"Nothing much we can do," Pony replied, sweeping the flashlight's beam over the remaining four cars. "Except to get on with the plan."

"What if they come back?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we're crossing it. Let's just get this over with. Critter, start with this car here. Bust in and open the hood. Angel and I'll take it from there."

Just as Critter began to jimmy the first lock, the garage door opened. The only thing that kept me from screaming in fright was Pony's hand clamped over my mouth.

"All clear." Rio's voice floated in from the darkness beyond.

"Thanks," Pony replied.

"Everything ok in here?"

"One of the cars is missing."

"Shit. Should we do anything about it?"

"Just stick with the plan. Get outta here. We'll meet you at the rendezvous point."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Now go."

"Alright. Good luck."

"You too."

After the door closed, Pony released her grip on me just as Critter made her way into the first of the cars and popped the hood from the inside. Turning away from my friend, I made my way over to the exposed engine and began my part of this stage of the plan.

Disabling cars is a quick, easy and mostly mindless task. So much so, in fact, that I made two of them completely undrivable while Pony was still working on her first. Walking over, I pushed my friend out of the way, and quickly finished her task as she looked on with something akin to awe on her face.

"Pretty handy around an engine," she said finally.

"I should be. I've helped Ice often enough." Pulling the last part free, I handed it to Pony, who stuffed it in a sack with the rest of the pieces. "What now?" The fourth car would be left intact for our getaway, since Rio had left with ours.

"We wait."

"Time?" I asked Critter, who was leaning against the only working vehicle of the lot.

"Five minutes."

"Alright. I'm gonna keep watch. You guys be ready."

Without waiting for an answer, I headed for the door and opened it up a crack.

The house and the grounds surrounding it were silent as a graveyard. It was killing me, not knowing what was going on inside, and I gave vent to my frustration by repeatedly pounding my thigh with a clenched fist, heedless of the small amount of pain my actions brought me.

According to the almighty plan-set in stone as if the burning bush itself had delivered it unto us-we were to give Ice ten minutes total to carry out her part, then, in her own words, "get the fuck out of Mexico, with or without me."

I think I surprised her when I didn't immediately protest.

I wonder if she realized that I didn't agree to it either.

Knowing Ice, she probably did.

"Damn you, Ice," I whispered as each second took an hour, and each minute took a century. "Where are you?"

In my hyperaware state, I easily tracked Pony's movements by hearing alone as she left her place by Critter's side and walked slowly toward my position. I whirled on her just as she was about to put a hand on my shoulder. "No," I whispered savagely, "no way. You and Critter can leave if you want. Take the car. I'll fix one of the others. But I'm not going anywhere without Ice so don't even bother opening your mouth, Pony."

Hands upraised in a gesture of placation, my friend took a careful step back. "I...wasn't gonna ask you to leave, Angel," she assured me, her voice even. "I was just gonna ask what you thought we should do now."

Though I should have apologized, I'm afraid I didn't have it within me to do so at that moment in time. As each second passed, I became more and more certain that something had gone horribly wrong. "I don't know about you, but I know exactly what I'm gonna do."

So saying, I stepped forward and grabbed Pony's rifle, which was leaning against the wall nearest the door. "I'm gonna find Ice, and so help me God, nobody better stand in my way."

Like some deranged GI storming a French beach half a century too late, I hefted the rifle and marched off into the night, my eyes staring nowhere save straight ahead at the door centered firmly in my sights.

I could hear Pony's half-whispered epithet behind me and her determined footsteps as she struggled to match my determined stride. "Don't try to stop me, Pony. I'm warning you."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Angel," she grunted. "Just figured I'd give you a hand."

When we got about halfway between the garage and the house, the door opened wide. The interior light silhouetted a tall figure with what looked to be a large sack slung over one shoulder like some hellish underground film's version of Santa Claus.

I came to an abrupt halt, and Pony slammed into me from behind, sending both of us forward for several more steps until I dug my heels in and stopped us both again. If it were possible for hearts to leap for joy, mine did just that.

"That's Ice!"

"How do you know?" she asked, peering over my shoulder.

I spared a brief second to give her a pointed look, which caused a sheepish grin to come to her face.

"Oh. Yeah. Forget I asked."

"Go tell Critter to get the car out here."

"Will do."

As Pony left, I started forward again, this time breaking into a flat-out run. "Ice!"

"Hey, Angel," she replied, her voice and manner as casual as if I'd just met up with her coming out of the grocery store. "Just taking out the trash." She paused. "Nice gun."

I blushed. "Yeah, well, you were supposed to be out of there three minutes ago."

She shrugged her unencumbered shoulder. "One of the guys had a little problem with my bedtime story. He's sleeping like a baby now, though."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Any other problems?"

"Piece of cake. You?"

"Not really. Except one of the cars is missing."

"I figured. There were three fewer guards than I expected inside."

Further conversation was cut off by the arrival of Critter, Pony and our getaway car.

"Pop the trunk," Ice ordered.

Walking to the rear of the car, I pulled open the compartment and stood aside as Ice dumped Cavallo inside. The small light illuminated his face, where a bloody nose and a rapidly swelling jaw bore mute testament to his meeting with my lover. He was deeply unconscious, though still breathing, and his hands were bound tightly behind him. After a moment, I looked up. "I didn't know you brought handcuffs with you."

