Maria is a weapon. She has the strength of ten soldiers.
Luitenant Logan has always taken care of her, and she's fought countless battles by his side.
But when he suddenly disappears during a battle, Maria finds herself without the one person she's...
I kept my eyes on the rear view mirror of the vehicle as we clambered from the grounds of the facility.
There had been a gate obstructing our exit, but after Constance knocked out the guard and pushed the button, we'd made it through.
"Who was that?" I asked as we made it onto the highway, still driving at a frightening speed.
"Someone from the Victory Project. The three days are up." Howalk said, his eyes steady on the road ahead. He drove with one hand on the wheel and one on the shifting stick between the front seats, alternating the petals like any professional driver would have.
He clearly had experience in the area of getaways such as this one.
"So what now? We just keep driving until we run out of fuel?" Constance asked, clasping the headrests of the front seats and leaning forward.
"There's somewhere secure we can go, but it's a few days away from here."
"We might want to switch for a cheaper car if we're going that far. With this Audi, regular fuel is just not gonna cut it. And premium cost too much."
Howalk glanced at her in the rear view. "How do you know that?"
She smirked. "I've done a bit of reading into things like this,"
"Glasgow is an hour away, we'll have to switch there."
"Wait, if we're going through Glasgow, I know a guy who might get us one." Constance said.
"You've got a friend in Glasgow?" Howalk said.
"I don't know if he's a friend, more like ex-supplier. But if he'd still around, he'll help us out."
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"This is it." Constance said as we pulled in front of an old building. There was a neon sign that flickered they words "Clyde's Donut Emporium".
"Clyde's your ex-supplier?" Howalk said, shutting off the engine and slipping the key into his jacket pocket.
"I've hung around here a few times, donuts isn't usually among the stuff they pass around though." Constance said, the look in her eye filled with familiarity.
The pavement was cracked and damp from the rain, and weeds grew up in a border around the base of the building. The damp air stank as I inhaled, and my shoes crunched against the abandoned sidewalk.
Howalk held the door for Constance and I followed after her. The environment we stepped into wasn't any more welcoming then the outdoors, with garbage strewn about, dim light and a musty stench. The counter seemed to be the only part of the restaurant still intact. Chairs lay upside down or on their sides and half of the tables had rotted into pieces.
There were no people around. Newspapers that had been laid out and the tattered blankets and coats in piles on the floor told of previous tenants of this place, likely homeless due to their addictions to some drug or another.
"Back here." Constance motioned with two fingers for us to follow her. She pushed through the swinging doors behind the counter, into the restaurant's kitchen.
This place was dimly lit as well, but I could see that it was a whole lot cleaner. Most of the kitchen necessities had been torn out roughly and replaced with crudely build furniture, or old sofas.
"Uncle Toffee, you back there?" Constance yelled into the scene. Music that had been playing somewhere in the back of the room stopped.
"'Ew's out there?" An man with a wrinkled face and a stout figure stepped out of the shadows. "Connie!" He exclaimed, instantly recognizing her.
"Please don't lecture me about coming back here, we don't have a lot of time." She replied, giving the man a side hug. "This place is so empty, where is everyone?"
"I dinnae really, but all fer the best," He replied, his words slurred by a heavy Glaswegian accent. He eyed me and Howalk for a minute as he kissed Constance on the top of her head, but didn't address us. I assumed he'd been somewhat of a mentor to her in the past, judging by his caring nature towards her despite his surly appearance. "Yer 'ere for Fitz then aye?"
"We need a car." Constance told him with a nod.
"Eh, Fitz," He yelled over his shoulder.
A young man with messy, partially dyed hair and tattoos over a good portion of his arms and neck soon appeared. "Knock me over dead." He said with a smirk as he saw Constance. "You are a sight for sore eyes." He also had a heavy accent, although his was far too mellifluous and soft to be Glaswegian.
"Nice seeing' ye Connie," Uncle Toffee said before he excused himself.
Constance addressed Fitz. "We need a car." She said.
"What for?" Fitz asked.
Howalk stepped forward, his steel countenance drawing the attention of the conversation to himself. "We don't have time to explain," He said.
"In that case, I've got one out back." He said. He motioned for us to follow, which we did.
After taking a few hallways, we stepped out into open air once more. I pulled my sleeves over my hands against the chilly Scotland air.
The car in question was parked discretely in the loading dock area of the building.
Howalk examined it, looking under the hood and the dashboard before stating that it would suffice.
"You can use it, but there's a condition." Fitz said as he leaned against the side of the car.
Constance looked at him. "What condition is that?"
"You've got to tell me what you need it for."
"Why?" I asked. Fitz looked at me and smiled.
"Curiosity," he said with a shrug.
"He's legit, he wouldn't tell anyone." Constance said, looking at Howalk.
"Well in that case why doesn't he just come with us?" Howalk said. "That is, if he's not afraid of risk."
"You don't want to know the risks I've taken over the years, count me in." Fitz said.
"Bring your gun too." Constance said.
"Oh, that kind of risk. I thought it was just a road trip."
