Chapter 69: Interstate Highway 69!

Chapter 69: Interstate Highway 69!

We just got onto Interstate Highway 69, a long stretch of concrete that cuts northbound until it reaches North City before curving out toward the Crimson State at the top of Eurasia.

Every SUV in our convoy had put in a full tank of gas back at the station, and now all five heavy vehicles were cruising in formation, our drivers using handheld radios to keep in contact just in case any sudden issues popped up on the road.

Mei Xia was keeping her eyes glued to the pavement from the driver's seat while Tina occupied the spot directly behind her. Right up front in the passenger seat sat Jenifer, leaving me right behind her with plenty of legroom to stretch out.

Every now and then, I caught a quick glimpse of Mei Xia smiling at me through the rearview mirror because she had already guessed exactly what I had done back in the closet, which made perfect sense considering she was a highly trained Seduction-Spy after all.

Riding along with a heavy dose of post-nut clarity, my mind started drifting toward the complicated situation surrounding Mei Xia, wondering how we were going to handle her long-term China Empire mission down the line. Almost as if some kind of woman's intuition was kicking in, Tina suddenly tightened her slender arms around my left sleeve, shifting her weight closer to me on the leather bench and asking me, "Can I use you as a lap-pillow, Rick? I am feeling sleepy."

I looked down at the gorgeous woman who had already offered absolutely everything to me, feeling a smirk spread across my face as I decided to tease her a bit by answering, "Yes mam, you are paying big bucks for this lap, so I shall prostitute it for your pleasure young lady."

Tina completely ignored my joke and unbuckled her seatbelt with a soft click, leaning her back against the seat before curling up like a tiny cat right against my side, laying her head directly onto my left leg while I settled my arm over her waist so she could hold it like a stuffed animal squeezed between her boobs.

An hour rolled by in relative silence while Tina stayed fast asleep on my leg, the steady hum of the highway filling the cabin until Jenifer turned around slightly, breaking the quiet news to me by stating, "Ronald Di, Number 6, has not been seen entering North City. All of our Fire Birds have been on the lookout in that city and nothing has alerted them."

I reached into my pocket to pull out my smartphone, tapping the screen to boot up my custom tracking tool where my Master level Computer Use skill let me easily punch in his exact mobile number, watching the screen until I could point out the blinking dot and tell her, "Actually it seems he is behind us in that small-town we passed. He stopped for gas and got a room in that pit-stop area? I noticed some construction work on the highway off ramp there as well. So for now he does not seem to be going to North City."

Mei Xia raised an eyebrow, shifting her gaze back toward the mirror as she tapped the steering wheel to ask, "Master Lee, are we going to be ambushed on our way back then?"

"Our chances are not low, so we will have to take precautions," I muttered back, keeping my eyes on the digital map before adding, "He may also follow us to North City to assure we can't run, or he is doing something not related to us. But I am not that naive."

Jenifer leaned over the center console, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't disturb the sleeping girl next to me as she inquired, "Mr Lee, do you want me to send Fire Birds to deal with him?"

"No, he is still under the game rule till the tournament ends, even if he was defeated," I answered while locking my phone, sliding it back into my pocket as I finished my instruction, "But please do send men to secure the perimeter of his location so he cant run if he moves."

"Yes Mr Lee I will call the Leader about this," Jenifer replied, making me feel a little funny inside when she got so professional and businesslike with me, which forced a small sigh to escape my lips.

Watching my reaction through the glass, Mei Xia couldn't resist joining in on the conversation by teasing, "Master Lee, your maid is in awe of your foresight."

I shook my head, knowing that if I hadn't already figured out she was just playing into her usual airhead-maid trope to mess with me, I would have reached forward and swatted the top of her head for teasing me so much on a public channel...

Another two hours flew by as the tires chewed through the remaining miles of our two-hundred-mile trip, and with our destination finally coming into view, I gently rubbed the side of Tina's warm face to wake the sleeping beauty from my lap, watching her eyelids flutter open with a flash of sharp alert focus that vanished the very instant she realized she was safe with me, replacing it with a radiant smile as she looked up into my eyes and cooed,

"Bodyguard Lee, you were a very naughty boy in my dreams! You won the tournament and then you married me, then you forced yourself on this young miss, Ufufu."

I let out a soft chuckle, seeing right through her little game since she had obviously woken up feeling a bit startled by the sudden shift in surroundings before the memory of our intense encounter in the dark closet rushed back, leading me to counter-attack her teasing by saying, "Sorry Tina, but that was just a fantasy, I only make love to the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, so try to make me fall for you then, ha-ha!"

