Chapter 26: Leap

The others reacted immediately and pulled their triggers at Qiu Fengyu. At this point, none of them cared about hitting their own comrades; bullets struck the people in front with strange, muffled thuds. The man who had seemed on the verge of collapse finally couldn't hold out any longer and fell like a wooden stake.

Everyone stopped, slowly approaching, watching as the man toppled over. In the faint night light, they could see that there was nothing behind him.

Almost everyone felt the same thing at once—something had gone terribly wrong.

Suddenly, the car facing them switched on its headlights, twin beams slicing through the darkness and temporarily blinding everyone. Before they could react, bullets followed the light. It was like target practice—quick, precise bursts swept down everyone present.

One man feigned death. When the gunfire paused, he suddenly rolled down the slope and sprinted toward the highway. Qiu Fengyu started his car, floored the accelerator, and sped after him up the hillside. Raising his rifle in the glare of the headlights, he squeezed the trigger. Two sharp cracks rang out, and the fleeing figure pitched forward, collapsing in a strange, contorted posture, motionless on the ground.

Stillness returned to the scene. Qiu Fengyu raised his wrist, glanced at his watch, and stopped the stopwatch. Two minutes and twenty-three seconds. That was about right—he'd included the time spent dragging a corpse forward over sixty meters and then chasing someone by car. He was quite satisfied with himself.

He didn't bother to check the bodies—there was no need. Glancing at the three powerful cars nearby, he tore a necklace from one of the dead men—a cross adorned with a metallic skull. Each of them had one. He also found a set of keys, started one of the cars, drove it in circles for a while, then parked it back where it was, and left in his own car.

The gunfire carried far through the night. Even Coffin and her group, five or six miles away, heard the shots and were alarmed, for the direction was exactly that of the small town.

"Damn it, I knew this wouldn't be so simple!" Coffin cried anxiously. There was only a female officer on duty at the station, and the thought of what might have happened made everyone break out in a cold sweat. She floored the accelerator, racing back—since the gunshots were audible from here, something must have gone terribly wrong.

The two police cars behind followed Coffin, speeding toward the station. Suddenly they spotted someone lying in the road ahead. Coffin slammed on the brakes and swerved, sending the car skidding off toward the hillside and crashing into the embankment.

With a crash, the airbag exploded, leaving Coffin dazed.

Fortunately, the cars behind managed to stop in time. Officers jumped out, shouting for Coffin, who, though her ears were still ringing, managed to crawl from the vehicle.

"Damn it, there's someone on the road!" Coffin rubbed her head and, supported by another officer, walked to the prone figure in the road.

Under the beam of a flashlight, they could see the person was unable to move. Sheriff Brick knelt, checked his carotid artery, and frowned. "He's dead." He also noticed the blood and bullet wounds.

"He was shot to death. And... there's a gun next to him!" Another officer, a few meters away, found a standard-issue M16 rifle—military grade, with all sorts of attachments: night vision, infrared scope, flashlight.

Coffin had regained her composure. She looked around, then walked further up the slope. "He must have come down from here. Let's check it out. I bet the gunshots came from this direction." Drawing her pistol, she began to climb the hill, flashlight sweeping the area.

"Are our people still in contact?" Sheriff Brick asked the skinny officer beside him.

"Yes, she's on duty. Everything is normal, except... she heard the gunshots. She said she planned to report it, so she didn't act rashly..."

"Good, well handled," Sheriff Brick sighed, then followed Coffin up the hill. As he walked, the gruesome sight made his skin crawl. The ground was littered with bodies, and he couldn't help feeling fear.

"I know this man!" Suddenly, Coffin shone her flashlight on the face of a corpse whose skull had been split open, blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. She showed no sign of discomfort, but one of the male officers who'd come along couldn't help but vomit.

"Agado Sandoval." Sheriff Brick illuminated the body and nodded. "This guy must have come for revenge. One of the men killed last time was Neil Copley—the brother of the drug lord Copley who got away. Looks like they're here for payback."

Coffin frowned, silent.

"Nine bodies in total, counting the one on the road... All armed with M16s, and grenades. Each has a triangular tattoo on the upper arm—they must be from the same organization," an officer reported to Sheriff Brick.

"This one doesn't have a tattoo..."

"Of course not. He hadn't joined those bastards yet," Coffin replied, standing up.

"There are three cars over there—supercharged monsters. My God, did they fly here?" the officer marveled.

"Fly here?" Coffin suddenly understood something. She dashed down the hill, jumped into a police car, and sped toward the border.

"What's gotten into her?" the officer muttered.

"Go after her—damn it, don't let her go alone!" Sheriff Brick shouted. "Both of you, follow her. Stay in contact if anything happens!"

"Yes, we will!" the officer realized that Deputy Coffin must have discovered something and hurried after her, starting the car and racing out.

As she drove, Coffin dialed Qiu Fengyu’s number, but it was already switched off. She could guess what had happened, and could only hurry, hoping she might still be able to stop him.

The car left the highway, tearing across a rough dirt track, sending up a huge plume of dust.

She stopped steadily.

Standing at the edge of a cliff, she looked across the wide river and the iron suspension bridge on the other side. The answer was right before her eyes: a movable iron bridge, firmly set at the edge of the cliff on the far side. The bridge extended halfway across the river—just enough to reach into Mexican territory.

It wasn't wide or large, but it was broad enough for two cars to cross side by side. On the far side, they could see it had been brought in by two heavy trucks. The bridge's height could be adjusted.

"My God..." the officers behind her stopped as well, marveling at the bridge that reached only halfway across from the Mexican side. "That son of a bitch... what a crazy idea..."

Yes, with a powerful enough car, if you raised the far end of the bridge and took a running start from the higher Mexican side, you could vault the river and land on the American border.

"No wonder they had three high-powered cars..." another officer couldn't help cursing, stunned by the sight.

There was nothing they could do about the bridge. They couldn't destroy it—it was in Mexican territory. All they could do was watch it stand there.

Coffin frowned deeply. The bridge was clearly lower on the American side, meaning someone had already jumped across. But the far side was narrow, so unless the driver had perfect aim, they'd crash into the bridge.

"Damn that fool," Coffin muttered through gritted teeth.

Someone had entered Mexico alone, and was now hunting the drug lord who ruled the borderlands—a suicidal mission. She couldn't help but worry.

"Morons," one of the officers muttered. "Why don't they just fly a helicopter or plane across?"

"Our border radar would spot them instantly. I promise, if anyone crosses the line, they'll be shot down without mercy. No one would be that dumb," another officer smirked.

They had no idea what was going through Coffin's mind, nor what she was truly worried about.