Impact (Book 5): Black

Unexpectedly, the pilot adjusted his route so the woman could turn her machine gun back to them.
“Get down!” she ordered, falling to the rocks.
The bullets came in before the brrrrt. Pinging ricochets struck multiple cars, train engines, and the metal buildings of the train yard. Men and women cursed from almost every direction.
She realized Asher had fallen on top of her, though she doubted his body would stop one of those military-grade projectiles. She also figured out they were both on the wrong side of the coal cars, now that the woman was out over the field. The machine gun bursts stopped and restarted three or four times as they lay there.
“Good God,” Asher stated. “I think she’s pissed about her broken helicopter.”
Finally, the rotary machine gun went silent.
“No kidding she’s upset at us,” she said, testing a laugh.
The whump whump rotor noise faded completely before Asher shifted to let her up. “Thanks for looking out for me,” she said softly, getting to her feet.
“Anytime,” he smiled, brushing coal dust from his NPS uniform shirt and pants.
By the time they’d emerged from their refuge, Logan and his dad had come out from under the train engine.
“You guys were under there the whole time?” she asked with mild horror. “We thought you were in the coal area, where it was safer.”
Logan smiled, but Shawn was less enthusiastic. He leaned heavily on his boy due to his injured leg.
Diedre rejoined their small group. She came from farther up the line of coal cars.
Grace pointed to the burning truck. “If it doesn’t look like the chopper is coming back, we should go out and see if there are any survivors. Whoever they are, I think they probably saved our lives.”
“We better hurry,” Shawn said quietly. “Or, rather, you guys better hurry. I’m going to stay here with Logan. He’s going to help me see if they have a first aid kit inside. Right, son?” It wasn’t a question.
Logan nodded his head as he helped Shawn walk toward the train shed.
Diedre flashed a smile to her brother but then moved to follow Shawn. “I’m beat up, too. I need to see what they have for pain management.”
Asher seemed torn. Follow his sister or follow her? Grace wouldn’t blame him for tending to his family, but she also didn’t want to go out there alone.
“We’ll make it quick, all right?” she said, hoping to convey confidence.
It seemed to make up his mind. He turned to Diedre. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
She waved over her shoulder with her good arm but kept walking.
“We’re going to take our guns,” Grace assured him. “You can never be too careful.” She climbed onto the flatcar, anxious to see the damage done to her beloved NPS truck.
Near Columbia, MO
He judged they’d have about thirty seconds before they made it directly under the span of the highway. He had the throttle all the way forward, which pumped fuel into the Suzuki outboard to give the full 350-horsepower kick required for life-saving maneuvers.
Butch had fallen next to Haley, using his arm to push her down with him. They were on the floor between the two rows of seats. The big guy looked up once he was certain the young woman was going to stay there. “You want me to return fire?”
There wasn’t time to adjust their gear, get him in position, and fire back. They had twenty seconds until they made it under.
“No!” He veered left, taking them in a more direct path upriver. It kept them a bit closer to the men, but it exposed them for less time.
One of the guys fired straight down at them.
Then another.
The rifle cracks echoed under the girders holding up the highway.
“And…we’re clear!” Ezra ran the boat under the deck, making it impossible to be seen from above. However, he didn’t dare stop. He kept the accelerator smashed forward as he willed his pleasure boat to shoot out of the other side like a cannonball.
“E-Z, I’m getting my rifle.” Butch shifted, reached for his gun, then put his hand on Haley’s back. “Haley, stay where you are!”
“No worries there,” she yelled over the growl of the maxed-out motor.
The pontoons skipped over the eddies and currents swirling around the concrete bridge pylon. He ignored the larger pieces of trash and driftwood that still sullied the brown water. There was no time to worry about dodging obstacles. He thought back to all the times he’d gone as fast on Kentucky Lake. He’d never done it with Susan in the boat—she hated going fast—and he only did it when the surface of the lake was glass smooth.
By the time they came out of the shadows of the big bridge, Butch was finding a position to aim his Bushmaster rifle out the back of the boat.
“Anyone who pops up, you pop them,” Ezra shouted.
“On it,” Butch said, finally settling into his stance.
Meanwhile, Haley found Liam and dragged him into her protective custody. Ezra had enough time to wonder if the cat and dog got along well enough to huddle under her without fighting, but Butch fired his rifle before he could finish his thought. In spite of the young woman’s protective efforts, Liam yelped in response.
“They’re coming to this side,” Butch said, as if reporting the news.
“Keep their heads down!” Ezra suggested.
His rifle barked several times in a row. A shot. Two-second pause. Another shot. Butch was a professional, but he’d never trained in hitting small targets while bouncing around in the back of a boat. It would have shocked Ezra if he scored a hit.
At the same time, he nudged the wheel left and right, giving them a slight wiggle in their escape path. He didn’t know if it was enough to throw the enemy off their