My reply paid off instantly as a genuine, heartwarming smile spread across her lips, completely free of any playful act or pretense, letting me know exactly how deep I had managed to dig myself into her heart...

As the glowing city lights of North City began to paint the horizon ahead of our convoy, I quickly filled the rest of the girls in on the latest clues regarding Ronald Di's movements, explaining that the tracker showed he still hadn't left that small-town pit stop and was currently making a few local purchases while our Fire Birds kept their eyes locked on him.

North City itself was roughly half the size of Star City, run almost entirely by a few of the Long family's side branch members who happened to be a whole lot more reasonable to deal with compared to the stubborn Head of the main clan. Unlike the coastal metropolis we had left behind, this place was built right next to a massive inland lake and was famous across the region for its heavy mining operations that pulled precious metals and high-grade stones straight out of the earth.

Because of all that industry, they possessed their own domestic airport and a massive train system sprawling out to every corner of Eurasia to ship the raw minerals dug from the northern mountains inside the Azure State. Somewhere deep inside those rugged rocky hills lay the hidden Mountain Temple where that troublesome Monk originally came from, a general area I had already mapped out thanks to various rumors and sightings over the years, though I had absolutely zero interest in wasting my time hunting down a bitch in the mountains right now.

We are currently driving through the city center to go into the Downtown area where Club Di is located. This is the current headquarters for Fire Birds activities in North City.

Jenifer, not knowing of Mei Xia's skills or our preparations, is pointing the directions out to her for where the convoy is headed until we finally look through the windshield and see our destination. Club Di is in a large four-story building with blacked-out windows and a purple but classy coloration.

The true office is on the top two floors while the bottom two floors are a massive dance-club with two levels, the second level overlooking the bottom one. Our five vehicles pull up along the curb and park right on the street level, completely bypassing the underground parking lot for security reasons. Mei Xia engine-brakes the lead vehicle and stays behind in the hummer for 'reasons', though officially her excuse is to rest from the long stretch of driving.

I did forget to mention what Mei bought for us in the black market, right? I reach up and adjust a pair of transition wrap-around sunglasses that have built-in flash protection and a micro-camera right in the bridge, allowing Mei to see exactly what I see on her laptop screen down in the truck.

She and I also wear a choker of completely different makes. Hers is a black-collar with white-lace edges that a maid would look normal wearing in public, while mine is a plain black-cloth strip that stays completely hidden by my Kung-Fu outfit's high collar. In reality, these neck decorations are specialized microphones to transmit voices directly to one another.

We also have near-invisible earpieces tucked deep inside our left ears where only the closest medical examinations would ever reveal them, but both Xia and I have long enough hair to easily slide over and cover them.

Seven of our armed personnel step out of the secondary vehicles and accompany me and the two women straight into the front doors of this loud, pulsing club. Two of the seven are professional auditors while the remaining five are seasoned hitmen, one of whom immediately takes up a tight position acting as Jenifer's bodyguard.

A voluptuous woman in a sinful, low-cut dress cuts through the flashing strobe lights to greet us, walking straight past me toward Tina after recognizing her face to pitch her voice over the heavy bass, "Vice-leader Feng, it is good to see you! I am the sub-leader of this branch and my leader is up in the office awaiting your group."

Tina shifts her posture slightly and goes on high alert, an edge of suspicion instantly shared by the rest of us due to the glaring fact that the actual branch leader didn't bother coming down to greet a superior.

Suddenly, a soft click registers in my left ear and my earpiece hums as Mei's voice feeds directly into my skull, [ Rick, this is an ambush on your life. Another Monk from the Mountain Temple has forced the manager to let him wait for you in his office. ]

"What is he doing in the office right now?" I murmur under my breath, keeping my stride completely fluid as we bypass the main dance floor.

[ He is sitting at the desk watching you as we speak from the security camera to make sure you don't run. I can patch it into your wrist smartphone but he will see that and be alert. ]

"Can you get a sniper shot from you to him?" I ask, my hand casually trailing along my high collar to mask the subtle movement of my jaw against the hidden cloth microphone.

[ Negative, the windows are darkened and the curtains are drawn. ]

At this point, Tina glances toward me as she hears the low rumble of my voice talking to someone, but she can only assume I am communicating with Mei on a private line.

