Back in the truck, both Elizabeth and Melissa threw popcorn at the screen, in front of them.
"Oh, get a room you two!" Elizabeth said.
"Stop flirting!" was Melissa's contribution.
The two rolled their eyes in tandem. Melissa's popcorn maker hidden in the armrest was their saving grace during missions. It got very boring on the sidelines sometimes, so mindless snacking was definitely needed.
Meanwhile...
Taylor pretended not to hear either of them and continued smiling up into the stunning pair of green eyes trained on her. Arnold was giving her this heartmelting grin and oh, was her heartmelting. They had already registered with the overly muscled brutes guarding the registration list and the pile of money to go to the victor. They had attached the GPS patches to their handle bars as per race rules. The patch made sure everyone stayed on the designated course, willing or no. They were discussing music and he admitted to being in choir.
"A baritone? NO way! Do you KNOW how hard it is to find someone not afraid to like music? Ah!" Taylor did a little twirl of happiness, her eyes sparkling.
Arnold was giving her stunned look, his mouth hanging open slightly. "How did you know I was a baritone?" he asked breathlessly. He ran his fingers though his short, wavy chocolate hair. "You have perfect pitch!" he said, shock melting into a happy dance of his own.
Meanwhile...
"Are you two eating popcorn?" Sarah asked over the line, getting out of the car. She needed to get going if she was going to do some serious monitoring of Wan.
There was a suspicious silence over the line.
She rolled her eyes and popped the trunk to grab her gear. The rest of the group had been trying for months to find the secret popcorn maker that the two swore didn't exist and the others knew did. She headed through the parking garage to the second floor vantage point.
Meanwhile...
"Back to work," Lidia snapped, sifting her way through the crowd to get to Kimawari. He had noticed her a few moments ago and was watching her progress with hooded interest, leaning casually against his bike. She broke free of the gyrating mass of half drunk bodies and into the respectful space surrounding the racers. Kimawari's eyes slid farther shut, still watching her, but at a much more intense level. She knew that he knew that she was trained and dangerous. She'd never bothered to learn to disguise her abilities, despite everyone's chiding...even her father's.
She came to stand directly in front of him, arms at her sides. "Kimawari," she stated.
His eyes closed completely at that and then opened them slowly. An impressive look, but nothing compared to what she was used to. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms...?"
Lidia quirked an eyebrow at his flawless British and at Melissa's excited howl over the line.
"Dear Gods, would you listen to that drawl! You can run, but you can NOT hide, Aussies! Wa-ha!"
Lidia decided to play it cool. "Thompson, Ginny Thimpson. I have questions."
Kimawari chuckled unexpectedly, a halfway grim, halfway amused expression sliding across his features. "And you think I have answers?"
"No. I know you do."
Kimawari raised an eyebrow. "You remind me of someone. I don't expect you would know her, though."
Lidia gave him a blank look. Kimawari shook his head. "Unimportant. However, I will say this. I do not like being lied to...Ms. Cooper."
Lidia's insides turned to ice even as she gave him a rather perturbed look. "Deaf as well as stupid," she replied cooly, hiding her unease. "My name is Thompson."
Kimawari sighed and stood up, a few dangerous inches taller than her. He reached over and grabbed his helmet. "It is lucky for you, Ms. Cooper," he said, undeterred by her fierce look," That you have such good friends. I suggest you, and that lovely blonde sniper on the roof over there, leave before I inform Wan that you are here. I am after all, temporarily under his employ." He got on his motorcycle. "Ten minutes, Ms. Cooper, and then the game's up." He put on his helmet and drove to the starting line. She glared at his retreating back and then furiously dove into the crowds, scattering people left and right.
"What the HELL was that?" she spat furiously into the line. "He KNEW we were coming!"
"Take a breath, sugar. We planned for this," Sarah said soothingly over the line, pulling herself into the shadows of the car garage. She had almost made it to her vantage point, on the second level. She had a perfect viewpoint to see the crowd and montior Wan from his control station in the cafe on the corner.
