Nighttime was a frequent ally when they required cover. It was a blanket for those dark nights on the run, alleviating the process of fleeing.
Sometimes it made the opponents intimidated, knowing they could easily lose their targets in the throngs of people almost entirely engulfed in the black sky. And sometimes, the thrill of the chase just intensified during those late hours.
The jet-black car raced down the endless streets, moving quickly enough to be missed in the blink of an eye. Happy gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white, swerving through the countless pedestrians.
Toby, in the passenger seat, had his head out the window, clothes rippling against the wind.
"Damn it, Happy, can't you go any faster?" he screamed, half of his face in the car, half out.
A small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I'm surprised you don't already know the answer to that."
She pressed her foot harder onto the gas pedal, immediately accelerating the vehicle's velocity.
Toby was caught off guard, his body thrown against the seat. His arm hanging out the window jumped, but he quickly managed to pull it back towards him before the item in his fingertips could fall.
Happy briefly tossed her eyes at him. "Don't drop the gun, dumbass."
"You're a much better shot than me on the move," he replied, glancing out the back.
"I'm a much better shot than you period."
He shifted his head between her and the view outside. "Are we almost out of the city? I don't like trading bullets with all these bystanders around."
She didn't look at him. "If they're in the damn way, they're in the damn way. Their loss." The car sped up.
His tone softened. "Now, Hap, we've talked about this. And I really don't think a high speed car chase is the best place to have the conversation again."
She pushed her foot even harder against the gas, ignoring him. Eyes focused ahead, she moved around a family of five making their way across the street. They blinked at the car in confusion, then panic, before she adjusted its direction. Brief relief loosened the furrow lines on her forehead.
"They're creeping up on us," Toby warned, "This car is fast, but not fast enough."
"Relax. They won't catch us. This baby can take anything."
"I hope you're right about that, Hap."
"I'm always right."
The city lights finally started to disappear behind them into swirls of yellow, melting inside the black sky. Groups of people quickly started diminishing from the sidewalks as the open stretch of road became the only thing they could see.
"I think we lost 'em," Happy said, eyes flickering between the rearview mirror and the windshield in front of her.
"Don't be too sure," Toby replied, pointing out the window, "They're always right behind us."
The car jolted forwards, Happy's foot pressing harder against the pedal. "And we always escape."
"Getting away from the city was a mistake. There's a much higher chance we'll catch them out here," Sly said smugly.
"You're going to jinx it," Paige mumbled.
"There's no such thing as a jinx," Sly replied with a shake of his head.
"Don't tell me last time we tried to catch these guys you didn't jinx it."
"They shot our engine, Paige."
"Only after you said," she put on a mock Sly voice, "We got 'em now, guys. For sure."
Sly scrunched his nose. "I don't recall saying that."
"You're like two children," Cabe intervened without turning around from the driver's seat to look at them.
"She started it!" Sylvester blurted out.
Paige threw him a glare.
"Enough," Walter declared, "We're never going to get them if your bickering is causing such a distraction."
Paige huffed. "I'm sorry."
"I'm not letting them get away again. We've had too many opportunities slip through our fingers." Cabe picked up the van's speed. "They're constantly outsmarting us."
Walter shot him a look. "Not outsmarting," he immediately corrected, "Not outsmarting. It's their luck and our missteps that have caused them to get away."
"We're gonna get them this time, though, right?" Paige questioned.
Walter nodded. "Don't worry. I have a plan."
"They're gaining on us," Toby grumbled.
"Since when are you the pessimist?"
"Since we were being followed as closely as my dad with the Kentucky Derby."
Happy raised a brow. "Mathematically, there's a pretty good chance we're gonna escape."
"And there's a pretty good chance they'll catch us."
"Stop whining. Tell me how much room I've got."
He peered out the window. "You still have about fifty feet, give or take."
She smirked. "That's all I need." Happy exerted even more force onto the gas pedal, harder than she'd been doing, accelerating the car. Toby gripped hold of the handle on wall.
