“Beckman won't notice that his Aston Martin's gone?” I asked, as we zoomed along a narrow single lane road in northern Italy, the flowing wheat fields moving beside us like a grand yellow wave as the black sedan cruised along the cracked road, under a cloudless blue sky.

  “It was purchased with funds given by the U.K governing body...it's really more of a 'company car,' if ya ask me,” Jack grinned. “He wouldn't leave the keys out if he didn't want us to drive it.”

  “Out in a locked drawer, inside of a locked desk, behind a locked office?” I chuckled.

  “It was practically asking to be taken,” Jack laughed in agreement. “We have to use what's available to us for each and every mission.”

  BUZZ. A singular vibration hailed the cell phone resting readily in the sweaty palms upon my lap. Illuminating the screen, I saw various texts that I'd sent to my father, which were marked undelivered, alongside numerous calls I'd attempted all the same, in-dispersed with a few unanswered calls to Maris.

  Jack looked over, noticing my transformation into somber silence, before turning his attention back to the long road ahead. “Still nothing?”

  I shook my head. “Not sure why I can't reach him. Maris won't answer me either. I don't feel good about it...any of it.”

  “Well, you barely even know her,” Jack chimed in, sidestepping the issue with my father, surely for my own benefit in mind.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Women's intuition, I guess,” I followed up, remaining silent for a moment, as the poisonous thoughts of what could possibly have happened to my father, or Maris, plagued my mind. “How much longer till we're out of Italy?” I asked, now changing the subject my own frame of mind as well, as I hoped the thoughts could drift away into momentary displacement.

  “Not much longer--”

  HONK HONK!

  A car horn blared behind us. Jack peered in the rear view mirror, back at a baby blue sedan following closely on our tail and ever increasing in speed.

  HONK HONK!

  “What does this guy want?” My gaze darted over to the passenger mirror, as I eyed the recklessly driving vehicle, its beaten and scraped facade barely obscured by the distance between us.

  Jack rolled down the window. “Guess we don't have the same need for speed.” As Jack slowed, he stuck an arm out and waved the car to pass ahead of ours, keeping his cool even in a time of utter obnoxiousness such as this. It was something I just loved about him. Well...I guess there were a lot of things I loved about him. It felt weird to think about that word though. I couldn't possibly be feeling something like that yet...right?

  HONK HONK! The car continued its barrage upon our ears with little reprieve.

  “What's his problem?” I chirped, twisting around in my seat to look back at the vehicle and try to get an eye on the driver through its black tinted windows.

  “Alright, my blood's starting to boil now,” Jack ignited.

  And there went his cool.

  “If people can't follow common decency on the road...” Jack started up.

  The blue sedan's engines revved as the vehicle bolted forward and slammed the back of our car with a crunch.

  “Woah!” I shook forward, as Jack's free hand moved in front to catch me. “What road rage!”

  “This is why we can't have nice things!” Jack yelled throwing his hands up for the car to see.

  “Uh, Jack?” I felt my heart racing, as I tugged his sleeve, “this doesn't look like regular road rage.”

  Jack checked out his side mirror, his eyes widening as he found someone lurching out of the back seat window, wearing a black balaclava over their face, and aiming an assault rifle in our direction!