Maria nodded. "Ready when you are."
Alex hit the gas and pulled up even with Valenti. Maria leaned out the window. "The 7-Eleven was robbed," she yelled. "The owner was shot. You have to get back there."
Maria ducked back inside. "He didn't even turn his head. He had to see me, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Alex answered. "Time for plan B."
"Which is?" Maria demanded.
"I don't know exactly. But you better roll up the window and buckle your seat belt just in case," he told her.
As soon as Maria was strapped in, Alex jerked the wheel to the right. Metal screamed against metal as his Rabbit gave the cruiser a hard shove.
They definitely had Valenti's attention now. And he wasn't happy. He gave the Rabbit a sideways slam that sent it into a half turn across the lane.
Alex expected Valenti to take the opportunity to put some distance between their cars. But that wasn't his style. With a squeal of tires he jerked his cruiser around so that it was aimed at the Rabbit.
"Hold on, he's going to ram us!" Alex warned Maria.
A second later the cruiser bulldozed into the back of the Rabbit, slamming it out onto the desert. Valenti backed up, preparing for another slam. Alex saw him doing it. But he couldn't get out of the way in time. And there was no chance he could somehow circle to the side of Valenti and start ramming him.
Alex braced himself against the wheel as the cruiser took its second shot.
"The arroyo! He's pushing us toward the arroyo!" Maria cried as Valenti backed up again.
The narrow canyon wasn't that deep. But it wasn't going to be a fun landing. And once they were down there, there was no way they'd be able to stop Valenti.
Alex spat out a curse as he jerked the wheel to the left and floored the gas. Too late. The cruiser smashed into them again.
And the Rabbit sailed over the edge of the arroyo.
The pain sweeping through Isabel subsided. What did that mean? Now that she couldn't feel pain from Max, did that mean… did that mean he was dead?
Get the crystals, she told herself. That's all you can think about right now. She rushed down the ship's narrow walkway, her feet making a grating sound on the metal mesh of the floor.
Ray said the crystals were kept in one of the slots under the control panel. But where was the control panel? And where were Ray and Michael?
She couldn't risk going back to look for them. If she was the only one who'd made it onto the ship, she was Max's only hope.
She wished she had a map of the ship's interior. It was a lot bigger than she thought it was. It was as if the ship was larger inside than out, the walkways branching off in all directions. She wasn't sure she was even on the right one. She could be rushing completely the wrong way. She'd only picked this walkway because it looked slightly wider than the others.
Isabel's walkway widened and widened until it formed a large room with huge windows. She couldn't see anything out of them. She didn't know if it was some kind of cloaking mechanism or what. And she didn't care. She didn't see any controls of any kind, so she was obviously in the wrong place.
Two more walkways branched off the observation room. They looked pretty much identical. Isabel chose the closest one. She ran down it with her head ducked. It got wider and wider until it opened into a room that had something Isabel figured could be a control panel. Thank God.
Now where were those slots Ray mentioned? She didn't see anything that could be called a slot or a hole or a cubby or anything. She dashed over and slid her fingers over the smooth metal beneath the controls. She felt a little raised spot and hit it. A slot opened up. No crystals.
Isabel heard footsteps approaching. "Finally," she called. "I can use some help in here." She felt for another raised spot, then jammed it so hard, she broke a nail.
She started searching for another spot. Then she realized the footsteps were getting closer, but no one had answered her. Isabel felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand up. That meant that whoever was moving toward her wasn't Ray or Michael.
Oh, that was very smart, just announcing your exact location, Isabel thought. She slid both hands over the metal, searching for the next trigger. Found one. Hit it. No crystals.
The footsteps were very close now. Isabel swept her hands back and forth, leaving smears of sweat behind. She found another trigger spot. Punched it. And saw three crystals glowing softly in the dim light. She snatched them up and jammed them in her pockets.
"Hold it right there. Put your hands over your head," a voice commanded.
Isabel put her hands up and slowly turned. A guard stood blocking the center walkway. A guard with a machine gun over his chest.
Her eyes darted to the other two walkways. Could she make it to one of them in time? Or was that just a good way to get herself shot in the back?
"Get over here. And don't lower your hands, or I will shoot you," the guard ordered.
Isabel walked toward him. She was going to have to knock him out, and that meant touching him so she could make a connection.
She wondered how fast his reflexes were. Could he realize he was in danger and pull the trigger faster than she could find a nice vein in his head and squeeze?
At least she had her fake face back in place. Even better, the face was pretty. Not quite as pretty as her own, but still plenty pretty. That gave her a little advantage. Guys didn't tend to think of pretty girls as potentially lethal. Plus it made for a good distraction.
A couple more steps and she'd be close enough to reach him. Isabel made her bottom lip tremble a little, a trick she'd learned in the fourth grade. She hoped he'd think she was completely scared and helpless.
Isabel took a step, then another. Okay, hope this works, she thought. Because if it doesn't, one of us is leaving the compound in a body bag.
She took one more step, then pretended to stumble. She let herself fall, arms outstretched. The guard instinctively moved to catch her. His hand touched hers, and she willed herself to make the connection.
The rush of images began. Isabel let them rush past her in a. blur of color. She heard the guard's heart begin to beat along with her own. Quickly she began to explore his body. Their body.
She chose a vein deep in his head and used her mind to squeeze the molecules together. She felt his pain and bewilderment, but she didn't let go. Not until he fell to the floor.
Isabel leaped over him and ran down the walkway to the observation room. She picked the widest walkway that branched off the room and sprinted down it.
She came to an abrupt halt when she reached the exit door. She could hear a fight going on. She took a step closer and leaned partway out. Her heart stopped, then gave a hard double slam in her chest.
Michael and Ray were battling against five guards. The guards had some kind of electrical stunners, like cattle prods. They were using them to keep Michael and Ray from touching them. There was one guard lying motionless on the ground. The others probably saw that Michael and Ray could hurt with a touch and were making very sure that neither of them got close enough to do any damage.
She hesitated, bouncing her weight from one foot to the other. Should she just make a run for it? That was probably her best chance of escaping. If she tried to help Michael and Ray, she might not get to Max in time. And Michael and Ray had each other for backup.
Yeah, she decided. She'd have to go without them. Isabel locked her eyes on the big metal doors leading out of the room. Then she ran full out.