"When I say go, you're gonna have to start shooting at them. We need to blow out one of their tires."
He nodded.
She waited a few seconds.
Happy's eyes narrowed on the road in thought, her lips moving slightly with some of her internal thoughts nearly becoming external.
Jerking the steering wheel in a 360 rotation, she skidded the car in a sharp motion towards the right. Then she paused, just enough time for the vehicle behind them to stop where they were. When she estimated they'd come to a complete halt, she commanded, "Now!"
Within a split second, he poked his head out the window, along with his hands containing the gun. He aimed the barrel, rapidly pulling the trigger.
Bullets promptly followed from their direction. Toby screamed at Happy to duck before they started to rain down on the his doorside.
He didn't hit their tires.
Happy slipped into the space underneath the steering wheel. Toby, being bigger, didn't have as much room as she did, but repeated her action.
She glanced at him, and the gun still rested in his hands. "You gotta get the shot off!"
His expression was incredulous. "What if they shoot me first?"
"Don't let them!"
The whole reason they'd pulled over was to pop out one of their tires, to try and get an advantage. Not to let the good guys gain one.
Shots continued to connect with the door.
She glimpsed at the bagged jewels they'd stolen earlier that night, resting in the backmost seats of the car. If something happened to them, Toby's extensive research, all his work to line up a buyer, her careful and strategic act of stealing them, would all be wasted.
Luckily, though, for them, the objects were unscatched.
"In a few more seconds, we're gonna look like Swiss cheese!" Toby cried.
Happy huffed. "Damn it, Toby!"
She made a decision real quick.
Reaching her upper body over the dashboard, she tried to remain as low as possible. She yanked the gun from his hands. Her head pressed against the inside of the door just below the open window. But, with an exhale, she jerked it up. Happy quickly aimed her hand, getting several shots off. She didn't bother to check where they went before she jumped back into the driver's seat. They were sloppy and imprecise, merely serving as a distraction, not an impediment. There wasn't enough time for accuracy.
Putting her grip back onto the wheel, she rammed her foot onto the top of the gas pedal.
The car bolted backwards, shrieking against the slick street.
Because of the limited time, Happy was forced to leave the window wide open as she turned the vehicle into a forward position.
"What the hell are you doing?" Toby yelped, hands covering the top of his head.
"Getting us out of here!"
While Happy was driving as quickly as the engine would allow, something grazed against her wrist.
"Fuck!"
"What the hell, Cabe?" Walter slammed his palm onto the dashboard. "You said you had them!"
Cabe dropped his gun into his lap, regaining control of the steering wheel. "You can yell at me later," he replied, "I've gotta stay on their tail."
Paige's sarcasm was thick. "Oh, really? Because from here it seems like you've got the grandkids in the backseat and you're afraid of going over a speed bump too fast."
Sly pointed a finger at her. "Uncalled for." Then he frowned. "But, you could pick up the pace, Cabe."
"One of you wanna get behind the wheel?" Cabe barked.
Paige and Sylvester blinked. Walter continued to brood.
"Thought so," he mumbled.
Paige went for a subject change. "Walter, what was the first step in your plan?"
The leader scowled. "Doesn't matter. We needed Cabe to take out one of their mirrors."
Cabe scorned his comment. "Well, we could go back to you doing the shooting, Walt, but you were just wasting bullets."
"Cabe, you can't keep shooting and driving. As Walt would say, it's inefficient." Paige shook her head, followed by a lip bite. "Give me the gun. I'll do it."
Walter looked up from the tablet in his hands.
"You're gonna what now?" Sly asked.
"Just because I rarely shoot a gun doesn't mean I don't know how." Paige stuck out her hand. "I've got this."
Sylvester blinked at his two teammates. "That's new."
