Undercover Justice

by Nico Rosso

  * * *

  IT WAS A terrible night to sleep alone. Her body had rested so heavily next to him on that couch. Drifting off would’ve been so easy, but nothing was that simple. They’d been able to find enough safety to feed some hungers. But the need to soak in this connection with Arash and let it remind her that there was some comfort in this world couldn’t be met.

  The mattress on the floor in her bare room was not how she wanted to finish this night. She turned her mind to the memory of the two of them naked beneath the blanket and slowed her breath until sleep finally came.

  She awoke before the dawn, startled to be so chilled and not warm in Arash’s arms. Sunrise wouldn’t come fast enough, no matter how much she tried to will it. Once the day started, then she could get her work done on the minivan, then maybe the gig would commence and she could wrap all this up.

  As soon as the sun crested the eastern hills she was cleaned up and brewing coffee in the kitchen while arranging her breakfast. Bittersweet pain stabbed through her chest when Arash came down. This morning should be theirs. Slow. Quiet.

  “Up early.” His face was hard when he first arrived, but a smile creased his eyes when he looked at her.

  “You, too.”

  He pulled out a bowl and a box of cereal. “Slept like hell.” His gravelly voice tempted her back to bed all over again.

  “Me, too.” She poured them both coffee and they ate standing at the island.

  The other members of the gang slowly came downstairs and gathered in the kitchen. Hector and Thom didn’t make eye contact with either Arash or Stephanie. Like adolescents unable to process the adult world. Olesk was business as usual, but Ellie shot a sly smile at Stephanie, who returned it before hiding behind a sip of coffee.

  As everyone woke up, Arash explained to Olesk about the planned fix for the minivan. There were some other logistics discussed for the other builds, and the light workday grated at her patience. She wanted to be centered on the builds and how the gig was shaping up. Too much downtime would create pockets where she would get lost in wishing for circumstances with Arash she knew could never exist.

  She was the first outside, Arash quickly behind her. It took too little time to replace the spare tire in the minivan and they stood staring at the vehicle. Everything else had been dialed in and tightened down. Her hands itched to wrench on something because they really wanted to be warmed under Arash’s jacket while she asked him more questions about the garage he dreamed of opening.

  Hector and Thom were too protective of their builds to let either her or Arash touch them, even though she knew the work wasn’t up to her standards. Olesk and Ellie were under the hood of the Subaru. There’d been no new information about the job for the Seventh Syndicate and the clock wound tight in her.

  She turned to Arash. “Should we take it out again?”

  “We know it’ll handle great now.” Sadness shadowed his face and she understood they couldn’t race into the darkness again.

  “There’s always more—” Distant thunder rolled toward the compound. The sky this day was a clear blue. No clouds for a storm. But it was coming. The growl grew louder, metallic. She recognized the rumble of an American muscle car, tuned to intimidate.

  The sound drew her and Arash away from the minivan and along the side of the house. Thom and Hector followed until the four of them stood among the parked cars in the front, watching the road. A classic Chevy approached.

  Arash spoke first. “1970 Chevy Chevelle SS.”

  The car appeared black until it turned up the drive to the house and sunlight glinted on the angles, revealing purple iridescence. Specialized tires on custom rims moved it with sure stature. From the way it quivered going slow on the dirt drive, she saw that the car was intended for speed. Dark tinted windows hid the driver and passengers, if any.

  By the time the car arrived at the front of the house, Olesk was approaching it. Ellie held back with Stephanie and the others. The Chevy stopped and the engine shut down, taking the rumble from the air around it.

  The door opened and an Asian man in his twenties stepped out. Sunglasses worth at least two hundred dollars hung in the collar of his black T-shirt. Over that was a bloodred bomber jacket. His dark hair was styled in a slick wave. Olesk stepped to him and shook hands. They exchanged some quiet words while the unknown man glanced at Arash and Stephanie.

