Chapter 21: Chapter 21
Siobhan cranked the throttle, and their hover bike shot upward. They burst out of the underground complex into the Paris skyline, a maze of towering skyscrapers and aerial highways.
"Holy fuck," Kazuo muttered.
Flying cars and trucks zipped by in orderly lanes, their anti-grav tech humming. Massive holo-ads plastered the sides of buildings, hawking everything from synth-cigs to robo-pets. The cityscape was a mishmash of old and new - centuries-old stone facades next to gleaming metal and glass monstrosities that stretched into the clouds.
Siobhan looped through the aerial traffic, narrowly missing a cargo hauler. "Hang on, string bean!" she yelled over the wind.
Kazuo gripped her waist tighter. "Where the hell did you learn to drive?!"
"Told ya, Mid-Manhattan job!" She swerved around a sky-taxi, its driver flipping them off. "Two years back!"
"And how'd that end?"
"Bike got totaled, but I walked away!"
"Oh great, that's real comforting!"
Behind them, their pursuers emerged from the complex. The guards' bikes were sleeker, built for speed and maneuverability. They gained ground fast, weaving through traffic like it was nothing.
"Shit," Kazuo hissed. "Got any bright ideas?"
"You kiddin' me?" Siobhan jerked the handlebars, ducking under a low-flying ad drone. "I'm a little busy trying not to splatter us across the pavement!"
"Well, excuse me for wanting a plan!"
"Here's a plan - don't fall off!"
They zoomed between two massive skyscrapers, startling a flock of pigeons. The birds scattered, a few smacking into their pursuers' windshields.
"Ha!" Siobhan cackled. "Nature's on our side!"
"Yeah, terrific," Kazuo rolled his eyes. "Maybe next we can summon a swarm of killer bees."
She banked hard right, cutting across three lanes of traffic. Horns blared and tires screeched as vehicles swerved to avoid them.
"Watch it!" Kazuo yelped as a hovercar's bumper missed them by inches.
"You wanna drive?" Siobhan snapped. "No? Then shut your trap and let me focus!"
They rocketed down a narrow alley between buildings, clotheslines and old AC units whizzing by overhead. Siobhan tilted the bike, riding up along one wall to avoid a dumpster.
"This bike handles like shit," she growled. "Cheap-ass corpo tech."
"Well excuse me for not stealing us a Harley-Davidson model!"
They burst out of the alley onto a main thoroughfare, nearly clipping a hover-bus. Kazuo glanced back, his stomach dropping. The guards were closing in fast, and now...
"Fuck! They've got guns out!"
"You're shitting me," Siobhan swerved around a food delivery drone. "In a civilian zone? That's fucked up!"
"Tell that to them!" Kazuo ducked as a laser blast sizzled over his head. "Why the hell are they so desperate to catch us?"
"I dunno, maybe 'cause we broke into their secret underground base?"
"Oh, yeah right."
Laser blasts sizzled past, scorching the air around them. Siobhan cranked the handlebars, tilting the bike sideways. "Hold on tight, string bean!"
"What? What are you—" Kazuo's stomach lurched as the world spun. "Fuck, I think I'm gonna hurl!"
"You puke on me, and I'll toss your ass off this bike faster than you can say 'sorry'!" Siobhan shouted over the wind.
Their pursuers kept firing, each shot coming closer. Then, as if things weren't fucked enough, Kazuo heard a new sound - the unmistakable wail of police sirens.
"Shit!" he cursed. "Five-O's joined the party!"
"You don't say," Siobhan shot back. "I thought that was just the world's most annoying ice cream truck."
Two police cruisers fell in behind their corporate pursuers, their lights painting the cityscape in flashes of red and blue. "This is the PPDF! Stop your vehicles immediately!" a amplified voice boomed.
"Yeah, that'll happen," Siobhan muttered. "Let's see what this overpriced toaster can really do."
She shifted the gear into six and jammed her thumb on a glowing panel.
The bike's engine whined, then roared. Kazuo felt the g-force slam into him as they accelerated, the world blurring around them. Siobhan dropped altitude, bringing them just meters above the ground.
