"The Scout" - Chapter 27

The Scout

Chapter 27

By Dwayne MacInnes

"NOW!" Scott ordered as the first wave of buggies and motorbikes approached the black Charger and the red Bronco.

Sam fired the M60 in bursts as he had learned over the last month. The .30 machinegun chewed up a couple of buggies and scattered many of the motorcycles. However, the vast majority of the Anarchists continued unabated.

The red Bronco fell further behind the Charger and as the wasters drew even closer, the gunner onboard the truck finally opened up with the flamethrower. Unlike, with the machinegun, the wasters could not avoid the fiery death that spewed out of the nozzle of the flamethrower. The napalm engulfed the exposed occupants of the buggies and motorcycles.

The highway behind the fleeing convoy was a landscape of fire and smoke. The burning vehicles in the wake of the Fireman's outburst spun off the road. Many of the wrecked vehicles collided with the reckless souls that drove through the burning napalm that covered the highway.

"Yeah!" screamed the Fireman. "Looks like we really piled them up there."

Scott surveyed the carnage behind them. It only took a few moments before the Anarchists resumed their pursuit. Again, they approached the two vehicles even if it was at a greater distance.

The crack of small arms from the motorcycles as well as the occasional tattoo of the machineguns on the buggies split the air. Every now and then, the ting or ping of a bullet would glance off the armor of the Charger. From the range the pursuers were firing, it was highly unlikely they could do any serious damage.

Though the Anarchists stayed out of range of the flamethrower, they were still within the range of the M60. Sam would let go burst after burst. Most of the time he would hit a buggy or a motorcycle, nonetheless they kept coming on.

"Ok, Fireman, see if you can get them with a lake of fire," Scott said.

"Roger," the Fireman responded.

The flamethrower opened up again. This time the gunner laid out a long line of napalm working the nozzle back and forth until a thick wall of fire consumed the highway. The Anarchists initially thought it was another burst like the previous one. Their mistake was that they tried to drive quickly through the flames. Unfortunately, the fire did not end soon enough for most to make it to the other side. Flaming vehicles with burning occupants burst out the other side of the flames only to spin off the highway or to tumble down the old road.

The Anarchists broke into two formations and went over the open country bypassing the flames altogether. Fortunately, this slowed down the pursuers. In order for them to close in on the convoy, they would have to regain the highway.

The wasters were learning. They would move close enough for the Fireman to release a stream of napalm then they would drop back out of range and drive around the pool of fire. Sam was having better luck with the M60. His small bursts were quick and deadly. Many an Anarchist and their vehicle littered the highway riddled with .30 bullet holes.

A strange and familiar noise reached Scott's ear. It took only a fraction of a second for the scout to remember the noise of a police siren. A glance at his monitor showing the highway behind the muscle car showed a dirty white police cruiser speeding towards them. The light bar flashed and the siren wailed.

Scott would have laughed if the situation were not so serious. Did the wasters really expect him to pull over or were they just trying to gain his attention? Regardless the police cruiser sped down the road in pursuit.

Another glance at the monitor brought Scott back to the present. The windshield of the cruiser was missing and on the passenger side, a grenade launcher was mounted. The gunner was taking careful aim at the Charger.

Sam had been sighting up the cruiser and just before the M60 fired, Scott drove the Charger in an erratic back and forth zigzag down the highway. Seconds later the ground exploded just behind the Charger. Concrete and shrapnel plastered the rear armor of the Charger. The muscle car's rear end was momentarily lifted off the ground and as it slammed back to earth, Sam fired the machinegun.

The burst fired high and only managed to shoot out the red light and the siren on the cruiser. The gunner in the cruiser worked frantically to reload the grenade launcher as Sam quickly tried to regain his aim on the police car.

The Fireman pulled in behind Scott putting itself between the cruiser and the Charger.

"Don't worry buddy. We'll get these jokers," the Fireman reported over the radio. "We'll give them a first class ticket to hell..."

The Fireman never finished his statement as the grenade launcher fired again. This time it hit behind the Bronco. But it was much closer than the near miss on the Charger. The end result was that the Bronco flipped into the air. As it tumbled back onto the highway on its top, sparks and road debris flew around the truck. The Bronco slid for a few yards before coming to a complete stop. Flames began to lick the sides of the vehicle.

The cruiser no longer paying any heed to the demolished Bronco pulled around the derelict and resumed its pursuit of the Charger. Scott watched as the gunner aimed the loaded the grenade launcher at the Charger. Sam frantically tried to aim the turret towards the police car. However, Scott knew that Sam would not be in time and that he would not be able to dodge the impending shot.