We step away from the flashing lights and stride directly into the wood-paneled elevator cab, prompting me to press the top floor button and keep my voice down to a near-silent whisper as the steel doors slide shut, "Can you confirm if he is hostile?"

[ Affirmative, the tape clearly has him telling the leader that he is not here for Tina but to kill you. Also, it seems the leader has helped the Monk and can be considered your enemy as well. ]

"Okay send me the live video inside the office and I will look when I get there," I whisper back into the cloth strip, tensing my forearms beneath my sleeves as the elevator cabin begins its smooth, silent ascent toward the top floors.

[ Done, good luck. ]

I lean directly into Tina's soft hair, my lips practically brushing against her ear as the elevator approaches the top floor, keeping my voice down to a harsh whisper to map out the danger before the doors can slide open, "An assassin from Mountain Temple is waiting for me in there, and your leader is helping, I have to kill everyone in there, stay out."

Tina's happy smile completely vanishes in a fraction of a second, her jaw tightening as her cold killer's face locks into place. She is absolutely no stranger to sudden assassinations on her own life or the lives of others, so she does not crumple or hesitate for even a single beat at my words.

The elevator stops with a soft chime and the doors slide open, revealing the upper hallway where we stride forward together until, as we near the heavy office door, Tina snaps a freezing glare toward the two guards stationed on each side and commands, "Resist me and you die, men restrain those two men. Go dear."

Our hitmen immediately move to pin the hallway guards, and I look down at the watch on my left wrist to find the exact locations of the monk and the other men inside, leveraging the real-time camera feed to track their movement while my right hand pulls a small canister straight from my hip and yanks the pin free.

Opening the office door a couple of inches, I drop the canister directly into the room and close the heavy door quickly to seal the pressure inside. While I do this, my Grandmaster level Kung-Fu reflexes and Master level Firearms skill work in perfect unison.

Swoosh... Swoosh... BANG! I draw both of my Taurus Judge revolvers—affectionately named Assassin's Affections—and a blinding flash of bright light bleeds out from the bottom of the door frame, immediately followed by the deafening bang of the flashbang grenade tearing through the office air. Then I violently kick the door in, slamming it wide open against the wall since I had purposely avoided clicking it fully closed!

I dive into a tight forward roll directly into the smoke-filled room, my Acrobatics skill kicking in to safely guide my momentum as I dodge two heavy daggers thrown blindly through the haze by the Monk, who possessed just enough specialized martial training to partially shield his eyes from the blast.

Fortunately for me, he had not seen me look at my watch earlier due to him getting up to stand directly in the center of the office layout where he could freely move after trying to trick me into lowering my guard, which was incredibly stupid of him to try against me.

"Young friend, don't fight amitabha! I come in peace!" the monk shouts through the ringing noise, trying to steady his footing.

What fucking crap is this Master smoking to try and trick me with that religious peace garbage right now, especially when he just tried to screw me over and slice my throat open a second ago?

Correctly guessing this monk has absolutely never seen an American handgun capable of firing heavy shotgun shells, I track his positioning and aim my dual revolvers directly toward his left and right arms. No matter if he tries to dodge left or right, one of my heavy shells will squarely paint him due to the wide spread of the buckshot pellets.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Swish! Swish! As I double-tap both of my heavy revolvers in a rapid-fire rhythm, Tina blurs past my shoulder from behind me, throwing two of her weighted throwing knives directly into the necks of the branch leader's personal bodyguards who were just starting to raise their own guns toward my chest.

Instead of pulling their triggers, the two bodyguards immediately drop their weapons to hold their bleeding necks, a completely fruitless task as the blood spills over their fingers. Naturally, acting like a true death reaper, Tina charges right into the two choking men to finish them off with close-quarters blade work.

With my own double-tap echoing through the room, the not-so-lucky monk quickly falls victim to his total lack of modern weapons knowledge. He was certainly smart enough to dive forward in my direction to avoid what he assumed would be normal handgun bullets, but my second two shots were aimed dead center for his torso, meaning his desperate roll scores him a heavy buckshot blast directly in his back while the other blast completely shreds his right arm to pieces.

He will absolutely die from that massive back injury for sure, but through sheer force of primitive will, he forces his legs to drive upward for one last desperation kick aimed straight at my neck before he drops from the excruciating pain and blood loss.