  Trouble prickled up the back of her neck. The man was smooth and maintained casual confidence, but she saw the smallest twitch around his eyes when he looked at her. It was gone in a blink, but her dread remained. The man recognized her.

  She tried to smooth her exterior, but Arash must’ve been tuned to her, or he’d seen the man’s tell. Arash asked, low, “Know him?”

  “No.” She waited for Olesk to react as the two men continued talking, but if this new guy was outing whose daughter she was, Olesk remained perfectly neutral. “You?”

  “Never seen him.” Arash shook his head.

  “That’s David,” Hector explained. “A better driver than you’ll ever be.”

  Arash kept his gaze on David while talking back to Hector. “You’ve never seen me drive.”

  Hector spat back, “I don’t need to see any of what you can do to know this guy is better.”

  Olesk walked David toward the others and said, “You know the old crew. But these are our latest additions, and working out very well. Wrenching, driving. Arash and Stephanie.”

  David stepped to Arash, hand extended. “David.” He didn’t speak with an accent and she was sure from his mannerisms that he was born in the States.

  Arash shook his hand without hostility. “Sweet Chevy.”

  “Thanks, bro.” David flashed a friendly grin and turned to her. “Stephanie, right?” He said it as if trying to remember what Olesk had said. She didn’t buy it, but did shake his hand. He held on a fraction of a second too long.

  Trip wires and traps were being set and she had to be more careful than ever. No one except her friends within Frontier Justice knew of her work there, but if David knew about her father, things could still complicate way beyond her control. Olesk had Arash steal from her father in order to prove himself, positioning her family as Olesk’s rival. If he thought she was spying for Eddie Shun, she’d be dead.

  “Let me show you the fleet.” Olesk slapped David on the shoulder and walked them along the side of the house. The others trailed after, unmoved by the worry Stephanie felt pounding through her.

  Arash, though, was right at her side. They hung back a moment and he leaned close to her ear. “Trouble?”

  To keep herself and Arash alive, to keep her mission on track, she had to navigate through the next set of deadly, blind curves. “Definitely.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Arash had no idea who David was, but he knew that if the new man made Stephanie tighten the way she did, things would end up in a fiery wreck. And right now it felt like there was no way he could stop it.

  The hoods were up on all the vehicles they’d been working on, and Olesk walked David to each. Arash and Stephanie stayed at the minivan’s side while Hector and Thom discussed the cargo vans with the others. David nodded approvingly when he looked over the caged-in cargo areas. This man wouldn’t be an ally. The group lingered at the engines a minute and Arash watched Thom and Hector bite back their frustration at being criticized. They had more work to do.

  David swaggered over to the minivan, gaze bouncing between Stephanie and the engine. Arash held very little interest for the man and thought he could use that to his advantage. Stay under the radar until he had to strike. David braced his hands on the minivan and peered at the motor. “She’s all soccer mom on the outside, but when you look under her skirt...” He barked a laugh of surprise. “Damn. What did you guys do?”

  “We did our jobs,” Stephanie answered flatly.

  “Yeah, you did.” Da
vid turned to Olesk, who was beaming. “You weren’t lying. These two are assets.” There was an edge in the compliment, though, something greedy that set off warnings in Arash. David checked out the cabin of the minivan, then stepped back to take in the whole. “Stealth. No one’s going to see it coming. When do I get to see it move?”

  Olesk spoke to the group. “Pack your kits. We’re going on a test run, then moving on.”

  Just like that, things changed again. They were going to hit the road, where anything could happen. Arash knew that David was a fixture in this gang, and that made him a target for revenge. But the opportunity wasn’t there yet. The next evolution Olesk took them through might give Arash his chance.

  He and Stephanie shared a quick glance as they moved through the mudroom into the house. They walked up the stairs together and he longed for the heat they generated when this close, but the business at hand had robbed him of anything but complete focus on the potential disaster around each corner.

  After packing his backpack, he reemerged into the hall to find Stephanie there, bag slung over her shoulder and expression tight. She caught his questioning look and subtly shook it off. There wasn’t time or safety for analysis. He had to keep moving.

