Page 78 of Cold Ignition

Keanu snapped his attention back.

The drivers—five of them—were moving across the far side of the track, staggered, unsteady. Two were being supported by Rangi and another of Kael’s team. One stumbled—and a shot rang out from deeper in the compound.

The man jerked, going down.

Everything in Keanu’s chest went cold.

“Shooter,” Victor said immediately. “Rear structure. Second level.”

“I’ve got him,” Alexios replied.

He moved before the sentence finished—cutting toward the structure, low and fast, using shadow and angle instead of speed alone. Another shot cracked—too close to the cluster of drivers—and then Alexios was there.

A flash of movement in a dark window.

A brief, brutal struggle.

Then silence.

“Shooter down,” Alexios said, voice even. “Continue movement.”

“Copy,” Kael said. “All teams—extract. Now.”

This time, chaos did come all at once. Because now Crucible knew.

Keanu swung the car back toward the extraction lane, cutting in front of the moving group.

“Load them,” he said.

Rangi didn’t argue.

He shoved one of the drivers into the back seat, hauled another in behind him, then slammed the door.

“Two more coming,” he said. “Alexios—”

“I’m here.” Alexios appeared at his shoulder, guiding the last two in with efficient, controlled movement.

“Go,” he said.

Keanu didn’t wait. He hit the throttle.

The car surged forward, tearing away from the line as rounds cracked behind them, one pinging off the rear panel, another shattering what was left of the mirror.

“Left,” Luca said. “Take the service road. We’ve cleared it.”

Keanu swung the wheel, cutting hard onto the narrow access road that peeled away from the circuit.

Behind them, the noise followed for a few seconds—engines, shouting—

Then faded. Because Black Tide didn’t just hit. They controlled the exit. Victor’s voice came through, steady.

“Pursuit broken.”

Kael followed. “Status.”

“Five drivers secured,” Alexios said from the back, already assessing. “One critical. Two moderate. Two stable.”

Rangi exhaled slowly. “We got them out.”