The Descent

Chapter 45 - The Edge of The World

As he slid in behind the seat and started the engine, his eyes glanced across the familiar screens and controls. The fuel element was at maximum capacity, the weapons systems operational and loaded.

"Tanner, status update, please," he said as he put the vehicle in gear and silently rolled out of the arrivals area.

"They've entered a private vehicle, and they are heading towards the parking lot exit."

"Good. Is Leah's tracker still working?"

"It is."

Denton pulled over about thirty yards from the parking lot exit and waited. "Can you forward the tracking info to my HUD?"

"Sure," Tanner replied, and moments later, the outlines of the map of the city appeared on the windshield, just to the right of Denton. A bright red dot showed Leah's current location, moving at what seemed a snail's pace towards the exit of the parking facility.

"Thank you. What can you tell me about the vehicle they are in?"

"I thought you'd never ask. It belongs to the Forsythe corporation."

"Does it really?" Denton said and chuckled to himself. "Not surprising, considering who's driving."

"That is correct. It would have been a cause for concern otherwise."

"Ok, here they come. Let me know if you see anything suspicious." Denton pulled back into traffic as Carter's car exited the parking lot. Not surprisingly, the car was a bright red sports model that he guessed cost a lifetime's worth of wages for an average person, but to Carter, it was mere scraps.

As the traffic moved away from the spaceport, Carter settled in at a comfortable speed while Denton remained a few cars behind. Denton knew that Tanner would be analyzing their direction of travel for possible destinations and would alert him if anything obvious would appear.

Denton couldn't help but be puzzled by whatever the destination was. Carter was clearly heading to the surface before he discovered Leah and took her hostage. He already had a set destination. What was it? Was it even the same now that he had Leah on his hands? The fact that he was using the red sports car, a vehicle that instantly would draw attention wherever it went, indicated that he was improvising. Leah had not been part of the plan, yet he had been forced to stick with it.

Why even go through all the trouble to hold Leah hostage? Was he even holding her hostage or was she in on it too, somehow? Denton felt a chill run down his spine. Was it possible that Leah had been playing him all this time, that her visit to Proxima b was nothing but a ruse? But why? What reason could she possibly have to work with the Forsythe's?

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Despite the fact that he was only a few car-lengths behind his primary suspect, the case felt more elusive than ever. There was something he was missing, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Denton?"

"Yes?" Denton said and refocused his attention on the road in front of him.

"Any particular reason you're staying on the highway when Carter just took the exit?"

"He what?" Denton started and immediately realized he just made a terrible mistake by letting his mind drift. The red car was no longer in front of them.

"You heard me. Carter-"

"Yes, I heard you," Denton said and used the onboard cameras to look behind him and the up ahead. He had already missed the on-ramp to the highway, so there was no way to really backtrack in the wrong direction. "Where's the next exit?"