The plan worked. Few reasons it should’t have, it was simple enough, but fuck improvizing like that. With the help of an offered hand, she made it into the car and nothing held them back from leaving the local welcoming committee in the dust. Of course if anyone with a rifle in that crowd wanted them dead, the car would do them no good. It was like a child feeling safer in the bed than standing in the middle of the room. It was certainly better than getting trampled by a mob or having your face smashed with a brick because someone wanted your jacket. But once they rounded the first corner, they seemed to be in the clear. So much so she stretched her legs as much as the truck bed would allow, shoved the backpack under her head and tried to get at least some rest now that they were - however briefly - in control of their own fates.

Until Sean’s warning cry jolted her out of her stupor, the Russian rolling over to her side with the rifle pointing out of the car as if on autopilot. Given the speed at which they’d pass the checkpoint, she moved the fire selector to the middle position and sent a single long burst perpendicular to the car’s direction of travel, rolling back to her back once they passed and moving the selector all the way down where it belonged, ready to trade fire with any of the outpost defenders that would try their luck as they sped away. They didn’t seem to be in fighting mood, leaving her to try and rub away the ringing in her ear from a near miss.

“Put it in first gear so they can’t push or tow it and put the keys into a pocket we can easily reach if you get shot. Good luck to any would be thief moving this out of the alley without them.” Yekateina said as she bent down in front of the truck, taking thirty seconds to observe the underside, “Doesn’t look like anything’s leaking, I was a bit worried about the radiator.” She changed magazines, making sure there was still a round in the chamber. 31 to work with and back to shooting in a way that allowed her to keep track. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends…” the Russian muttered as she stacked up behind Hayden, “Let’s do this place a favor.”