Brianna Acero and the Second One's Return

58. Operation rescue is a go

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Exclaims Asher, sitting in the backseat of our black van.

All of us are equipped with stun guns, our mission packs, and weapons. My gloves are secured tightly on each hand, Mara has her staff at the ready, and Kalen has his throwing knives strapped to his belt. Asher has a weird little device that looks like a gun, fitting perfectly in his hand, almost like it was tailor-made for him and him alone. It's oval-shaped, with a short handle at the end of it, and a trigger wedged in between it and the body of the gun. A transparent barrel on the top glows with white electricity, and I can't help but wonder if it is some sort of fancy taser.

"I'm going as fast as I can," says Kalen through clenched teeth, gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turn white.

We are currently speeding down the highway, following the GPS to the location Asher found on his computer. With any luck we will get there in less than five minutes, but if we get stuck in traffic, it might take a while.

I contacted Christian before we left, telling my friends that even if we were going, we needed someone to know what we were doing and why. Christian was not pleased with our decision, but he knew he could do nothing to stop us when we told him what had happened. We were not leaving our teammate behind, danger or not, we were going to help her. So, instead of trying to talk us out of our decision, he assured us that he would be sending a team to the location, and Daniel would be with them to make sure everything went according to plan. They are supposedly in one of the compounds helicopters, on their way over as we drive down the road. But even traveling by air will still take them a good ten minutes to get to us. And Ana may not have ten minutes.

"Guys," says Mara, speaking up for the first time since we got into the van. "I think we finally have our proof that the President is the man we are after."

She gauges our reaction nervously as we drive, ignoring the various car horns that go off because of us, going way over the speed limit.

"What do you mean?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the road for a second.

"Jayson told me that Khan dismissed all of his bodyguards for the day, except for one of them that would accompany him to an unknown location. He didn't have anything scheduled for today, so it wasn't a meeting or a press conference, nobody knew why he was leaving. But Jay overheard them talking about the abandoned factories near the Mar, and thought that maybe that was where they were headed."

So the President is going to be in the same place that our killer is. Coincidence? I think not. I will try to contact Diana, see if she knows anything, but I know she won't answer me. Either way I decide that I have nothing to lose for trying, so I take out my TekPad and write her a quick message on Dove.

"Diana, I know you are mad, but I need your help. Do you know anything about your father that may seem out of place? I know you probably don't understand why I'm asking, but I don't have time to explain. Has he ever seemed weird to you? Disappearing without telling anyone where he was going? Anything you can think of, just let me know. And, I'm sorry, for what happened at the cemetery."

I close Dove and go back to staring out the window, feeling myself jump when we fly over a ditch in the road.

"Be careful." I tell Kalen, grabbing on to the safety handle with an iron grip.

"Choose, I can either be fast or I can be careful, I can't be both."

Asher is practically vibrating in his seat, eyes wide as he looks down at the GPS and then at the buildings we whiz by.

"There! That's it." He exclaims, pulling on his seat belt to lean over the front seat, pointing at an old building a few feet away. Kalen slams on the breaks, and the tires skid on the concrete, the van swerving for a good minute before we come to a full stop in front of the abandoned medical center. Asher is out of the van in seconds, nearly flying out of his seat as he runs towards the  courtyard.