“He won’t be expecting you to catch up with him.”
“No. He really should have killed me when he had the chance.” Josiah slid his hand under his jacket and felt the warm blood on his fingers. “Sorry, Cam. I’m bleeding on your fancy upholstery,” he murmured.
“What the hell…? Are you injured? Do we need to go to the hospital?” Reed demanded, looking panicked.
“No. Keep following that chip.”
“Okay, but if you bleed out on me, I’ll be furious, and not just because of the upholstery.”
“Understood.”
Josiah had to hand it to Alex. The Destiny duck was fantastic, skimming across the water with effortless ease.
“Why the hell aren’t we all driving these?” he demanded.
“Well, it was kinda pricey. Sarah gave me hell for wasting money on it, but…” Reed looked sheepish. “I just had to have it.”
“Did you know Alex designed it?”
Reed looked startled. “What? No, I didn’t.”
“Yeah. This machine almost destroyed him. Now, hopefully, it can save him.”
The duck was so fast that it soon caught up with Neil’s more sedate AV, despite his head start.
“Draw up alongside him,” Josiah ordered. “Let’s see if we can bounce him into giving up.”
Reed did as instructed, and soon they were driving neck and neck with Neil’s AV, so close that Josiah could see into it. He opened the window and aimed his gun, but at that moment, Neil saw him and swerved in shock. Reed swerved after him, butNeil started zigzagging across the water, weaving in and out of the busy lost zone traffic, making it almost impossible to keep abreast of him. They lost visibility for a moment but were still able to follow the chip.
The Shard, one of London’s pre-Rising landmarks, suddenly loomed into view ahead, a huge, jagged ruin staggering up out of the water.
“He’s there.” Josiah pointed, but it was too late – Neil was coming straight at them. His AV went full force into the side of the Destiny duck, making a vicious crunching sound. Her engine cut out, and she came to a halt, a sitting duck – literally – in the water.
Neil turned his AV and chugged away, while Josiah and Reed could only sit and watch.
“Fuck it!” Reed roared, slamming his hands on the steering wheel.
“C’mon, Alex designed this duck. She won’t let us down. Turn her off and on again.” Josiah grinned at him. “That’s what you always say when I can’t get the tech working, isn’t it?”
Reed gave him a sideways look. “Don’t quote my words back to me,” he growled, but he turned her off anyway. “My poor baby. I’ve only had her a few weeks.”
“She’s insured.”
“Sure, for regular stuff. Not for high-speed chases across lost zones in the course of my work.” He pressed the ignition, and a second later, the duck hummed into life again.
“See, works every time. Now let’s get moving.”
It was impossible to see Neil’s vehicle in the gloom ahead, so they were totally reliant on following the microchip. Reed’s duck listed to one side and was making a nasty chugging sound, but at least it wasn’t letting in water – yet.
“He’s stopped…” Josiah pointed at the winking red dot, which was suddenly stationary.
“Or he’s figured out you put the chip in Alex’s pocket.”
“Shit, I hope not.”
They reached the chip’s location and found Neil’s duck abandoned outside The Shard. It used to be the tallest building in Old London, but now half its triangular structure was buried under water, and what had once been a sharp-edged, angular top had long since fallen away, leaving an ugly, gaping wound at its pinnacle.
“Shard Quarter,” Reed muttered. “Looks like he’s holed up in there hiding. It’s huge inside.”
