Chapter 51

The streets were completely deserted and covered in snow. No other vehicles were foolhardy enough to be out in the raging snowstorm. Not that most of them would have gotten very far anyway. Rokee, however, plowed through the snow with ease. The Hemi rumbled pleasantly and the MATTRACKS glided over the snow, packing a path for the trailing F-350.

"I have got to get me one of these!" Finn exclaimed. Using the joystick, he swiveled the gun and practiced targeting cars buried under snow. He slew the twin SAWs around to the front and watched the SRT-8 plow through a particularly tall drift. The Jeep didn't hesitate or bog down. The sound of the MATTRACKS crunching the snow and the burble from the exhaust was exhilarating. They nearly forgot about the mission as Liv purposely aimed for some of the larger piles of snow.

"Mario calling The Princess. Please respond, Princess. Over." Derrick's voice called over the radio.

Liv snickered as Finn stared at the little piece of plastic in his hand. "You told him about my tattoo?"

"We got to talking and one thing led to another-." Liv couldn't stop laughing.

Finn pressed down on the walkie talkie. "You better hope we don't survive this, cause if we do, I'm gonna kick your ass. How come we can't be Bowser or Luigi?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, I do not recognize. Please keep this channel secure. This is Mario calling for The Princess. Please respond, Princess." Derrick could hardly contain the laughter in his voice. Finn checked that the safety was on, then swiveled the SAWS around and zoomed in on his brother's face. Derrick noticed the guns pointing at him and flipped the camera off with his right hand. Finn laughed and swung the guns forward.

Liv swiped the radio from Finn. "This is The Princess, over."

"Ah, thank you, Princess. We copy. Please be advised that we are prepared to take out the guard shack as soon as you take down the gate. Then we'll try and hack into the security system from there. Good luck."

"Roger. Two pretty Princesses out." Liv signed off. They were getting close. The glow from the compound lit the falling snow. They could just barely make out the imposing, iron gates. Liv shifted into second gear and set her jaw in determination.

Liv took a deep breath to help fight the fear that was gripping her body. As she let out the breath, she realized that her arms and wrists hurt from holding the steering wheel so tightly. "This is either gonna be real fun or real bad." Liv relaxed her grip, killed the headlights and switching to the infrared setting on the main camera.

Finn thought back on his Marine training as he mentally prepared himself. His combat reflexes started kicking in, and he could feel his body and mind focus. He switched off the gun safeties, and felt a surge of adrenaline course through his veins. This is what he had been trained to do; fight, kill and win. He flipped on the infrared spotlights while Liv gunned the engine and raced toward the formidable gate. The exhaust roared and the turbochargers whined, as the powerful engine accelerated the SRT-8 through a large snowdrift.

The guard, huddled near his small heater, never saw the blur of steel fly past him. With a tortured shriek, the main gate deformed and broke free from its hinges. The stunned guard was about to pick up the phone and call the main building when a lifted pickup truck pulled up to the window. A man wearing a cowboy hat and holding an assault rifle instructed him to put his hands up. Instead, the guard dropped to the ground behind a metal desk. He was raising his revolver toward the window when the shack door was kicked down by another man in a cowboy hat. The guard set the gun down and raised his hands in the air.