An intense blast followed as the bullet hit the gas tank, sending the car into the air. It flipped, landing upside down, its body parts badly damaged.
Luckily enough, the gas tank explosion only damaged the underside of the car and left the interior mostly intact.
As soon as the car crashed against the floor, instantly, its windows rolled up and the doors locked automatically. The yellow hazard lights turned red, signaling danger, followed by an ominous warning.
"Car destruction activation in two minutes"
"Good luck saving yourself and your family Enzox," Maybel sneered watching the car from a distance. Then, activating the speed on the shoes, she vanished.
Inside the car, the family of three was dazed but alive, with minor injuries. Despite the huge damage done to the car on its outer part, the interior was still amazingly held together. The wounds on the member of the family were sustained from slamming against the windows.
Not long, Enzox eyes flicked open. And his first instinct was to check on his wife. Susan was conscious but was bleeding from a head wound like Enzox. Her eyes fluttered, struggling to stay open.
"Hey" he said, gently tapping her on the cheek. Her eyes flickered open, locking onto his.
"Are you okay?" he asked, cupping her face.
"I'm fine" she whispered, though her voice was weak.
Enzox exhaled in relief, then he immediately turned his attention to the back where Kaiza, their son, sat back unconscious. Without wasting time, he climbed to the back seat.
Enzox grabbed a knife and started to cut the car seat open. After cutting through the fabric and into the metal frame. He retrieved the hidden briefcase. He couldn't operate on the system again, that would hasten the car's destruction since the system box was destroyed.
"Kaiza, have this" He whispered, handing over the briefcase to his son "Guide it with your life" His voice was cold, authoritative - nothing like the tone of a father speaking to his child. It was more like a commander issuing out orders.
"Dad, how do we get out? The countdown is. . ." Kaiza said as his gaze shifted to the countdown on the panel.
"Car destruction in one minute" the system blared.
Enzox didn't flinch, and there was no glitch of fear on his face unlike before. Now he was determined to save his family. What he had avoided had finally happened; his family was in danger. Their lives depended on the decision he would take.
With precision, he loaded his gun and fired five shots at the car window. Then using his boots, he kicked at the cracked glass until there was a hold large enough for Kaiza to fit through.
Then he turned to Kaiza.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Kaiza asked, panic rising in his voice as he saw the desperation on his father's face.
"Get out now" Enzox ordered, his voice thickened laced with determination.
Kaiza remained silent and motionless, his eyes shifting from his father to his subconscious mother.
"I am not leaving." a brief pause "I am not leaving without you and mom!"
As these happened, the car blared again
"Car destruction will be activated in thirty seconds"
Just as Enzox heard this, he lost his patience. Grabbed Kaiza by the collar staring intensely into his eye then asked a question "Do you want to die?"
Kaiza's determination faded just in a blink and the thought of death scared him.
The looks in his father's eyes broke Kaiza's resolve. Without another word, Enzox shoved his son out through the opening. Then tossed the briefcase and a school bag after him, and also handed him a wristwatch.
"Follow this map. It will guide you to your uncle. He's waiting for you"
"What about you and mom?"
"We don't have time. Listen to me, Kaiza, Stay with Will Liam. He'll take care of you. Now go!"
"But dad...!"
"Leave now!"
"Car destruction activation in ten seconds"
Tears blurred Kaizas vision as he backed away, still clutching the bags. He looked over his shoulder one last time just. Then watched as his father pulled Susan into his embrace.
Then came the final warning:
"Car destruction activated"
A deafening blast...
* * * *
Maybel had just arrived back atop the bridge, approaching the car where the assassin was waiting for return. As she walked towards the man, she dialed a number.
"Maybel!" a male voice answered, calling out her name from the other end.
"Boss, I have the briefcase with me" Maybel said, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"You don't have it," the man replied, his tone sharp with disgust.
"I do! It's right here with me" she insisted.
"My tracker says otherwise. You've got the wrong case"
"That can't be true," she whispered, taking a moment to reason.
"Confirm it!" the man said.
Snapped out of her thoughts, she placed the briefcase on the car's hood and attempted to open it.
"Boss, the code"
"2552 2525"
She input the code. The case opened and what happened next wasn't expected.
What appeared was nothing like the weapon she had expected. Instead, a screen lit up with a cartoon stage, followed after a message.
"Welcome to Enzox Tech production. The release of the new Tom and Jerry series"
"What?" Maybel and the assassin blurred in unison.
"I told you, it's the wrong briefcase" the voice on the phone said, his laughter lacing with menace.
Frustrated and curiosity driven, Maybel hit the play, hoping this was some trick. But instead of a video an error message flashed:
"Sorry, there is a tech error"
After this the screen began to shut close. Before it could fully shut off, one last message blinked across it:
"wish you a good life"
Then the briefcase exploded.
The bag was a bomb case designed as a replica for the weapon case, in case this eventually happened.
For a while now, Enzox had been keeping track of what was happening at work and had noticed a lot of strange things.
After overhearing his boss's conversation with an unknown person about the ball. He then began to plan ahead to get rid of the ball but it couldn't be done so easily without being noticed. Instead he created this fake case just in case this eventually happened.
"Enzox! You're dead" The man snarled over the phone. "Get the real briefcase," he added, speaking to someone else.
. . .
Ten minutes after the explosion that killed his parents, Kaiza woke up. The force of the blast had thrown him away, saving his life.
His heart sank seeing the car remnant still burning with an extremely high fire. There was no way his parents could have survived even if his father tried.
Tears streamed down his face as he crawled closer, desperate to mourn and grieve his parents' departure.
But after a short while, the distant sound of engines and flashlights pulled him from his grief. He remembered the men who had been with Maybel.
Then, Kaiza grabbed his bags and ran in the opposite direction, darting into the woods. He stopped hiding himself behind a tree and watched the men arrive.
He watched as one of them extinguished the flames and began to search all over the place.
"Nothing is here" the man who had checked the car said after a while.
"There is nothing here, M. Boss," one of the four men said. The one who addressed Maybel earlier.
"The tracker says it's nearby" a man's voice came from over the phone. He is M. Boss
Kaiza watched as this happened and all of a sudden, his gaze shifted to one of the men staring towards where he was. He held his breath as he shrank further behind the tree, but his cover was blown.
The man climbed down his bike, walking towards the man making a call. Then whispered pointing towards the tree.
"Yes M. Boss" He ended the call.
The next few minutes after scanning the area for a while. He raised his gun and fired three shots at the tree, causing Kaiza to drop his bag.
The men paused, watching him. Kaiza hesitated and seized the moment, grabbing his bag and sprinting deeper into the forest.
"After him" the man barked, revving his bike.