The roads were packed with carrs coming off the highway and into the city of Appleridge, as Lero watched the outdoors with much interest. The last few days traveling across the region exposed him to much of the culture that the former nation of Saputa had, despite the control and changes Youden had established. It was quite the experience and was a pleasure to enjoy. And that wasn't even the greatest concern for him, as he was technically still wanted by the prison system. However, with the actions Jamal was taking, it made him less of a priority, thankfully.
"So, did you ever figure out where you wanted me to drop you off?" the cab driver looked in the rearview mirror.
"Oh, not bloody yet. I'm sure there's a motel around here."
Nodding, the driver continued down the off-ramp and followed the main street that led deeper into the city. The two-lane road was full of carrs and other vehicles, as the businesses on its side welcomed those who wanted service. Lero could tell why the city was named Appleridge, which much of the place playing alongside the name while selling similar goods. As peaceful as the environment was, a major obstacle was quickly approaching them.
A set-up checkpoint was slowing traffic down, as a long military convoy was moving west on their road. Lero could see the armed column filled with carrs designated for large amounts of people, as well as trucks carrying tarrs and heavy equipment with them. It appeared that while he made his way closer to the conflict zone, the locations and higher-valued targets near the activity were becoming more essential to protect.
"Ah, you hear about the rebels? The government's been claiming it's some terrorist activity, but the news has well been out now about the reality. Some stupid people, am I right?" the driver turned towards Lero.
"Oh yeah, idiotic, if you ask me." the other man lied through his teeth.
"Now we got some security check going on as well, can't get any worse," the driver already had his window down, before a Reserve Guard member strapped with a rifle approached his side, "How's it going today, sir?"
"We need to see both of your identification before we can let you guys come through." the armed member replied back sternly.
"Oh, no problems then." the cab driver was welcoming, "And I can give him yours, okay?"
Turning his head back, the cab driver looked to see his backseat empty and his trunk quickly closed. Making brief eye contact with Lero strapped with his belongings, the former rebel gave the driver a quick nod before dashing off towards a nearby alley.
"Hey, he's getting away!" the soldier by the window pointed at, with several more members chasing the man down, "You stay right here."
The cab driver was literally shocked at the events that happened within a few moments, as the Reserve Guard member followed in pursuit. To take his place, a few others took his former position, making sure the driver could not escape from their vicinity without being in direct sight. This was going just great.
.....
Panting for air, Lero had already crossed through several side streets, the soldiers on his tail not letting go of sight. If he wasn't so use to running away, he definitely would have been captured by now and out of energy. The honking of carrs being blocked from reaching their destinations only alerted the forces that the chase was still moving in the right direction.
"Sir, if you do not stop, we will shoot you down!" the soldier closest to him enforced, "Do not resist!"
"Bloody course, you'll say that!" Lero sidestepped onto the property of some apartments and began moving up the stairs.
Once he passed the final steps and arrived at the building's rooftop, a quick look showed that he would need to take short jumps over about a dozen more rooftops until there were no more for him to escape from. Taking a deep breath, Lero began pacing himself towards the edge, before pushing off. The concrete ground several dozen meters below him would definitely result in certain death or severe injury, as he landed somewhat clumsily onto the next roof. More shouting could finally be heard behind him, however, which kept the man focused and invigorated with more adrenaline to continue.
Speeding through it now, Lero was halfway through the course, when the soldiers unable to jump across with ease due to their equipment weight, began unloading their magazines in his direction. The bullets whizzed past his head and body, and Lero could see the end of rooftops were several more jumps away. Approaching the second to last one, his foot barely lifted him off the ground until a searing pain sliced through the side of his abs.
Losing focus of the final objective, the man took a quick look at the blood escaping from his body, before he slipped through the space between the two sides. Unable to hold his bag properly any longer, Lero was running out of options to survive this fall, before he crashed hard into a balcony of one of the homes.
"Oh, damn, this hurts." Lero sputtered out, as everything was becoming dark.
"Dad, look outside!" a younger voice broke his thoughts, although he could barely see.
Taking one last look of his location, the man could barely turn his head towards the sound, as the soldiers shouting was closing in on his position. His escape from the complex was going to all be for nothing, and everything he and Keru had done was meaningless. Jamal wasn't going to save him. The resistance wasn't coming back for him. Youden's men weren't going to spare such lowlife or any threats to the regime. He completely deserved everything that happened to him. Lero truly failed and was going to pay for it all.
"Oh wow!" was the final voice Lero managed to make out, before he was quick to fade into darkness, and to who knew what.