Stefeus grabbed his rifle, his lips curling into a predatory grin. “Now we’re fucking talking!”

Lycipus beamed. “That’s right! Time to take out these fucking idiots once and for all!”

They immediately grabbed their weapons and rolled down the windows next to them. They leaned out, the wind whipping their faces as the barrels of their rifles pointed toward the pursuing vehicles.

“Hold it steady, Rumble!” Dephios yelled as the truck swerved again.

“Easier said than done!” Rumble shot back, his hands gripping the wheel tightly.

The staccato crack of gunfire erupted as the trio fired toward the Humvees. Sparks flew from the screens as the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off them. The Humvees swerved slightly, taken aback by the rounds of fire.

“Oh, for fucks sake!” Dephios yelled.

“Shit! The vehicles are bulletproof!” Stefeus roared. “We can’t take them out!”

“Come onnnn! I need to slay these bastards!” Lycipus moaned.

“It doesn’t matter! Keep firing!” Kosys barked, his voice cutting through the chaos. “Throw the fuckers off course. Disorient the shit outta them!”

“Roger that, boss!” Lycipus responded.

Another volley of shots rang out, the sound echoing into the early evening. The lead Humvee slowed briefly, its driver veering slightly to avoid the erratic gunfire.

“They’re falling back!” Stefeus shouted, a triumphant edge in his voice.

“Take that, you fucking hamrolls!” Lycipus yelled gleefully.

Kosys smirked, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “See? I told you guys. That’ll make them think twice.”

Dephios chuckled darkly, lowering his rifle. “Guess the Americans aren’t invincible after all.”

“They never were,” Lycipus scoffed. “Fucking bloodsuckers!”

The tension in the cabin ebbed, replaced by a growing sense of vindication. Even Rumble managed a thin smile as he navigated the truck through another sharp turn.

***

The sharp crack of gunfire shattered the tense rhythm of the chase. Bullets pinged off the screen and rattled against the Humvees’ armored exterior. Inside the lead vehicle, chaos erupted.

“Shots fired! Shots fired!” Alvarez yelled, gripping the edge of his seat as the Humvee swerved hard to avoid a barrage aimed at their tires.

“Hold on!” Thompson barked, wrestling the steering wheel as the vehicle fishtailed slightly before he regained control.

Matthews grabbed the radio, his voice a controlled roar over the commotion. “Command, this is Falcon One! The target vehicle has opened fire! Repeat, target is firing at us! Request immediate air or ground backup!”

The Humvee slowed momentarily as Thompson steadied it, allowing the convoy to regroup.

The radio crackled to life almost immediately. “Falcon One, backup en route. Air support confirms visual. Helicopter units are tracking the target now. Hold your position and proceed with caution. Over.”

“Roger that, Command,” Matthews replied, tension evident in his voice.

As they continued to breath, feeling quite overwhelmed by this sudden attack from the Dead Eyes, the unmistakable whup-whup-whup of helicopter blades filled the air. Dunne pressed his face to the side window, his eyes scanning the sky.

“There it is!” he said, pointing as the searchlight from the helicopter pierced the evening’s approaching dark, illuminating the truck ahead.

Alvarez exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Oh my Lord! Finally. I was starting to think we were on our own out here.”

Miller cracked a grin, slapping Matthews on the shoulder. “Looks like we’ve got an angel watching over us now.”

Matthews allowed himself a brief nod, his eyes fixed on the truck ahead. “Good. But let’s not get cocky. That light means nothing if they get to the harbour. Thompson, get us moving. We’re not letting them out of sight.”

“Yes, sir!” Thompson replied, slamming his foot on the accelerator.

The Humvee roared back to life, tires skidding slightly on the uneven road before finding traction. Inside, the soldiers steadied themselves, their earlier nerves replaced by grim determination.

“They’re getting desperate,” Dunne remarked, adjusting his grip on his rifle. “That gunfire was a panic move.”

“Yeah, but desperate people do stupid things,” Miller muttered, his gaze hardening as he stared ahead. “We’re almost at the harbour. We’ve got to end this before they try something worse.”

Matthews nodded sharply, his voice firm. “We’ll end it. No matter what it takes.”

With the helicopter’s searchlight illuminating the path ahead, the Humvees surged forward, closing the gap once more as the chase barreled toward its climax.

