Race the Storm

Chapter 31

Jax hadn't been this tense in weeks. Every inch of him was on edge. The incident in the gas station had been bad enough, but this...it felt like he was escorting Willa right back into captivity. He ground his teeth together as he drove their newest stolen vehicle, a black Jeep, toward the base.

"It's going to be fine."

He didn't reply to Willa's soft, comforting voice. He was mad at himself for not being able to figure out a better solution to their current problem. Jax's grip on the steering wheel tightened. He couldn't stand the fact that Willa was sitting in the back of the Jeep, her hands cuffed behind her.

The doctor they were about to see, Hernandez, had told them to come in as if Jax had caught Willa on a mission and was bringing her in as a research subject. She claimed that she was the only person in their facility that knew the two of them were PsyOps escapees; the higher-ups were supposedly trying to keep the escape on the downlow, though of course some people knew, like everyone in Jax's homebase. However, not many people knew about Willa. Wes had confirmed all of that.

Bringing in Willa as if he was on a solo mission to deliver her to the research center was decent cover. Most of the time, these transfers were done in pairs, but occasionally with a low powered person, it was covered by one.

There were so many things that could go wrong, and this felt like a terrible plan. They could be walking into a trap. Even though the doctor had reassured Wes through secured communication that she was on their side, she could be lying. It would be her job and her life on the line if someone figured out she was lying. Wes had promised to create some disturbance in her facility's video feeds while Jax and Willa were there, but that didn't mean she wouldn't turn them in herself.

"You're going to break the steering wheel."

"I blow stuff up, I don't have super strength," he growled back at her.

Willa sighed. "Okay, then, you're going to blow up the Jeep. Calm down."

"I don't think you're taking this seriously enough."

"Jax..." Her tone carried a hint of frustration.

"Sorry, Willa. I just don't like this."

"I don't either, but I also don't like knowing why these powers suddenly appeared," she said, "I just want to make sure the baby's okay."

"And I don't want to put either of you in danger. Which is exactly what we're doing." He glanced up into the rearview mirror as they reached the guard gate to the facility. "We can leave now. I can still put this thing in reverse."

"Yeah, and have them chase after us for suspicious behavior?" Willa shook her head, her smile understanding even as she refused to give an inch. "We're here now, let's see this through."

Jax sighed, but forced his face into his usual blank PsyOps mask as he rolled up to the gate. Jax was worried that even if the facility here didn't know about him, that his badge would set off an alert or secret signal once he used it. Wes had said he'd watch out for anything, but there were no guarantees in life.

If only they'd been able to meet the doctor off base. Supposedly her mission was too classified for her to be permitted to leave unescorted, but still...

"Identification," a voice spoke through the speaker attached to the top of the gate post. Jax scanned his ID at the box near his window–standard procedure at every PsyOps-affiliated base.

"Jax Sinclair," the voice repeated, almost sounding bored. "State your purpose."

"Bringing in a PsyOps POI," Jax returned in an equally bored voice. "Was told her abilities matched a need at this facility." Person of Interest was often what those with abilities were called by the various PsyOps teams. Somehow made it more palatable then calling them prisoners, even if that was a more accurate description of the reality the POI's would face.