Barduil Big Bang Ch. 3 excerpt
Because I can, dammit. Â Iâve only got one chapter left to write, I can do this! *puts on motivation cap*
âWhat about you?â Bard prompted. âWhat would you change?â
âWell, thatâs a rather loaded question now.â Still, Thranduil would have answered it, but then Feren lowered the glass and said tersely, âWeâre being followed.â
Bard was instantly alert. âHow many?â he asked as he turned to look out the back window.
âThree black SUVs. One of them turned with us onto Anduin, the other two have just joined.â
âAny idea whoâs in there?â
âNo one friendly,â Feren replied. âNo license plates, look. And if thatâs the Durins, they would have let us know, wouldnât they?â
âIf itâs the Durins, they deserve whatever they get for this stunt,â Thranduil said coldly as he pulled out his phone. âIâll callââ
âHead down!â Bard pressed his hand to Thranduilâs neck, forcing him into a forward bend. Their glass was bulletproof, but there were no guarantees. Bard cursed as three bullets impacted the back windshield. âShit. Feren, odds of losing them?â
âWeâre rural now, there arenât many places to turn off and the roads are rough. If we get stopped or bogged down, weâll be outnumbered in a firefight.â
âThen we need to take them out from a distance,â Bard said as he unbuckled his seatbelt, then pulled a rifle case out from under the seat. Already his demeanor had shifted into battle mode. âIâll shoot from the side window, but Iâll need you as steady as can be.â
âIâll do what I can, boss, butââ More shots peppered the car. âBut too many of those and theyâll get lucky eventually,â he finished grimly.
âWe canât keep going this direction,â Thranduil said as he suddenly realizedâ âWeâre leading them straight to the children.â
âWe canât turn around, boss, theyâll split and follow, and thatâs if we get lucky and one of them doesnât decide to take it for the team and ram us.â As if in response to his words, the closest of the SUVs suddenly pulled forward, coming dangerously close to their back bumper. Feren surged ahead, but Bard, whoâd just finished putting his Fusion rifle together, said, âNo, close again.â He looked at Thranduil. âCall the house, put them on alert.â Then he rolled down the window on his side, sighted as best he could before exposing his head, leaned out and sent a burst of shots straight into the driverâs side of the front windshield. The glass held, but the attack was enough of a shock to the driver that the SUV began to weave dangerously. The cars behind it slowed way down as the driver overcorrected, then drove off the side of the road and rolled into a ditch, where it pinwheeled a few more times before finally crashing to a halt.
âNice!â Feren called back.
âElement of surprise. It wonât happen twice.â More bullets hit the car, this time fired from well back, and Thranduil couldnât help a flinch.