ran 4.2 miles
“Where’s Jonas and why is he not back yet?”
“Why does he always lose the group?”
“He never follows your orders.”
Erica took a deep breath. She wondered the same things but refused to let anyone else know.
“He is not a soldier! He is an asset! And whatever he is doing right now, there is a reason for it. I know where he is and that is all you need to know. Mason? Thomas? Do we understand?”
Danny Woodard leaned into his right turn like a lathed axe poised to split any wooden obstruction placed in front of it. His car screeched along the street drowning the Motor Vehicle Advisory System his automated console was attempting to warn and urge him against.
Between the excessive friction of rubber and asphalt he could hardly hear the simulated female voice but he knew exactly what she was saying.
“Please decelerate. Please decelerate.”
Danny had a straightaway and a yellow light approximately 500 feet away. It was a poor assessment of judgment to assume he’d reach the intersection before the light had turned red.
“Stop accelerating! Stop accelerating!”
It did not help to have a sexy femme voice programmed into his Advisory System. Her voice was silky and seductive. She was redundant and her tone of voice contradicted itself with serious matters. All Danny heard was “Harder on then gas!" and “Don’t stop!"
He pressed his shoulder forward into the wheel and pushed his foot further into the gas.
“Warning! Warning! If you continue to disobey the speed regulations I will be forced to decommission this vehicle and the authorities will be alerted.”
Danny eased off the pedal as soon as he had crossed the intersection. His console printed a speeding ticket between his stick and cup holders.
“You have one more warning, Danny Woodard. I repeat, one more warning.”
Jonas entered the car.
“This is it, Woodard. Erica, three others, and me. Can you take us to the new capital?”
1,112.3 miles to go.
Chapter15
“Woodard has never let us down. He’ll be here in a minute.” Anna said this half-heartedly with feigned hope.“Where’s Jonas and why is he not back yet?”
“Why does he always lose the group?”
“He never follows your orders.”
Erica took a deep breath. She wondered the same things but refused to let anyone else know.
“He is not a soldier! He is an asset! And whatever he is doing right now, there is a reason for it. I know where he is and that is all you need to know. Mason? Thomas? Do we understand?”
Danny Woodard leaned into his right turn like a lathed axe poised to split any wooden obstruction placed in front of it. His car screeched along the street drowning the Motor Vehicle Advisory System his automated console was attempting to warn and urge him against.
Between the excessive friction of rubber and asphalt he could hardly hear the simulated female voice but he knew exactly what she was saying.
“Please decelerate. Please decelerate.”
Danny had a straightaway and a yellow light approximately 500 feet away. It was a poor assessment of judgment to assume he’d reach the intersection before the light had turned red.
“Stop accelerating! Stop accelerating!”
It did not help to have a sexy femme voice programmed into his Advisory System. Her voice was silky and seductive. She was redundant and her tone of voice contradicted itself with serious matters. All Danny heard was “Harder on then gas!" and “Don’t stop!"
He pressed his shoulder forward into the wheel and pushed his foot further into the gas.
“Warning! Warning! If you continue to disobey the speed regulations I will be forced to decommission this vehicle and the authorities will be alerted.”
Danny eased off the pedal as soon as he had crossed the intersection. His console printed a speeding ticket between his stick and cup holders.
“You have one more warning, Danny Woodard. I repeat, one more warning.”
Jonas entered the car.
“This is it, Woodard. Erica, three others, and me. Can you take us to the new capital?”
1,112.3 miles to go.