Kazuo's eyes widened as he saw the highway rushing by beside them. "You're fucking insane! Why the hell are we down here?"
"Using my big brain, genius," Siobhan yelled back. "This narrow space'll force those assholes to split up or risk crashing into some poor schmuck's hovercar."
"And what makes you think we won't pancake ourselves on the next semi that comes along?"
Siobhan's only response was a wild grin and another burst of speed.
They careen between support pillars, each one looking like it was gonna take Kazuo's head clean off. Behind them, their pursuers were forced to rise higher or fall back.
A truck materialized ahead, its massive frame blocking the entire lane. Kazuo's heart leaped into his throat. "Siobhan!"
"I see it!" she shifted the gear down, slowed and yanked the controls, and the bike tilted nearly vertical. They shot through the gap between the truck and the highway barrier, missing both by centimeters.
One of the corporate bikes wasn't so lucky. There was a sickening crunch of metal on metal, followed by a fireball that lit up Kazuo's rear view.
"That's one down!" Siobhan whooped, shifting the gear up again and increasing their speed. "Told ya it'd work!"
"Yeah, great plan. Now we've just got one psycho corp, two cops, and every other vehicle on this highway trying to turn us into roadkill!"
As if on cue, a police cruiser dropped down in front of them, trying to box them in. Siobhan didn't hesitate. She gunned it straight for the cop car, playing the world's deadliest game of chicken.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Kazuo screamed.
At the last possible second, Siobhan pulled up. They soared over the cruiser, close enough for Kazuo to see the shock on the officers' faces. The bike's undercarriage scraped the police car's roof with a shower of sparks.
They landed hard, the bike's suspension groaning in protest. Siobhan fought to keep control as they fishtailed across three lanes of traffic.
"You're certifiable!" Kazuo yelled. "Absolutely bat-shit crazy!"
"Aw, you say the sweetest things," Siobhan laughed, the wind whipping her hair.
Her wild maneuver bought them a few seconds, but their pursuers weren't giving up. She cursed, darting to the lanes of oncoming traffic. "Fuck it," she muttered. "Time to get real stupid."
"What?" Kazuo yelled. "How can we possibly get more—"
His words cut off in a scream as Siobhan cranked the handlebars hard, sending them into a 180-degree spin. The bike's anti-grav thrusters strained, fighting momentum and inertia. For a heart-stopping moment, Kazuo thought they were gonna flip.
Then they were facing the wrong way, hurtling into oncoming traffic at breakneck speed.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" Kazuo shrieked.
"Probably!" she shouted back, a maniacal grin plastered on her face. "But those corpo fucks won't follow us here!"
She was right. Their pursuers pulled up short, unwilling to risk a head-on collision with the stream of vehicles barreling towards them.
But now, they faced a new problem – dodging the flood of cars, trucks, and buses coming straight at them.
Siobhan's hands flew over the controls, jinking left and right. The bike's frame groaned under the stress of each high-speed turn. A cargo hauler blared its horn, missing them by inches. A family in a minivan gaped in shock as they zipped past.
"This is insane!" Kazuo yelled. "We're gonna die!"
"Not today!" Siobhan cackled.
She dropped altitude, bringing them below the main traffic flow. Now they were skimming just above the mag-lev rails that guided ground vehicles.
A train rounded the bend ahead, bearing down on them like an unstoppable juggernaut.
"Siobhan!" Kazuo pointed at the front. "Train!"
"I see it!"
At the last second, she gunned the vertical thrustersa and the bike shot upward, clearing the train's roof by bare centimeters. The rush of air as it passed beneath them was like a physical blow.
They landed hard on the other side, the bike's suspension creaking ominously. Kazuo's teeth rattled in his skull. "That was too fucking close!"
"You want off?" Siobhan snapped. "Be my guest!"
A quick glance behind showed their pursuers had found an exit and were trying to loop around to cut them off. But they'd lost precious ground.
Up ahead, Kazuo spotted a tunnel mouth. "There!" he pointed. "Maybe we can lose 'em in there!"
