Page 49 of So Silent

“It’s… well, it’s close.”

“God damn—how close?”

“You make a right at the next light, and it’s a half-mile down.”

“Keys?”

“In the truck.”

Faith rushed from the building, Turk and Michael following. When she saw Wanda again, she was going to rip that woman so many new holes they could use her as a damned cheese grater.

The agents rushed across the street, earning honks from several surprised drivers. Faith didn't care. She needed to be on scene when they got this killer, or God knows how Wanda would screw things up.

The more reasonable voice inside her head told her that just because Wanda was selfish and more concerned about political gain than protecting the innocent didn’t mean she would screw up the collar. She had responded well to Elena’s flight attempt, after all.

That soothed Faith's mood somewhat, but it wasn't until they reached the truck that the rage calmed enough for her to think about next steps. She jumped into the driver's seat, and Michael and Turk followed her. The keys were in the cupholder, and Faith had the truck in gear and moving before Michael even closed his door.

Moving turned out to be a relative term. The truck’s engine revved to the redline of forty-five hundred rpm, and the truck lazily accelerated to about twenty-five miles per hour and stayed there.

“What the hell?” Faith snapped. “Is this normal?”

“It’s in low range,” Michael said. “Shift into high.”

She reached for the shifter, and Michael caught her hand. "Stop first, then shift into neutral, then shift the transfer case into two high.”

She growled in frustration and slammed on the brakes. “What the hell is this thing for?”

“It’s an off-road truck. Low range helps multiply engine torque so you can—”

“I don’t actually care, Michael,” Faith snapped. “Damn it, I’m going to kill that woman!”

She shifted into neutral and then moved the transfer case shifter to two high. This time, when she shifted into drive, the truck lurched forward with something resembling actual speed. Faith managed to get up to forty-five miles per hour when it occurred to her that she probably couldn't swing this thing around corners the way she could a nimble police sedan.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. She turned onto the highway, and even at those relatively low speeds, the truck lurched sickeningly. The tires scrabbled at the pavement for a couple of seconds before hooking up and launching the truck forward.

That, again, was a relative term. The truck was about as heavy as a dump truck and about as fast. It took a solid thirty seconds for the vehicle to reach seventy-six miles per hour, at which point, the truck's governor kicked in and prevented them from moving any faster. Faith got to enjoy the wonderful experience of being passed on the right by a minivan in the middle of an emergency response.

“How far to the scene?” she asked Michael.

“Twelve minutes,” he replied.

She sighed and resisted the urge to smack the steering wheel. It would be just her luck she’d accidentally put the truck into extra-slow mode or something.

She knew a decent amount about cars, but she was never much into trucks. She realized why now.

The radio crackled, and Wanda's triumphant voice echoed through the cabin. "All units, stand down. The suspect is in custody. Repeat, suspect is in custody."

Faith had to admit she felt a rush of relief and even excitement when she heard that their suspect was in custody. “Roger that, Detective,” she said. “Any casualties?”

"Negative, Special Agent. The suspect was apprehended alone. No casualties, civilian or police."

“Outstanding work,” Faith replied. “Good enough that I won’t have your badge for leaving us at the precinct.”

There was a brief pause. Then Wanda said, somewhat defensively. “It was a time-sensitive situation, Special Agent. I’m sorry for what happened to your cruiser, and obviously, Redmond PD won’t be pressing charges since it was used to apprehend a fleeing suspect, but—”

“I’m in a good mood right now,” Faith interrupted. “Up until thirty seconds ago, I was in a very bad mood. Let’s try to keep the good mood, yeah?”

After another brief pause, Wanda said, “Yeah. Sounds good.”

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