Thud! BANG! BANG! My Unlocked Gun-Fu Master combination skill kicks in automatically, rewiring my muscle memory as I raise my left shoulder to cleanly deflect his incoming kick to the side. My right revolver is shoved forward until the muzzle sits a couple of feet away from his now completely missing face, while my left gun targets the traitorous branch leader from right under my extended right arm, filling his face full of large buckshot and instantly ending his career as a leader in the Fire Birds.

With the office suddenly falling quiet except for the dripping of blood, I tap my choker microphone and ask, "Bunny, anything else?"

[ You destroyed the camera in the office so I can't see, but nothing but some regular security is heading that way, ] Mei Xia's voice chirps back through my invisible earpiece.

I look over to the corner of the office toward Tina, who is casually pulling her throwing knives out of the throats of the dead guards, slicing their necks open a bit deeper to permanently end them while a few fresh droplets of dark blood splatter across her face.

It is oddly alluring to see how her golden eyes seem to almost reflect the flashing light of the city below, and the crimson blood perfectly matches the deep red of her ponytail hair. She looks up to meet my gaze, prompting me to step toward the door and call out to the woman waiting in the hallway,

"Jenifer, security is coming, handle it! Tina dear, are you hurt?"

I pull a clean white handkerchief from my pocket and step close, gently wiping off most of the warm blood I can reach from her cheek, but she just smiles warmly up at me and reaches up to ask instead, "No, are you okay?"

She pulls out her own cloth and begins wiping down my face, making me realize that some of the red matter had splattered backward when I shot the monk's face off at point-blank range.

"I will have a small bruise on my left shoulder from parrying his kick, but that's it," I reply, offering a relaxed smirk as I take her hand.

The two of us toss the stained handkerchiefs onto the floor, and we quickly coordinate with our people to handle the messy aftermath, which turns out to be incredibly easy since the downstairs club area was playing music so incredibly loud that none of the regular bar-goers had even noticed six heavy shotgun shells going off right above their heads.

Naturally, the scheduled business audit is now postponed indefinitely and the voluptuous sub-leader woman who originally led us up the stairs is put in charge of the entire North City branch due to her not being in on the traitorous plot. She possesses plenty of survival instincts and clearly knows better than to go against me and Tina first-hand after seeing the bodies.

So after a quick shower and a fresh change of clothes back in the private rooms, we were loaded up and right back on the road to head straight toward Star City and the possible highway ambush waiting for us...

Just north about one hour away from North City, the local radio news station begins reporting that a few eyewitnesses spotted around seven massive explosions and small mushroom clouds rising from the exact same mountain area as two months ago, though I know those are heavy MOAB bunker-busters clearing out the Mountain Temple rather than actual A-bombs.

After about two long hours of driving down the dark asphalt, our five-vehicle convoy pulls into a brightly lit gas station where I immediately call for a tactical meeting to warn the drivers, demanding that everyone collect all of their cellphones into a single box.

I absolutely don't want any hidden leaks or for the enemy to be warned about our route. Fortunately, not a single member of our crew hesitates to hand over their mobile phones to me.

Standing by the pumps, I look at the group and ask one final question before we leave to go home, "Who here is the craziest baddest mother-fucker here?"

Well, apparently the crew is too competitive because we actually have to do a quick round of rock, paper, scissors right by the gas pumps to find out the winner from the three most stubborn hitmen in the squad!

Once that is settled, we all climb back into our designated SUVs and tear out of the station. In my lead SUV, however, the seating arrangement is different; I am now sitting in the driver's seat controlling the steering wheel while Mei Xia sits in the passenger side holding the fully assembled Barrett sniper rifle for me to use later.

We are now less than an hour away from Star City on Interstate Highway 69!

Ding! I smile as my wrist device hits the one-mile notification mark from the pit stop, and Tina immediately speaks into her handheld radio channel, [ Less than a mile till an ambush, so back away from my Hummer! ]

Up ahead, the nighttime construction crew is visible under the bright floodlights, and they are currently slowing the flow of traffic down to a crawl, letting small groups of cars go by one by one due to the highway lanes being narrowed down to a single lane on the far right along the right rail.

Our Hummer now has a safe distance of two empty cars separating us from our front two SUVs and our back two SUVs in the lane.

Suddenly, from our group's left side on the inside lanes where the active road work is supposed to be happening, a massive dump truck fully loaded with heavy rocks guns its engine, speeding directly into Tina's Hummer with a tremendous roar before blowing it sideways and pinning the frame entirely into the steel guardrail so the side doors cannot open!

THE TRAP IS SPRUNG!