Lightspeed: Drug Detectives

Chapter 37 (Act IV): Beaten To The Punch

Well, now.....you wanna know something? That lunch at the Hard Rock Café really wasn't that bad! Anyway.....hey, everyone! It's your girl, Ariel Axilas, and welcome back to yet another chapter of my second novel, "Lightspeed: Drug Detectives"! Last time, what initially started out as a big honking huge slog of a lunch actually turned into a rather involved discussion on our plan of attack when it comes to our inevitable besieging of the Celestial Compound. It somehow started with me being distressed and wanting the lunch to end quickly, while my best friend Erica Shields was enthusiastic......and it ended with Erica being the eager and anxious one while I ended up becoming more pumped for the upcoming attack than ever.

Now, we actually have a goal. Since it's likely going to just be Erica, the Paragon Herman, and myself—as far as we know; the author could throw us another curveball if he wants—our strike is going to be specific and surgical. Erica and Herman are going to get me into position so I can blast through the Celestial Compound's middle building so quickly that it triggers a sonic boom, basically blowing up that entire structure and throwing the entire base into chaos. Then, once everyone's running around like chickens with their genitals cut off, we'll all move in and take down the Celestial Syndicate's three main heads: Angelo Acosta, his wife Daniela Acosta, and the top enforcer Xavier Costello.

Seems like a good plan on paper.....but until we put it into practice, there's no way we'll be able to know for sure. At any rate, the chapter ended with us rallying together once more—and me giving a special mention to my on-and-off boss, Marle Atkins—before digging into our rather light main courses.

This time, we race back to the Celestial Compound to prepare for our attack, but something tells me that another party might have already kicked things off. Who is it? .....Well, I'm sure as hell not going to tell you! You actually have to read the chapter! So go on now! Read it! You won't be disappointed!

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-Enroute to the Celestial Compound, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-

We're equipped. We're locked and loaded. We're thoroughly fired up. And we've just been through a rather fulfilling lunch, courtesy of the Hard Rock Café. I'll be honest.....I may have been rather averse to the idea of a last-minute lunch before, but now that we've had time to regroup and actually discuss a damn plan of attack rather than just rushing in blindly, I feel more optimistic about our chances than ever! .....As much as I can be, anyway!

I, the speedy superheroine Lightspeed, am back in the driver's seat of my own car once again after having gone without it for quite some time, and my best friend Erica Shields is in the front passenger's side seat to my right, with her crowbar and sledgehammer still at the ready. The Paragon Herman is also riding on his motorcycle to our left, and—once again—he's going over the general gist of the plan.....even though we went over it a thousand times back at the Hard Rock Café. He even insisted on doing so while we were in the middle of our main courses; I must admit, it was rather distressing to see and hear him talk with his mouth full.

But at the same time.....I understand his worry. If we don't do this correctly.....then this attack could very well be our last.

The three of us are currently on our way back to the Celestial Compound—the Celestial Syndicate's base of operations—and thanks to Herman memorizing the path that we took from the Celestial Compound to the Fortaleza Ozama, he has a decently good idea of what turns to make and lanes to merge into.

"Once again, Lightspeed," he begins, keeping his eyes on the road in front of us. "Erica and I are going to get you as close to the Celestial Compound's front gates as possible without being detected. Then, we're just going to sit tight and wait until the front gates open up again; they're going to open up eventually, if Angelo is planning on sending more couriers out today."