Page 52 of Synnr's Ride

Old habits had Hanna testing the start button before she began hacking, and the first one purred to life. The second did as well. Kark and his men were so confident they hadn't even bothered to lock the starting mechanisms.

Their stupidity was her gain.

Jori gave her one final look before getting on his bike. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to say something that might... well, she wasn't sure.

But they had to hurry.

Kissing could come later.

She got Sarah on the bike in front of her and engaged the controls. Jori pulled out ahead of her and looked as if he'd been born to ride. She would have been proud if she had any time to feel anything except dread.

How many people were in those crates? What was Kark planning with them? And what about the weapons?

It didn't matter now. This would all be over soon.

In front of her, Sarah felt like skin and bones, her body quivering against Hanna. Hanna held on tight, but she had to drive fast. Neither she nor Jori had taken the time to sabotage the other bikes. A stupid mistake in retrospect, and one that might get them killed if Kark and his men ran outside.

She couldn't waste time worrying about that now.

Sarah’s quivering turned into even stronger shaking before they hit the highway. Under any other circumstances, Hanna would have pulled over.

That wasn't an option now.

The daytime clock had finally chimed, though it was exactly as bright as it had been when she and Jori snuck out at the small hours of the morning. Vehicles clogged the road. If they were in a car, they would be stuck, vulnerable to Kark and his crew.

Instead Jori weaved around where he could, pulling onto the shoulder in more extreme cases. Hanna followed and hoped the other vehicles saw them. No helmets meant that any crash would turn them all into nothing more than bloody meat.

The snarl of traffic unknotted after a few minutes, and she could see the rise of the city center in the distance. Not long now.

And still no chase.

Kark still had a deal to pull off and evidence to hide. He had to know they were coming. When she and Jori got a crew out there, the warehouse could be stripped down to the studs.

That was a problem for later.

She followed Jori at the correct exit and they pulled into the underground parking garage of HQ, blasting past the guard station to the outrage and shouting from the person on duty.

As soon as her bike stopped, Hanna gently eased Sarah out of it. The woman slumped against her, barely standing on her own feet. Hanna carefully tapped her face, hoping to wake her up, but she didn't make a noise or move to indicate she felt it.

Still, Hanna tried to guide her, but whatever strength was propping Sarah up disappeared between one second and the next and she dropped, a dead weight.

"Get me a medic!" Hanna yelled.

That sent Jori sprinting. It was a flurry of motion, guards from the guard station pointing blasters and flared wings, but unsure of whether they should shoot. Another Synnr took a look at Jori and went running towards the building's door.

More soldiers burst out, Major Ozar at the lead. She glared at the guards and motioned for them to lower their weapons.

A medical team took Sarah from Hanna. Hanna was tempted to follow them. She felt responsible for the girl and wanted assurances she'd be safe.

Under the care of a Synnr military medical team was the safest place that girl could be. Hanna had to let her go.

And she didn't have another choice. "Harek! Karsyn! Report," yelled Major Ozar, "Now!"

* * *

"This is taking toopuntinglong." Jori paced from one end of the small office he and Hanna were holed up in to the other and tried not to imagine a prison cell. He could open that door and walk out into the wider office at any time. There was a bathroom just down the hall and a break room with snacks a little further. No one would stop him.

But if he walked out, he'd keep walking until he found a vehicle and could run back to the warehouse and take care of Morn Kark himself.

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