The Adventures of Ty Abraham, Chapter 4: Free as in Freedom

Jeff stared straight ahead, hands holding the steering wheel of the RAV4 in a knuckle-white grip as it sped down Route 199. Ty held the Imura lazily in his right hand as he adjusted the rear view mirror to get a better view behind them. They'd crossed over a river that seemed to serve as Cave Junction's city limits, and now scrubby trees, power lines, and the occasional RV park advertisement were the only thing to either side of them. Both lanes were completely devoid of traffic.

More importantly, Ty saw no sign of Homeland. Yet. He fished into his pocket with his off hand, pulling out the phone and powering it on. Stealth was a lost cause anyway. "For what it's worth, Jeff, I am sorry I got you into this," Ty said as he tapped and swiped, uplinking to the Schwartz Array and pulling up a satellite map. "But if it's any consolation, we're about...twelve miles away from this no longer being your problem."

Jeff's blank eyes were fixed on the road ahead. He'd stopped crying, but they were still red. "You killed them..." he managed to croak.

Ty sighed, double tapping the screen with his thumb. "You know I had to do it to 'em. Not like I enjoyed myself."

"Please...I have a wife. Children."

Ty snorted. "My condolences."

"Are you going to kill me?"

He looked up from his phone for the first time, furrowing his brow. "Really, Jeff? I know we haven't known each other that long, but that's a little hurtful."

Jeff blinked, opening his mouth and then closing it.

"Look, I'm not a psycho, Jeff. I just need you a little bit longer and then you'll be free to go home. Well, after Homeland interrogates you. Won't be more than ten minutes, at this sp-" Ty cut himself short as he glanced at the dashboard speedometer. "Are you doing seventy? Jeff, if you're not going to take this seriously..."

Jeff looked over nervously, then snapped his eyes back to the road. "Seventy's the speed limit."

"Jeff, I think being held at gunpoint will get you off the hook in traffic court. Fucking floor it."

"I can't!" he almost shouted. "The car won't drive over the speed limit!" He looked like he was going to start crying again.

Ty looked down at his phone again, exhaling deeply. "Fucking FedStates..." Flicking his thumb, he swiped away the map, loading up a browser. "Whatever, just keep driving. As long as we don't stop, we'll be f-"

Both of them lurched from the sudden deceleration of the vehicle. Ty nearly dropped the revolver throwing his right hand to the dash to steady himself as the car lurched to the right, pulling to a stop on the shoulder. "Jeff! What the fuck, man!"

"It's not me!" he nearly shrieked, looking in panicked bewilderment at the steering wheel.

The dashboard lights flickered and went out, and for a moment Ty thought the battery had died, until the dashboard screen lit up with a deep blue Homeland Security logo. Ty set his jaw. "Shit."

"Do not be alarmed," said a soothing female synth voice. "This vehicle has been commandeered by Homeland Security under U.S. Code Title Six, Chapter One, Sub-chapter Four. Your doors have been locked for your safety. Please, do not attempt to leave the vehicle until instructed to do so by Homeland Security officers."

Ty pulled on the door handle fruitlessly. Jeff was breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused.

"Fuck, fuck...god fucking dammit." Ty furiously swiped and tapped the screen of his phone. "Jeff! Jeff, listen to me! I need a data cable."

Jeff closed his eyes, rocking back and forth in his seat.

"Jeff, I need a fucking data cable right the fuck now! Do you have one?!" He almost jumped as Jeff suddenly reach over, popping open the glove compartment and pulling out a coiled black cable before dropping it angrily in Ty's lap. "Okay... thanks."

Fumbling with the twist tie, he uncoiled it and plugged one end into the media port under the dashboard screen. Jeff stopped rocking and looked over. "What are you doing?" His voice trembled.

"Funny story, Jeff." Ty plugged the other end into the port at the bottom of his phone and started tapping the screen with both thumbs. "Your car is perfectly capable of driving over seventy miles an hour. There is nothing preventing it, at least not physically."

Jeff blinked again, staring at the dashboard screen as it blacked out, the blue Homeland shield replaced briefly with a Toyota Motors logo, then a scrolling log of white text. Distant sirens were faintly audible outside.

"The government and the manufacturer conspired to write firmware that decided for you how fast you could and couldn't drive. So all I'm doing..." Ty tapped the screen one final time, and a progress bar slowly loaded from left to right, mirroring one on the dashboard screen, "...is giving you back what should have been yours in the first place."

The progress bar completely filled up, and then the dash screen flickered off, then on again, this time displaying a badly drawn logo of a wildebeest driving a car as the RAV4's engine suddenly came back to life. The sirens had grown noticeably loud, flashing red and blue lights winking on the horizon in the edge of the rear view mirror.

