Pppgggggssssshhhh!
Hector took the energy blast in the chest and sprawled out over the asphalt. Energy crackled through this spine. His eyes raced back and forth as he tried desperately to move.
The bounty hunter checked the car to make sure Jack was still incapacitated. Hector’s warning cry came out as a gurgle. Wide eyed, he studied her features. Young and lithe. Black hair. Dark eyes. A tattoo—two feathers bound with a leather cord and beads—ran from her shoulder to her neck.
She knelt over Hector to fasten a pair of inhibitor cuffs. Her stare was cold and sharp with the empty pupils of a trained killer. His eyes flashed as though he wanted to speak.
The car roared to life. Jolted forward, skidding to a stop next to the bounty hunter. The passenger side door burst open. An energy blast rocketed out. The bounty hunter took the haphazard shot in the hip and torso. Her legs buckled.
Jack grabbed Hector’s arms. Though still weak from the effects of the energy blast, Jack managed to slide Hector across the loose gravel to the car door.
The bounty hunter pushed herself onto her elbows. A shielded vest had protected her from the blast’s full power. Jack pulled Hector up into the front seat. The bounty hunter rose to her knees.
“Hang on!” said Jack.
She took unsteady aim with her rifle.
Jack jammed his foot into the accelerator. The bounty hunter fired. The shot plowed into the gravel a few feet from the car. Jack stomped on the pedal as the tires found the highway. He continued to check the rearview mirror until they were far enough away.
“That was close. How’d they find us?” said Jack. “That wasn’t a known XLS operative. Never seen her before.”
“I have.” Hector stared at the road. His answer came in a weak heave of air just louder than a whisper, “She’s my sister.”
