She crouched atop the guard shack, which had been abandoned by the soldiers who’d run down to join the fight. Sadly, there were no weapons there, and she still only had her pistol. It felt bizarrely inadequate against what was rolling toward her. And if she couldn’t stop the driver, then this whole fight was for nothing. The help that was on the way—Bedlam Team and the National Guard—were still at least thirty minutes out. If the truck got away, it could vanish into the massive surrounding forests.

“Come on, boys,” she said under her breath. “Come and dance with the Magpie.”

She could see the driver, a burly man in the dark Fixer’s body armor, his head turned to one side as he watched the last of the fight through the sideview mirror. On the flatbed, the Fixers were still firing, but randomly now. No one was looking at her.

The semi was going about thirty miles an hour and accelerating when she flung herself from her perch and onto the roof of the cab.

Bunny and the Fixer got to their feet. Neither had a gun anymore, having lost them in the collision.

In his body armor, the Fixer was broader and blockier than Bunny, but the big young man was taller and at the peak of his physical strength. His six-and-a-half-foot-tall body was packed with corded muscle. Not the top-heavy bodybuilder muscles but the springy and toned muscles of the professional athlete. A long time ago, he’d played volleyball in the Pan American Games, and, had it not been for joining the Marines, he might have gone on to the Olympics. And during the years since both Top and Colonel Ledger had taught him a lot about how fast a big man can be.

He went right at the Fixer and landed a massive overhand blow that drove the killer to one knee. Bunny immediately shifted weight and brought his knee up sharply to smash the Fixer’s nose. Then he boxed his ears with cupped hands.

The Fixer screamed but did not fall.

Instead, in the space of a fractured second, his eyes went a burning red, and his face became a mask of pure rage. Actual Rage, as the bioweapon, mixed with the Relentless stamina enhancer, turned man into monster.

Bunny threw another punch, an overhand right that would have broken the man’s neck … had it landed. But the Fixer moved fast. So fast. He blocked the punch and hit Bunny in the center of the chest with such appalling force that Bunny felt something break inside. His heart seemed to lurch, and suddenly there was not enough air left in the whole world.

CHAPTER 175

EAST TEXAS CONVENTION CENTER

LABORDE, TEXAS

“Hey,” said Harry, “look, there’s Joe.”