The lights drew closer and the lead truck began to slow. Kellan let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding as both trucks began to brake, their headlights washing over the little electric runabout stalled in the middle of the road. If they decided to simply drive around it, things would get a little more complicated for the runners. When the trucks began to slow down, Kellan hopped out of the car and ran around the front of it, so she was clearly visible in the harsh glow of the halogen lights. She began jumping up and down and waving to get their attention, acting like the stranded motorist she appeared to be.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Help!"

The lead truck banked a bit as it approached, but Kellan quickly realized that the team had planned things out just right. Although the smaller truck could get past her car, the cargo hauler would have to literally push the stalled vehicle out of the way to pass. So the lead truck turned a bit to the side and then came to a stop only a few meters from where Kellan was standing. The cargo hauler's brakes whined as it rolled to a stop a short distance away.

The windows of the lead truck were tinted, and she recalled Lothan's lesson about magicians needing line of sight to affect something with a spell. Smoked, tinted and mirrored windows had become common since the Awakening, primarily in an effort to protect against the threat of criminal magicians. Even if Kellan knew spells to affect the personnel in the truck, she couldn't cast them so long as they were inside.

She waited expectantly, doing her best to look helpless and trying not to think about the stun baton tucked into the inside pocket of her jacket, or the small, snub-nosed pistol G-Dogg had handed her before they left on the run with the comment, "Hopefully, you won't need this." Kellan hoped if she pretended the weapons weren't there, the corporate personnel wouldn't notice them. If they did, Kellan wasn't looking forward to using them.

The passenger side door of the escort vehicle opened up and a dark-clad figure got out. He came around the front of the truck, moving toward Kellan. She could see he was human, wearing dark coveralls that revealed the bulk of armor padding across his chest and shoulders. He wore a cap with the Ares logo and his eyes gleamed a bit in the light spilling from the trucks' headlights, probably implants automatically adjusting for the light level, since he didn't squint when he looked at her. He wore a pistol in a holster at his waist, and Kellan noticed the flap was open, though he hadn't drawn his weapon: yet.

"You all right?" he asked Kellan in a Midwestern drawl that reminded her of Kansas City.

"I-I need some help," Kellan replied. "My car broke down and my phone's dead. Do you have a phone I can use or something?"

"Wait right there, miss," the man said, remaining near the front of the truck and not coming any closer. "I can call to get you a tow."

Kellan took a couple steps forward. "That'd be great! Do you need my credstick or anything?" She began reaching toward her jacket pocket innocently.

"Please stay right there, miss," the man said in a more authoritative tone. "Please remain by your vehicle." Kellan saw the guard's hand stray toward his gun and decided to keep her hands by her side and in plain view.

"Okay," she said, "no problem," and the guard reached up with his left hand to unclip a small mic from the shoulder strap of his uniform.

Kellan focused her gaze on the guard's commlink as Lothan had taught her, and suddenly everything went unnaturally still and quiet. She felt the heat across her skin and narrowed her eyes, focusing, directing the energy outward, and projecting it with all of her concentration. There was a roaring in her ears like a crackling fire and she felt the heat leave her in a rush.

The guard's commlink burst into flames. The man yelled in surprise and shock and immediately dropped the chunk of burning plastic and electronics, forgetting that it was still tethered to his uniform. It slapped against his chest and he tried to beat out the flames with one gloved hand. Kellan was aware of the doors of both trucks flying open.

"Kellan, get down!" a voice in her ear said, and Kellan dropped to the pavement as bullets flew overhead. G-Dogg and the Street Deacon popped up from their hidden positions alongside the road, firing at the surprised Ares guards. The guy Kellan burned didn't even reach his sidearm before a round caught him, spinning him around and dropping him to the ground beside the truck. Another guard came out of the driver's side of the truck, taking cover behind the open door as bullets sparked and ricocheted off the obviously armored vehicle. Men were emerging from the cab of the cargo hauler as well.

Kellan seized the opportunity to make a run for the front of the escort vehicle. She kept low as shots whanged off the pavement nearby. As she rounded the front, she saw that the guard who'd spoken to her was still conscious, fumbling for his sidearm. His armor must have blunted some of the force of the shot that hit him. Kellan was faster, and jammed her stun baton into the man's side. There was an electric sizzle and he cried out, then lay on the ground, twitching slightly.

Kellan looked up just as the rear passenger door of the truck opened up and another man jumped out. She dropped her stun baton and immediately reached for her pistol, moving far too slow, as the Ares guard raised his own gun and Kellan found herself looking down a black barrel that for a moment loomed as large as a train tunnel in her vision. Then there was the sound of tearing cloth and a surprised grunt of pain from the guard as the gun fell from his hands and he crumpled. Orion stood over the fallen body, a bloody sword in his right hand, a matte black pistol in the other.

Before Kellan could even say thanks, a bright flash of light and a boom of thunder jerked her eyes to the cloudy sky. The last fraggin' thing they needed was a sudden rainstorm.

"Dammit," Liada cursed over the commlink. "They've got a fraggin' storm spirit!" There was another flash of light, brighter than before. Kellan saw a streak of lightning come from the direction of the other truck. It struck along the side of the road with a rolling boom of thunder, sending up a cloud of sparks and a shower of debris.

"We're pinned down!" G-Dogg shouted. The lightning bolt had struck very close to his position.

"On it!" Liada replied.

Orion gestured at Kellan with the point of his sword, clearly indicating that he wanted her to stay put, then the elf ganger slipped around to the rear of the truck. He looked carefully around it, then disappeared around the corner.

Fraggit if I'm going to just stand here! Kellan thought. She followed close behind Orion.

The Ares guards with the cargo hauler were hunkered down close to the truck's heavy cab, firing their guns in the direction of G-Dogg and the Street Deacon. Hovering above the truck was a large, roiling mass of black clouds. Blue-white electricity shimmered between the clouds, and Kellan thought she could see a great, black-feathered bird with eyes of burning electric blue in the storm. A harsh, cold wind blew from the clouds. A storm spirit, Kellan remembered Liada saying. She had never seen one before.

She couldn't see Liada or Lothan, though she knew the two mages had to be close at hand and within line of sight of their target. Liada said they were going to handle the storm spirit, although Kellan had no idea exactly how. She heard a cry of pain from the guard on the opposite side of the truck, but no shot, so she assumed Orion had struck again. Then one of the Ares guards beside the cargo hauler fired a few shots toward Orion, which forced Kellan to duck back behind the end of the escort vehicle. She clutched her own pistol in both hands, listening to the sounds of the gunfire and the crackling of thunder on the opposite side.