  He grabbed the minivan keys from the garage and met her back at the car. The others were all assembling, a nervous energy building. With their bags stowed in the minivan, Stephanie moved toward the passenger side. “You start behind the wheel.” He responded with a thumbs-up and waited by the open driver’s-side door.

  Olesk carefully placed a leather duffel in the Subaru and closed the trunk with a snap that drew everyone’s attention. “Fifteen minutes,” he said. “Thom and Hector, use that time to finalize the vans. We’re taking a head start and will see who catches us first on the south side of Reno. Try not to draw too much attention, but push your machines, see what they can do for the next level.” He slipped on sunglasses. Ellie got into the Subaru’s passenger seat. “I’ll give you the next stop once we’re all clear of the city.” He slipped into his car and started the engine. With precise, almost mechanical movements, he adjusted the seat, seat belt and rearview mirror, then tore up the dirt on the way to the front of the house.

  Arash buttoned himself up behind the wheel of the minivan and checked his watch. Fifteen minutes would take forever. Especially because all he wanted to do was ask Stephanie what the deal was with David. But they’d never been able to be completely confident the minivan wasn’t bugged and had to keep the conversation neutral.

  She busied herself with plugging in the phone charger, marking the time on her watch every few seconds.

  David slipped on his shades, flashed a grin and gave Arash a casual salute. “See you on the other side, soccer mom.”

  “Stealth.” Arash saluted back. “You might not see us at all.”

  David disappeared around the front of the house where his Chevy was parked. Hector and Thom worked furiously on the engines of the cargo vans.

  After an eternity, Stephanie announced, “Two minutes.” She buckled her seat belt.

  “We can’t take that Chevelle.” The mods on the minivan were tight, but the Chevy had been built from the ground up for speed and power.

  “Not in the quarter mile, but the streets are about driving, not displacement.” She brought the heat back to her gaze. “And you can outdrive him.”

  The reassurance helped. He had to outdrive everyone in order to stay alive.

  According to his watch, time wasn’t moving fast enough. He checked the alignment of the cargo vans in the work area. “I’ll let them out first, give them a surprise on the road.”

  “One minute.” She looked over the compound, then reached back to touch her bag behind her seat.

  “All set?” He put his hand on the key in the starter. Thom and Hector’s engines were already turning. The Chevy rumbled at the front of the house.

  “Tear it up,” Stephanie said. He started the minivan and it sprang to life, ready to run. Stephanie settled in her seat. “Less than a minute.” She tipped her head toward Hector and Thom. “They’ll leave early.”

  “Punks.” Arash flipped them off. Hector and Thom answered by stepping on the gas and spraying dirt as they fishtailed around the side of the house. They nearly ran into each other, then were gone.

  Stephanie pulled the cuff of her jacket over her watch. “That’s fifteen minutes.”

  Arash turned the minivan loose. It ate up the ground and was quickly in front of the house, where he had to slow to navigate through the other parked cars. David was already on the side road while Thom and Hector sped over the long drive to get there. Arash hung back so they could clear the way. Once they hit the side road, he picked up speed.

  Olesk was nowhere in sight, but knowing how he liked to control the situation, he probably had trackers on all the cars. By the time Arash hit the side road, David was already entering the suburbs to the south. Thom and Hector were halfway there. Stephanie picked up her phone and tapped over it. “Once we’re through the suburb there’s traffic around the first on-ramp to the highway. We’ll blow past to the next one a mile down.”

  “Affirmative.” He wasn’t a crook driver. She wasn’t a member of a criminal gang. They worked well together and raced toward an unknown future. The road curved into the suburbs, where Thom and Hector drove more aggressively. The vans swayed in the corners, but powered well into the straightaways. “Say goodbye.” Arash stepped on the accelerator and rocketed forward. After a couple of seconds he overtook Thom, then swerved hard around him to pass Hector on the other side. Their faces gaped in the rearview mirror. And then they were gone as he sped away.

