Publication Note:
We are well into the copyediting and proofing stage of the completed novel, for Sabriya Hope. We've added a short Prologue to the novel that will appear before Chapter 1 and draws on a scene in Act 3. If you're interested, the link is above.
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Thursday, August 15, 2024 - 3:45 PM
Hearing the siren as she exited Shin’s Pohan Pothecary, Sabriya quickly pulled Anya through the front door. On the road’s shoulder, her SEC stood upright on its U-stand, ready to carry its riders away. Sabriya slid on her helmet, took Anya’s clutch of papers and stuffed them in the cycle’s seat-trunk, showed Anya how to sit astride the cycle, and to hold onto Sabriya’s waist with one arm, and the seat strap with the other. To the left, the road meandered into a clutter of settlement dwellings. A hundred meters to the right, the settlement road exited into Meijing proper. But when she looked in that direction, a police-branded Toyota Hilux with a siren blaring, a flashing light bar on the roof, and a gunner preparing to fire a machine gun mounted in the cargo bed, roared onto the settlement road and came directly for them.
Sabriya didn’t understand what was going on, but her fight-or-flight instinct told her that running away offered the best opportunity for a longer life.
“He pays the police,” said Anya.
“Who?”
“Dr. Shin.”
“That explains some of it.” Corrupt cops, protecting traffickers. “Hold on tight. Things are going to get bumpy before they get safe.”
The SEC jumped away from its parking spot, zoomed silently to the left away from the Hilux, and into the unknown labyrinth of settlement streets. A moment later, it was clear that the Hilux was after them, or rather, Sabriya. The machine gun mounted on the Toyota’s cargo platform fired short bursts of lead that struck the ground on either side of the fleeing SEC. The gunner’s poor aim was no doubt due to the undulating, rutted road. To Sabriya, it was amazing that the gunner could fire at all without falling out of the gyrating cargo bay.
After several minutes of sustaining ruts, curves, hills, flying lead, and enduring both of Anya’s arms pulled tightly about her waist, Sabriya concluded the kidnapper had his claws deep into the Meijing police.
Trying to predict where the settlement road would lead but not able to, Sabriya impulsively pulled sharply around a cluster of shacks, only to scatter residents who thought strolling in the middle of the street while dodging lead was the sociable thing to do. No doubt the Hilux’s siren, flashing lights, and the percussive bursts of slugs ricocheting off corrugated steel dwellings weren’t notice enough that trouble was just around the corner. Sabriya hoped no one got hit, least of all herself or her passenger. What to do? Could she double back and get on the main road? Of course, running before a machine gun on a smooth road could be a tad more dangerous—the gunner’s accuracy might improve if the Hilux wasn’t falling into a rut every few seconds.
The turn around the cluster of shacks led the SEC onto a steep lane that blocked Sabriya’s view of what lay over the crest. Yet, she dared not slow down. The uphill dirt lane was smoother, allowing the gunner to improve his accuracy, and the occasional bursts of gunfire at their backs were closing in. She kept thinking, I just have to get over this hill. But what then? She still couldn’t see over the rise, and the possibility of getting hit by a burst heightened each time the roughrider behind her pulled his trigger. They were getting too close, thought Sabriya. She tugged on the accelerator grip just as the bike hit a bump, launching the SEC and its passengers into the air. Simultaneously, she heard the Hilux accelerate.
Suddenly, she faced her destiny. While the bike was still in the air, it crested the hill, revealing that the lane ended in a T-intersection with the road immediately in front of the Pohan Pothecary. There was no time to turn without the bike sliding out from underneath them and causing serious injury. But then, a miracle. Directly in front of their flightpath was the narrow walking path along the side of the Pothecary. She had no choice but to aim for the narrow opening and hope that the SEC, her body, and Anya’s were skinny enough to fit through.
With a nearly uncontrollable thump, the SEC landed, and although the bike began to tip, the gyroscopic force of the spinning wheels resisted and naturally steered the cycle back under their combined center of mass, and…ZIP…the bike and its passengers slipped unharmed through the walkway, dumping them safely into the alley and skidding to a stop.
At that very moment, she heard a loud explosion. They turned to look behind them. Like the SEC, the Hilux was going at such a high rate of speed up the hill that when it landed on the other side of the rise, it could neither turn from the Pothecary nor fit down the narrow walking path. Instead, the Hilux crashed into the front of the building and exploded into a fireball, engulfing the driver, passenger, and gunner, who were subjected to a hailstorm of secondary explosions of the gunner’s ammunition firing indiscriminately in every direction. Sabriya gunned the cycle and escaped down the alley with her cargo.
It wasn’t necessary to trigger her comm channel. Landon’s voice was suddenly in her head. “SEC One, copy? What’s happening?”
Catching her breath and turning to see if Anya was still with her—she was with eyes wide open—Sabriya responded. “We’re okay. Just escaped a rogue police vehicle with a rear-mounted machine gun, shooting at us. Safe now. The police vehicle and gun crashed behind us and exploded into a ball of fire.”
“WHAT!? Another exploding vehicle. This is getting to be a habit.”
“Not really. I need three in a row for something to become habitual. But I promise to try harder. Although I had nothing to do with this one. They came after me. You’d have to have been here.”
“These were the police? The Meijing police?”
“That’s what was painted on the side. They were trying to kill us. What was I supposed to do?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll ask the Ambassador.” Landon’s sarcasm was thick.
“We’re safe now.”
“Who’s we? Did you find the girls?”
“Negative. I have a passenger.” Sabriya turned. “Anya, you all right?”
“I think so,” said Anya.
“Who’s Anya?” asked Landon.
“A woman who seems to have been trafficked—a lab assistant at the Pothecary. I disabled the man running the place; Anya wanted out. So she’s with me. Both saw the girls an hour or so ago. Anya thinks she can help. But I need to get her to a safe house. Do we still have one in Meijing? Can you give me directions?”
“Ten-four on that. Glad you’re safe. I’ll tell David. He’ll be livid at the chaos, however. Directions coming. ETA?”
“Depends. Where’s it at?”
“I’m mapping now.” There was a pause. “You’re an hour away, to the southeast.”
“I’ll head in that direction.”
“I’ll direct you. You need medical?”
“Not unless cremated, corrupt police need a doctor.”
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