Ice smirked. "I didn't."

"Kinky bastard, isn't he."

As Ice slammed the trunk closed, the courtyard was suddenly lit by the twin beams of approaching headlights.

Grabbing my arm at the elbow, Ice opened the rear driver's side door and pushed me in, then followed quickly. "Go," she ordered Pony, who'd replaced a slightly drunk Critter behind the wheel. "Drive out nice and easy if you can. If they follow us, floor it."

"I'm there."

"You can't think they're just going to let us go by," I said, disbelief plain in my voice.

"Stranger things have happened. But I doubt it."

Three men got out of the car after it had pulled through the gate. Three heads swiveled as we passed by. I resisted the urge to wave. Shouting "we've got your boss in the trunk, suckers!" was out as well, though I must admit I was sorely tempted. Giddiness does that to me, and having Ice alive and whole made me very giddy indeed.

"I don't fucking believe it," Pony muttered as we left through the gate and headed down the dark road without any signs of pursuit. "They just gonna stand there with their thumbs up their asses all night?"

"You sound like you want them to chase us," I accused.

"Let's save the arguments for when we get home, alright? Hit the gas, Pony."

"You got it."

If there was one area where I couldn't find fault with Cavallo, it was his taste in cars. The acceleration was so smooth that, though I could tell we were moving at a high rate of speed by the shadowed scenery blurring by my window, it didn't feel as if we were moving at all. The rich scent of leather wove a seductive cocoon around me, and when Ice reached out and gently cradled my hand in hers, I smiled and sank into the soft-as-butter seat and allowed my eyes to close.

The brief respite was over almost before it started. I felt Ice's hand carefully withdraw from mine and felt her body twist, one broad shoulder brushing against my own. "What is it?" I asked, my eyes coming quickly open.

"Company," my lover returned, peering out the rear window, eyes narrowed to slits.

Squirming in the seat, I turned to look just in time to see the twin beams of headlights breast a small rise a mile or so behind us. "Could just be another traveler."

"If so, he's in a hurry," Critter remarked, eyeing the rearview mirror. "He's gotta be doing a hundred ten, easy."

"Take that turnoff up ahead, Pony. Let's see if we can lose him in the desert."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Pony jerked the wheel hard and spun us onto the off-ramp with a minimum of fuss, though doubtless if Cavallo was awake, he didn't enjoy the maneuver overmuch. Not that I would be spilling any tears over that particular thought, but it helped keep my mind from harping on the probability that we were being chased through the desert by a group of madmen at speeds humans were never meant to travel.

This close to the ground, anyway.

Twisting back in my seat, I snapped the shoulder harness over me, then checked the latch several times to make sure it was secure. No use tempting Fate any more than I already had, especially since cars and I weren't the best of friends lately.

Next to me, Ice also turned to face forward once again, but not before giving me a grin that was half confidence, half glee.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you," I groused.

She shrugged, her expression unrepentant. "Beats doing laundry."

I had to laugh at that. If there is anything Ice hates more than doing the laundry, I don't know what it is. While I, on the other hand, absolutely love it. There's just something so satisfying in putting dirty, smelly clothes into a machine and pulling them out wonderfully clean and fresh. It's just another example of the odd nature of our partnership, I guess. And one which I wouldn't change for anything in the world.

"So far, so good," Pony remarked softly, her gaze split between the road and the rearview mirror. "Though with all the damn dust I'm kicking up right now, it's hard to tell for sure. I'm just glad we're doing this in the middle of the night. If it were during daylight, we might as well be sending up fucking flares."

"Just drive, Pony," Critter ordered, thumping her lover solidly on one well-muscled shoulder.

"I'm drivin! I'm drivin, already!"

"Make that right up ahead, then the second left. There are some mountains to the right. We might be able to ditch them there."

I looked over at my lover, my eyes opened wide. "Do you have an atlas in your head or something?"

"Or something," she replied, throwing me her best smirk.

"Looks like we lost 'em," Pony replied after several moments without a sign of pursuit.

"Oh, they're around," Ice murmured. "Take the next right you can and let's get back on the highway. Once you're there, run her as fast as you can. We need to get to the rendezvous point while it's still dark."

"I'm on it."

Out on the highway, Pony opened up the throttle and we sped through the desert like the devil was on our tail. An hour passed quietly, and then another, before I felt Ice stiffen once again. "What?"

"They're back."

"Damnit!" Pony shouted. "How in the hell could they find us? We took enough turns to confuse a compass, for Christ's sake!"

"This car's got a tracer on it," Ice replied.

"Like hell it does! Ice, I checked it out myself! It's clean!"

"Tell that to our friends. Floor it, Pony. There's nowhere to turn off for another ten miles. We need to outrun them."

"I say we stand and fight."

"We can't. This area is too exposed, and too far from anything if we run into trouble. Just do as I say and drive. We'll make our stand at the rendezvous point if we need to."

"You're the boss," Pony grumbled, then stomped her foot hard on the accelerator. The car responded, dredging up extra power from somewhere, and we flew down the road at impossible speeds.

Ice gently removed my hand from it's white-knuckled grip on my short skirt, and held it gently in her own. "We'll make it, Angel," she said in a comforting tone.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, I nodded, wanting more than anything to believe.