Light in the Dark | PETER PARKER

twenty-six

TO SAY that Alani is nervous would be an understatement.

The two men—who circumspectly gave up that the taller, older man's name is Ivan and the shorter's is Delray—take their precautions with Alani. The first thing that they did was make it clear that they're only taking Alani alone. This part of the deal slightly added to Alani's nerves, though she understood and was willing to cooperate with their rules. Peter, however, flat-out disagreed. It's not safe, you can't trust these guys, what if something happens, what if they're lying? All of these questions spilled from Peter's lips as he rambled to keep Alani from going, but she silenced him with some assuring words.

I'll be fine.

Now, sitting in the back of a van with its windows blacked-out so she cannot see where they are headed, Alani questions herself. Will she be fine, or was Peter right about not being able to trust these strangers? For her own sake, Alani prays it's not the latter.

She has been sitting in the back of the van for at least an hour now. Ivan's separated from Alani and Delray as he drives the vehicle. Although Delray is armed with a tranquilizer and has a bulletproof vest on, he seems a bit nervous sitting across from Alani without any backup. His discomfort is reassuring for Alani; if these are Scandoval's best, then she has nothing to fear.

Even with that fear fading, another keeps Alani from relaxing into her seat. She isn't exactly sure what she fears will happen when she meets Scandoval, but the dread settles at the bottom of her stomach like an anchor.

Alani glances up from the boring floor to Delray. Since they've started driving, he hasn't spoken to her. "So. . ." Alani starts, trying to ease the tension, "do you do this full-time? Or do you also have a side-job, like, being a barista at Starbucks or something?"

His eyes flicker to Alani before returning to the closed doors. Alani sinks back in disappointment.

After a long moment of silence, he speaks up. "Road construction."

Alani perks and glances over at the man again. Delray keeps his gaze off of her as he contemplates how much he should allow himself to converse with her.

"Sounds boring," Alani comments lightly.

Delray's brow furrows. "It's important work. If it weren't for me and my crew, then we'd be driving over so many potholes that it would feel like we're taking off in a rocket, not driving down a highway."

Alani puts her hands up defensively. "Point taken, but you guys take forever to work on the roads. I'm pretty sure Salisbury Street has been closed for two years."

"That's a state job, I work for a private company," Delray counters, shifting his firearm as he gets comfortable. His shoulders seem to relax as he and Alani speak. "We get the job done within days, thank you very much."

Alani nods and doesn't argue. Delray's a talker, that's for sure. If he and Ivan switched places, Alani would have no chance at sparking a conversation. Looking the Ivan's general direction, Alani says, "So how long have you guys been working for Scandoval?"

Delray opens his mouth to answer, but he stops himself. He shifts in his seat so he faces Alani directly. He narrows her eyes on her, but it isn't a suspicious or threatening look, it's more curious and inquisitive, like he's trying to understand the girl in front of him. "How did you figure out that's who we work for?"