"Veronika, your cover's been blown. Get into your secondary station, I repeat, your secondary station ,-" Veronika started disassembling her rifle lightning quick."-They've got eyes in the sky. Elizabeth, Melissa, I want them found and I want them found yesterday-," Melissa and Elizabeth set aside their popcorn and began furiously pounding away at their keyboards. "Sarah, get back to the car. We're moving to another station and you're driving." Sarah paused where she was and threw up her hands in frustration, to begin walking back. "Taylor, you are NOT, I repeat NOT, to do anything at this point. Continue as planned. Reputation and money be damned, I want these bastards beaten and would you stop flirting?" she hissed.
The rest of the team was nearly shocked into silence. Taylor stopped her giggling at Arnold's happy dance to wince at the unexpectedly loud outburst from her ear mic. Arnold gave her an odd look and she quickly turned to look at the large electronic clock that read 10:55. She faced him slowly and gave him a pained look.
"See you at the finish line," she said, turning to get on her bike. Arnold reached out to grab her hand gently and spun her around to face him. He leaned close, pulled her hand up and kissed her gently on her fingers. "For luck," he said, green eyes grinning into hers. And then he was gone.
Taylor absently rubbed her thumb over her fingers and turned back to her bike, mind swimming. She was broken out of her trance by Melissa's crow of victory and Elizabeth's cry of mock-despair.
"Smile for the camera! BLACKMAIL, BLACKMAIL FOR LIFE!" Melissa crowed happily.
"Caught on tape and absolutely SHAMELESS. I can't believe you! ...WAY TO GO, TAYLOR!" Elizabeth said.
"What'd I miss?" Sarah asked over line, slipping into the grey Honda Accord.
"SHUT UP!" Lidia roared, cowing them into silence. "GET BACK TO WORK!"
Melissa manipulated the com lines so Lidia wouldn't hear them for a minute. "Ladies, Lidia's gone Rhino. All chatter ceasing now."
"Agreed," the others said in unison. Rhino mode was when Lidia bulldozed everyone into submission like a territorial bull rhino with a mean streak. It was, in a word, terrifying.
"Veronika, are you in your new position?" Elizabeth asked.
"Nyet. I ahm travelling through building. Getting shot vas not on de list of activities fohr de night."
"Excellent. We've just located an anomolous heat signature three buildings away. A round of applause for your lovely, sister," Melissa said. "Go to position four. The blind spot should be just perfect for you and you can still give us some cover. Position four."
"Roger," Veronika said, trotting down the building's stairwell. She hated orange carpeting.
Melissa turned to Elizabeth and beamed. "Piggybacking off of three satellties simultaneously? Genius! You simply MUST show me that delicious bit of code when we get back."
Elizabeth gained a smug look. "You wrote it, Mistress Cypher. A few months back at our think tank with NSA. I just improved it."
"Marvellous, simply marvellous, Ms. Binary. We'll be keeping this between us, I trust?"
She nodded. "Oh, definitely. Cooper would be..." She trailed off.
"Exactly." They turned back to their screens, fingers flying.
Lidia slammed the door as she got into the car. "Drive," she growled. Sarah turned off the car motor and gave her the Look. Lidia's glare turned positively glacial and it was a safe bet the temperature in the car dropped a few degrees.
"I ain't gonna be intimidated like some sorta perp you just scraped off the bottom of your shoe, Lame Brains," Sarah said calmly. "So you can stop being rude and quit the 'tude. We get it. Nobody likes being bested by somebody who's marbles aren't all there. ESPECIALLY in this group. But if you make a habit of blowin' up at your team whenever things go...what was Melissa's phrase...'pear-shaped', then I'll be the first one to tell Mr. Cooper you're unfit for the team he's thinking of putting you on."
Lidia had turned into a glacier at this point. "You had better have turned your mic off," she growled.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Of course, I did. Giving this information to anyone else would be stupid. Veronika would have a fit and so would Taylor. They've been trying for the same thing you know."
"Yes, I know," she ground out."But how do YOU?"
"You're not the only one with sources, Lame Brains. So get a grip, because my SISTER is risking her LIFE for you. I've had a funny feeling 'bout this mission from the start. I AM not gonna let you screw it up. We clear?"
"Crystal. Now, DRIVE."
