NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Born to Run
The engines roared and the desert dust billowed behind them as Helen and Jackie sped away in the Type 66 Hoon, their precarious and unknown cargo secure in the trunk.
"So, Jaquito. Who did we steal from?" Helen asks trying to put as much distance between them and the trailer as possible.
Jackie was hunched forward, clutching the edge of his seat as the Type 66 Hoon effortlessly devoured the barren desert road. The intense sunlight blazed down on them, casting shimmering waves of heat upon the horizon.
"The Scorpions, a group of Raffen… Also just call me Jackie, Hermana," Jackie responded, his voice grim. "We were supposed to swipe some contraband tech from their desert hideout. But things went south real quick. The Raffen are not a crew you mess with, either."
"Call me Helen. So, it was just Raffen?" Helen asks, trying her best to sound relaxed and normal.
"Yes, just Raffen," Jackie confirms, gripping onto his seat as the entire car lurches to the left.
"Cool, Cool. So, Jackie… Do you mind telling me why we have an Arasaka AV tailing above us?" Helen asks.
Jackie goes pale, and his wide eyes are locked on the sky. He responds by sticking his head out of the window, looking up. But his curiosity quickly turns into a painful encounter with the car door as Helen hits a bump, forcing him to pull his head back inside.
"That's an Arasaka AV up there, Helen," Jackie said, his voice doing well to hide the pain from the bump. "This ain't good, not good at all."
"We've got to lose 'em," Jackie muttered, his hands clutching the edges of his seat once again.
Helen nodded in agreement and pushed the Type 66 Hoon to its limits. The car responded with a burst of speed, creating a turbulent storm of dust and sand as they sped through the rugged desert terrain.
"We can't just outrun an AV, Helen," Jackie responds.
Helen remained silent, her eyes fixed forward as the Hoon sped nearly flying across the ground at a brisk 160 mph, a full 10 miles per hour faster than the AV-3's top speed.
Jackie's gaze was fixed on Helen's face, observing her expression as it gradually shifted into a deepening frown.
"How am I not losing it?" Helen muttered, looking up through the front windshield.
"Not losing it? Chika! The top speed of an AV-5 is nearly 400 miles per hour," Jackie shouted.
"AV-5? When did that come out? I thought we were still on AV-3s," Helen asks, incredulously
"AV-3's! They stop producing those in the 2020s!" Jackie shouts in disbelief.
Helen looks at Jackie in pure shock. "What year is it again? Actually, never mind that take the wheel!" Helen warns as she lets go of the steering wheels, the door slide open and sticks her entire upper body out of the door.
The car began to drift off the dirt road. Panicking, Jackie quickly reached for the steering wheel, gripping it tightly to regain control of the speeding Type 66 Hoon as Helen hung halfway out of the door.
BOOM!
Jackie flinches, jerking the car to the right as a the sound of a loud explosion rang out. Said motion had caused Helen to fall out of the car.
"¡Chingado!" Jackie exclaimed in shock, his voice quivering with anxiety. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the sight of Helen disappearing into the dusty trail they had left behind.
Meanwhile, Helen, thanks to her Sandevistan paired with a Kerenzikov, had a somewhat different experience. Time moved in slow motion for her as she descended to the ground. With her cybernetic fingers scraping slightly against the earth, she managed to orient herself. She watched as the car door lay several feet away from her in the desert dust.
"Well, shit. Note to self. Do not let Jackie drive again," Helen muttered to herself as she dusted off her clothes. Looking up she could see that the paneling on engine number 3 of the AV was blown clean through by her comrade's hammer shot. Looking back towards the car it had moved maybe 3 feet since she had fallen out of it. With a few graceful strides, she reached the car and, given her slow perception of time, it was a simple task to enter and settle back into the driver's seat.
As time returned to normal speed Jackie's mouth was open mid-shout as a mix of concern and then immediately shock had shown through his eyes.
"Wow, Jackie that expression is rather shocking," Helen says with a smirk as the car door closes. The Type 66 Hoon Storms off at 180 miles per hour and the AV-5 which is down an engine is unable to keep up.