***

“Oh yeah. A bunch of bloodsucking fools who think they rule the world!” Kosys agreed. “As to why that fool thought this was the best option, I have no idea. But then again, expecting wisdom from Ansa-Obiaka is pretty much like expecting… it’s like expecting a dog to bleat like a goat.”

Everyone in the cabin laughed.

Their fleeting relief, however, was shattered by the unmistakable whup-whup-whup of helicopter blades cutting through the air.

The sound grew louder, and Stefeus’s grin vanished as a blinding searchlight bathed the mini-truck in its harsh glow.

“What the fuck is that?!” Dephios shouted, his head snapping upward.

Kosys’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as he looked out the window. “Oh, for fucks sake! It’s a helicopter,” he groaned, his voice laced with frustration. “Damn it, they’ve got air support.”

“Oh, shit! What now, Kosys?” Lycipus asked, her voice tinged with fear as the sound of the rotors grew deafening.

Kosys clenched his teeth, his mind racing. “We stick to the plan. The harbour’s not far from here. Rumble! Keep driving, and don’t fucking stop for anything!”

The oppressive whup-whup-whup of the helicopter blades grew louder, and the fact that its blinding searchlight tracked their every move only made things worse.

“They’re right on top of us!” Rumble shouted, gripping the wheel so tightly his fingers dug deep into it.

“Shut up and drive!” Kosys snapped, his voice taut with fury.

Before anyone could say anything else, a booming voice echoed through the night, amplified by a speaker from the helicopter above.

“THIS IS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY! YOU ARE SURROUNDED! PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY, OR WE WILL USE FORCE!”

Dephios’s face twisted in panic as he glared at Kosys. “They’re serious, Kosys! We can’t outrun a fucking helicopter!”

“Enough!” Kosys barked, slamming his fist into the dashboard. His deranged passion was slowly giving way to raw desperation. “We’re not stopping! They’re bluffing! They won’t risk hurting the hostages. Keep moving!”

“Bluff or not, they’ve got eyes on us now!” Stefeus growled.

Kosys ignored him, focused on the road. “Rumble, step on it! We’re almost there. The harbour’s just ahead!”

Rumble hesitated for a split second, then slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The truck lurched forward with a guttural roar, its wheels skidding slightly before finding traction.

The sudden surge of speed jolted the hostages in the back. Cries of terror erupted as they were thrown against the metal walls of the truck bed.

Kosys turned around and stared snidely at the barrier between the main cabin and where the hostages. “Don’t you think they’ll catch up with us, fools!” he hissed. “They’ll never catch up-“

His declaration was cut short when the truck hit something hard.

A deep thunk reverberated through the vehicle as the front right wheel plunged into a massive pothole.

A funny twist of irony.

The massive impact jolted everyone inside, throwing Kosys against the dashboard and nearly ripping the wheel out of Rumble’s hands.

“Watch the road, you fucking idiot!” Kosys shouted, gripping the doorframe for balance.

“I’m trying, Kosys! I’m fucking trying!” Rumble yelled back, fighting to regain control.

It was too late; the damage was done.

The truck veered wildly, its momentum sending it careening off the road. Gravel sprayed in every direction as the vehicle skidded toward a shallow ditch.

“Hold on!” Dephios screamed, his hands braced against the roof as the truck’s tires caught the edge of the ditch and tipped.

With a deafening crash, the mini-truck plunged nose-first into the ditch, its rear wheels lifting briefly off the ground before slamming back down. The force of the impact flung the captors and hostages alike against the interior walls, knocking the wind out of them.

Then the truck went still. For a moment, everything was still, the only sound the distant hum of the helicopter overhead.

***

The Humvees roared to a halt, surrounding the wrecked mini-truck in the ditch.

Soldiers spilled out, weapons drawn and precision in every movement. From above, the helicopter’s spotlight lit the scene like a stage, casting long shadows as the soldiers advanced.

“THIS IS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY!” Matthews bellowed, his voice amplified by a handheld speaker. “EXIT THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR. YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED!”

“KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!” barked Miller, his rifle trained on the driver’s side door. “ANY SUDDEN MOVEMENTS, AND WE WILL RESPOND!”

