Page 14 of Spring L.A.W.
The guy was tiring now, arms pumping with all the desperation of a man who’d made just one more terrible life choice. His hoodie had dark sweat patches. His lungs heaved. And still, Rayna wasn’t even breathing hard.
She wasn’t just chasing him. She wasescortinghim to his poor, exhausted, inevitable fate.
He finally skidded to a stop in front of an abandoned storefront, panting, hands on his knees. “Okay,” he gasped. “Okay, okay, okay…”
Rayna strolled up behind him, hands on her hips.
He turned, saw her there, and whimpered. “Whatareyou?”
She tilted her head. “Oh, honey. We haven’t even started the questions yet.”
Heavy footfalls echoed behind her. Michael arrived first, then Daniel, who immediately grasped onto a mailbox like he needed it to stay upright. A beat later, Major Payne strode onto the scene, crisp and clean and looking like he’d just stepped out of a military-themed recruitment poster. He stopped next to Rayna, surveying the gasping man with pure disdain.
“You led him on a foot chase?” the Major said, voice low and dangerous.
“He ledmeon one,” Rayna corrected. “I just made it stylish.”
The Major looked at the man, who was wheezing like an accordion played by an Irish toddler. “You couldn’t outrunher?”
The man tried to speak. Failed. Tried again. “She’s… She’s not normal.”
“No,” Major Payne said dryly. “She’s not.”
Rayna beamed. “Aww, you noticed.”
He didn’t smile. Just crossed his arms.
Michael leaned in. “So… Do we interrogate him here, or take him back to the Batcave?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Can we not call it the Batcave?”
Rayna said, “I vote for here. He’s too sweaty for enclosed spaces.”
The man groaned and tried to slump to the ground.
Major Payne stopped him with a single barked command: “Stay standing.”
The guy flinched and straightened. Barely.
Rayna turned to the Major. “So, do you want to do this the official way? Or the fun way?”
The Major didn’t answer right away. Just stared at their would-be tail, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else, even on fire. Finally, he said, “Let’s start with why he followed you. Then we’ll decide how many bones he gets to keep.”
Rayna smiled sweetly. “See? Iknewwe were gonna have fun.”
The man stood crookedly, trying not to collapse, sweat dripping from his temples. He darted looks between the four of them. Michael was impassive, Daniel smiled in a way that didn’t bode well, Rayna looked like she was very much enjoying herself, and Major Payne exuded military-grade menace.
“You’ve got one shot to make this less painful,” the Major said. “Use it wisely.”
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently. “I didn’t mean anything by it, okay? I was just watching.”
“From inside a restaurant,” Rayna said, arms crossed. “Where you weren’t eating.”
“Wearing a hatanda hoodie,” Daniel added. “Real subtle.”
“I didn’t… Look, I was just told to find out more about the… About the L?—”
Rayna stepped forward so fast that he startled.
