The Samsara Project - David Burgess (early reader books .txt) 📗

parked cars as the gunmen tried to hit their fleeing target. He took a deep breath and ran from the relative shelter of the underpass to the bank of telephone boxes; he wanted a better view of what was happening. What he saw was the rear end of John’s X-Type Jaguar as he headed towards the service area exit and back onto the M62. The gunmen ran towards their own vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee four by four, the last gunman just managed to scramble in through a side window of the Jeep as it sped after the Jaguar. People started to come out from their hiding places, all just glad to have survived; they looked around a scene of devastation. Instinctively the survivors started to look for their family and friends, family groups hugging each other, even those travelling alone found someone to share their relief with. Not one person took any notice of the shattered body lying in the road. DCS Hughes though knew he had to.
The Chief took out his mobile phone and pressed Peter’s speed dial button. The phone was answered within two rings. He quickly brought Peter up to date on what had happened followed by a description of the chase car. Peter told the Chief to stay where he was and wait to be picked up. As DCS Hughes ended the call he could hear, in the distance, the sound of sirens as a posse of armed response cars raced towards the service area.
John’s speed was approaching almost one hundred miles an hour as he exited the service areas slip road and re-joined the M62 Eastbound. He was checking his rear view mirror when he noticed a number of cars behind him start to swerve. Two rebounded of the metal centre safety barriers and back into the stream of motorway traffic. He checked his rear view mirror again and he spotted the four by four chasing him. This was now a full on hunt and the three remaining gunmen made no attempt to hide who they were, who they were after or what they were planning to do. John was not aware that the Jeep had been fitted with a highly tuned, blueprinted engine that was more than capable of matching the Jaguar’s straight line speed, what it could not do though was match the Jaguars handling. As the speed continued to increase John turned his four headlights onto full beam in an effort to warn cars ahead. It was only partially successful. John glanced at his speed; one hundred and twenty five miles per hour and climbing. Motorway speed cameras continuously flashed as the Jaguar sped past them, weaving his way through the slower moving traffic.
The Jaguar sped past Junction nine bound for Manchester, looking as far ahead as he possibly could, trying to gauge the gaps between the traffic that he could take advantage of. John knew the Jeep was gaining on him, he also realised this was no ordinary Jeep but one that had been through the Special Forces skunk works in Hereford. Cars were modified here for all government agencies, their secret was simple. Standard looking in every way from the outside combined with absolute brute power under the bonnet coupled with modified brakes, suspension and in certain cases armour plated body work and bullet proof glass.
John was in the outside lane looking for an opening to his left, he checked his mirrors, the gunmen were gaining on him and one was leaning out of the passenger window trying to get a shot, changing his mind he sat back in the car.
John saw his chance and with the Jaguar touching one hundred and thirty miles per hour he turned the wheel to the left. The Jaguar’s computers immediately kicked in and activated the cars dynamic stability control system. Sensors were feeding real time information from the wheels, engine and braking system to the cars on board computers, thousands of calculations were made to determine if the car was handling correctly for its speed and direction change. The computer took over the cars brakes and applied breaking pressure to two wheels on the cars off side. Even with the cars advanced computer aided assistance the tyres still squealed in protest at the cars sharp and sudden change of direction, John managed to drive between two class one hgv’s, the driver of the second leaning on the cabs horn in protest. John did not hear the sound of the protest, nor would he have cared if he had. John was now in lane one and was about to be slowed considerably by the trucks in front of him. Knowing he would be taking a blind chance John swung the car onto the hard shoulder, praying it would be clear. Still moving at over one hundred and ten miles an hour John drove from the M62 and onto the M6 slip road. After two hundred yards the slip road forked, the right heading South to Birmingham, left or North to Preston.
John did not have to check his mirrors to know where the Jeep was, a bullet smashed through the rear window shattering it into thousands of pieces, it continued through the front seat headrest then through the windscreen. The impact did not shatter the windscreen as the laminate construction reduced the damage to small hole and a spider’s web looking cracks. John’s heart skipped a beat, he had to keep going. John’s arms and legs were starting to ache, a combination of tension and being tossed around the inside of the car. A three point seat belt and a luxury interior are perfect for long distance motoring but not for the punishing way he was driving the car now. There was another crack and a second hole appeared in the windscreen, this one further over to the right, towards John. Another gap appeared in the traffic, John moved sharply over to the right, he saw the rear window of the car in front shatter and the car swerve off to the left. He did not give it a second thought.
