Lethe Vita

Chapter 27

Rumors, particularly rumors spread by former friends, were oftentimes vicious.

In his case, they had never been so much vicious as they had been inane and unoriginal.

In one, he had hijacked his father's plane after Jack had threatened to cut him off from his inheritance. In another, he had wrestled Lou Diamond Phillips after Dylan had flirted with Lou's wife. In still another, he had stolen the vehicle of the father of a girl he had impregnated in Paris.

Never had Dylan wished the latter rumor had been true as he did then, failing to figure out how to break into a vehicle holding his girls hostage.

Because contrary to the rumors that had swirled around West Bev, he had never stolen a vehicle, for fun or otherwise.

And the more time they spent searching for a way into the bus, the less time Brenda had to be brought out of it.

"Radiator's cracked," Clare announced, drawing back from the hood as she swiped the back of her hand over her forehead. "We can't fix it."

"You tried, Sweetums," said Steve.

"How's the exhaust valve holding out?" asked Brandon.

The exhaust valve, according to Kai, had begun to burn.

"We need to get Bren out," said Brandon.

"I know we need to get her out. The problem is, no one can get anything on this fucking bus to open! What'd they do, gorilla glue the doors?" asked Dylan. "Donna! Any luck with getting a response out of Bren?"

"Her fingers twitched and her head moved a bit, but she's still pretty much out," Donna reported.

"Were you at least able to crack a window to get her some air?" asked Kelly.

"You try opening a window that's sealed shut," said Donna.

"I am trying," said Kelly.

"If we can't get the doors and windows open, and König couldn't find a roof hatch, then we need to smash the windshield," said Dylan.

"But that could cause flying -" Brandon began.

"Glass shards to land on Bren," said Dylan. "It isn't a great option, but it's the only one we have, B. Glass gets smashed, I go in and carry her out."

"Once you're on that bus, you don't know how long your strength will hold out, D. Take Steve with you."

"I need you and Sanders to get the bus driver."

"You want us to rescue the guy who tried to take Bren from all of us?"

"If you don't, Rawlins and Co. get away with it. We need to know what this guy knows."

Brandon consented and called Luca over to help Dylan.

"Don't any of you have a slab of concrete in your trunk, a cinderblock, hatchet, tire iron, anything?" asked the thoroughly exasperated Val. "None of you have ever stolen a car before? None? God, I'm dealing with amateurs."

Brandon had a tire iron; in his own car, which was back at the house. Dylan's tire iron was in the garage, in the tool compartment Brenda had hung when Dylan had first moved in.

"We've had our cars stolen before," said Steve.

"If you're such an expert, where's your tire iron?" asked Brandon.

"What is iron tire?" asked Luca.

"We didn't take my car," said Val as she attempted to explain a tire iron to Kai and Luca.