"Okay, it's good." Ty turned in his seat, staring at the flashing lights through the rear window. "Go."

Jeff looked at the dashboard, then the wheel.

Ty looked over in exasperation, holding up the Imura revolver. "...fuck's sake, Jeff, drive!"

Placing his hands on the wheel, Jeff floored the gas pedal. Ty almost tumbled into the back seat as the vehicle surged forward, bumping along the shoulder with two wheels until Jeff lurched back onto the asphalt. The trees and power lines outside whipped past at alarming speed. Ty steadied himself, glancing back at the speedometer. It flickered between one-hundred twenty nine and one thirty. "You see, Jeff? Isn't this much better?"

Jeff stared at the road in wide-eyed terror, trying to hold the car steady as it barrelled down the 199. The lack of traffic was a blessing, Ty thought to himself. At this speed, he didn't have much faith in Jeff's ability to do anything other than move in a straight line.

He gripped the headrest of the passenger seat tightly as he continued staring out the back window. They were visible now; two vehicles, Homeland blue, sirens blaring as they roared up from behind. Even with the RAV4 nearly doubling the speed limit, they were still gaining. "Guess even civ vehicles have their limits," he muttered to himself as he rolled back into the passenger seat, He yanked the cable out of his phone, which he pocketed, and held up the Imura. Popping open the cylinder, he counted out his remaining ammo. Of the eight chambers, only two had bullets left. He snapped the cylinder shut and powered down the passenger side window. "Jeff...I need you to pull slowly into the leftmost lane and drive as steady as you can, okay? There's very little margin for error here."

Jeff wordlessly stared out the windshield, dutifully turning on his blinker before cautiously pulling the RAV4 to the left. Ty held the Imura low, glancing from the rear view mirror to the side mirror and back again. As they grew closer, one of the Homeland cruisers stayed back, keeping pace with the RAV4 in the left lane. The second cruiser continued accelerating in the right, drawing closer as it inched leftwards. Ty suppressed a smirk. A PIT maneuver at this speed was reckless, and showed a shocking disregard for the life of the hostage. Officer Pulowski's death must not have sat well with the local Homeland contingent. Which meant their tactical judgement was far from sound.

Gripping the edge of the open window with his left hand, Ty popped his torso out of the vehicle and leveled the Imura at the nearest cruiser. The expressions on both faces inside it went from hard determination to shock, and the driver attempted to swerve, but too late. The .22 round sent a spiderweb of cracks across the cruiser's windshield as it punched through, finding its mark in the driver's collarbone. The Homeland vehicle skidded, veering right, then left, and finally flying off the road and into the tree line.

Ty quickly pulled himself back into the vehicle and checked the rear view mirror. The second cruiser was pulling up fast, the passenger side officer leaning out the window with a pistol in hand.

Jeff was crying again, his tear-streaked eyes locked on the road as he held the steering wheel in a death grip. "You can't keep shooting people!" he sobbed.

"If they'd leave me alone, Jeff, I'd be happy to stop," Ty snapped. He adjusted the rear view mirror. "Right lane. Now."

Jeff swerved, wobbling slightly as he pulled the vehicle straight, just in time to cut off the rear cruiser as it tried to overtake them. In the corner of Ty's vision, he picked up a graffiti-laden sign whipping past on the shoulder of the road.

Oregon Thanks You. Come Back Soon.

"Relax, Jeff, we made it. Less than half a mile now."

"What?"

"Once we cross the border into California..."

"California?!" Jeff broke his staring contest with the 199, looking at Ty in wide-eyed terror. "We can't go into California! It's a Sanctuary State!"

"Eyes on the road, Jeff. And that's the point. Homeland won't want to go anywhere nea-"

"No!" Jeff shouted, pumping the brakes and swerving over to the shoulder. Ty instinctively grabbed the passenger side grab handle with his free hand as the RAV4 rapidly decelerated, bumping violently along the dirt and grass until it came to a stop. The Homeland cruiser screeched as it skidded past them, swerving sideways, ending its skid just under a hundred meters away. The two Homeland goons immediately jumped out and took cover, sidearms drawn.

"Jeff, you fuck!" Ty shouted. He opened his door and ducked as he hopped out, keeping the RAV4 between him and their line of fire.

"You're under arrest," squelched a voice over the cruiser's loudspeaker. "Step out of the vehicle where we can see you with your hands on your head." Ty heard the driver's side door open. Jeff complying with instructions. He tried to still his mind and calculate the situation. Two Homeland goons, armed, between him and the border. Backup was no doubt already en route, which meant they could afford to wait. And Ty had one bullet left to work with.

