The Art of Stealing Cars by Kara Tezla
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the Acceleracers Characters. although I wish I did And I do not own Trinity Wheeler and Co., those belong to Wings of Speed.
Summary: The Teku and the Metal Maniacs go to LA to race, but what happens when their cars start disappearing?
Author's Note: Hey peeps! I got my old reviewers back! Yeeeeah! Longer chapter!
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Drone Walks Into a Bar...
Vert glanced around the room; both Andrew and Damian were curled up on the floor a couple feet away, their chests moving up and down as they slowly drew each breath. Kara sat slumped awkwardly in the chair just in front of him; a divider between his cousin and himself. He finally decided on an action.
"Look," he admitted, rising to his feet, "I don't know what's going on here, but--"
"Vert! Take Kara... get out!" Serena grunted, trying her hardest to keep Remee against the wall. "You have got to get out of here!"
Shocked, Vert moved toward the motionless brunette in the chair. This was the first time in a long time that he had seen her actually concerned for him. Hoisting Kara over his shoulder, he realized a major problem. "Serena, the door,"
Finding a weakness, Remee shoved Serena back, causing her to fly across the room.
"Don't move, Vert," Remee said, her voice returning to its normal state. "She's trying to trick you."
Serena moaned as she fell against the opposite wall. Vert's eyes flicked from his cousin to the darker-skinned girl; something definitely wasn't right here. He felt Kara's breathing pattern change; she was waking up.
"What's going on?" she whispered hoarsely, loud enough for only Vert to hear.
"Serena, are you okay? What's wrong with Remee?" Vert said, hoping Kara would catch his drift. Remee, on the other hand, looked offended.
"Vert, there's nothing wrong with me." Remee said, smiling gently and taking a step toward him.
"Go, Vert," Serena moaned as the door opened with the hiss of compressed air.
Vert took a step back. If it was up to him, he would have already been gone.
VVVVVVVVVV
"Ouch!" Mark cursed as his head hit the top of the air vent for the hundredth time. "Do you even know where we're going, Trinity?"
"Don't insult me," Trinity countered. "I know exactly where I'm going."
"Bull," Tyce half-shouted around Mark. "I don't believe you. The only way you could know your way around here is if you've done it a million times."
Kurt, who was behind Tyce, shot a worried look back to Nolo. Nolo shrugged, but he knew what Kurt was getting at, and it worried him a little, too.
"How's your nose, Kurt?" Courtney asked from behind Nolo.
"It's not bleeding anymore," Kurt replied, unconsciously touching the tip of his nose. "But it still hurts,"
"Where are we going anyway?" Mark asked, totally ignoring Kurt.
"Well," Trinity started, "We need to find where they're holding Vert and Kara, so I guess we're going to the empty rooms toward the east end."
"Empty rooms? East end?" Mark asked.
Trinity suddenly realized she'd said too much.
"Trinity," Tyce said warily.
"I..."
"You... you're leading us into a trap, aren't you!" Mark exclaimed.
Trinity tried to shush him, "Mark! Shut up! They'll hear you!"
"Yeah, and that's exactly what you want, right? I bet you were in on this whole thing!"
"No! No, I am not! I don't work for the Silencerz!"
There was silence. "We never said anything about the Silencerz, Trinity." Mark whispered, his eyes narrowing.
"I say we take her hostage," Tyce sneered.
Mark turned with a look of disbelief to his friend. "Thanks for ruining the perfect action-movie moment, pal! She's already got us where she wants us!"
"No, I don't," Trinity interrupted.
"Then--" Mark turned back to her suddenly, hitting his head on the top of the vent again. It was too much for the vent to handle. There was a loud creak, and then the middle of the metal tunnel gave. Tyce and Kurt were the first ones to fall out of the vent before the whole thing tilted, and the other four tumbled out into the blinding-white hallway. Unfortunately, they were smashed at the bottom of the pile.
There was a long moment of moaning and untangling before they became organized again. The hallway seemed to stretch on for a lifetime, and it was empty, with the exception of the open door less than a hundred yards away.
VVVVVVVVVV
A loud clamor in the hallway distracted Remee enough for Vert to believe that he could get out. Remee had looked over her right shoulder, so he went left. Unfortunately, Remee realized what was happening and managed to grab Vert's jacket with a vice-like grip as he ran by. He fell forward, and Kara flew off his shoulder, tumbling once before landing on all fours. She looked back at Vert, who had been pulled up by Remee and was now dangling from the front of his shirt.
"Run!" Vert commanded. "I don't know what she wants, but run, Kara!"
Kara was torn as she pushed herself to her feet, woozy from being held upside-down. If she ran, Vert might get hurt. If she stayed, she might be able to save both of them, but there was an equally threatening chance that they might both get killed. A whole bunch of thoughts rushed through her head at once, but none stood out as much as the memories.
"Kara?" someone yelled from behind her.
"Vert!" another voice screamed.
It was Mark, and he had brought Trinity. Without another thought, Kara executed a perfect running tackle. Her brother would have been proud, but the worst part of it was that now she was in the reach of the girl she feared most. Kara suddenly felt stupid. Vert had been dropped, but she was now in more danger than ever before.
Remee cackled, "You will give me the Equilateral Disk, Kara Tezla."
"Or what?" Kara spat back, scrambling out of Remee's reach for the moment, placing her back against the wall and trying to prolong the inevitable.
"Or this," Trinity seemed to come out of nowhere and smashed Remee's temple with what looked like a metal bar. It was a perfect swing and Remee was knocked to the ground. Trinity straddled the drone and proceeded to shove the end of the pole right between her eyes. There was a mechanical scream, then several crackling noises as the electricity discharged up the bar and disappeared. The blonde helped Kara up.
"They w-w-w-will find you, K-K-Kara T-T-Tezla... long live Ka-a-a..." Remee said, her voice broken up by mechanical twitches, finally dying with a low whine. A final look of horror stuck on her face.
"Come on, it's time to go back now, Kar," Trinity gently guided the brunette back toward the door. Vert was already there, an unconscious Andrew on his back. Damian was slumped over Kurt's shoulder.
"What about Serena?" Kara asked.
"The Silencerz will find her and take care of her, don't worry." Vert replied. "Now how do you get out of this place?"
Trinity took the lead and the rest followed silently as they made it back to the door they came in. Mark was still skeptical, but he had just watched as Trinity saved his boss. He wasn't about to start questioning her now.
They made it back to the woods without any other incidents, with the exception of Tyce getting hit in the face by a stray branch. Andrew and Damian woke up while they were making their way through the woods to the mansion, and started singing "The Wicked Witch is Dead" from the Wizard of Oz, celebrating the defeat of a drone.
Now they just had to face the Doctor himself.
Yup, only one more chapter! Gosh, this is almost over! Maybe I'll have some kind of sequel. Well, that'll be after I finish writing all my other stories. teeheehee!
Trin: Hey, ya! When are you going to update your story! Don't you have an account at the Accelepedia? I'll have to check on that... How's the move goin'? Trinity to the rescue!
Kawaii: You make me laugh. Seriously.
Sabrielle: Oh, I'm sorry! I'm glad you didn't see it coming, but... okay, fine. If I do a sequel, I might have an appearance by Remee just for you! But please don't cry...