At City Docks, Joe Hunter decides the only way to survive is to attack Vincent's SUV head-on. Hunter fires through the Audi's window to distract the driver, forcing the SUV to swerve, but the storm-damaged ground ruins Hunter's maneuver and the Audi slams into the SUV's rear. Both vehicles spin out and stop disabled, but Hunter quickly checks that Sue Carter is alive, retrieves his SIG, and gets both of them out before Vincent's team can recover.

Using the wrecked Audi as cover, Hunter and Sue prepare to withdraw toward a nearby swamp and the woods beyond it. Hunter hears Vincent calling from the darkness and tries to hold the gunmen in place while Sue moves first. Vincent insists the conflict is not about Hunter and claims they only want Suzanne Bouchard, even suggesting that Hunter should stand down as ordered, but Hunter refuses and says Sue is under his protection.

As Hunter backs into the bog, Vincent fires and Hunter realizes Vincent has used the exchange to fix his position. Gunmen on both sides of the SUV open fire, one round striking Hunter's backpack, but Sue covers him from behind a fallen tree and helps him reach the woods. While they regroup, Sue argues that Arrowsake treated Jason Mercer the same way they treated her: after Sierra Leone, Mercer became expendable, and because Sue may know the truth, Arrowsake wants her dead as well.

Knowing they are outnumbered, Hunter shifts from escape to delay. He checks Sue's ammunition, gives her a second loaded pistol from his backpack, and orders her to move deeper into the woods while he discourages pursuit. With police lights appearing on the highway, Hunter hopes Vincent's team may break off rather than get trapped in a tightening cordon, but he still shadows Sue's path through hurricane-wrecked trees and debris.

For a short time the pursuit seems to fade, but deeper in the woods Hunter spots an upturned cabin cruiser and sees Sue moving toward it. Then hidden shooters open fire again from both sides, confirming Vincent's men have outflanked them through the wreckage. Hunter returns fire with impaired vision, then abandons the exposed position and runs after Sue toward the overturned boat, with bullets following them and his backpack absorbing another potentially fatal shot.