"Lay down on your stomach and keep your hands on your head," the loudspeaker continued.

Engaging them at this distance was impossible. The longer he waited, the more likely he'd end up boxed in. He considered running into the woods, but dismissed the idea. If he gave up his vehicle now, he knew his odds of finding another one anytime soon were slim to none. He'd have to deal with these two here and now, or he was finished.

Footsteps. The jangling of a utility belt, as one of the Homeland officers moved closer, unseen on the other side of the RAV4. The squelching voice continued. "Step out where we can see you with your hands on your head, or you will be shot on sight."

Ty pulled his phone out of his pocket, powering on the screen. The firmware installer he'd used to reboot the car was still active, and connected to the car via its firmware update modem. A handy little feature, Ty thought, as a plan began to form. Tapping and swiping through options, he found the Remote Access menu. A steering wheel graphic, an acceleration slider, and a big red brake button displayed themselves on his screen under a row of miscellaneous buttons. Ty crouched lower, shuffling back into the dirt and setting the phone on the ground. He gripped the Imura tightly in his right hand, left index finger hovering over the screen.

"If you do not come out with your hands on your head, we will use lethal force. This is your last warning."

The RAV4 roared to life as Ty tapped the DRIVE button, then swiped the acceleration slider to maximum. It peeled out, tires kicking up dirt, then shot forward, arcing to the left in sync with Ty's finger on the steering control. It sped past a prone Jeff, thankfully missing him and the goon kneeling to cuff him by less than a meter, before plowing directly into the side of the Homeland cruiser.

The nearest officer, distracted by the RAV4, noticed Ty just a moment too late. The smuggler's last bullet went through his chest, and he tumbled backwards to the pavement.

Ty wasted no time, staying low as he ran in to scoop up the fallen officer's pistol. "Just stay down, Jeff. I'll be back in a minute." He held the nine millimeter pistol in a two-handed grip, aiming at the cruiser as he carefully approached and circled it. His tension eased when he saw the second officer moaning in the ditch, lying where the impact from the RAV4's collision had thrown him.

Keeping his aim, Ty approached slowly, pointing the muzzle at the prone man's head. He was considering whether or not to keep him alive when he noticed the red LED along the barrel flashing. He frowned, pointing into the trees and squeezing the trigger. It buzzed in protest, the trigger stuck in position.  "DNA lock, eh. Well aren't you a lucky bastard." Stepping closer, Ty dropped his left knee on the half-conscious goon's neck, fumbling with the cuffs on the man's belt before snapping one shut on his right wrist and then rolling him over to finish the left.

Jeff was standing up when Ty walked back, looking around dumbfounded. An abandoned handcuff dangled from his left wrist. Ty pulled open the back door of the RAV4, taking out his messenger bag and slinging it over his shoulder, then surveying the damage to the cruiser. "Well, looks like this is where we part ways, Jeff."

Jeff stared at the crumpled front end of his vehicle in silence. He opened his mouth once, then closed it, then finally managed a half-whispered question. "Why..."

Ty walked back around to the cruiser's driver side, popping open the door. "I have a delivery to make," he replied, slapping his bag. "Neither rain nor sleet nor Statist goon..."

Jeff shuffled along behind him, obviously still in shock. "But...where are you going?"

Ty sat in the cruiser, plugging his phone into the dashboard and tapping the screen "You sure you really want to know, Jeff?" He looked over to the man, then sighed. "Listen...I've given you a rough day. And I'm sorry about that, I really am. But it's better if you don't know. Just wait here, and do whatever Homeland tells you. Answer their questions, tell them everything, and you'll be back with your family in no time."

"But...why?"

"Jeff, I already told y-"

"Why didn't you hurt me? You killed...a lot of them. You could make my car work. Why didn't you just kill me and take the car?"

Ty tapped the phone screen again, bringing the cruiser's engine to life. Thankfully the crash had only dealt cosmetic damage. "Hijacking you was one thing, Jeff. It was an emergency, I needed an out. But I'm not going to steal a man's wheels. That's just low." Ty tossed the phone into the passenger seat and pulled the door shut, looking Jeff in the eye. "Besides...you never did anything bad to me. That just wouldn't be fair."

The distant sound of sirens caused them both to look back up the road, and Ty hurriedly put the commandeered cruiser into drive. "That's my cue, Jeff. Remember what I told you." Before the man could reply, Ty hit the gas and sped off, leaving Homeland Security and Oregon State in his rear view mirror.

Cover Photo: "Welcome to California” by noahbloom is licensed under CC BY 2.0