Sarah started the engine and they began to exit the parking garage. Lidia absolutely HATED it when Sarah went all saintly and gospel-ish, because she was almost always right. And screw beating Melissa half to death, she was going to beat her within an inch of her life. Files were off-limits. They'd ALL agreed to it. And now, she had gone rogue again, expecting that nobody would notice. Not this time. There was no way Sarah had access to those files. Of all people, there would be no WAY she'd go back on one of her promises. And only Melissa would tell Sarah something like this. Oh, it was on. Tucking her rage back firmly where it belonged, Lidia refocused on the mission at hand. There was a race to win and information to gather.
Meanwhile...
"All right, y'all. I suspect Sarah's talkin' Lidia down, since they've dropped off the com lines. Are you guys, ready?" Taylor asked, revving her engine at the starting line.
"As we'll ever be," Elizabeth said.
"Be careful," Veronika said.
"Yes, do," Melissa said. "I'm not paying in full if we have to scrape you off the concrete again."
There was collective rolling of the eyes that was definitely felt if not heard over the line.
"Feeling the love, y'all," Taylor said, a grin creeping up on her lips. It always amused her how Melissa would never say she was worried. Even Lidia did, if in a very concise way. How she managed to say so much in five words or less would always be a mystery. Maybe something about the eyebrows?
A scantily clad Asian chika in a something that imght be called a string bikini in other parts of the world, walked in between the racers, nothing in her hands. Oh, God. It was going to be one of THOSE races. Rolling her eyes, Taylor shifted to peripheral vision just as the girl lifted her top. Leaving the hoots and catcalls behind in a screech of burning rubber, she was off.
immediately, Kimawari, Jorge, Taylor and Jack raced to the front boxing out the others. Jorge took an early lead during the 500 feet or so of straight track, but Taylor was too worried. He faded way too fast. Kimawari settled in just behind her and she tailed Jack. This was new. Normally, Kimawari lead from start to finish. She wasn't the only one to notice.
"Stay sharp," Melissa said, quietly. "Kimawari's up to something."
"I know!" she yelled, drifting a wide left around Jack and Jorge to take the lead. "Now let me race!"
Kimawari had had the same thought it seemed for suddenly they were side by side. She could hear Arnold's engine about fifty feet behind, Joshua and Milo after him. It was gonna be a close race. She could tell.
The course was one of the more complex one's that Wan occasionally dreamed up. "Mad as a hatter," to quote Elizabeth. Starting at the docks they would wind their way through the financial district, the art district, a public park, the gay-borhood, a construction site by a power plant, a football stadium and then over the bridge back to the docks. Wan could be inventive if he chose it seemed, or at least, one of his minions was.
Turn by turn, they wove through the city. Arnold took the lead on George street, then Joshua pulled a fast one two streets later. Kimawari cut her off at the Arbor Park in the middle of the financial district, causing her to slam on her brakes and have Milo and Joshua pass her. With a cry of frustration she slammed on the acclerator trying to gain lost ground.
"Talk to me! I need a break! Kimawari's on me like no other!" She jockeyed for position behind Joshua, now in the lead. Kimawari had decided to follow her for now, Milo behind him, following Arnold then Selena who had steadily been moving up in the race. Evan and Rodrigo were still fighting but Jorge had pretty much given up at this point. Evan had been stuck in the middle and so had Rodrigo. Evan had an explosive temper so he was going to make a move soon, good timing or not.
"Let's see, there should be a straight stretch once you pass the stadium. Floor it," Elizabeth directed.
"Got it." A quick slam to the brakes cutting through Milo's guard and she was in second again. Kimawari was falling farther behind giving her bad vibes. Something was definitely up. She was rounding the power plant and as predicted a severe static took over the lines. Taylor winced, but continued racing.
Meanwhile...
Veronika lay low on the top of the roof, observing Wan through her rifle scope. He was drinking a very European cappuchino and being entertained by two girls dancing a very odd rendention of the Macarena. She tuned the rifle in on his surrounding companions. A few sleazy, 1970's looking wanna-be's. A suit with a very impressive watch and laptop. And, hello, what was this?
