MISSION MOONLARK, kotlc

9

"Hm... which one looks best?" Biana wondered, staring at the row of Black Swan cars parked in front of them.

It was barely sunrise- and it was cold.

Sophie silently cursed the outfit that Biana had insisted would fit in the most- tight shorts that squished her legs, and some sort of shirt that she claimed was supposed to be way too short- and show half her stomach too.

Meanwhile, Biana could pass as yet another giggling teenager.

"Who cares what the model car it is," Sophie snapped, her teeth chattering so hard that her jaw hurt. "As long as it has seats and a steering wheel, we're good to go."

"And a decent music station!" Biana piped up.

"And a GPS that I can rig," Dex added.

"And a mirror," Fitz jumped in.

Sophie shot him a glare, though she doubted he could see her expression in the dark parking garage.

"Just get in the car," Sophie grumbled, choosing a random convertible. She gripped the top of the door and used it to jump inside.

"Got the key," Biana added, hopping into the car behind her. "I call shotgun!"

Sophie instinctively grabbed for the seatbelt strap- but Dex swatted her hand away. Agent 101 said that seat belts were newbie mistake in the spy business- which was true, considering how many times she'd had to jump out of a moving car.

"Sure you know how to drive?" Sophie asked Fitz worriedly.

He winked, testing out the pedals. "Eh. Of course I can! Remember when I helped you escape from that mission in SF?"

"I also remember you accidentally steering us off the Golden Gate Bridge and nearly drowning the four of us," Sophie teased.

Turned out, Fitz did not know how to drive. He managed to maneuver out of the parking slot without flipping over any cars, and driving out of the parking garage at barely two miles per hour- but once they hit the wet city streets, it was all over from there.

They hit three street poles, nearly rear-ended an innocent minivan at a stop sign, nicked a BMW, and knocked over a SLOW! sign.

Sophie's stomach felt like it wanted to barf itself up and run far, far away from the  rollercoaster-like ride she was so sadly participating in.

"Welcome to the Atlantis shopping center!" Fitz announced, barely looking winded as the car sailed to a stop and collided with the sidewalk with a jolting thud.

"Mall," Biana corrected, clutching her stomach and looking equally as queasy. "Shopping center sounds like a tacky supermarket."

Dex just leaned over the side and threw up into the parking lot.

Sophie tried to conserve her heat- and her sanity - as she slid out of the car and started walking towards the opening buildings.

"What time is it?" Fitz wondered, looking perfectly casual, as if he hadn't almost killed his friends in a fatal attempt at driving.

"Almost eight," Biana whimpered. She lit up slightly as she spotted a nearby Starbucks. "That means coffee time! Frappucino, anyone?"

Sophie practically had to drag her away from the delicious scent of pastries and caramel. "Guys... incoming strangers. Three fifteen."

Biana's voice shot up two octaves to the standard trendy teenager. "... and then she was like, 'Um.... like, no.' Like, can you even believe that?"

"Ugh. How could she! And she's even the cheerleading- phew, we're in the clear," Sophie said, giving a sigh of relief as she instantly dropped the abundance of 'like's.

"Guys.... I think we have more important things to worry about then cover ups," Dex whispered, elbowing them both.

Sophie was about to protest and quote Agent 101, when her eye caught on a familiar stringy blonde hair, cold blue eyed man.

Sophie could see right through his friendly demeanor, and casual mannerism-

Fintan Pyran.

The Neverseen's arson.