Ahead John could see Thelwall Viaduct and as he had hoped there was only one lane open due to road works and bridge maintenance. John’s plan had been to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Jeep and then make a fast run from the end of the bridge towards the M56. The open lane was number two; John was in-between two wagons effectively hiding him from the Jeep field of vision. Instinctively he checked the left had door mirror, he saw the Jeep driving through the road works, its high ground clearance and four wheel drive made easy driving for it across the uneven and unpaved road surface. John could see the Jeep was holding back, then he noticed one of the gunmen lean out of the rear off side window. He took aim, John could not move, there was nowhere for him to go. There was a puff of smoke from the barrel of the rifle and almost immediately the steering wheel was whipped to the left. John had to let go otherwise it would have broken his wrist. He quickly grabbed the wheel but it was too late, the bullet had done its job and the front near side tyre had disintegrated causing the Jaguar to lurch wildly to the left. The car crashed through the orange and white warning cones and into the roadwork area. Still out of control the Jaguar hit the sloping side a five foot high mound of tarmac that was due to be used later on that day. It was the right hand side of the car that hit the mound, the cars momentum carrying it up the side of the tarmac and at the same time flipping the Jaguar into the air, the jaguar, still airborne, started to slowly turn over onto its roof, John was helpless; he felt as though he was riding the corkscrew at Alton Towers except this was scarier. There was absolutely nothing John could do to influence anything that was now happening.
In real time the whole incident lasted for two, maybe three seconds, for John it lasted about ten minutes. His whole world was in slow motion, every detail crisp and clear, his mind taking everything in and giving him the time and opportunity to take whatever action was needed for protection. John could not sit still in the car seat, he was being thrown around in every direction as he felt his head crack against the door pillar. He grabbed tight hold of the steering wheel and tried to take control of the cars wild movement, he pressed he brake pedal as hard as he could. Whatever he did, John knew, would not make any difference, but that didn’t stop him from doing it anyway.
John could see the safety barrier that separated the edge of the road from the sheer ninety seven foot drop down to the Manchester Ship Canal running below. John braced himself as the car headed, still spinning, towards the barrier. John just watched as the safety barrier came closer and closer, John’s mind was racing with the possibility that the car would not hit the barrier but go straight over it. Before he could react to that thought the roof of the car collapsed inwards as the car bounced along the barrier. Inside the car John felt the seatbelt tensioners pull him into his seat, milliseconds after the impact eight airbags exploded to life, each designed to protect a specific area of the passenger. The car bounced along the top of the barrier, still spinning until it came to rest on its roof. The front of the car was hanging over the edge of the viaduct while the back crashed down onto the road. The impact had broken every window in the car and John was bleeding from numerous cuts on his face, arms, legs and body. He had also been knocked unconscious during the impact although the airbags had saved him from far more serious head injuries.
Twenty yards back the Jeep stopped; two of the gunmen got out and walked over to what was left of the Jaguar, its wheels still freely spinning. One went to inspect each side of the car. They looked inside and saw John’s unconscious body, his seatbelt half holding him upside down in his seat. The drivers’ side gunman prodded John, there was no response. They inspected the cars position; the roof resting on the top of the barrier gave one of them an idea, he pointed towards the back of the car, and then pushed both of his arms into the air. The other nodded. They walked around to the back of the car and with one positioned either side of the boot they started to lift the Jaguar. They struggled at first but the barrier acted as a pivot and once the car was a few feet off the ground the weight of the engine started to pull the Jaguar, with John unconscious body still inside, forward and down. The roof made a long screeching noise as it started to scrape across the barrier, the balance of the car shifting from the back of the to the front. The two gunmen gave the car a final push upwards then gravity took over. The two men looked over what was left of the barrier as the Jaguar and its passenger spiralled down towards the canal. They both watched as the car hit the water bonnet first. The Jaguar almost went under straight away but it seemed to make one last valiant effort to stay afloat but with all the windows shattered it was only seconds before the canal waters poured into the shattered remains of the car and it finally sank to its resting place wedged at the bottom