A tall black man with ridiculous muscles and tasteful gold was sitting in a white chair conversing on a cell phone. Static buzzed in her ears. Taylor was at the power plant then. The man stood up suddenly, said somethiing to Wan and then left the cafe, still talking on his phone. Veronika's inner alarm system started going off like crazy. In a game of who's who, the one that doesn't belong always means trouble.
"Girhls, ve have company," she said as soon as the static subsided. "Mehlissah, Elizabet. I need to to trace, track and break a call beihng made by a tall black man in a vhite suit. He just left the cafe."
Silence on the line.
"I repeat. Trace, track and break cell phone call in progress. Tall black male, white suit, jsut left the cafe. Do you read me?"
Silence. Time to check the lines. Elizabeth had said they might go wonky around the power station.
"Taylor, do you read me?"
"Kinda busy at the moment!"
Veronika turned to Sarah next.
"Sarah, do you read me?"
"I hear you. Anything interestin' up there, Birdie?"
"Black man 'ho just left cafe."
"Oh, I see him. What's he doin' 'round these parts? I'd peg him as European, maybe even Mid'E. We're watchin' him now."
Lidia was next.
"Lidia, do you read me?"
"Yes. Is he a problem?"
"Possibly. I did noht even see him until a fe'u moments ago."
Now her sister.
"Elizabet, do you read me?"
Silence again. The alarm bells were ringing like mad now.
"Melissa, do you read me?"
No answer.
She made her decision. Lifitng herself into a crouch, she quickly packed her rifle away.
"Somet'ing's 'rong. Melissa and Elizabet are noht responding. I'm on my way."
"NO, hold your position! Veronika!-"
Veronika calmly reached in her ear and pulled the earwig mic out, slipping it into her pocket. Being Tsar Ivan's daughter had definitely straightened out her priorities.
She headed back into the building.
Family first.
Meanwhile...
Taylor had made it to the bridge, Kimawari still breathing down her neck. He was playing with her and she knew it. She had seen him wreck Milo three miles back and then shut down Joshua a mile later. He knew. He knew there were government agents in the race. He had taken out Milo and she was next.
For the first time in her life, an icy dagger of fear lay close to her heart as she zipped down the concrete. He was going to kill her. She thrust down on the throttle again, hoping to create some distance. No such luck. He knew he style too well. She wasn't going to make it to the finish line.
The finish line got closer and closer and so did Kimawari. She was barely hanging on-
Two more corners, one more drifted 25 mile turn and then-
She felt it more than saw it, Kimawari passed her, Arnold trying to do the same-
Not today.
Wrenching her handlebar suddenly she caused Arnold to veer left sharply making him lose his wind drag and then the finish line passed them by, the crowd roaring it's approval at the flashy display.
She slammed on her brakes, a sideways drift engaged to slow her down faster, the other racers doing the same. Coming to a standstill eighty feet later, she put her feet on the concrete and saw who came in next.
By law of the street, those who came first got closest to the crowds, followed by place consecutively. Kimawari, her, Arnold, Selena, Jack, Rodrigo. She turned to look at Kimawari, who had already taken his helmet off. He was regarding her strangely. Arnold had also taken off his helmet was glaring at Kimawari. Sensing her gaze, his expression softened and he gave a small bow in her direction before going back to uber hate of Kimawari a moment later. Really sore loser maybe? Not to that degree.
"Something's wrong, you guys. Arnold's gettin' downright nasty and Kimawari didn't take me out like he could've. I've got a bad feelin' about this."
"So glad I'm not the only one," Sarah said. "Don't get off your bike, don't take your helmet off. Somethin's awfully hinky. Veronika's gone to check on Melissa and Elizabeth. Their com lines are down completely. I fancy they're havin' a nice little session with their gadgets at the moment. Lidia and me have been watchin' this fancy black fella. Who-ee, is he outta place, stickin' out like a show pony in a barrel race. Veronika tagged him for us. You'll be happy to know, Milo's alive. His people snatched him up a minute or two after Kimawari happened. Poor guy, he's gonna be walkin' real funny if he ever gets back on his feet."
