"Who are they? What do they want?" Michelle whispered to Payton.
"Not the time for questions, Michelle," Payton replied in a hard voice. The men began to close in. Payton saw there were six men in all. He pulled Michelle behind him, ready to pounce if needed.
"Oh no... the others!" Michelle gasped looking around.
"You're outnumbered. Better give up while you can." One of the men said to Payton.
"Look again, jerk," Paige said, appearing from behind. Everyone else also appeared, poised to fight. Michelle gulped.
"Get her out, Payton," Brook said. Payton nodded.
"Now!" he shouted suddenly and pulled Michelle down. The men erupted in a fight with the Night Blazers, throwing well-aimed punches and kicks. But the crew dodged them and tripped them up more often than they took hits.
"Come on, we have to go!" Payton said, pulling Michelle out of the door. Michelle glanced back and saw Brook take a hit in the stomach.
"Brook!" she cried out.
"They can take care of themselves. You can't." Payton said, pulling her to his car. A man suddenly appeared and punched Payton in the face. Michelle screamed as she saw him stagger to his knees.
"You're not getting away again." The man said, stepping forward to Michelle. Payton gave him a leg sweep bringing him to the ground.
"Get in the car!" he yelled to Michelle. She quickly got in the passenger seat, her fingers trembling as she tried to put on her seatbelt. Outside she saw Payton kick the man to the ground with force. Then he rushed to the driver's seat and got in.
"What about the others?" Michelle asked, her voice high with fear.
"My job is to get you to safety; they're after you!" Payton yelled, nodding toward the man in front of the car. Payton turned on the ignition and reversed so fast that Michelle didn't have time to blink. The car roared as Payton hit the gas and rode out of the town onto the open road. Michelle glanced back and saw the men come out of the supermarket.
"They're coming after us!" she said as the men got into cars and drove after them.
"Not while I'm driving," Payton said. He sped up putting more distance between them and the men. Brook's voice spoke through the radio.
"Is Michelle safe? Where are you?" he asked loudly.
"Brook! I'm fine. What about you and everybody else?" Michelle answered before Payton.
"We're chasing the men. What's your position?"
"We're heading south, they're on our tail," Payton said.
"We'll head them off! Don't go to the base until you lose them!" Paige said.
"You can't head them all off!" Payton shouted back. "We can lose them in the Asphyxator."
"You could get lost in there! Don't do it, man!" Reece said.
"It's our only chance! I'm not turning back now." Payton said and turned off the radio. Michelle looked at him.
"What's the Asphyxator?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"The deadliest dust storm out in the Nevada desert. If you don't know how to navigate through it, you're done for."
"And – w-we're heading r-right for it?" Michelle stammered. Payton glanced at her.
"You're safe with me," he said.
The Asphyxator was like no sandstorm Michelle had ever seen before. It was a thick sandy swirl of violent howling winds resembling a tornado yet not as concentrated as one since it stretched out for miles.
"They're still following us... if that's what they want, let's give it to them." Payton said. He sped up to a hundred and eighty and plunged into the blanket of dust. Michelle squealed and clutched the edges of the seat with white knuckles. The car swerved slightly but Payton's grip on the wheel didn't lighten. Nothing besides a thick cloud of dust could be seen in front of them – Michelle felt her heart drop when she realized Payton was driving blind.
"What if they follow us? Can we really get out of this?" She asked him.
"They won't. And we can." Payton said determinedly. He suddenly turned the wheel to the right and sped on, forty-five degrees from the path they had started on. He weaved the car skillfully through the storm, the car twisting and turning in various directions. Michelle was glad Payton got her the ginger fizz – if she hadn't motion sickness before, she definitely did now. After a few minutes of wild driving, Payton checked his compass on the dashboard.
"They can't follow us now." He said. The speedometer showed two hundred and Michelle became more nervous.
"Shouldn't you slow down now? Isn't it dangerous to drive at this speed in a dust storm?"
"You asked me not to underestimate you. Now I need you to do the same for me." he replied giving her a quick but penetrating glance. The dust grew lighter as he spoke and suddenly the car shot out into the clear evening sunlight.
