The Thirteenth Union: Prelusion

Chapter Five: Emotional Turmoil

I swerved to avoid the silver Prius in front of me. The tired beneath us skidded and squealed on the pavement. I slammed my foot on the brake for an entire second, before smashing the accelerator and flying through the part in traffic. Everything in the vehicle shifted right and back abruptly.

"Genesis!" Ahern cursed. "Could you drive less like you failed your drivin' test three consecutive times in high school?"

We left Blackwelder with Jessie at the airport immediately after calling for an ambulance. None of us could stay, because none of us were supposed to be there. Blackwelder had been the only agent assigned to Jessie Pearson. And, technically, he had been the only agent there. We were there on assignment from Jonathon. It was a privilege to know that we were there. Only two people knew: Jonathon and Annalise.

"To be completely honest," I started to admit. I wanted to jerk the wheel to the side, but I couldn't complete the action without endangering all of us and the Honda in the next lane. "I failed it twice!"

"You're not helpin' your case!" he shouted.

A symphony of car horns blared outside of my window. I ignored them and slammed my lead foot down on the accelerator the second the car in front of me switched lanes. I didn't think I would be able to get through downtown Manhattan traffic without causing a massive car accident that was live news worthy, but I certainly was going to try.

"Did you get ahold of Salva Serum?" Demone asked. He was holding his shoulder with a giant white rag. The cloth was pink around the edges and deep red in the center. The cracks in his fingers were filled with his own blood.

"I did." I dodged a taxi, and overlooked the finger that shot out of his window in response to my reckless driving. "They're transporting her there, as we speak."

"You're gonna get us pulled over, Genesis," Ahern warned. He looked out the back window at the angry drivers behind us. "And we can't risk bein' seen."

I gritted my teeth together and slid into the next lane. My hands were getting sweaty on the steering wheel. "I don't doubt that."

"Then slow down!" Demone ordered.

I had forgotten that it wasn't me in charge anymore. When we were away from Jessie, we were an equal team. No one was in charge. It took me a second to get my sudden surge of anger under control at what I thought was his insubordination.

My foot didn't move.

"Genesis," he spoke softer. I glanced at him. "We can't go to Salva Serum looking like stunt doubles for an action movie. We need help. A place to get cleaned up. Some new clothes."

I forced my foot to let off of the accelerator. The car slowed to match the speed of the cars around us. I let a long breath escape through my lips. "I know, I know," I managed. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

They both knew I was referring to the gunmen who greeted us at the airport.

"This is to be expected," Demone reasoned, like he had experience with these kinds of things. If anything, I had the most experience. Demone was only twenty-two, barely even grown yet. "When people get wind of our intentions, they tend not to like us being alive."

"But the question is: What people?" Ahern pulled himself forward to look at both of us. "Who the hell knew where we were goin' to be? No one's supposed to know."

"That doesn't matter right now," I told him. "We stopped them-"

"No," Demone corrected sharply, raising one finger to silence us. "We stopped their henchmen. No one with any idea what we're doing has any inclination to do their own dirty work. Whoever hired them, is still out there." He looked both Ahern and I in the eyes. "But you're right, Genesis. It doesn't matter who sent them. It's not our job to figure that out yet."