Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix (19 page)

T
he clouds
in the sky fade from pink to red as the sun lowers toward the horizon. Phoenix watches the tall grass being whipped around by the wind. Falcon looks down at the fuel dial. They've used half a gallon since they left the abandoned town. "I hope we find gas soon. I don't want to leave Stack's car out here."

"We'll find something," Phoenix tells him. "I'm not walking you back to the Ivory.”

"I'm with you, there," Falcon says. He slowly but suddenly leans forward, staring straight ahead. "That can't be."

"What?" Phoenix looks ahead. "No."

Falcon stops the car and puts it in park. They both look down the road. "Let's see how much he actually copied." Falcon reaches around the back of the passenger seat, finding a pocket. He puts his hand inside. "Right down to the binoculars," he says as he pulls out a pair of large, green binoculars and opens the door.

Phoenix watches him walk to the front of the car before she gets out to join him.

HIs breathing is shallow as Falcon hesitates to put the binoculars to his eyes. Shaking off the anxiety, he peers through them. The tall man looks different. Aside from the obvious burns, he now wears some kind of black mask, obscuring the lower half of his face. Falcon watches the man bring the large machine gun to rest on his shoulder. Daken stands next to the same tank. Its turret and cannon are gone and Falcon can see the obvious hole where the C4 blew up but there's no doubt his hated rival is alive.

Phoenix walks up to Falcon. "Is that who I think it is?"

Falcon lowers the binoculars. His expression is one of instant rage. "Yeah."

"I thought we left him dead in the Waste."

"Apparently not."

They both stare at him as he does back at them. Bazooka shells. Prisoners in the Waste. And blown up in a tank yet here he stands.

Strands of her own hair whip across Phoenix's face as she looks at Falcon. "How do you want to play this?"

Falcon steadies his breathing as he takes a moment to form some kind of strategy. "Take the wheel." He walks past her to the passenger side.

Phoenix remains a few seconds more, watching Daken climb to the hatch of the tank and drop down into it before she walks to the driver’s side.

As Phoenix sits back in the car, Falcon looks in the back seat. There is little of use to them besides the strange gun. Phoenix looks at Falcon then in the back seat at the object of his attention. "No. We don't even know what that thing will do."

Falcon turns to her. "One way or the other, we're ending this."

"How do you even know it works?” Her voice is defiant.

Falcon faces the front. "We're about to find out. Drive."

"I don't think—”

"Phoenix!"

She shifts the car into drive and guns the accelerator.

Daken shifts the tank into drive and heads toward them. Another game of chicken. This time between an armored car and a tank. There's little question of who will actually win in a head on collision.

Falcon reaches into the back seat and grabs the gun. He unlatches his window, dropping it to the side.

"Be careful," Phoenix says.

If he hears her, he doesn't acknowledge it as he climbs through the open window.

Daken aims his gun at the oncoming vehicle, though all he really needs to do is duck down and drive straight into them.

Falcon takes aim and pulls the trigger. A high pitched whine emanates from the gun and the air starts to warm up around it. Not knowing what is happening, he keeps the trigger pressed down.

Daken fires shots at the car. Most of them hit the armor and bounce off. A few hit the windshield slats, chipping away at the metal pieces. Phoenix flinches at the sparks. Strange blue specks begin moving in front of the car. They look to be traveling toward the same thing. She looks through the window and sees a bright glow coming from Falcon.

His vision becomes distorted and the air gets hot as Falcon holds the trigger. The blue light grows just in front of the gun as the specks gather around it.

Both vehicles are closer to one another. Both men are determined to win out over the other. The only one who seems concerned is Phoenix. "Falcon!"

The high pitched sound stops, suddenly, as the specks disappear in front of the gun. Even the glow seems to have dimmed to nothing. Without the obstruction of the blue light, Falcon sees just how dangerously close the tank is. Suddenly a blue blast fires from the barrel of the gun. A shockwave spreads out behind it, lighting up the whole area.

The blue light hits the tank, crushing the front end as the rear of the armored vehicle rises into the air. As if it just smashed into an impenetrable wall. The blue light travels across the tank and engulfs it, reducing it to atoms. If Daken was screaming, there was no way to hear it as the light completely dissolves everything it touches until it all fades away.

Phoenix runs the car through what looks like ash before stomping on the brakes, throwing Falcon forward, and bringing them to a stop. She stares straight ahead. There are no words for what they've just seen.

Falcon turns around, slowly, to watch the wind carry off what is left of the heavy military vehicle and Daken. His intent was for it to be over but he didn't expect it to be like that. He swings his legs out of the car and steps to the black section of road where the tank just stood.

Phoenix gets out of the car and walks to him. They both stare at the ground then at each other, still in shock. After everything they've been through since meeting, this is the strangest event they've witnessed or been a part of.

"He said not to fire it," Phoenix tells him.

Falcon only nods. Understanding, now why Stack warned against the strange gun’s use.

"And he used it more than once,” she continues. "Are you feeling ok after it?"

"Yeah," Falcon says, relieved. "He's gone. Finally." He looks toward the sky. "That's for you."

Phoenix doesn’t ask. She merely stands, silently, letting Falcon take in the moment.

Minutes pass before the silence breaks. “I wonder what’s next.”

“We keep moving. It'll be dark soon and I don't want to get stuck here of all places,” Phoenix tells him.

They walk toward Jerin. "No political amnesty?" he asks.

"The opposite, actually. I was banned from New Latin America."

"Banned from NLA? What did you do?"

Phoenix looks down the road. "I, uh...the President has a daughter. I had too much to drink and ruined her Quincenerea."

They both get into the car. "You got banned from the NLA?” He laughs. “Welcome to my world. That makes two of us."

“That doesn’t surprise me. Can we just hurry?”

“A deal’s a deal.” Falcon hits the gas and they speed down the road.