Page 28 of Hollow State

They were crouched behind the concrete base of a ventilation unit.

Wynn slammed on the brakes. She signaled to Darwin and Kane to get in.

Darwin helped Kane into the backseat then climbed in beside her. Every second that ticked by was like listening to a chilling, two-note bassline that mimicked a slow, deadly heartbeat getting closer and closer.

She followed the narrow lane behind the maintenance building and half expected a sniper to shoot out her tires, or maybe just put a bullet in her brain. As she raced toward the back gate, she wondered if all the cars had enhanced soldiers hiding in them and whether they'd pop up and attack.

Getting away like this didn't make sense. Not unless the bomb was supposed to have achieved something specific—like their deaths.

Even if Finch did have people in the area, he'd have to think twice about coming after them now with the number of first responders. That played in their favor—as long as they didn't get caught.

She glanced in the rearview mirror. Smoke blanketed the lot behind them. Orange light flickered through several windows as the fire spread deeper into the institute.

Wynn turned onto the service road.

Two fire engines screamed past the intersection ahead. An ambulance followed so closely that she only caught a flash of white and blue before it disappeared toward the institute.

She held her speed until the sirens faded behind them.

“Reach into my back pocket,” she told Darwin. "Get the burner phone."

He shifted closer and worked his fingers into the back pocket of her scrub pants.

“Text Quinn and Neve,” she said. “Tell them what happened.”

"On it," Darwin said.

She slowed as they approached the main road. She glanced in both directions. It was clear, so she eased out and made sure she stayed within the speed limit.

“Neve, Scout, Coulter, and Zadie are leaving in five," Darwin said. "Scout sent coordinates where to meet about two hundred kilometers northeast of here.”

“Can you plug them into the burner phone nav system for me?”

"I can," Darwin said. “Quinn responded too. He can do a sweep on the main roads that run parallel to the woods we'll be travelling and monitor chatter on the radio.”

Wynn was grateful for the backup. But that didn't solve the current problem especially when a police cruiser appeared around the next bend. She gripped the steering wheel, checked her speed, and did her best to breathe.

The cruiser tore toward them in the opposite lane. No lights. She suspected it was headed toward the institute.

She watched it in the side mirror as it passed.

Its brake lights blazed as the driver swerved to the right.

“Shit,” she whispered as she watched it do a wild U-turn.

Darwin twisted in his seat. “He just turned on his lights. That can't be good.”

“About the only thing worse than this would be if enhanced soldiers showed up around the next curve,” she said.

"They might be helpful in taking out the cop," Kane added.

"I need everyone buckled in, tight." Wynn pressed harder on the accelerator.

"You're not seriously going to try to outrun the police, are you?" Darwin asked.

“More like outmaneuver them." She gripped the steering wheel and glanced in the rearview again.

The police cruiser was gaining. She pressed her foot to the floor, taking the next curve a little too fast. The sedan drifted toward the shoulder. She corrected before the right tires left the pavement, but it wasn't easy, and the smell of burning rubber filled the inside of the vehicle.