Amid the swirling clouds of sand, Echo and the others could barely keep their eyes open. The explosions had kicked up a blinding storm of dust that rained down on them from every direction. Sitting in the open-top Jeep, they were showered with sand until it covered their heads and faces, making it impossible to see anything. The sand came down like a relentless downpour.
“Damn it,” Echo muttered, squinting against the gritty storm.
With her vision completely obscured and explosions going off all around, she had no choice but to rely on instinct-just like Ryan always seemed to sense danger in the split second before it hit. Echo drove purely on feeling now, using the skills she’d honed over a decade. She listened to the wind, trusted Ryan’s voice, and navigated the chaos as if her eyes were wide open.
“Go right,” Ryan’s calm voice cut through the noise of gunfire and sand. He sounded so steady as if the chaos didn’t affect him at all.
Without hesitation, Echo yanked the steering wheel to the right. A second later, an explosion rocked the air to her left, sending a blast of heat rolling past them.
Ryan had spent years surviving firefights and battlefields, developing instincts sharper than most. He was intimately familiar with every type of weapon and explosive, almost more so than with people.
His ears could pick up the subtle whistle of incoming rounds, and he could predict the exact angle and distance of a shot better than anyone. His expertise came from experience, not theory-he was a master of real combat.
“Who the hell are these guys?” Cobra shouted, ducking low in his seat, trying to shield his eyes from the flying sand.
“No idea,” muttered the local guy, gripping the car door as he crouched in the back seat, still facing the enemy Jeeps chasing them.
The precision of their attacks, their relentless pursuit-this wasn’t the usual hit-and-run style of desert bandits. Bandits attacked fast and left just as quickly. They robbed, burned, and killed, but they never fought like this, with such overwhelming firepower. These attackers weren’t bandits-so, who the hell were they?
“Latest-gen explosives, who else could it be?” Hawk said coolly, as if that explained everything.
“Shit. Street family,” Cobra growled, slamming his fist against the seat in frustration.
The explosives these attackers were using were cutting-edge tech, stuff only two groups in the world could produce: the Dark family and the Street family.
And here in Egypt, this was Street family turf. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on-the so-called “desert bandits” were just a front.
No wonder Ryan’s calculations had been so precise. He was deeply familiar with the tech, the speed, the blast radius, and every detail of these weapons. After all, he’d seen them developed firsthand. Predicting their trajectory and power was second nature to him.
“I didn’t tell anyone! Not even my own men!” the local guy suddenly blurted, alarmed by the realization.
“Shut up,” Ryan snapped, his voice cold and sharp.
The noise was making it harder for him to concentrate, and the Jeep hit a rough patch, jolting violently. Everyone instantly went silent.
The local guy didn’t take offense at Ryan’s harsh tone-there was no anger in it, only a ruthless command. He knew now that he wasn’t the problem.
Ryan and the others understood the truth: the Dark family’s movements weren’t exactly a secret. The Street family had been watching closely, waiting for a moment to strike. After the mess they’d made with the Silver family, it was obvious the Street family would figure out their intentions. They’d been Ryan’s enemies for years-they weren’t amateurs.
“Car’s falling apart. We can’t keep this up,” Echo said, feeling the Jeep shake violently, like it was about to fall apart.
“Your plan?” Ryan’s cold voice cut through the tension. Instead of asking what to do, he was waiting for Echo’s answer.
“In that split second when we break free, can you guys take out everyone behind us?” Echo asked, eyes shut tight. The chill in her voice was something no one had ever heard before.
Cobra and Hawk immediately understood what she meant. There was no way to escape, so they’d have to turn around and go on the offensive.
Rockets were a threat at a distance, but up close? A three-meter stick could reach enemies three meters away, but if those enemies closed in to within fifty centimeters, that advantage would vanish, turning into a deadly disadvantage.
They recognized how right Echo was, but they had to rely entirely on each other. Taking out everyone behind them as they charged out of the sandstorm wasn’t going to be easy. A single misstep could cost one or more of their lives, and that was a risk they couldn’t afford.
“Yeah, we can do it,” Ryan replied, his tone icy and serious, without a hint of doubt.
Hawk and Cobra silently nodded. If they couldn’t do this, they wouldn’t be alive to have this conversation.
Even the local guy knew the stakes; he was serious, too. He’d dealt with the Dark family before and wasn’t a pushover.
When Echo heard Ryan’s response, she eased off the gas, slammed on the brakes, and executed a flawless 180-degree turn in the soft sand.
With a determined look on her face, she hit the gas and sped back toward the approaching Jeeps.
The tires screeched as they dug into the sand, racing toward the pursuers. In the swirling dust, no one knew that Echo and her crew were bravely charging back.
Since they were in Egypt, their goal was to find someone. They knew this was Street family territory, which posed a real threat. All they had were their sidearms, which were among the most advanced weapons in the world.
In the dense clouds of dust, Echo kept her eyes shut as she charged ahead, breaking free from the storm and fully exposing herself to the pursuing Jeep.
In an instant, Echo heard the fierce sound of gunfire all around her. It wasn’t chaotic or overwhelming; even though it was intense, she remained absolutely calm.
Blinded by the sand, Echo couldn’t see anything, but she didn’t lift her foot off the gas. She kept pushing forward at full speed.
Explosions erupted around her, hot air blasting through the Jeep. The force of it made the vehicle bounce as bullets zipped by with a sharp whizz. The sound was so close it felt like they were barely missing her, and the sound of shattering glass sent chills down her spine.
Ryan pressed her head down onto the steering wheel. She could barely lift it, but all the energy for driving came from instinct and her determination to push through.