Artis screeches the Hummer to a halt, pulling another bootlegger. However, the drivers were expecting such treachery this time, giving up only a bit of distance between predators and prey.

The team fire round after round into the lead vehicle. They pock mark the front end with Brian's last burst blowing out the windshield and hitting the front passenger.

Guns from the tailing vehicles spray a solid stream of bullets and tracer rounds. Most of the bullets are absorbed by armor but a lucky burst blows out the back window, the rifle rounds penetrating through the seats and into Raven.

The Hummer pulls ahead slightly (now going 25 MPH) as the distance between the cars lengthens just slightly.

Up till now, the team was expending ammo like there was no tomorrow, but faced with the reality of a prolonged fight they begin making every shot count.

Gavin and Brian take careful aim at their targets. Between the lack of clear LOS and the range (120ft.), their shots go astray. Jess decides that her remaining ammo should spent on targets she can see and instead of shooting, she bandages Raven's wound.

It is now completely dark, the vehicles' headlights being the only source illumination.

Goose zig-zags the Hummer trying to evade the Band o' Mercedes. He pulls ahead of the bad guys, narrowly avoiding a head on collision with a motorcycle. The teams lead extends to 18 lengths (180ft.)

Trying to pull ahead of the pack of wild Mercedes, Artis nearly floors the accelerator. He increases the chase speed (now 35MPH) as the desert traffic builds. The Mercedes are having tough time keeping up with the Hummer as its lead stretches to 39 lengths (390ft).

As the team breathes a slight air of relief, the sedan behind them explodes, turning the car into a ball of incendiary slag.

Gavin and Brian have see those types of fires before...coming from the unmistakable fury of an RPG-7.

Jess watches the explosion.

"Please tell me that's a fault with the car series, not something that could happen to us..."

"Just buckle up and hang on," I say, flicking off the H2's headlights and looking for something dangerous to do...

Brian smiles down, grabbing his 9mm while he's down in the car, winking at Jess.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Faulty air conditioning system's what that was."

Getting back up her keeps careful watch of their rear end.

Goose eyes up a tractor-trailer carrying a tanker full of propane. He guns the Hummer, cutting sharply in front of it. The truckdriver slams on his air breaks causing the trailer to jackknife at a terrible angle perpendicular to the road. He manages to keep the tires on the highway, but it is too late.

The lead Mercedes slams into the propane tank, lighting up the desert night like an a-bomb test. Everything within a 100ft radius is immolated by the searing heat and flames.

The second Mercedes had a few milliseconds more to react, going off-road and attempting to avoid the majority of the blast. It takes some collateral damage but is able to steer clear of imminent doom. While surviving the inferno, it doesn't have a chance to catch up with the Hummer.

Artis and Co. fade into the night.

I think it's time we paid those Russkies a visit at their hotel...

(Edited by Dieter at 2:05 pm on Jan. 29, 2003)