  A taste of things to come. Taking them out would be easy. Olesk and David were a different story. Sweeping past the suburbs, Arash entered into the deeper traffic of the city. The first on-ramp approached, tempting with its promise of an open highway.

  “There’s the Chevy.” Stephanie pointed to where the car was hung up in a knot of slow-moving cars next to a construction area. Arash blew past him. A second later David edged his way out of the traffic and peeled onto the city street. The morning commute had died down, leaving the lanes relatively open for a chase.

  Stephanie had been right. On a straightaway, the Chevy won. He quickly caught up to the minivan and started to rumble alongside. Arash flicked him a glance, then swung hard to the right and onto a side street. The minivan handled the curve perfectly and righted itself quickly to speed off. Arash eyed the next hard turn to the left. “Putting the spare back worked.”

  “Feels like it.” Stephanie held the handle above the window with one hand and her phone with the other. “After this left we’re three blocks out from the next on-ramp.” She turned to look behind them. “David’s coming.”

  The Chevy skidded around the corner like a predator, confident in its strength. Arash powered into the hard left turn and put more distance between him and David. In another two blocks, the Chevy had caught up, but Arash had learned the strategy. “Got to stay moving.” He yanked the wheel into another left, then a quick right and they were speeding up the on-ramp ahead of David.

  The wide-open highway stretched south through the edge of Reno. There was more speed left in the minivan, but Arash didn’t want to draw too much attention and kept it just fast enough to be able to slow to a normal pace if any cops showed up. David didn’t seem as concerned with detection and brought the Chevy growling up close to the rear bumper of the minivan. He stayed there too long, then dropped back to power back into a quick pass. Arash kept his eyes ahead and didn’t give David the pleasure of pissing him off.

  The Chevy sped ahead but stayed in view as they neared the south edge of the city. Olesk’s Subaru pulled into a nearby lane and everyone matched his speed. A couple of minutes later, the cargo vans finally lumbered up behind the group.

  Stephanie’s phone buzzed. “Text from Olesk.” She read, �
�Next stop, Las Vegas.” After checking her phone, she said, “About four hundred forty miles.”

  “I’ll need to refuel along the way.” Around six hours on the road, with Olesk possibly listening and a million questions Arash needed to ask Stephanie. He pointed at the radio. “You’re the DJ.”

  She turned on the radio, found a top forty station and cranked a dance track. David flicked his headlights on and off, then surged forward and away from the others. Olesk changed lanes and edged away from Arash and Stephanie, soon disappearing among the other cars on the road. The cargo vans couldn’t keep up and faded into the distance behind him.

  “How much do you love Vegas?” Was that where the Seventh Syndicate gig was? He could be speeding closer to his final chance at revenge.

  She adjusted her sunglasses. “It always promises more than it delivers.” After typing on her phone, she held it out so he could see it, though beneath the view of anyone outside. The message read: I have a friend in Vegas.

  He nodded discreetly and she erased the note. More fuel on the fire. Frontier Justice would gather around her. He would stay at her side, even though he wasn’t following the same rules as her team. Once they made their play, Olesk and the others would fight to the death.

  * * *

  EVERY MILE BROUGHT her closer to disaster. She knew her teammate Javier was in Las Vegas, training fighters at an MMA gym, but she couldn’t reach out to him on this phone. Vegas still might not be the final destination, and she had to keep her identity airtight until she and Frontier Justice went on the offensive. But despite all her work, some of her secrets seemed to be in David’s hands, and he hadn’t shown what his bad intentions were.

  She and Arash had cleared far past Reno and skimmed along the Nevada foothills toward Las Vegas. They’d picked up drive-through for lunch and powered on, marking the distance by the loss of radio stations.

  The conversation never veered from cars and motorcycles to more personal topics, though she was constantly tempted to ask him about his favorite breakfast foods and see how provocative the topic could become.