Page 173 of Victorious

“Vic?” pressed Mitch, worry in his eyes.

“Drive faster,” he said.

The truck whined as Mitch pushed the pedal to the floor.

XXVNOW. THEN.

2 HOURS BEFORE THE END

THE OTHER ROAD

THE second transport van rattled through the woods.

It had been Noah’s idea to split the convoy. With two assets in two vans, and two possible routes—the roads ran along adjacent tracks, the space between them less than a mile at most points—it just made sense. Common military strategy dictated that you didn’t transport assets together, in case of ambush.

Of course, under ideal circumstances, Noah would have ridden with one of the Clarke sisters, and left Eli with the other, but Cardale required supervision. And since Dr. Gray had declared Sydney the more important target, they’d both ended up with her.

Noah sat forward, fingers laced to keep his hands from trembling. Not from anxiety or fear, just a side effect of the stimulant he’d had to take, to counter the effects of the tranquilizer dart Eli had shot him with. At point-blank range.

How that hadn’t constituted a breach of orders, Noah didn’t know. When he imagined emptying his gun into the other EO’s chest, he felt Gabriel’s will like a tug on a leash.

But Eli seemed untethered, leaning back, arms crossed, against the opposite wall. He’d gotten most of the blood off his face, but twin tracks ran from his ears into the collar of his black fatigues.

The younger Clarke sister lay on the third bench, the one nearest the front, blindfolded and bound, and heavily sedated. Hard to believe a girl that small could cause so much trouble.

Then again, she hadn’t been alone.

The retrieval mission had been a success, but it certainly hadn’t gone off without a hitch. They’d lost half a dozen agents, along with the human, Mitchell Turner, and judging by the state of the transport and the dead agents around it, he’d had help.

The van swerved, presumably around an object on the road.

“How much longer?” muttered Eli, the question directed at the ceiling.

The EON transport vehicles were built to withstand almost any power, but the downside was that level of reinforcement included wavelengths and radio signals, so the back was basically a black box. Base talked to the front and the front talked to them.

The answer came over the speaker from up front. “One hour.”

Noah bowed his head, scrubbing at the back of his neck, his body torn between agitated and exhausted thanks to the drugs competing in his system.

“Go ahead,” said Eli, this time addressing him. “Get some rest.”

Noah glanced up and saw the smirk playing on the other EO’s face, and in that moment, Dr. Gray’s will was the only thing that kept him from vaulting across the narrow space and wrapping his shaking hands around Eli’s neck. Then again, would it really count as violence since he healed so quickly? Maybe that was the trick to Eli’s aggression—mental spin.

“Hey, Eli,” goaded Noah, “How’s the throat?”

The EO’s amusement flickered. He was still good-looking, but the night had taken its toll. The dog’s jaws had left jagged silver lines above his collar, and it looked like one of its teeth had caught the bottom of his cheek.

Eli was about to say something when one of the agents up front came back on the comm. “The other transport has stopped.”

Noah’s head jerked up.

“Pause or proceed?” asked the agent up front.

Noah frowned. “Pause,” he ordered.

The tires slowed, the transport heaving to a stop.

Eli watched as Noah rose and pressed his palm to the sensor on the back door. It chirped, and unlocked, and he swung himself down, approaching the driver’s side.