He stood on the door panel and reached up to try to open the door above him. The latch worked and he managed to crack it, only enough to let in a wave of black smoke and terrified screams.

The handle was suddenly torn from his grasp and he threw an arm up against the filtered glare of the afternoon sun. Someone was shouting at him but the buzzing in his ears and crackle of flames made it impossible to understand anything that was being said.

He felt a powerful hand grip him under his injured arm and he was immediately dragged out of the vehicle.

“General!” the man shouted directly in his ear. “Are you hurt?”

Takahashi just shook his head, still dazed.

“Come on! We have to get out of here!”

From his elevated position on the side of the limousine, Takahashi could finally take in his surroundings. The building was thick with smoke but still recognizable as some kind of store. He remembered the roar and the flash now. An explosion. His vehicle had come partially through a cement wall and partially through a display window. The burning figures that had at first looked like mannequins were, he now realized, corpses strewn among shattered brick and shredded clothing.

“Let’s go, General! Now!”

He was pulled off the car and his arm was thrown painfully over a broad set of shoulders. Men from his chase car, some bleeding badly, others visibly burned, fell in around him as he was swept deeper into the wrecked building.

As they progressed, the still bodies were replaced by ones writhing in agony or trying pathetically to escape the approaching flames. He saw a small child, half his body charred black, wailing next to a motionless young woman. Someone running past scooped the child up and disappeared like a ghost into the choking smoke.

They slammed through a metal door and the open space turned into a dark hallway. His head continued to clear and after a few more moments he forcibly slowed. “Where are we going?”

“The fire exit,” one of his men said.

“Are you sure there is one?” Takahashi asked, feeling himself being pushed forward again. “We could get trapped by the fire.”

“We’re certain, sir. We’ve been through all the buildings on your normal travel routes. This has a rear exit that opens onto the next street.”

He had no reason to doubt what he was being told. His security detail had been handpicked from the best men the country had to offer.

“My vehicle,” Takahashi said.

“Sir, we need to focus on getting you out of here.”

The man ahead of him had a hand against his earpiece as they ran, nodding at whatever was coming over it. “General, I have confirmation that a helicopter is on its way and will be airlifting the car out.”