The road is endless under the desolate night sky. There is nothing beyond the blackness out of reach of the headlights.
As Aggie let out rough, jagged breaths, she tried to sneak a glance at Ford, who was huddled against the passenger seat, his arms folded into himself as he leaned against the window, staring at nothing. By this point, Fiddleford was fast asleep in the backseat, his limbs sprawled over the cloth seats, snoring deeply.
She heard a beep from navigation and swore under her breath.
"I'm going to have to switch to manual and drive this myself." Aggie muttered.
"Do whatever you want." Ford mumbled. "Crash the car for all I care. All those years of research, my life's work, up in smoke for nothing."
"You can always go back." Aggie replied, shifting gears as they drove down the mountainous roads.
"Ridley's not the type to give up so easily." Ford said darkly. "I wouldn't put it past him to bring reinforcements."
Aggie shook her head. "That's not the Rand I know. He's willing to move mountains as long as he comes out on top. This was an embarrassing defeat, even by his standards. He's going to move on to something he can more easily control."
Ford gave a small harrumph in acknowledgment.
"What about the other guy? The smarmy one, Sheinpaw or something?" Ford asked. He glanced at Aggie and frowned. She was biting her lip in concentration as she leaned over the steering wheel, focusing intently on the road.
Ford was so mad at her. Livid. Furious. He was never going to forgive her for this. He had trusted her, and she made him a fugitive.
"JR? Unless he could monetize it, he doesn't care. Was Bill providing anything on your backend?" Aggie asked lightly.
"Don't say his name." Ford replied through gritted teeth. "You…what did you do to upset him? To call those creatures of his to attack us?"
"I didn't do anything!" Aggie objected. "If anything, this was probably the most fun he's had in a while."
Ford shook his head. "You don't know him at all. Bill is…rambunctious, but he wouldn't hurt anyone without cause."
"We can agree to disagree." Aggie huffed, turning the steering wheel. "You have eyes. We have empirical data that Bill does enjoy a nice bit of attempted murder."
"He was protecting the portal." Ford argued.
"There are other ways to do that don't involve letting me get eaten." Aggie said through gritted teeth.
"Perhaps, if you hadn't betrayed our trust," Ford said with distaste, "it wouldn't have had to come to this."
She turned to look at her former boss, his hair was in disarray, the bags under his eyes dark and puffy, and his nose even redder than usual. Aggie thought he had never looked so handsome. She had to keep her eye on the road, but kept stealing glances at the man, who was lost in his own thoughts.
She felt her eyes getting heavy as she stared at the white dotted lines on the road, and felt her mind drift to fantasies about this man, only for her to shake her head in disgust. No, this was too pathetic, even for her. She noticed Ford was fidgeting, adjusting to find a position to sleep comfortably in her cramped sedan.
"I'm going to take a stop at the next exit. There's a motel we can stay the night at." Aggie declared.
Ford looked skeptical. "Aren't we, well, on the run? Do you think that's the best idea?"
"I don't like our chances on the road." Aggie countered. She looked at the backseat. "Might also be a good idea to check on Fidds while we're at it."
The stopped at a tiny roadside town somewhere in Idaho. Aggie booked the room, two double beds for the night. As the manager handed her the keys, he saw Ford dragging Fiddleford's unconscious body out of the car.
"Oh, he's fine." Aggie laughed lightly. "I swear."
The manager rolled his eyes. "None of my business what you're up to. But adding another guest will cost extra."
Aggie left the front desk and helped Ford drag Fidds into their room.
"How's he doing?" Aggie asked.
"Could be worse, but also could be better. I haven't seen him like this since he was taken hostage by 216."
Aggie shuddered, remembering the time Ford's project had tied them up, intending to do them in before Ford was able to figure out the truth. Thankfully, he had noticed something was wrong. Thankfully, they had been able to get it back in the containment unit.
They locked the door behind them and placed Fiddleford on the bed closest to the door. Ford checked his pupils.
"He'll be like this for a while." Aggie noted. "It was a strong dose. I should know, I synthesized it myself."
"Can't you fix him?" Ford asked irritably.
"Not without a lab, and maybe some samples from Myc. It's best we let him sleep it off." Aggie said. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "Well, I'm beat. I'm going to head to bed."
"How can you sleep at a time like this?" Ford asked.
"Because I'm tired?" Aggie countered. She unzipped her speed suit, sliding out of it one leg at a time, neatly folding it up and placing it on the edge of the bed. She climbed into the bed, taking off her glasses.
"Feel free to pace all you want. But I'll need some energy to keep driving." Aggie said. She turned off the light, and watched as Ford eventually gave up, curling into the armchair and falling into a fitful sleep.
When Aggie awoke, she could feel the sunlight streaming over her face.
"About time you got up, Sleeping Beauty." Ford said. "It's already nine."
"You let me sleep that long?" Aggie asked.
"It was like trying to wake the dead! And we'd know from experience." She could hear Fidds say from the other end of the room. He walked over and handed her a coffee and a muffin.
"You look better." Aggie remarked, taking the coffee from his hands.
Fiddleford shook his head. "I don't feel better. Could barely remember anything until Ford filled me in. What was that stuff anyway?"
"Top Secret Cognito Business." Aggie replied with a wink. "Though I might still be able to bribe Myc into meeting you. He still owes me a favor."
Fiddleford shook his head. "I'll stick with my own designs for now."
"So what's the plan? Get to the Venture Compound, then what?" Ford asked.
Aggie contemplated their next moves, holding her coffee in her hands. "Is Bill still in contact with you?"