"You did it!" Michelle exclaimed in relief.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Payton asked. Michelle glanced back.
"You lost them! but... where are the others?"
"Probably heading them away from the base."
"Do you think they're okay?" Michelle asked, looking worried. Payton didn't turn to her.
"We've handled worse." He said, but there was a hint of a waver in his voice that made Michelle uneasy. Payton began to slow down as the car approached the secret entrance to the base.
"Chief! You here?" Payton called getting out of the car. There was no answer. "I'm gonna try to contact the others." He said to Michelle. He headed for the control room leaving Michelle alone in the car. She got out of the car and wrung her hands nervously wondering if everyone was okay. She looked back in the car and saw the grocery bags – she had forgotten that she had thrown them in earlier. Too anxious to sit around waiting, she made use of her hands and took them out to put away the meat in the fridge. At least it was something to distract her from worrying about Brook.
Payton came back looking apprehensive.
"Soriano's not here and I couldn't reach the others." Michelle bit her lip. That didn't sound good.
"What about the car radio? Can't you try to reach them through that?" she asked hopefully.
"No other radio works around here, except for the one in the control room. And it looks like the crew turned off their radios."
"Oh. Why would they do that? Does that mean –" Michelle looked like she was about to panic. Payton gripped her shoulders.
"Hey! Snap out of it. Whatever you're thinking – it won't happen. They'll be fine, okay? Breathe." Payton said with assurance. Michelle let out a deep breath and felt the panic subside.
"The others will be back as soon as they can. Go take a shower. It'll calm you down. You smell like deli meat." Payton said, trying to make her smile. Michelle nodded unsmilingly weakly and went to her bunk.
After a quick steaming shower and change, Michelle went to the living room, hoping the others were back by now. Her heart sank when she saw they weren't. She found Payton boiling something on the stove.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Cocoa. You look like you need it," he said. He pointed to the fridge with his thumb.
"You brought the meats?" he asked.
"Yeah. I was still holding the bags when I ran into the car."
"That's – unusual. Most people would drop what they're holding and run when faced with danger."
"I'm not most people," Michelle said echoing Payton's words.
"I can see that," he said, with a tiny smile. He poured out the cocoa into a mug and gave it to her.
"Sit down. I'm not gonna carry you if you fall off your feet." He said. Michelle wondered how shaken she looked and went and sat on the couch, staring at her cup. She spotted a yellow sheet of paper on the table and took it.
"Payton – look at this." She held it up for him to see. He came and sat next to her to read it.
"It's from the chief. Says he had to go to the city for a special job... none of us should follow him... doesn't know when he'll be back... Urgh!" Payton scrunched the paper in frustration and threw it across the room. He ran his hands through his hair, his head bowed down in defeat. Michelle laid her hand on his shoulder.
"Payton?"
"Don't – say anything. I'm gonna go see if I can contact the others again." He said getting up. Michelle watched him go, trying not to let the negative thoughts of what happened overwhelm her. If only she knew if Brook was okay...
It was past sunset when Michelle got up from the couch wanting something to do. All the waiting and worrying wasn't doing her any good. Payton didn't leave the control room – she heard him trying, again and again, to contact anyone of the crew in vain. She decided to write in her diary. At least she could vent to its pages.
It's been four hours of nothing but gut-wrenching waiting for news from the crew. I hoped they'd only be a few minutes behind us but no. Payton and I can't even contact them. I can't give up hope. They have to be alright. Payton is trying to reassure me but I can see he's worried even if he tries to hide it. Now with Soriano gone to the city, it's just us and I know he doesn't like it. It's like time stopped at the worst possible moment...
"Michelle, aren't you hungry? It's past dinner time." Payton said coming into the living room.
"Oh, I didn't notice the time. I got caught up and... anyway, I'm not hungry."
"After everything you had for lunch, I didn't really think you would be." He teased. Michelle didn't raise a smile.
"Did you reach anybody?" she asked. His expression sobered up.
