Against the Clock Read Online Free PDF Page B

starting to freak me out, lady!"
    Shirin looked at him "I'll make it up to you."
    The cab drew closer to the van. She saw the chassis rock slightly; people were inside. Her hand disappeared into her backpack, felt the comforting grip of the silenced pistol she had taken from one of the dead men at the café.
    "Okay, get ready…not yet… Now! Hit it!"
    He stomped on the accelerator. The cab lurched forward. The van was only meters away.
    In her mind, time slowed. She smoothly drew the gun from her bag, struck him hard in the sternum, gripped the wheel, spun it hard to the left, opened her door, and jumped out. She landed in a full run and circled around the back of the cab as it continued in its trajectory, veering straight into the side of the van.
    The collision was loud; it rocked the van sideways. Its right wheels lifted off the asphalt for a moment before bouncing back down. Her driver was stuck behind the wheel of the crumpled taxi, gripping his chest, struggling to breathe, his eyes wide and bulging.
    Shirin crouched low as she circled around the front of the van. There was no driver behind the wheel. She reached the rear axle. She could hear the men inside scrambling for their weapons and shouting at each other.
    Two men flew out of the back doors of the van, guns at the ready. They looked clearly shaken. Gripping their weapons, they scanned the unfamiliar area, confused, disorientated. They aimed at the stunned and dazed cabdriver. Shirin knew instantly they were not killers, they were techies.
    She came up behind them fast, without hesitation. She shot the first man in the back of his leg just above the knee and followed through with an elbow to his head as he fell. She kept rushing forward. As the second man spun to face her, she delivered a quick bullet to his upper arm, then used her forward momentum as the powerbase for a flying kick to his sternum. He flew backward, connecting hard with the stalled taxi, and sank slowly to the tarmac.
    Both men lay useless on the road. Their guns out of reach, Shirin wasted no time and jumped into the back of the van, gun drawn and ready. There were no other men. Instead, a mess of computers and electronic monitoring equipment littered the interior.
    She searched the computer towers, looking for portable memory cards or accessible hard drives. The monitors were off. All internal power seemed to have been reset by the collision. If there was information to be gained, it would take more time to find than Shirin had.
    Jumping out of the van, she scooped up the techies' weapons and headed for the driver's door. As she tucked one of the collected guns into her waistband, she saw the taxi driver struggling to get out of the cab. His door was jammed shut by the crumpled front end. Pointing her gun at him as she walked, she said, "Hey! Stay in the car! Do exactly as they tell you. Tell them everything. If you don't, they will kill you." She stopped, locked eyes with his. "Do you understand?"
    He nodded meekly.
    She smashed a hole in the window with her gun, unlocked the door, and slid in behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition. The engine turned over on the second attempt. The radio squawked.
    "Team Theta, check in."
    She recognized the voice instantly. Barratt. She put the van in gear, gunned the engine, and pulled away from the curb. The front fender of the cab clung precariously to the side of the van before tumbling free as Shirin did a sharp U-turn and left the street.
     
    10:47:23
    Barratt looked at his watch. They had been there too long, and with nothing to show for it, he felt the pressure mounting. He ran through the final communications checks with his team. All was good.
    The two-story townhouse had yielded no results. It was frustrating, but expected. This woman was clearly a professional. He didn't expect her to return here after the failed ambush that morning, but it was the only lead left to chase.
    At first glance, it looked like any normal suburban