“I've never hurt anyone.”
“You gave us strep throat,” I said. “And you rigged a football game to smoke out the stadium. That was reckless. Dangerous.” I turned, facing a wall of baby food but unable to stop myself rattling off to him. “You told me once the guys were dangerous. Yet you've done far more stupid things that could have killed someone.”
“You don't know what they're doing to you,” he said.
“I'm not listening to someone who would go that far to prove some point you haven't made yet. What is it? You want to smoke them out? They've never hidden their faces. They've always been in plain sight. You're the one hiding. Because you know what you're doing is wrong.”
Silence on the other end. I wasn't totally being honest about the guys. There were times when they were doing dangerous things, and I didn't always know the end result, but it never involved harming other people. All the danger was on them, not others. Despite the couple of times that it seemed like Volto thought he was protecting me, and perhaps he was, it didn't excuse all the other things he did.
I'd once questioned the Academy and its purpose, but when I compared Volto to what the Academy did, the difference was very clear.
Eventually, Volto's voice returned. “I want to talk to you. In person.”
“I think you've done enough,” I said. “Return the Jeep.”
“I'll bring it back when you talk to me.”
I considered it for a moment, but Volto had a way of leading me down trails that ended up putting me or the others in more danger. I didn't want to do this now.
So instead of answering, I hung up, folding the flip. I kept it in my palm, looking at it.
When my heart had slowed a little, I opened it again, hoping that the act put me back in touch with the girl.
I put the phone to my ear and listened.
It was silent at first, but the mechanical voice came back.
“I'm coming to get you,” he said.
I hung up again, my heart in my throat. I couldn't reach out to the Academy. He'd cut off the one connection I had. If someone was coming to get me, Volto could interfere once they arrived.
What now?
How to Shake a Tail
Nathan
Nathan continued to follow North's Jeep through neighborhoods. He sent word once about making a circle through a neighborhood but still being on Volto's tail to Mr. Blackbourne, but he didn't get word back.
If he didn't respond, it was more than likely because something else was going on and he didn't want Nathan to alter his course.
With no other indication he should do otherwise, he remained not far behind the Jeep. He adjusted how he was sitting, the leather of the seat squeaking as his pants slid against the material. The air was a little cold, but it kept him aware and focused.
After a while of following, the clouds above finally broke. Rain came down in a drizzle, and eventually Nathan had to start the windshield wipers.
“Come on,” he said. “Park it somewhere. Do something.”
As if Volto had heard him, the car suddenly picked up speed, turning at the end of a cul-de-sac and heading out of the neighborhood. He took the main road, opposite the school.
It was a long lane with lights above them for about a half mile. The lights stopped, casting both vehicles into the dark, but then looked like they started again a few hundred feet later. There was a median running down the center and the oncoming lane was empty. As far as Nathan could tell, if anything, there were more neighborhoods and eventually they'd hit a main road in an area that had shops and car dealerships.
“What are you doing?” he asked to his windshield and the back tire of North's Jeep. “Wherever you're going, I can follow.”
He imagined the others might intercept. Nathan was hoping this ended cleanly. Maybe Volto was looking for a place to ditch the Jeep after he threw his smoke bomb at Dr. Green and the others. Nathan considered letting Volto think he lost him if they got into traffic. Maybe someone could take over pursuit, someone in a car unconnected to them so Volto felt safe enough to ditch it.
The Jeep suddenly picked up speed. Nathan thought to let him get a distance ahead, but he decided to wait on that until he could get someone to take over. Since Volto knew Nathan was following now anyway, he may as well stay in view.
The Jeep took turns in the street at a couple dozen miles above the limit. The vehicle leaned to one side, and then the other as he made the turns too fast.
Nathan kept as close as he dared.
When he thought they were almost at the main intersecting road, the Jeep made a sharp left. There was a gap in the median that gave access to an unmarked road.
Volto took that road, following a slope down.
Nathan made the turn, sitting up, ready. Volto wanted to have it out here? He was fine with it. He already knew he had smoke bombs, and Nathan was ready for one of those. Maybe he thought he could throw one at him and then lose him to turn around.
With Nathan following, the Jeep went down the slope and crossed a small parking lot. Then the lane continued into a dark area surrounded by trees so close that Nathan thought branches might be scraping the sides of their vehicles.
What was this place? A development that hadn't been built yet?
The Jeep bolted forward. Its lights went out. With rain splashing at the windshield, it became nearly impossible to see.
Nathan still had his lights off. He debated turning the brights on now, since they were alone.
He hesitated to turn them on, not wanting to kill Volto or hurt North's Jeep by blinding him. Wherever Volto was going, he couldn't turn around here.
The BMW rocked hard as the lane become more uneven. Nathan leaned forward, peering into the dark, sometimes losing sight of the Jeep simply because it was black and with all the lights off, it blended in. If he stopped, he could crash into him on accident.
When it looked like the Jeep was speeding up, Nathan punched the gas pedal. He didn’t want to lose him in the dark.
The Jeep veered off to the right ahead of him, too fast and stopped.
To not hit him, Nathan turned the car a hard left, and smashed his foot on the brake.
Not fast enough.
The car careened down a narrow lane.
It splashed down into a body of water.
Shit.
Panic overwhelmed him instantly. He threw the BMW into reverse and gunned the engine.
But it was too late. The nose of the BMW was in the water and going down. There was no traction below him anymore. He’d gone full speed down a boat ramp of some sort. Within a moment, water was coming up through the car. In the angle he’d drove the car in, the water was coming up fast.
He turned the engine off quickly and dove against the door, trying to open it, but water pressure kept it shut. He rolled down the window. Dark water flooded in. He reached for his seatbelt still enclosing him in. His fingers slipped on the button to release it.
He took one last breath before water went over his head.
The Illusion of Normalcy
Sang
I found a trash can in the back near the meat displays. I dropped the cell phone into it and walked away.
It wasn't any good anymore. Volto could use it to track my location. I didn’t need him to have the advantage of tracking me now.
There was no way I'd leave here to go to him. I needed a backup plan of some sort. The woman on the phone had said to keep it on me, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the case anymore.
I pretended to shop some more as I tried to think what my options were. For a bit, I passed through aisles, examined items, checked prices and labels. I absently put a box of crackers in my basket.
And then I realized I probably didn't have any money, so I couldn't really leave the grocery store. I would have to check the backpack and hope I found some there, or set the basket somewhere and just leave.
But what if that’s what he wanted? Volto knew I was here. Was it better to stay where he knew
I was, or try to leave and hope he couldn’t follow?
He also knew how to manipulate those phones. Whoever I had connected with at the Academy, would they think I'd changed position if Volto messed with the GPS?
I nervously scratched at the plastic of the basket I was carrying, going over my options. One, stay in the store, pretend to shop. Hope that someone was on the way and that Volto wouldn't dare come while I was in front of other people like this.
Or two, leave, but I risked running into Volto or the others being unable to find me. Unless he planned on attacking me and forcing me, I wasn't going to get into a vehicle with him.
The woman had said not to leave. Since this was the last place she knew me to be, I’d stay as long as I could.
I refined my plan as I backtracked through the store. I needed to take more time here. Hopefully go unnoticed by anyone else until someone got here.