The black SUV surged forward, slamming its heavy reinforced bull bar straight into the sedan's rear trunk.

The violent impact threw Daniel forward against his seatbelt, while Emma woke with a terrified shriek in the back seat.

"Hold on!" Victoria shouted, fighting the steering wheel as the sedan’s rear wheels lost traction on the wet gravel.

The SUV accelerated again, pulling up alongside their driver's side on the narrow two-lane road.

The metal doors ground together with a deafening screech, throwing bright yellow sparks across the dark highway.

Through the tinted glass of the SUV, Daniel saw the passenger window roll down.

Davies leaned out into the wind, holding a heavy black service pistol with both hands.

"Down! Everyone get down!" Daniel yelled, unbuckling his belt and throwing his body over the center console to shield Emma and Helen.

Two gunshots shattered the rear windshield, spraying tempered glass across the back seat.

Victoria slammed both feet onto the brake pedal with all her strength.

The tires shrieked against the asphalt, smoke billowing from the wheel wells as the sedan decelerated violently.

The chasing SUV overshot them by fifty yards, its heavy tires sliding sideways across the centerline.

"Turn here!" Daniel shouted, pointing through the cracked windshield toward a gated commercial truck scale beside an abandoned gravel quarry.

Victoria hauled the wheel to the right.

The sedan leaped the concrete curb, smashed through the rusted chain-link gate, and skidded to a halt between two rows of parked gravel trailers.

The radiator hissed steam from a cracked hose, the engine shuddered once, and the car stalled completely.

Ahead of them, the black SUV threw itself into reverse, swinging around to block the only driveway leading back to the highway.

The doors opened, and two men stepped out into the falling rain, their weapons drawn and leveled straight at the car.

Davies came first, his tactical vest dripping wet.

Behind him, stepping out from the passenger side with an umbrella in one hand and a revolver in the other, was Deputy Commissioner Gregory Miller.

Miller walked forward with calm, steady strides, stopping twenty paces from their hood.

"Step out of the vehicle, Daniel," Miller’s deep voice carried easily over the rain. "Bring the blue notebook, and nobody else in that car has to get hurt tonight."