Slay

More Events of Dubious Legality

Ava giggled as the morning streets rushed past under Noel's somewhat reckless driving. "I can't believe it was that easy!"

"Well, you knew exactly where the keys were. And both of us fit through the window."

"Turn left." commanded the GPS. Noel slowed, reluctantly, for the corner, then took off into a wider road. They passed neat beige walls and rusted fences; tall apartment buildings and houses with tiled orange roofs; unkempt clumps of strelitzias, and manicured 'islands' of verge separating the lanes, planted with evenly spaced palm trees. Above them, the sky was pale grey; a blissfully cool wind swayed the tops of the trees, suggesting that there was more rain to come.

Perched on the edge of the driver's seat, Noel barely looked tall enough to reach the pedals. Ava doubted this, though. He seemed to have little difficulty in reaching the accelerator. They barreled down the leisurely, curving roads at a pace which made Ava's stomach swoop and her heart leap even as her mind filled with unease. The speed was an escape, for Ava at least; she wondered if Noel felt the same.

To the left, out of Noel's window, Ava could see the ocean, a strip of steel blue against grey skies. The car streaked over a wide bridge, leaving it behind before Ava could notice more than sand, dune vegetation and a rippling lagoon stretching away in both directions. Buildings sprawled over the nearby hills. Beige apartment blocks looked like dolls' houses on the horizon. 

The world looked vast, and open, and exposed. Ava shrank back in her seat, playing with the strings of her hoodie.

"How do you think Robyn got here? Is she old enough to drive?"

Noel, thankfully, kept his eyes on the road as he replied, "No idea. I guess we'll find out."

"What if we have the wrong person?" said Ava.

Noel shrugged. Bushes in all shades of green lined the world on either side of the road, hiding the ocean from view. "Guess we're not the first person to make that mistake."

Ava shivered.

Fifteen minutes of palm trees, rickety wire fences, billboards and terrifying speeds later, they had reached Umhlanga. This was the trendy-tourist-destination; a world of high-rise hotels painted in sophisticated pastel monochrome, terraced timeshares and elegant landscaping held back from the beach by only a few dunes and the promenade.

They turned away from the cranes and scaffolding building yet more skyscrapers, and followed a road lined with manicured lawn verges, tall aloes and pavements of red and orange bricks. A pale peach hotel rose in front of the ocean, standing out among the taller beige and white apartments. Its name was written on one of the curved sides facing Ava: Beverly Hills.

The small red car parked in an on-street parking space, keeping a wary distance from the hotel. Ava turned to Noel. "So I guess we get in. How?"

Noel shrugged. "Heck if I know. I'm an elf; we make toys. We don't usually break into luxury hotels!"

"Hmm." Ava unclipped her seatbelt. "Unlock the car."

"Why?" 

"I'm going out. To scout the territory."

Noel coughed in a way that sounded suspiciously like a stifled giggle. "To what?"

"I've broken in to places before!"

"I'm not sure that that's encouraging." Noel sighed. A click signaled that the doors were unlocked. "Okay, go ahead."

"Thanks." Ava opened the door.