Hector crept through the lines of parked shuttles. Stayed low. XLS agents had lost him in the swarm of fleeing civilians, but several agents had found Wraith’s shuttle. No chance of using that as an escape route.
A civilian with a stack of random goods crammed under his arm rushed out of the bazaar and approached his personal shuttle. His eyelids blinked in rapid succession over pupils that bounced off his surroundings like a pinball. He fidgeted. He wasn’t scared for his life, just a looter hoping to get away with scoring free gear in the mayhem of the bazaar.
Hector slid out of hiding and showed his pistol. The man stiffened. His mouth fell open.
“I need a ride.”
The looter gulped, but nodded. He shoved the stolen items into the back of the shuttle and got behind the controls. Hector slipped into the backseat.
“Okay, just take it easy.”
The man backed out of his parking space. Swallowed hard. Kept checking his mirrors. The shuttle crawled down one full row. Turned toward the exit. Hector watched for XLS agents.
Sirens wailed. Two police cars zoomed into the parking garage. Both careened past. A third squad car skidded to a stop at the entrance.
“Take it slow,” said Hector. “Everything’s cool.”
An officer jumped out of the squad car at the entrance. He jogged to the exit gate and waved for all the exiting vehicles to stop. Hector’s shuttle was third in line.
The officer checked the first shuttle. Let it go. Moved to the second.
Crash!
Behind them, two shuttles collided. Just a fender bender. The officer swore and shouted at them. He waved the shuttle ahead of theirs to move on. Motioned for Hector’s shuttle to wait.
But he was still distracted.
“Keep moving!” hissed Hector.
“What?”
“Just do it!”
The driver let the shuttle inch forward. The officer turned. “Hey!”
Too late.
“Go! Go! Go!” shouted Hector.
The driver jammed the pedal to the floor. The shuttle careened out onto the highway. The officer gave chase, but could do little to stop them. He threw up his arms in frustration.
Hector gave a sigh of relief.