Ford's mouth made a thin line. "Yes."
"I didn't know his presence could travel that far." Aggie remarked.
"His power is weaker, that is true, but as long as I'm bound to our deal, he will always be a part of me." Ford said morosely.
"Then we got to fix that." Aggie declared, getting out of bed.
"Aren't you going to put on some clothes first?" Fiddleford asked, covering his eyes in surprise.
Aggie looked down, noticing she was still in her underwear. "I'll get my speed suit on, but what about the whole 'we're professionals, the human body is nothing to be ashamed about,' thing I kept hearing?"
"Where did you hear that?" Fiddleford asked, looking over at Ford, who shrugged. Aggie rolled her eyes as she quickly dressed.
As Aggie made her way back to the room after checking out, she could hear the two of them out of earshot. Frantically, she hid underneath the window to listen in.
"What on earth were you two doing over there that this poor girl thinks it's normal to act like that? She just gets undressed in front of you?" Fiddleford asked.
"I didn't make her do anything, if that's what you're implying. I just don't see what the big deal is. Human anatomy is not inherently inappropriate."
"You're completely glossing over what I was asking. Is there anything between you two…"
"No, there's nothing of the sort going on between Aggie and I." Ford said firmly. "The idea of it is ridiculous."
Aggie felt the hot tears stinging her eyes, and shook her head. Yeah, that sounds about right. Why would there be anything happening now or ever?
She walked around to the door of their room and knocked. "Ready to go?" She asked.
They drove for a few hours, until they stopped by a diner for lunch.
As they waited for their food, Aggie noticed two people conspicuously staring at them from the booth over. One was a rather ugly looking, thin woman with a sharp nose, thick sunglasses and an cheap red wig wearing a tight dress and smoking a cigar. The other was a large muscular mountain of a man with a curly blonde mullet.
Aggie hid her face in her menu. "Crap. Crap. Crap."
"What is it?" Ford asked.
"OSI. They've followed us. And brought the big guns. You see the one with the cigar? That's Hunter Gathers. No idea what's up with the dress, still rocking it though. And the fella next to him is Brock Sampson. I've heard of him from his work against Sphinx. You do not want to mess with him. We need to get out of here fast or we're dead." Aggie whispered.
Ford looked over at the next table.
"Don't look at them!" Aggie hissed.
"What could they want?" Fiddleford asked.
"OSI probably wants the portal." Ford said.
They stood up, and quietly moving out of the restaurant through the kitchen.
"Going so soon?" Gathers asked smugly.
Sampson grabbed a knife from the chopping block, throwing it in their direction.
"Move!" Aggie shouted.
They dodged as Sampson ran at them, throwing various kitchen appliances abd food. Sampson managed to throw a whole pig's head as he screamed in rage, adrenaline pumping through his veins.
They piled in the car as Aggie frantically turned the ignition, watching as Sampson sprinted towards them. She took off, reversing at top speed until she heard a thud.
"Did we hit him?" Ford asked.
Fiddleford looked up, "he's on the roof!"
Sampson clutched the roof of the car as Aggie drove eighty miles per hour on the freeway. They could hear him roar, and adjust his balance, ripping the metal of the roof from the windshield.
Aggie stepped on the accelerator, while Sampson grabbed her by the hair, yanking her from the driver's seat as Ford grabbed the steering wheel.
"Hey!" Aggie shouted. Panicking, she kicked him, but it made no difference. She struggled, grabbing her glasses, and using one tips, she poked him in the eye. She could hear him scream in pain. Sampson lifted her up, and then slammed her onto the remaining roof of the car. Her face burned from the hot metal and she could feel her ears ringing. Sampson lifted her up again, ready for the final blow.
"Take this!" Ford shouted. He pulled out what looked like a shrinking crystal, and flashed it at him, causing Sampson to shrink in size until Aggie could feel his grip falling away from her as they both fell down into the car. By this point, Sampson was now four inches tall.
Fiddleford caught him, and placed him in one of the specimen jars Aggie had laying about in her backseat.
"That was close." Aggie said, trying to catch her breath.
"What should we do with him?" Fiddleford asked.
"Toss him on the side of the road." Ford declared.
Aggie noticed Sampson trying to push through the glass, climbing up the walls, and falling down.
"Let's…put a pin on that." Aggie said. She clicked open her communicator watch, as Gathers showed up on her screen.
"You better have a damn good reason as to why you're not here already and what you've done with my agent, or I'll string you and those eggheads ninnies up by your unmentionables until you can't even say uncle!" Gathers screamed.
"That wig isn't doing you any favors, Hunter." Aggie retorted.
"What would you know, you uncoordinated harpy!" Gathers said gruffly, reflexively fixing his wig.
"Here's the deal. We've got you agent. We'll let him go if you call if the search and let us go on our way."
"I'm afraid I can't, hot stuff. Orders from top brass. You and that Pines fellow need to come in and tell us everything you know about that portal of yours, tout suite, and that isn't a request."
"Who's orders? Treister? Secret President?" Aggie asked.
"That is way beyond your clearance level. Now give me back my agent!"
Aggie paused, weighing her options. "I think we'll hold onto him for now. Don't worry, we'll take good care of him."
She hung up before Gathers could go on a tirade.
"Really Aggie? Kidnapping?" Ford asked.
"Call it a hunch, but I think we can make this work in our favor." Aggie declared.
Only a few more hours to the Venture Compound. She hoped Rusty wouldn't mind a few surprise guests.
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