Page 51 of Marko

“I see them, honey. Hold tight,” he replied before driving up the narrow lay-by and past the line of traffic. Several shots rang out just missing us. Thankfully, our position made it difficult to get a clear shot.

I couldn’t believe that despite being on a motorbike instead of in a van, somehow we had been recognised. Probably it was the outfits and backpacks. We had been supposed to turn our jackets inside out to chance their look, but in the excitement, we’d forgotten. Miki was going to have something to say about that later I was sure.

Marko gunned the bike through the lights just as they were turning green and sped past the vehicles in front. Angry horns blasted at us, but they were the least of our concerns.

I held on tight as we sped along a long stretch of road heading towards another slip road for the motorway, praying we could make it there before the SUVs caught up and started firing again.

More horns blasted, and I checked over my shoulder, gasping as I saw the two SUVs quickly gaining on us as they overtook the vehicles behind.

Tearing along the country lanes, my heart pounded, sweat ran down my back, making my top cling to me. My arms ached from my death grip on Marko’s waist. It was a wonder he could breathe; I was clinging to him like a limpet, scared I might fall off at any minute.

I might have actually enjoyed the thrill of riding at top speed on the back of a bike with Marko if we weren’t being chased and I hadn’t been so bloody terrified. Right now, all I could think of was getting off the thing as soon as possible, and preferably in one piece.

I heard Marko radioing Miki through his helmet again, and I guessed Miki must have been getting frantic as Marko gave a sarky reply.

“Nah, thought I’d add some danger into the mix! Spice things up a bit!” he drawled sarcastically.

I could almost see Miki bristle with annoyance at that. I would smile if the situation wasn’t so dangerous.

My nerves were fraught, and I kept checking over my shoulder horrified that the MP’s men were gaining on us.

“Marko! They’re getting closer!” I screamed.

More shots rang out and Marko swerved, weaving along the road in an attempt to keep us from being hit.

Thank God we had Escape Plan D and several others if needed. I was thorough when planning a heist and escape, but Miki was even more so. Although I initially thought the number of scenarios he planned for was overkill, I was now glad he did. I couldn’t get off this bike fast enough.

A minute later, we pulled onto the next slip road to the motorway with the SUVs in hot pursuit. Holding on as if my life depended on it, which it did, I screamed as Marko weaved in and out of traffic, changing lanes to stop them from gaining on us.

Suddenly Marko, shot between two lorries as one overtook the other before crossing multiple lanes onto another bit of motorway.

Fuck! Shit! Geez! We barely missed being pulverised by a lorry.

Marko’s laughter rang out, and I realised he was actually bloody enjoying this.

“I’m never getting on a bike with you again!” I screamed.

The madman just laughed harder.

“Oh, come on, honey. If we weren’t being shot at, you know you would love this,” he said, his body vibrating with amusement.

When I thought about it, he was probably right, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. The guy didn’t need any further encouragement to do more crazy shit right now.

“Psycho!” I shouted, biting back a chuckle before it could betray me.

One of the SUVs gained on us, and the passenger fired a shot. They were much closer now, and the next shot grazed my helmet. Fuck sake! That was way too close for comfort. I almost peed my pants.

We swerved across lanes again, just managing to avoid more shots. We had almost passed the next junction, but just as the SUV pulled into the lane beside us, Marko tugged us sharply to the left and onto the slip road and off the motorway.

The SUV beside us couldn’t follow. The security guard in the passenger seat, who had been shooting, shouted and cursed as we whizzed by out of firing range. Thank God for that!

But we weren’t in the clear yet. The other SUV which had fallen behind was now headed onto the slip road in pursuit of us.

“The other one’s still on our tail,” I shouted to Marko.

“Don’t worry, we’ll lose them in the tunnel,” he replied, before barking off instructions to Miki.

We headed along an expressway and headed towards a tunnel up ahead. As we approached a large lorry, Miki slowed to match the vehicle’s speed, and I watched in amazement as the back opened, descending to form a ramp. Geez, this was like something out of Mission Impossible or the Fast and Furious movies.

---