jerk slammed Dickson forward. His forehead cracked against the steering wheel—
PFFFT!
The airbag exploded out in front of him, saving his skull from splitting open. His head bounced off the cushion, his nose smearing against the inflated surface as he groaned.
From outside, bullets still hammered into the SUV.
Dickson lifted his head slowly, blood trickling from a small cut above his eyebrow. His grin, however, never faded. He sucked in a breath, then let out a strained laugh. "I was right," he wheezed, his voice hoarse but triumphant. "Nothing hit the fuel tank."
Lilith rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn't freeze solid in her skull. Her patience snapped. She leaned forward, grabbed Dickson by his collar and throat in one hand, and yanked him upward.
"Idiot," she muttered.
With her other hand, she stretched forward. Frost spread instantly across the cracked windshield, crawling like living veins. Then, with a sharp thrust, she pushed her hand outward.
CRACK!
The entire front glass shattered into fragments, exploding outward with a ringing crash.
Lilith wasted no time. She hauled Dickson with her, lifting his body with inhuman strength as if he weighed nothing.
"Hold your breath," she snapped, and before he could answer, she launched forward.
The icy shield on the vehicle shattered behind them as bullets whizzed closer. Lilith raised her free hand high and conjured an ice wall mid-air, thick slabs of crystalline frost forming instantly. Bullets slammed against it, exploding shards of frost but buying her precious seconds.
Without slowing, she darted toward the mansion doors, dragging Dickson like a ragdoll in one hand.
Her palm twisted, ice swirling into a solid hammer in her grip. She swung hard.
BOOM!
The hammer smashed against the wooden doors, the impact cracking them open with explosive force. Splinters flew, the doors collapsing under the icy assault.
Lilith rushed inside.
But before she could take two steps, everything shifted.
A wave of invisible force slammed into her body, striking with the power of a charging bull. Her chest tightened as the impact hit, and she was lifted off her feet instantly.