Moonscape hurtled past. Wraith pushed the shuttle to its limit along Speedway 1, the only magnetic levitation highway running through and around New London. The clear fiberglass tubing that arched over the maglev speedway made viewing the sprawling moon metropolis easy, but none of the shuttle’s passengers were concerned with the scenery.
“We can’t go back.”
“Why not?” asked the female bounty hunter.
“Alexandra–” started Hector.
“You keep calling me that,” the bounty hunter interrupted.
Hector stopped. His surprise was evident, as though it had never occurred to him that she might not remember her old name. “You don’t remember.”
She was not Hector Salazar’s sister. That was the lie that Alexandra Salazar had been told. Her features indicated that she disliked the charade. Her lips pursed, and she answered curtly, “Batalla is the only name I’ve ever known.”
Warning lights on the shuttle’s dashboard flashed. Wraith cursed. “Incoming shuttles! They’re coming after us. We’re gonna have company soon!”
Hector stared at her. “Why are you doing this?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said.
“We can’t go back. Not now. We need somewhere to hide. Somewhere I can think. I have to find a way to keep you safe and somehow stop the XLS.”
Wraith fidgeted and ground his teeth. “You two need to make a decision. We’ve gotta get off this highway! Now!”
“The Subdivision is the safest place you’re going to find,” argued the bounty hunter.
“You don’t understand. They’ll lock us up. I’m not sanctioned to be here. I deserted them. I risked everything to get to you. We can’t go back.”
She paused. “What if we had something to offer them? A bargaining chip.”
“Like what?”
Ping! Ping! Two bullets ricocheted off the shuttle’s back bumper. Wraith shouted through clenched teeth. “Figure it out!”
Alexandra, or now Batalla, ducked and glanced out the back window. Three heavily armed XLS shuttles weaved in and out of the sparse traffic until they were nearly on top of Wraith’s shuttle.
She leaned closer to Hector. “Information. Key XLS targets and the location of their molecular teleportation machines.”
Hector’s eyes darted to the pursuing shuttles. Neither of his options was comforting. He either returned to the Subdivision to face his fate, or he risked XLS capture. He frowned, but nodded. “Maybe. I’ll contact a friend of mine. He might be able to help.”
One of the XLS shuttles inched up alongside them. Wraith lowered his window and grabbed his pistol. He fired two shots, and then ducked back inside as bullets pounded the side of the shuttle. His maneuver caused their shuttle to swerve. The back end swung wide and ground into the side of fiberglass tube.
“Take the next exit!” Alexandra yelled. Wraith cranked the control stick to the side and their shuttle careened off the highway and onto an exit ramp. Alexandra turned to Hector, “If you can’t get us to the Subdivision we’re going to die here.”