"Shut up," Paige replied, adjusting her position atop Walter's lap. Sitting the same way he was, she pushed her hand against his thigh to move properly. Once it was secure enough, she stretched both her arm and her head out the now open window.
Since the back of the van was filled with a flat floor, swivel chairs, and their varying technology, not much room was left for windows. That only left the option of Paige using Walter's.
"I'm sure this isn't the most efficient way to execute my plan," Walter grumbled.
Paige looked ready to hit him. "Zip it so I can concentrate, O'Brien."
With precision, she lined up the barrel to her eye. Though it was difficult to do in the speedily moving car, she managed.
Walter was pressed between his seat and her back. When speaking, he shifted his head behind him. "Paige, to take correctly take the mirrors off, you'll need to hit them with a force of-Sly check my numbers here-"
Paige pulled the trigger. "I don't need numbers."
Toby whipped his head towards her. "Did they just take off our mirror?!"
Happy barely let it steal her attention. "That might've been a lucky shot. Or they might be trying to make a move. Either way, it doesn't matter." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you ready?"
Finishing reloading the gun, he nodded. "I'm ready. We're almost home free."
"Nice shot, Paige." Sly grinned.
"Thanks." She brushed the hair out of her face. "What's next in the plan, Walt?"
Cabe narrowed his eyes. "I don't think we'll have time for that."
Walter's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"They're stopping."
"Hey...Hap...if this doesn't work-"
"It'll work-"
"Well...in case it doesn't...I love you."
Happy opened her mouth. But then closed it again. "Yeah. I love you, too."
With the sole mirror attached outside the car, the pair saw the vehicle behind them come to a stop.
"How's your wrist?"
"Don't worry. It's fine."
Toby had a fading smile, nodding, although they both knew after this was done she'd have some pain. "Alright. Let's do this."
Happy stuffed one of the extra guns underneath her shirt, the handle stuck out just enough so she could access it with ease. "Try not to get shot."
Toby snatched all the jewels, hiding them amongst his various pants and jacket pockets.
Unbuckling themselves, they slipped out their respective sides of the car. Once their feet touched the ground, they proceeded to step in the opposite direction.
The pair went past the end of the car.
The oldest male had already gotten out of their van, a gun pointed at them.
"Don't shoot," Toby called. He and Happy both raised their hands to display their empty palms, facing away from them. "We surrender."
The agent kept his weapon aimed towards them. "After all this time? You give up, just like that, huh?"
Another man joined his colleague standing in front of their vehicle's hood. "Finally realize your attempts to outsmart us were futile?"
Toby swallowed. Being outsmarted was something he usually did, not something usually done to him. And besides, he and Happy were about to do the outsmarting.
"You've been on our tail all night," Happy answered for him, "We figured it wasn't worth it."
"Good choice," the older agent replied. He moved closer. "Now I'm gonna need you to drop your weapons and slide them over to me. We can make this nice and easy."
Toby did as was directed, kicking his gun's handle in the opposite direction.
"What about you?" He nodded at Happy.
She raised her shoulders. "Can't drive and shoot. Don't have one."
He visibly tightened his grip on the handle. "I'm not so sure I believe you."
Happy shared a quick, barely noticeable look with Toby. Then she turned her attention back to the agent.
Nobody even got the chance to blink before she made her move.
Happy whipped the gun out of its obscured place underneath her shirt. Her shot was perfect, hitting the older agent directly in the shoulder. Then, as the curly haired one screamed his name and jumped to his side, she lodged a bullet in each of their van's front tires.
Toby, holding the jewels in place, snatched his gun off the ground.
"Let's go!" Happy commanded.
They both sprinted back to their car, hastily reentering through their doors.
Happy jammed the keys into their place, immediately slamming her foot against the gas pedal. She started to move before Toby was even fully seated.
The tires screeched, Happy forcing as much speed as she could onto them.
Toby managed a laugh as the distance increased, pulling the jewels out from his pockets. "Hap," he said, "we're getting away."
She smirked. "We always do."