"If I did I would've told you," he said.
"Oh, right." Michelle closed her diary.
"Worrying won't solve anything. They'll come back when they can." Payton said more gently. Michelle nodded without enthusiasm.
"Come with me. let's get your mind off things." Payton said. He took her hand and pulled her towards the game room. He took a cue stick and gave it to her.
"Know how to play?" he asked.
"You want to play at a time like this?" Michelle asked skeptically.
"You think sitting on a couch worrying yourself sick will help them?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. Michelle sighed resignedly.
"Show me how to play." She said in a disinterested voice. Payton got into position behind the triangular line of balls.
"Use your cue stick to hit the white ball to hit a colored ball. Like a chain reaction."
"Okay."
"I'll go first so you can see how it's done," Payton said and positioned himself. He neatly broke the set of balls.
"There are two sets of balls – solids and stripes. Which do you want?" he asked.
"Um, solids. They look easier to see." Payton smiled.
"Typical. Alright, I'm going for the stripes." He positioned behind the cue ball and hit it with power. The white ball knocked two striped balls into the pockets.
"Two balls with one hit? You are showing off." Michelle said, cheering up.
"Try to top it then," Payton said with a smirk. Michelle steeled herself behind the cue stick but couldn't get a firm grip on it.
"Seriously... here, let me," Payton said. He came behind Michelle and tightened her hand around the stick. She felt her breath freeze as Payton's body came so close to hers.
"Hold the stick like this... don't be so tense. Relax your fingers. Aim for the ball in the cue ball's line of attack." Michelle cleared her mind for a moment and focused on the white ball.
"And now... hit it." Payton breathed near her ear. Michelle gave the white ball a strong tap and it hit a solid ball into the pocket. She exclaimed in delight.
"I did it!"
"Nice," Payton said. "Just keep in mind not to hit the black ball until the end."
"Got it." They played several turns, Michelle missing a few hits but got better with practice. Finally, only the black ball was standing.
"I'm gonna sink that," Michelle said. She concentrated hard aiming for it and slid the stick. The white cue ball headed straight for the black ball and knocked it into the pocket.
"Yes! I win!" Michelle exclaimed in delight. Payton gave her a high-five.
"Yeah you did... because I let you."
"Wait, what?" Michelle looked up in surprise.
"You're surprised at that? I only did this to get your mind off things. If I had won you wouldn't look like you do now."
"You let me win..." Michelle said slowly pronouncing each word. Thoughts of the crew and Brook came back to her and she sighed.
"Still worried?" Payton asked.
"Aren't you?"
"Won't do them any good so why bother?" he said but he didn't meet her eyes. Michelle took his hand.
"I know you care. And I care too. I can't wait to hear the sound of their fancy cars rolling through the entrance." Payton suddenly pulled her into a hug.
"Whoa – Payton!"
"Just stay like this for a minute okay? We both need it," he said. Michelle let her hand pat his back softly.
"I'm glad you're here. I'd hate to have been alone." She said.
"Scared?" he asked. She pushed him a little.
"Don't ruin the moment. But yeah. And I know you are too."
"They'll be okay. They always are. We've never lost to those jerks before." He let go of her.
"Thanks for the pool game. It's actually relaxing." Michelle said.
"I play to help my mind focus. Once you're in the game, you drown out everything else, focusing on the white ball. And then – you win."
"I win... Payton that's it!"
"What's it?"
"What if the others aren't coming back to the base because they couldn't shake those men? They'd have to compromise their location and my safety. But if they stay as far away from the base as possible..."
"They'd lead them away from here. But the Inferno Ghosts aren't stupid. They know we escaped and were after you."
"But they still haven't found the base yet! And the crew must be hoping they never do! They must be hiding out somewhere else... is there anywhere in the nearby counties they might hide?"
"No... but there are plenty of places in the city. It's easier to lose the Ghosts there... I know where they went." Payton said suddenly snapping his fingers.
"What do we do?" Michelle asked. Payton walked out to the base, Michelle following him.
"We have to go to Vegas."