Megans Mark (Breeds 6)

"Here. " Megan punched a map up on the screen, laying out the coordinates to one of the back roads that led into town. "It's not the best route but it's the most defensible. "

The road was little more than a dirt track that bypassed the gullies and

caverns that could provide easy ambush.

They've seen us leave though, tracking us by sight won't be that damned hard," she added.

She could feel them. Her neck itched, and just behind her left ear she could hear the strange little sizzle in her brain that heralded a rush of information. Not military, but heavily armed, and heavily payrolled. They would have the gadgets.

She shook her head, tightening the shields around her mind that she pulled from Braden as her pulse began to throb in her veins. Someone was betraying the senator, but who? And why?

"Someone isn't good at blocking. I have an unknown pouring information at me Braden," she yelled over the whine of the Raider's motor as Braden pushed it to its highest speed.

"Keep the path to him open Megan," he barked out. "Doesn't matter if he's friendly or enemy. I'll block him from taking info, but draw in as much as you can. "

This multitasking was going to get ugly , she thought with a grimace as she fought to do just what Braden had asked, to keep the channel open as she began to plot the best course into town.

"They're on the move, and tracking. Son of a bitch, I knew I should have gotten that loan for those nifty little radar and laser blockers I saw last month," she yelled as she felt the information stream into her head.

"Loan?" She ignored the incredulous look her shot her, as well as the snickers of the two men behind her.

"Sure, you think the outside of my house looks like shit because I'm lazy. " She laughed in sheer delight.

"I'll owe the local bank till I'm

eighty, Braden. They finance my little playthings. "

She flipped the Raider's radar and laser tracker, cursing as it came up empty.

"Son of a bitch. I hate it when they don't play fair. " She tapped the screen roughly, knowing the pinpoints of movement should be there, snarling at the thought that they were jamming their signals.

She lifted her hand to her head as she shook it fiercely. She needed more information.

"Bastards should know to be blocking," she bitched as she felt, literally felt, one of the soldiers as they headed from the nearest ridge into the desert. "We have them on our asses, tracking our location and coming

up on us. "

She hit the lock to the dash keyboard, punching in commands before it fully leveled out over her lap.

Instantly the windshield displayed a subtle glowing map.

"There, seven dash four," she snapped as the turn came up. "To your right. It will be harder to follow. "

There was nothing ahead. No ambushes, no one lying in wait. The clarity of the information was disturbing, almost familiar.

"Can you trust this, Megan?' Braden jerked the wheel to the left and headed into a more hilly part of the desert, toward the canyons that crisscrossed the desert.

"Someone's opened up to me. " She continued to input the information into the map. "The information isn't a trap, but I'll be damned if I know why. They can't be as damned stupid as they're acting. "

Perhaps she was stronger. She bit her lip fiercely, disturbed by how quickly the information flooded her mind, without the pain.

"Tarek's behind us, riding us close. Is he being fed the map?' one of the Breeds behind them snapped out with a tone of imperative demand.

"As I put it in, they get it. "

"What about those bad boys coming up behind us?' Another snarled. "I can see the dust trail behind us. "

"Vehicle to vehicle only. " Megan kept tapping, keeping the link to the other vehicle secure against any attempt to hack. "I know what I'm doing. "