Page 79 of Peace Under Fire

“Hello?” he called out, taking a step forward as a veil of snowflakes drifted down in front of his stunned gaze.

No response. Nor did the Land Rover magically reappear.

He slowly took another step forward as multiple RPG rounds exploded somewhere to his right. Sporadic rifle reports followed. The gunfire sharpened his focus. He hadn’t hallucinated that.

He needed to contact Crusher, find out how team two was faring, but reaching out in the middle of a battle would just get someone killed. Besides, Brick’s phone was with Mandy, who was inside the missing Rover.

He walked forward, his arms straight out like a blind man, or someone walking in a dark and unfamiliar place—or perhaps some dickhead expecting to run face first into an invisible object.

Only nothing was there.

He stumbled way past where he’d expected the SUV to be and didn’t run into anything—visible or invisible. He walked all the way up to the tree behind where he’d parked the SUV and then turned around and walked back to the tree they’d passed, where he’d nosed the Rover into the thicket. Nothing. Jesus. The vehicle wasn’t invisible. It was gone.

More rifle fire peppered the night. It was spread out now to the east and west, and closer. The battle was moving toward them.

Just as his shock skyrocketed into concern, the Land Rover was suddenly there again, the moonlight gleaming against its metallic finish. Huge, fat snowflakes filtered down between the trees, melting as they hit the hood and windows. Familiar faces peered at him through the open door.

“Get in, dumbass.” An all too recognizable and annoying voice yelled through the open driver’s door.

Squish sprinted for the Rover. He had no clue what she’d done. Although, since he’d walked right through where the Rover was currently sitting—twice—she’d done more than shield the vehicle from sight. Somehow, she’d disappeared it.

Where had it been while he was stumbling around in this grove of trees looking for it?

“Convinced enough to listen to me now?” JoAnn asked, her voice raspy.

The instant he hopped into the vehicle, that weird, wintery fog ambushed his mind again. Based off the timing, this new, creepy sensation must be connected to whatever JoAnn was doing.

“Son of a—son of a—son of a—son of a—” Fabio mumbled from behind the driver’s seat, his voice dulled by shock.

Squish twisted to investigate the cargo hold. He had a vague memory of punching the button on the remote to lift and lower the tail gate, but the door was still closed. He zeroed in on Fabio, who was still muttering the same three words repeatedly. The dazed look on his face matched the shock in his voice.

Had JoAnn’s impressive trick drove him insane. Was that something they needed to worry about?

“He okay?” Squish asked, glancing at Ajax, who was sitting there with a tight face and clenched hands.

Ajax stirred, unclenched his hands, and stared down at them, then looked back up. Shock shone from his eyes. “Dude… Fuck. You walked through the car—twice—like a ghost.”

Squish had barely digested that when Mandy touched his arm.

“Jo says she can shield us from the cockroaches, even while we’re moving.” Mandy paused and drew in a gulp of air, as though she’d forgotten to breathe. “But we need to hurry. Doing whatever it is she does takes tremendous focus and energy. She’s not sure how long she can maintain the shield.”

“Can she hide us until the bastards hunting us are gone?” Squish shoved the key into the ignition. If she could hide the SUV, he and Ajax could head out to back up team two.

A new possibility hit him. Could she shield the second team too? Could she extend the effect that far? He leaned forward and looked around Mandy to JoAnn, who was sitting half forward, one hand still plastered against the door, the other against the dashboard.

“If we head back, can you include Crusher and team two in this effect?” he asked.

“I doubt it,” JoAnn panted. “This ability is still new to me. But from experimenting, I’d have to be in both trucks at the same time. The only thing I can tell you is I don’t think they’ll be able to see this car, or those of us in it, even if we pass right through them—like you passed through us. Nor will there be any tire tracks to give us away. Or at least that’s what happens when I cloak myself. They don’t see me. They don’t hear me. I don’t leave footprints. But I’ve never tried to cloak a car with a whole boatload of people before. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to maintain this. We need to go and find a safe place to hide if I crash.”

If they stayed here and she crashed, Mandy’s cockroaches could easily follow their tire tracks and hunt them down. If they headed into the woods, could she even shield all of them? Would she have to be touching everyone at once? And what if she crashed in the forest? They’d be sitting ducks. On the other hand, he had personal experience with her disappearing the entire car, and all the people in it.

Shit. Squish fired the engine. He wondered for a split second whether the cockroaches could hear the SUV. His instincts said no, that whatever JoAnn was doing was cloaking all physical and audible evidence of the SUV. She’d said they hadn’t heard her. And he hadn’t heard anyone in the Rover when he was looking for them.

Yet, he could still hear the RPG and rifle reports.

Weird.

As he backed out of the forest and onto the driveway, the RPG blasts and rifle reports fell silent. Was the battle over? Who won? Was Crusher or Brick lying somewhere within the forest, their blood washing the snow into crimson slush? Frustration heated his muscles. He needed to know what was going on, but calling Crusher could distract him, or alert the tangos to his position.

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