Ch 43: The Noose Tightens

The sky was a dull, lifeless gray by the time the third day of the chase rolled in. Dust storms churned in the distance, their swirling chaos mirroring the tension inside the crawler.

Mira was done waiting.

She gripped the dashboard, knuckles white. "Are you going to tell me what the hell we're doing, or do I have to start breaking things?"

Kael barely looked up from the console. His fingers danced over the screen, adjusting their route, checking the atmospheric conditions, scanning radio chatter. It was all precise. Calculated.

"Not yet," he said.

Mira exhaled sharply, forcing herself to stay calm. "Kael, we should've been gone by now. We crossed into the neutral zone, shook off half of Thorn's forces, and yet we're still running in circles! This isn't an escape—it's a goddamn death march!"

Kael finally met her gaze. His expression was unreadable. "We need to set things up properly."

Mira's patience snapped. She grabbed him by the collar, yanking him close. "Set what up, exactly? Because from where I'm sitting, you're deliberately keeping us inside the kill box!"

Kael didn't resist. Didn't argue. He just stared at her.

Mira's grip tightened. "Tell me what you're planning. Now."

Kael sighed, prying her hands off him with deliberate ease. "We're not just running from Thorn, Mira. We're making him commit."

She blinked. "Commit?"

Kael nodded toward the scanner, where red blips marked every pursuit vehicle, every drone, every blockade. "Thorn isn't just chasing us anymore. He's bringing everything he has. Look at the map. He's spread himself thin, stretching resources across miles of territory to pin us down."

Mira's stomach twisted. "You're making him do that."

Kael nodded. "And by tomorrow, he'll be exactly where I want him."

Mira stared at him, realization dawning. This wasn't just escape. It was a setup.

She swallowed hard. "...How bad is this going to be?"

Kael's voice was eerily calm. "Very."

Mira didn't have time to process the implications before the radio crackled with new orders.

"Sector Four patrols, tighten formation. Route blockades in place at grid markers 12 through 16. Adjust drone sweep pattern for maximum coverage."

Mira glanced out the viewport. Consortium scout drones buzzed overhead, their blue lights sweeping across the ruins. Kael had been right—Thorn was committing.

And now the walls were closing in.

"We've got incoming," she warned.

Kael barely reacted. "Let them come."

Mira muttered a curse, grabbing her rifle. She wasn't about to sit and wait for Thorn's men to choke them out.

Their next route took them into one of the worst places Mira had seen yet—a jagged expanse of wreckage where rusted beams jutted out like the ribcage of some long-dead beast. Old pipelines lay twisted around collapsed towers, their surfaces slick with chemical runoff.

It was a terrible place to be cornered.

And yet Kael drove straight into it.

"You are insane," Mira muttered as she peered at the incoming signals. Two Consortium landcraft were closing in fast from the east, another from the west. There was no easy way out.

Kael only smirked. "Good."

Mira scowled. "One of these days, I swear—"

Then the first shots rang out.

Gunfire ricocheted off the crawler's reinforced plating. Mira swiveled to return fire, landing a clean shot on one of the nearest pursuers. The Consortium vehicle veered off-course, slamming into a rusted-out support column with a sickening crunch.

But the other two pressed on.

Kael yanked the crawler into a sharp turn, skimming past the wreckage of an old transport truck. The Consortium vehicles followed, undeterred.

Mira cursed under her breath. "We're boxed in."

"Not yet," Kael said.

Then he killed the lights.

For a split second, the crawler was swallowed by darkness. The only illumination came from the Consortium's headlights—casting long, jagged shadows across the twisted wreckage.

Mira's breath caught.

Kael had planned this.

The enemy vehicles plowed forward, their drivers focused on their targets—until it was too late. One swerved just a little too far right, clipping a rusted support beam. It snapped.

And then the entire structure collapsed.

A wave of metal and debris caved in over the pursuers, swallowing them whole. Mira barely had time to register the screams before silence took over once more.

Kael flicked the lights back on and pressed forward, completely unphased.

Mira stared at him. "How long ago did you rig that?"

"Couple of hours," he said casually.

She let out a breathless laugh, half in awe, half in frustration. "You manipulative bastard."

Kael only smiled.

They found temporary shelter that night inside an old storm drainage system—tunnels carved deep into the earth, forgotten by time. The air was damp, thick with the scent of rust and mold.

Mira sat with her back against the crawler, arms crossed. Her adrenaline had finally settled, but the weight of Kael's plan still loomed over her.

She watched him as he tinkered with something—adjusting vials of chemicals, checking temperature readings, calculating something in that precise way he always did.

She exhaled. "This is going to be bad, isn't it?"

Kael didn't stop working. "It has to be."

Mira clenched her jaw. "I don't like this."

Kael finally looked up. His expression was unreadable. "One more day, Mira." His voice was quiet. Steady. "Just one more."

Mira stared at him, searching for some hint of hesitation. Some sliver of doubt.

She found none.

She ran a hand down her face, sighing. "You better be right about this."

Kael smirked. "I usually am."

Mira rolled her eyes, but the knot in her stomach didn't ease.

Tomorrow, everything would come to a head.

And for better or worse, there would be no turning back.