"Thanks," the woman said.
"Why are you helping us?" asked the first guy.
Why? Was it because I was now Zenith, with some unnamed power that made me different? Or because my parents disagreed with the Inquisition? Or was it because of that woman, that wife and mother, gunned down in front of her husband and child as they pulled her lifeless body away from the carnage? Or maybe it was the voice of my father in my head telling me to trust what was in my heart.
"She can tell us later," the woman said, and a light bulb went off in my head.
"You're the Shadow of Rome," I said.
"Call me Trix… the grump you've been talking to is T.R. What should I call you?"
I couldn't give my real name. And I didn't want to use my dad's nickname for me. So I used the first thing that came to mind. "N."
"N. Alright. What's next, N?"
I checked my monitors. "You have to go right. It's the only path open."
"How could they have mobilized so quickly?" asked T.R.
"They're doing the same thing they did in Boston when they captured me," said Trix. "They knew you'd show up. They're trying to end us once and for all."
T.R. swore under his breath again.
Trix spoke through the e-Glass. "Alright. N, I trust you. More like, I have to trust you." She paused, and I heard movement in the background. "We're going right."
On my screens the van turned the corner. I switched cameras to view the other streets around them and saw a Bruiser headed their way. Crap.
I set my Bruiser's GPS to that intersection and pressed the button to activate the e-Driver. "Preparing to travel to East 48th street and Second Avenue," the GPS said. "Assessing traffic and road blocks. Estimated time of arrival, two minutes."
The Bruiser began to move, and I spoke into the e-Glass. "Keep turning right," I told them as my fingers flew over the keyboard.
"That'll take us in a circle," said T.R.
"They're tracking your movements the same way I am," I told him. "The best you can do is confuse them."
"Let's do it," said Trix.
They turned, then turned again… making a loop around the block. The Bruiser on their heels adjusted for their change in routes and was about to come out in front of them. Before it could, I overrode the e-Driver, took control of the wheel, and crashed into the other Bruiser from the side, sending it slamming into a nearby building, and sending my head slamming against the seat, knocking me a bit senseless. I took a deep breath, a wave of intense… hunger? Or thirst? I couldn't be sure, a gnawing ache in my gut overcame me. But I had to ignore it and focus. The Bruiser's GPS blinked at me, the voice now scratchy, likely rattled from the crash. "We have sustained damage. Please pull over to the nearest—"
I turned off the GPS and its annoying voice. I had enough voices in my head right now.
The rebel van drove by.
"I'm assuming that was you," said Trix over the e-Glass.
"Yes. Now, head for the outskirts."
"They keep cutting us off," said T. R. "Time for plan B."
"I agree," said Trix.
"What's plan B?" I asked, massaging a flare of pain in my upper jaw.
"Wait and see," said T.R.
Smoke surrounded their van until they were obscured entirely by white. As it cleared, the van drove forward, and a new truck, a black and red Bruiser, turned right.
So they had one of their own and they were using it to get Trix away. The van was a decoy.
But…
It was too obvious.
"Your plan's not going to work…" I said into my e-Glass.
"What on earth you know?" argued T.R.
"The Bruiser is just a distraction. Trix is still in the truck."
"That…" T.R. didn't finish his sentence, because he knew I'd guessed their plan. A double decoy.
"The Inquisition is closing down all roads off Manhattan… they were ready for you." My voice rose with urgency. "Your plan failed before you even started. But… there's one way. Listen to me, and I'll get you out alive."
"You'll just lead us into a trap," T.R. said, and I wanted to smack him through the e-Glass.
Before I could respond, Inquisition vehicles surrounded the black and red decoy Bruiser. It crashed and was instantly swarmed with Officers checking to see if anyone was inside.
"Bruiser down," said one of the rebels through the e-Glass.
"Damn it," said T.R.
"You're already trapped," I told him.
"We'll do it your way," said Trix.
"But—"
She cut T.R. off. "But nothing. She's been right about everything, and we need to get out of here." Trix sounded tired, in pain and when she coughed I remembered the beating she had recently taken. She needed a doctor. "What's the plan, N?" she asked, after a coughing spasm left her breathless.