Turning Tables

Chapter 3

Rose

I was trying to snatch the keys from Dimitri's grasp, but he pulled them away and above his head. I had no way of reaching them now.

I placed my hands on my hips. "Hand them over Belikov. I am team-leader and I get to decide who drives. And I say I drive."

He kept his hands right where they were. "And as team-leader, you need to start working on a plan, and let the driving to a navigator." Then he proceeded to get into the front seat.

I really didn't want to argue with Dimitri. But I was pissed, mostly because he was right. And if I drove Dimitri would be sitting next to me. Even though we were given a nice size SUV as a car, the back seat would still be cramped. It would be natural for Dimitri to sit in the front with the driver. Maybe this was for the best.

I got in the back seat with Mia, Mikhail in the front with Dimitri.

"Do you even know how to drive? I didn't learn until I was here at Court. The Academy doesn't really teach you that." Mia asked.

They don't teach Moroi because most Royals will never really need to drive themselves and anybody else would be on their own. Also I think they didn't teach kids how to drive, because it would reduce their chances of taking a car for a joy ride on the weekend. Guardians who didn't know how to drive could take lessons. But I hadn't needed too.

"You forget I was out in the real world for two years. Lissa and I both learned to drive. It made keeping ahead of Guardians a lot easier."

I saw Dimitri looking in the rear-view mirror. He was thinking of our first encounter and so was I. That was so long ago. I wonder what he thought of me when he first met me. Did he think I was brave? Did he think I was pretty? Or did he think I was foolish, probably the latter.

"Well, where off to Team-leader?" Dimitri asked. He still wore that scowl and he kept his eye-contact with me to a minimum but at least he seemed to have accepted that we would be spending a lot of time together. The air didn't seem to strangle me as much as it did in Hans's office last night.

"Aren't you the navigator?" I asked half jokingly. He just shook his head, a shadow of a smile on his lips.

"Based on the general information from the file that you provided I made arrangements for a hotel a few hours from Court. From there we will set up a base camp and do some recon during daylight hours. Get a feel for the numbers currently at the first location. Once we have intel on numbers and locations we can formulate a plan. We will need to strike quickly and kill them all. We can't let any of them contact any of the other locations to tell them that Dimitri is dhampir again."

I had been thinking about it last night and today. Dimitri wasn't just our source of information. He was our way in. But in order to keep them from moving they couldn't know.

I had three pairs of eyes on me. Mikhail and Mia directly and Dimitri through the rear-view mirror. They were all gawking. Well, Mikhail and Mia. Dimitri just gawked internally. Really had they not expected me to be prepared.

"Head to the interstate and go west." I told Dimitri. That seemed to snap him out of it and the other two as well.

It was a long quiet ride. Mia and Mikhail talked a bit, introducing themselves a bit more to each other. They hadn't crossed paths yet. When Mia explained her history with me, I could see Mikhail's eyes widen a bit, both at the early days of our relationship -after all, Mia once spread the rumor I had two boys in my bed and let them bite me- and at the mention of the Spokane incident. Although the incident was well known. Who had been involved was less known.

It was hours before we arrived at the Hotel. I checked in and felt an odd sense of accomplishment when I swiped the company card. Hans was trusting me with money. How he ever got to be head guardian with that judgment I didn't know.