FALLS LIKE THUNDER [TYLER OWENS]

TWENTY : ALWAYS AN ANGEL

CHAPTER TWENTY : ALWAYS AN ANGEL

EL RENO, OKLAHOMA

TYLER LEAVES NO ROOM FOR ARGUING WHEN IT COMES TO SEAT CHOICES. Willow is there, ready to voice that it is only fair Kate gets her turn, but the woman is already sliding into the back seat without any complaint, and Tyler, waving her right on into the front with the door wide open.

"You ready, weather girl?" He asks the moment she's situated, ready to peel off in the direction of their storm.

Willow turns to him, her grin wild. "Ready, cowboy."

They head off towards El Reno, in the slip of land between it and Calmut where the storm forms. Tyler keeps his eyes on the road, one hand gripping the wheel, the other lazily tossed over Willow's thigh. The woman herself is locked in, Tyler's laptop pulled to her where she minds the data.

"Okay, ground speed's at 22," Willow informs them, eyes fixed on the radar in her lap. The feed is hooked to the drone hovering above, and the numbers coming through are phenomenal. With some maneuvering, they could really make something out of this drone-data rig. Her eyes flicker to the twister churning just northeast of them, already a brutal thing. The dark skies she'd watched earlier had been a perfect warning. "Intercept is northeast. Look for Siloam Road."

Tyler glances over at her with a smile, all too happy to take her orders. "Siloam Road."

He presses the gas, speeding toward the intercept. Willow glances at him, her lips twitching into a grin—but it's cut short when StormPAR's truck slides out in front of them, wheels kicking up mud that slaps against their windshield.

Kate startles in the backseat, clutching the door as though Tyler might slam the brakes, but he doesn't. He keeps steady, adjusting without hesitation, far better behind the wheel than Javi had ever been.

He lets out a low chuckle. Javi's truck kicks up more debris as it weaves dangerously ahead. Javi only matches Tyler's energy and after that first chase, well, Willow knows he probably had that coming to him. 

None of the others are happy about the arrival of StormPAR, Boone is the most vocal when his voice crackles to life from the radio. "Hey!" He shouts. "These storm buttheads are cutting us off, man"

"All right, let's not get distracted," Tyler responds through his comms, voice steady, no need for the competition anymore. "Let's get these babies in the air!"

Tyler eases the truck forward again, matching Javi's speed. The skies darken ominously, lightning stabbing toward the earth in violent flashes. Debris swirls around them, pelting the truck as the winds intensify. Rain begins to pour, so heavy it obscures the twister entirely. Willow leans forward, squinting through the rain-streaked windshield, her jaw tightening.