Rivals: The Killjoys vs. The Youngbloods

23. "Put on Your War Paint"

Forty-Five Minutes

Mikey sat in the car, nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Andy sat in the back seat, showing his throwing knives to Rian. Jack and Zack were curled up together, snoring lightly while Alex hummed to himself and Joe ignored them all. Louisa stared at a torn photo of Artemis with loving eyes.

And Patrick sat in the passenger seat, looking just as nervous as Mikey felt.

"How far away are we?" Patrick asked quietly, gazing out the window.

Mikey glanced at the navigation app on his phone. "Twenty minutes."

"That gives us, what? Twenty-five minutes to find Pete before Courtney kills him." Patrick mumbled.

So he is counting too, of course he is. Mikey thought. He cares about Pete.

"Yeah, just about twenty-five." Mikey subconsciously pressed down on the gas pedal harder.

Patrick looked back at everyone. "You ever get the feeling that one of us isn't gonna make it out of there?"

Mikey set his jaw, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "Yeah, I'm getting that doomed vibe."

"Oh good, so it's not only me." Patrick sighed. "Who do you think it'll be?"

Mikey shrugged. "We can't think about that; right now we focus on getting in and getting everybody out. Even if that means sacrificing ourselves to do it. Because that's what leaders do."

Patrick nodded in agreement. "You know, sometimes I wish we were friends," he said quietly.

"Maybe when all of this is behind us, we can explore that wish." Mikey grinned at Patrick.

Patrick nodded sullenly and returned to staring out the window. Mikey did the same.

A dim feeling filled the air, as Mikey's last words hung on the tension like dead weight.

Because they both knew one of them wouldn't make it. And they also knew who was the most likely to lay down his life. There would be no reunion, no happiness. After all this was over, there would be a funeral; they would be burying one of their own.

>>>>>

"Wake up!" Mikey said loudly as the van rolled to a stop in front of the condemned house.

Alex nudged Jack awake. "We're here."

"Finally," Jack untangled himself from Zack. "My leg's falling asleep."

Zack groaned, stretching his arms to the ceiling. "That's because it was wrapped around me."

"We're here guys," Mikey said, "it's showtime."

"What's the plan, boss?" Joe removed his ear buds. The sound of heavy metal spilled from the small speakers.

Mikey turned to face the back of the car. "We go in and we split up; Sinners and Hustlers-"

"Um, we prefer to be called the Sinning Hustlers," Brendon spoke up.

Mikey sighed. "The Sinning Hustlers-"

"Thank you."

"-will go and find the bomb and disable it while the Youngbloods and I look for Pete. Louisa-"

"I keep watch for Jon." Louisa examined one of her guns, solemnly.

Mikey nodded. "I'm not one for pep talks." He glanced down at his phone. "But as of now, we have fifteen minutes to find Pete and get out of here before the bomb goes off. No man left behind, understand? You're responsible for everyone on your team." He gave all of them a hard, pointed look. "Give 'em hell."