Chapter 17
A Bridge Too Far

Adrianna sped up to the fastest she could go. Trees and signs sped past her like blurs. Beside her, Fred twisted and moaned in the sidecar. Adrianna cast a worried look down at him, and then pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed a number with one hand, keeping the other on the handlebars.

On the third ring, someone picked up. “Hello?”

“Daddy!” she shouted into the phone.

“Adrianna?” Eric Ronald sounded worried. “What’s happening?”

“Operation Bridge Too Far, Daddy! Operation Bridge Too Far!” Adrianna shrieked. A gunshot sounded somewhere behind her. The bullet missed her head by millimeters, striking the cell phone and knocking it out of her hands. The now-useless phone clattered to the road, where it was run over by one of the Nine.

Adrianna sped as fast as she could. The Nine were still on her tail, growing closer. She looked to the side. A man in a suit and sunglasses pulled up beside her. He reached down with a pale hand. He was reaching for Fred.

The boy twisted and screamed. The manÂ’s hand drew closer. Adrianna grabbed her handgun from her belt and shot the man in the shoulder. He drew back, and the bike slowed, but it did not stop, and neither did he. No blood rushed from the wound, and no spasm of pain crossed the manÂ’s face.

The sun rose in the east.

Adrianna could see ahead. The sun sparked on something, something metalÂ… and strangely familiar. Then she recognized it as the Arch. The rest of St. Louis rushed into view. Including the bridge.

The bridge connected interstate 55 to interstate 64. It led out over the Mississippi River. Nearby, the Arch glistened in the morning sunlight. The bridge was closed. Signs led a ways downriver where cars could cross.

Adrianna didnÂ’t care. She sped onto the bridge, the Nine in hot pursuit. When she reached the end of the bridge, she stopped. She turned the bike around, ready to charge at the Nine, and take them down. Then her power went out. In panic, she glanced down at the gas gauge. Empty. Adrianna looked up. The Nine were still on the other side, right on the edge of the bridge. They, too, had stopped, and were drawing out their Uzis.

The leader raised his head. “Give us the boy!” he shouted. “We only want him. Give us the boy, and you can go in peace.”

Fred stirred. Then he opened his eyes. He pushed himself up until he was standing upright in the middle of the sidecar. A dark light flashed in his eyes. “Go back!” he shouted in a voice that didn’t seem to suit him. “Go back to your boss!”

“Come!” all Nine hissed in unison. “Come with us! We’ll take you to the boss, and he’ll give you a warm welcome. A warm welcome indeed.”

Fred’s eyes flashed. “You aren’t going to get the ring, and you aren’t going to get me!”

“Fred!” Adrianna exclaimed in horror, but it was too late. Fred seized the gun from her hand and fired three rounds into the air. Then he leveled the gun at the Nine.

The Nine dismounted their bikes and slowly began to walk across the bridge, Uzis raised. Adrianna tried to grab the gun back from Fred, but the teenager jumped out of the sidecar and started to fire at the nine. The Nine were at the center of the bridge. They took aimÂ…

“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” A voice thundered. “DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!”

Helicopters lifted off from both sides and hovered over the bridge. There were at least six of them. Soldiers poured out from nearby buildings and took positions on either side of the bridge. The Nine were trapped on the bridge that they meant to be victorious on. They drew into a circle, guns raised.

And then they fired. Burst of light from then end of the guns showed that they, indeed, were fired. The soldiers returned fire, and the bridge exploded into chaos. Adrianna tackled Fred, and the two smashed to the ground. She grabbed the gun from his hand and hit him on the head with it. He slumped, out cold.

Adrianna lifted her head. The deadly firefight continued. The Nine were nearly invisible in the haze of smoke and bullets. The helicopters flew closer. Adrianna could see men in the side of them. Men with large metal cylindersÂ…

Six rockets left their launchers. Six rockets slammed into the Nine. The power of those rockets blew out the middle of the bridge in a massive fireball. Adrianna watched as the Nine went from a nightmare, to a shadow, to a memory.

And then, at once, it was over.

The Nine were gone, probably killed by the blast. The soldiers were turning to go back to their stations. The helicopters flew away, back to the airports or military bases that they came from.

Adrianna lifted Fred in her arms. He was pale, unusually pale, and his eyes were staring ahead, sightless. Tears welled up in AdriannaÂ’s eyes and dropped onto FredÂ’s seemingly lifeless body.

“Don’t give up…” she pleaded silently, “Don’t give up…”

Then she turned and carried him into the city.

To Be ContinuedÂ…