Hey hey,

You know Wednesday is excerpt day! Got your reading glasses ready?

Here we go…

Sigrid

The car was less noisy than Louise had expected, but she still felt disoriented without the reassuring hum and bleeps of a self-driving pod. The air inside the car was different too. As if the air conditioner couldn’t quite keep the desert out.

Louise’s bag was crammed between her feet. A case with gear was tucked between her and Hobbs on the back seat. The rest of their equipment was in the trunk. It was a tight fit, but they had been able to bring everything they needed.

Louise glanced sideways at Hobbs. He was still clenching his jaw and his eyes were dark with anger. His Adam’s apple moved every few seconds, as if he was trying to swallow his fury.

Louise had hoped he would calm down after a while. But they had been sitting here for two hours now and he had only gotten more upset. She understood why. She was also having a hard time staying calm.

Lucas was sitting behind the wheel, chatting with Woodward. They had been talking about the most trivial things. As if they didn’t have two global army officers sitting in the back seat. As if they didn’t have a care in the world. Another one of their charades, Louise thought.

“I just can’t believe he leaves at that point. It’s unrealistic. I don’t buy it,” Lucas said.

She was talking about a movie, apparently. Louise couldn’t help but wonder if this was a film available in rebel territory only. She certainly hadn’t heard of it.

Woodward crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. “That’s just the type of guy he is.”

Every word the two rebels exchanged kept ringing in Louise’s ears for several seconds. This situation was just too awkward, too strange, too confusing. She felt like she was always two beats behind.

“Why are they doing this?” she wondered. “Why are they chatting non-stop?”

Hobbs shifted in his seat again. Louise widened her eyes at him, silently urging him to calm down. He glared back at her, incredulous.

“It’s almost like he has no self-respect, no personality,” Lucas continued, raising one hand to make her point. “He completely relies on the system to make decisions for him. Who does that? It’s stupid!”

Woodward chuckled. “Sure, he is stupid. But plenty of people are.”

“True enough,” Lucas agreed, glancing at Louise and Hobbs in the rear view mirror.

Hobbs inhaled deeply, breathing through his nose and sounding like a bull that was about to charge.

“Still comfy back there?” Lucas asked, addressing them for the first time in 2 hours.

Louise pressed her lips together. They weren’t comfortable at all and Lucas knew it. “We’re fine,” she finally replied.

Lucas’s eyes settled on Hobbs briefly before turning her attention to the road again. “So unfortunate your super sonic pod thing broke down.”

That did it for Hobbs. “We know you’re behind this!” he said. He shifted in his seat again, causing the case to bump into Louise. She pushed it back with her elbow.

Lucas smiled smugly. “Oh come on,” she said, “As if we could somehow screw up your superior technology.”

Louise dug her nails into the rough fabric of her uniform. Hobbs was starting to breathe faster, she noticed.

“Maybe it just couldn’t handle the desert?” Woodward suggested.

“It can handle anything,” Hobbs said icily. “You sabotaged it.”

Woodward chuckled. “With what?”

“One of your fucking scramblers!”

“Right,” Woodward laughed, “And why would we do that? So we can enjoy your company in here?”

Hobbs pushed the case back towards Louise so he could get closer to Woodward.

“You won’t get away with it, you know,” he said, sticking his head between the two front seats.

Woodward huffed and turned to face Hobbs. “Oh, really? What are you going to do about it?”

Hobbs tilted his head, all cocky now. “Lock her up. Lock you up. Destroy…”

Louise had been following the heated exchange in stunned surprise. “Enough,” she said loudly before Hobbs could go any further.

Woodward grabbed Hobbs by the collar. “Destroy what?”

Hobbs’s head was slowly turning a deep shade of crimson. “Let me go,” he whispered angrily.

Woodward tightened his grip. “Not so tough…”

“Rick, let him go,” Lucas said, interrupting him. She didn’t sound very concerned, though.

Woodward obeyed anyway. He looked at his hand in disgust and rubbed it off on his pants.

Louise met Hobbs’s furious eyes. She nodded at the window. “Sit back.” Hobbs rubbed his throat. “And stay quiet,” she mouthed.

When he finally did as he was told, Louise shook her head in annoyance. She pushed the gear back in his direction until she was comfortable again.

An odd chill running up her spine made her look up. She found Lucas staring at her in the rear view mirror.

Louise narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion. Lucas’s eyebrow quirked in response, an amused smile on her lips.

Louise didn’t smile back, of course, but she was tempted for a moment. “Yeah,” she thought, holding Lucas’s gaze. “Better keep these two men on a leash.”

After another long second, Lucas finally focused back on the road, still smiling.

Ready for Saturday? 😉