“STEP OUT, ONE AT A TIME!” shouted Dunne. “ON YOUR KNEES, FACING AWAY FROM US! DO IT NOW!”

***

The crash had left the Dead Eyes battered and disoriented. Kosys clutched his side, wincing in pain with bloodshot eyes. Next to him, Dephios groaned as he tried to raise his rifle, his face smeared with blood from a gash on his forehead. In the back seat, Lycipus was slumped against the door, unconscious, a thin trickle of blood running from her temple. Stefeus and Rumble were also badly injured.

As they heard the fierce orders of the soldiers surrounding the vehicle, they knew it was over for them. They had tried their best, but fate had not favoured them.

“It’s over, Kosys,” Stefeus muttered, gasping for breath. “We’re not getting out of this. They’ve got us.”

Kosys breathed heavily, shaking his head. “No… no, no. We’re not going down like this! We won’t go down like this!”

“Kosys, we’re done!” Rumble snapped while cradling a bloody left arm. “We’re surrounded. There’s no way we’re escaping this. We’re done for. They’ve caught us!”

Kosys shook his head. “So we should just give in?” he demanded. “We should just let them arrest us? Hand us over to the government, so they have the satisfaction of having the last laugh? You want Ansa-Obiaka to have the last laugh, the final say? Is that what you guys want?”

That speech seemed to spark a change in them. Suddenly, the decision to surrender seemed foolish, especially if it brought satisfaction to the one they hated with a violent passion.

“Last warning!” Alvarez shouted, his rifle aimed squarely at the truck. “Drop your weapons and surrender, or we will open fire!”

Kosys gritted his teeth, defiance flashing in his eyes. “I’d rather go down than let that fool prosecute me!”

The three nodded, that defiant spirit taking a hold of them.

“Are you with me?”

“Yesssss!” they replied eagerly.

“Take as many of them as you can!” he snarled, grabbing his rifle and popping out, ready to fire.

Rumble, Dephios and Lycipus followed his lead, fumbling with their weapons despite their injuries.

Before they could get a shot off, the soldiers acted swiftly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Precision gunfire erupted from the soldiers, each shot finding its mark. Kosys, Dephios, Stefeus and Rumble slumped back into the truck, their defiance extinguished in an instant.

In an instant, the Dead Eyes, minus an unconscious Lycipus, had been quenched.

“Cease fire!” Matthews called out, raising his hand and lowering his rifle. He edged closer to the truck to ensure the danger was gone.

He then turned to his men and nodded.

“Targets neutralized.”

***

“Area secure!” Miller called as he scanned the perimeter.

Inside the overturned truck, trembling hands reached out as the captives were carefully pulled free, one by one, and quickly attended to. A medic knelt beside Kaiyne Kay, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders and checking for injuries. “You’re safe now, Miss Kay,” he said gently. “We’ve got you.”

Jed Murphy groaned in pain as Dunne carefully checked his pulse, looking an absolute mess. “It’s okay,” Dunne said softly. “You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

Meanwhile, another medic knelt beside Jacob, whose shirt was streaked with blood from a gash on his arm. His hands trembled as he cradled an unconscious Thelma against his chest. “She hasn’t woken up,” Jacob stammered, his voice thick with fear. “Please, help her.”

The medic gently eased Thelma onto a stretcher, checking her vitals while another soldier quickly bandaged Jacob’s arm. “She’s stable,” the medic assured him. “We’ll take care of her.”

Meanwhile, Matthews and Alvarez dragged Lycipus’s unconscious form from the vehicle, slapping on a pair of zip ties.

“Leave her for the Ghanaian authorities,” Matthews declared grimly. “They’ll know what to do with her.”

He then moved a few paces away, speaking into his radio. His tone was firm but calm.

“This is Captain Matthews. Command, do you copy?”

A crackle of static preceded the response. “Command here. Go ahead, Captain.”

“Hostiles neutralized. All captives have been secured and are receiving medical attention. The area is under control. Mission accomplished.”

“Roger that, Captain. Well done. Proceed with extraction and standby for further orders.”

Matthews nodded, turning to his team. “Good work, everyone. Let’s get these people out of here.”

Oh, finally! The chase is over, and the hostages are safe. The Dead Eyes have been killed. Well, except Lycipus. Let’s see how this ends…