Siobhan nodded, angling towards the opening. As they neared, Kazuo realized it was narrower than he'd thought. "Uh, Siobhan? You sure about this?"
"Nope!" she yelled, but didn't slow down.
They shot into the tunnel like a bullet into a gun barrel. The bike's metal frame screamed as it scraped the walls, showering sparks. Kazuo could've reached out and touched the concrete on either side.
Behind them, one of the pursuing bikes tried to follow, but there was a sickening crunch of metal, followed by the roar of an explosion. The other pulled up short, unwilling to risk it.
"Ha!" Siobhan crowed. "Told ya they wouldn't have the balls!"
But they weren't out of danger yet. The tunnel curved sharply ahead, and she was going way too fast to make the turn.
"Shit, shit, shit!" she hissed, frantically working the controls.
The bike tilted nearly horizontal as they took the curve. Kazuo felt his knee brush the ground. For a terrifying moment, he was sure they were going to wipe out.
Then they were through, the bike righting itself with a lurch that made Kazuo's stomach do backflips.
"You okay back there, string bean?" she called.
"Define 'okay'," Kazuo groaned.
The tunnel ended abruptly, spitting them out onto a raised skyway. Siobhan didn't slow down, weaving through lanes of startled drivers.
A police siren wailed behind them. Somehow, the cops had found another route and were back on their tail.
"Don't these assholes ever give up?" Siobhan growled.
"Maybe we should!" Kazuo suggested. "I mean, how long can we keep this up?"
"You wanna spend the next decade in a black site? Be my guest. I'm seeing this through."
She banked hard, taking them down an off-ramp. They burst out onto a crowded street, pedestrians scattering in panic.
"Watch it!" Kazuo yelped as they nearly clipped a food cart.
"I am watching it!" Siobhan snapped. "You think I want a face full of synth-dog?"
They zoomed past shocked faces and angry shouts. Up ahead, a market square bustled with activity. Stalls and kiosks lined the edges, leaving a clear space in the center.
"Oh no," Kazuo muttered. "Don't you dare—"
But Siobhan was already gunning it straight for the square. They blasted through, scattering people and upending tables. A cloud of synthetic fruit went flying. Someone's robo-pet yapped in panic.
"Sorry!" Kazuo called over his shoulder. "Little bit of an emergency!"
They exited the square at full tilt while the cops were still in hot pursuit. But now they had a problem – the street ahead was blocked by construction. A massive holo-sign declared "ROAD CLOSED – USE ALTERNATE ROUTE".
"Siobhan..." Kazuo warned.
"I see it," she growled.
"We gotta turn around!"
"Like hell," Siobhan muttered, glancing left and right, searching for options. Then she spotted it – a half-finished skyscraper looming beside them. Its lower floors were encased in scaffolding, creating a makeshift ramp.
"Oh no," Kazuo's eyes widened. "No no no no—"
But Siobhan was already angling towards it. "Hold on tight, string bean! This is gonna get bumpy!"
They hit the scaffolding at full speed causing the bike's frame rattling as it bounced over metal struts and wood planks. Workers dove out of the way, shouting curses.
"Fucking idiots!" one shouted.
"Sorry!" Kazuo yelled back. "Just doing some unscheduled inspections!"
"Fuck you, nerd!"
They cleared the top of the scaffolding and suddenly they were airborne, soaring over the busy street below. For a moment, it felt like they were flying.
Then gravity reasserted itself.
Kazuo's stomach lurched as they plummeted, the bike's anti-grav straining to slow their fall. They crashed through the plastic sheeting of another scaffolding on a neighboring building, tumbling onto an unfinished floor in a tangle of limbs and sliding metal.
For a moment, they lay there, stunned. Then Siobhan groaned and sat up. "You still alive back there, string bean?"
Kazuo took stock. Everything hurt, but nothing seemed broken. "Somehow," he muttered.
They peered over the edge. Twenty stories below, their pursuers milled about in confusion, unsure where their quarry had vanished to.
"Looks like we lost 'em," Siobhan grinned.
Kazuo sagged in relief. "Great. Fantastic. Next time, let's just take the bus."