While Hawke and the rest of his team in the Qashqai were still several hundred yards away from them, the Rav 4 spun around and accelerated away in the other direction.
“Awww,” Scarlet said. “They don’t want to play any more…” Hawke heard her loading her Beretta Storm as she spoke.
“The little bastards want to get back to HQ,” Lea said.
Hawke narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “And I want to know just who the hell they are and how they found out we were here.”
“Let’s give them something to think about,” Scarlet said. She leaned out her window and fired a couple of shots from the Storm. Each hit its target, smacking two neat little puncture holes in the rear panel.
In the distance they watched as the Rav 4 momentarily left the road and struck a metal barrier. A shower of sparks flashed into the air before they regained control and accelerated along the highway.
“Not bad,” Lea said.
“Thank you, darling.”
Hawke stamped his foot down on the throttle and watched the needle on the rev counter fly around the dial. He accelerated the Qashqai to one hundred kilometers per hour, more than twenty over the limit in this built-up industrial zone. Ahead, the Rav 4 was now exiting the highway.
“He’s going back into the city,” Lea said.
Hawke smacked the steering wheel. “Trying to lose us in the back streets. I guess that means he’s a local. Brace yourselves!”
Hawke spun the Qashqai hard to the right and just caught the off-ramp in time, racing down at a tremendous speed which was far too fast for the road. He slammed down on the brakes and after a few moments of skidding and burning rubber the vehicle was back under his control again.
He looked ahead through the dusty windshield and saw that the Rav 4 was now speeding across a bridge and disappearing into the southern quarter of the city. Soviet-era tower blocks loomed either side of them as they crossed the bridge in pursuit, but the Rav 4 was getting away, turning to the right now and entering a slipstream of cars driving into the city center. A second later the lights changed to red.
Hawke cursed but made the decision to jump the lights. It was now or never and if they lost this guy he would be gone for good.
As he approached the lights, he speeded up just as everyone else was slowing down. A cacophony of angry car horns filled the air as he skidded and weaved through the traffic, tearing off a bus’s wing mirror just one second before he ripped across the junction and narrowly avoided getting hit side-on by a Toyota Land Cruiser.
“Where the hell did he go?” Lea asked.
“You haven’t lost him, have you, Joe?” said Scarlet, disappointed. “I only got two shots off.”
“No — the little bastard’s just over there.”
He pointed to a narrow exit from the road running parallel to the Telecom Mongolia headquarters. Momentarily blocked by traffic the Rav 4 slowed and blasted the horn for the other cars to clear out the way.
Hawke took advantage and after driving the wrong way down a few hundred yards of Peace Avenue and causing the most terrific congestion and two small pile-ups, he managed to navigate the Qashqai right behind the Rav 4.
“Now he’s all ours,” Lexi said. She too pulled a gun from her holster and got ready for action. Behind them they heard police sirens, and they sounded like they were getting closer.
“That’s just great,” Hawke said, seeing the flashing blue lights in the rearview.
“Maybe if you hadn’t driven the wrong way down one of the main streets in the city they wouldn’t have been able to find us so easily,” Scarlet said. “You couldn’t have drawn any more attention to us if you’d sent them an embossed invitation delivered by a trumpeting herald.”
“Nice one,” Lea said, laughing.
“Yeah, funny,” Lexi added.
Hawke glared at her. “Hey, I did my best…”
“Yes… you’re only a man, after all,” Scarlet said.
“So I guess that was your best,” Lexi said.
“I'm outnumbered three to one,” Hawke said. “I never thought I’d say this but where the hell is Ryan Bale when you need him?”
“Then you’d be outnumbered four to one,” Scarlet said, smirking.
“Ouch,” Hawke said.
“Hey! I was married to him,” said Lea. “So leave him alone, Ice Maiden, all right?”
“Or what?” Scarlet said.
“Or I’ll box your bloody head off, that’s what.”
“Ladies, please!” Hawke said.
“No, I want to watch them fight!” Lexi said.
“If it hadn’t escaped your attention,” Hawke said, “we’re in the middle of a pursuit right now, so can we just leave the handbags-at-dawn stuff for later?”
“The what stuff?!” Lea said.
“What a sexist pig!” Lexi said, tutting.
“You think you know someone…” Scarlet said gently, shaking her head.
Hawke felt like giving up, but a second later the Rav 4 was through a gap and driving down a narrow side street on the west side of the telecoms business. A couple of swift right turns later and he was heading back in the opposite direction, trying desperately to shake them from his tail.
Now, they were emerging into an expansive outside space surrounded by impressively grand buildings.
“Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Genghis Khan Square,” Lea said, reading off her mobile. “Previously known as Sükhbaatar Square, this is the centerpiece of the entire city and generally regarded as the key landmark.”
“Excellent,” Hawke said. “Then they won’t mind if we take a closer look because our man’s getting away.”
Ahead, the Rav 4 was turning right and driving east behind the imposing Government Palace, so Hawke made the split-second decision to drive across the square to cut him off.
He spun the wheel to the right and launched the Qashqai over the curb and into Genghis Khan Square. The engine growled as the tires slammed back down on the pavement with a chunky squeal. Tourists screamed and desperately charged out of the way as he accelerated the massive Nissan across the public landmark.
“You do realize, darling, that is a pedestrian zone?”
“Yes, thanks, Cairo, I did work that out all for myself.”
“Oh good. It’s just that a moment ago I thought we had a nice little chat about how only total idiots draw attention to themselves and it does occur to me that driving a large SUV at great speed through an area designed for ambling tourists would certainly fall into that category.”
Hawke sighed. “As I said… I thank you for your concern.” Below them, the wide tires rumbled as they raced across the square.
Lea was still looking at her iPhone. “Joe, things are going to get really difficult up ahead. From what I can tell the Rav’s about to head into a pretty built-up part of the city. I think we need to get on him right now.”
“Or why not just wait for the police to catch us both?” Scarlet said. “Because they’re right behind us.”
Hawke had been preoccupied with keeping tourists from bouncing off the Qashqai’s hood, but now he checked the rearview and found to his dismay that Cairo Sloane was right yet again.
“That’s all we need.”
“I did tell you, dear… would you like me to ask them to go away?”
“I guess we have no choice,” Hawke said.
Scarlet and Lexi both leaned out their windows and began to unload their magazines into the Kia Rio following them at great speed, lights flashing and sirens blaring.
“They’re insane,” Lea said.
“They’re in competition,” Hawke said quietly. “And that can only be good for us right now.”
A second later he watched the Kia skid off to the left, out of control — its front tires blown out.
“Good shooting,” Hawke said.