“And if we don’t find them?”
She grinned at Chad in the rearview mirror. “That’s not an option.”
* * *
Dave peered through the windshield, catching glimpses of cars over Chad’s shoulder. The snow had stopped, but the glass was far from clean, and the taillights blurred the view. Still, he waited, anxious to see a black jeep in front of them.
“It’s been twenty minutes,” Chad said, frowning. “I don’t think we’re gonna catch up to them.”
“Keep driving,” Pain replied. “I’ll try calling Rooney again.”
“Fine,” Chad grumbled, cutting off another van, whose driver wasn’t fast enough.
Dave watched Pain raise the phone to her ear, a frown on her face. Jane was sitting next to her sister, her foot tapping a nervous rhythm on the floor, and Marco was gazing off into space next to Dave, his mind someplace else.
Pain’s face lit up when, finally, someone answered her call. “Oh good, you’re not ignoring me anymore,” she said into the phone. Her expression soured again as she listened to a long—and probably, angry—response, then nodded. “We’ll be there in a sec. Are you getting any closer? That’s okay, we got this for now. Text me if they turn off the Interstate.” She lowered the phone, turning to Chad. “Can this tin can go any faster? There’s been an accident a few miles ahead, so they’re stuck for now.”
“I’m doing what I can, but this thing wasn’t made for racing, you know,” Chad yelled over the noise of traffic.
“Skull and the others are stuck somewhere, too,” she said, looking at Jane. “Rob’s keeping an eye on them for now.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes, until Chad said, “I think I can see them.” He slowed down, nearing the accident site and flashing ambulance lights.
Dave gripped the back of Chad’s seat, peering through the windshield. The road curved slightly to the right, and there, just by the mangled Volkswagen, two black jeeps crept forward. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he could see two more a few cars ahead.
“It’s them,” he muttered, and moved aside when Pain put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s definitely them.”
She hummed as she squinted at the road. “Well, hello there.” Returning to her seat, she unlocked the phone. As she typed a quick text, she looked up at Dave.
“You seem hopeful,” he said. “You think we actually got a chance at this? They got away before, you know, jeeps and all.”
“Yes, but that was in Brooklyn, and they obviously knew they were being followed. Now they’re out in the open, and I doubt they expect to see us here. Plus, we got this crappy van that doesn’t exactly scream headquarters.”
Jane nodded in support of her sister’s words.
“You think Victoria’s in there?” Dave asked, pointing his chin at the jeeps.
“Could be. Doesn’t matter, we’re not intercepting or anything. What we really need is to find their lab.”
“Right.”
“You’re gonna stay in the van, you know that, right?” Pain said, holding his gaze.
“I know. I’m not an idiot. One trip to the lab was enough.”
She gave a quiet sigh, apparently satisfied, and turned her gaze back to the road.
At last, they picked up speed again, and Pain returned to the front to look at the Commandos. “Keep your distance. If they see us now, we’re done.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Chad muttered. “Quit hovering.”
Her mouth opened, but before any words could come out, Chad raised his voice, “Does anyone know this area? They’re getting off the highway, look.”
“Just follow them, even if they spot us,” Pain said. She turned to Jane and Marco. “Get ready, and grab Ryan’s swords down there. Ryan, you’re with us,” she called to the front seat, and Ryan nodded.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up as she looked through the windshield again. “Rob, what’s up? Yes, in the van… I don’t know, it’s hard to tell, with the fog and everything. I can only see two of them.”
Dave peered at the road as she fell silent, still on the line. They’d passed a bumpy, snaking road and entered some narrow street that didn’t have a single working streetlight. The headlights could only illuminate so much as they moved past dark garages and warehouses, the jeeps’ taillights glowing scarlet in the distance. He saw one of them turn right, and Chad floored the gas pedal.
“Splitting how?” Pain said. “Shit, okay, you follow those two, we got this.” She hung up, saying, “Chad, you got your earpiece? I’m calling you now. Stay on the line, I’ll tell you where to go so we can corner them. Keep going down this street for now. They’ve split up, two of them going back to the highway—Rob’s gonna deal with that—and two are trying to shake us off. Skull’s on his way, so we just gotta keep an eye on them for a few more minutes.”
Dave watched her put on her earpiece, pull up the mask, and strap on the katana. Jane followed her example, and Marco grabbed Ryan’s two swords and opened the sliding door. The van slowed down at an intersection, and Chad glanced at Pain over his shoulder.
“I got this. Be careful out there,” he said.
“You too.” She took off into the sky, the van jolting.
Jane glanced at Dave before following her sister, her face troubled, and Marco was the last to go, nearly taking the door with him. Dave slammed it shut, and when he turned back, Ryan was already gone. A ghost, indeed.
“Okay, captain,” Chad said into the earpiece. “I’m all ears.”
Chapter 24
They flew