Taylor felt herself relax slightly at her sister's longwinded report, the adrenalin lessing. "Anything else I should know?" She asked good-naturedly.
And then all hell broke loose.
Shots rang out, people screamed, scrambled and screeched away. Mass panic sweeping down the street.
"Agent down, Agent down!" Veronika screamed over the line. "Agent missing and agent down! We're marked!"
"Taylor, get out of there!" Lidia ordered. "Meet at the rendezvous point!"
Taylor gunned her motor again, slipping down an alleyway, leaving the mess behind her. The last thing she saw was Arnold and Kimawari facing off, completely still in the middle of a panicked mob.
Twenty minutes later, half out of her mind with worry, she reached the warehouse they used for a meeting ground. Melissa's red truck was already there and so was Lidia's Honda. The other's were huddled together around a bench. She scrambled off her bike and ran over.
Elizabeth lay spread out on the bench, arm over her eyes, Lidia checking her vitals. Sarah and Veronika hovering worriedly nearby. She hugged her sister tightly, relieved she was all right and then turned to Lidia.
"What the hell happened? Who did this to her?" she demanded breathlessly.
"Melissa."
For a split second, Taylor thought she had heard wrong.
"Melissa- but that's crazy! Why would she-?"
Elizabeth intterupted. "She tasered me and then dosed me with a knockout-painkiller potion. She was talking to me before she left. I don't know what she said, that bitch."
Veronika looked like death warmed over. "The truck's systems vere viped clean. She destroyed all evidence of her leaving. No goodbye, noth'ink."
"I can't believe she would do this! It's San Diego all over again!" Sarah raved, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Our resident technological expert takes out our number two and then vanishes? What the hell is she thinking?"
Taylor rounded on Lidia, whose face was curiously drained of all color. She opened her mouth to yell at her, but something in Lidia's expression froze the words in her throat. The others noticed her absolute, frozen silence as well.
"Lidia?" Sarah asked cautiously.
She snapped her head up to look at them, eyes wide.
"I didn't know. I didn't. I just thought it was some boy, or one of those people from the internet. I didn't know. She warned me, I didn't listen, I didn't know, I swear I didn't know-"
Lidia was babbling now. Veronika slapped her and suddenly there was silence.
"This was about the flowers, wasn't it," Sarah demanded.
She mutely nodded.
"Explain." The heat in Veronika's voice would have melted diamonds.
"I logged onto her main laptop a few weeks ago to get some files. I thought she wouldn't notice-" there was a collective hiss of disapproval and disbelief. Lidia flushed a brilliant cherry. "What I found was something else entirely. She'd been looking for something, or rather something had come looking for her. It looked completely benign. Nothing out of the ordinary. Like two love-sick teens flirting. I'd been annoyed with her. She had just destroyed our operation in San Diego and then she had the nerve to insult me about my decision making. So I sent an email. Two weeks later, the flowers appeared. Did any of you see what was written on the card?"
The group mutely shook their heads.
"'Time's up, my Love. I'm coming for you.'," Lidia recited.
"You mean-" Taylor began.
Lidia nodded. "She's gone. And this time...she's not coming back."
One hour earlier...
"Nice call. You're getting good at this, Ms. B."
Elizabeth grinned over at Melissa mowing down on popcorn once again. "Why thank you, Mistress C."
"Will you take the lead, next mission?"
Elizabeth stilled her fingers, to turn to look at Melissa, who had set her popcorn aside and was giving her a serious look.
"What?"
Melissa grinned, a sad strange grin, her eyes hollow in the harsh electronic light as static buzzed in their ears. "You'll have to, my dear."
And suddenly Elizabeth was shaking in the grip of 300 kilovolts of electricity, vision fading into white. Her heart was stopping and then she was aching in every muscle, every joint, every bone. Her eyes were gumming shut with thickening tears. The small prick in her forearm was negligible compared to the flood of sensory input.
"I'm sorry, my dear. I never wanted to hurt you. But there are no choices left for me. Believe me, I've tried everything. Goodbye."
Elizabeth felt herself slipping into black oblivion. She heard Melissa tinkering around with a few things, the car door open, shut and then she was gone.