Chapter 8 His middle name's 'Trouble'

"Brook... we should..." Michelle didn't want to say go back but her worry about him getting in trouble kept overriding her bliss in his arms.

"Hmm... later." He said. Suddenly she felt him stiffen and looked up. His jaw was locked and his eyes were hard as he gazed out into the desert.

"What's wrong?" Michelle asked. Soon she heard the same sound that got his attention – the rumble of car wheels. His grip tightened on her arm.

"It's them. They're patrolling. We have to go." He pulled her to the edge of the rock and helped her climb down.

"Who? Who's patrolling?" Michelle asked as they got in the car. He ignored her question as he quickly put on his seatbelt. She sensed his hurry and pulled on her own seatbelt. He had already started the car before it even clicked in place.

"Hang on!" he said. He pushed the gear shift to reverse and backed out in less than a millisecond. The next moment, he shifted the gear to drive and the car roared forward onto the open road. Michelle was awed at how fast he did that.

"Brook, what's going on?" she asked as he sped on. She saw the speedometer hit a hundred and forty within seconds.

"I have to get you away from here... they can't find out..." Brook muttered half to himself. Michelle tightened her grip as he made a sharp turn left. Suddenly she saw lights from behind and turned around.

"Oh no, is that-?" a look of panic crossed her features. Brook glanced at his rear-view mirror and swore.

"Dammit! How did they find us?" Michelle winced.

"Is it them? Those men who chased me?" she asked.

"Yes and I'm not gonna let them get us so hang on!" Brook said fiercely. He weaved the car left and right trying to shake them off.

"How do we lose them?" Michelle asked.

"There are two ways – we call for backup, create a diversion, and hope to lose them eventually or -"

"Or?" Michelle asked when he paused. He flashed a quick glance at her.

"We do something risky." He said with foreboding. Michelle swallowed.

"Do it." She said.

"Good job out there today. You all followed through exactly as I planned." Soriano and the rest of the gang got out of their cars which they had parked inside the base. They had just returned from the town.

"I scored the most parts," Paige said with attitude. Soriano smiled.

"Yes you did, and that's why you get to work on the Devel Sixteen. Keep up the good work and I just might let you keep it," he said. Jett gave a whoop.

"Yeah, baby! Go, Paige!" Paige punched him in the arm.

"Thanks. But call me baby again and you'll need to operate your own gut." Jett winced.

"Ouch. Got it." Leslie looked towards the living room door.

"Hey, where are Brook and Michelle? It's pretty quiet around here."

"They're probably holed up in the game room. This place doesn't exactly scream fun for an out-of-town girl." Reece said. Payton scowled and walked off to the game room. He came back in less than a minute.

"They're not there. The bunks are empty too." He said. Jett looked worried and went to check the infirmary and control room.

"Um, guys?" Reece pointed to the empty spot where Brook's car had stood. Jett came back looking anxious.

"Gone! Chief, you don't think –" Jett's eyes widened as he spoke. Soriano clenched his fists.

"If anything happens to those kids, I swear I'm gonna kill Brook!"

"I wanna stick around for that," Paige said with a callous smirk. Payton swept a toolbox off the table near the cars in fury.

"Brook's gonna get it from me first! He's gonna get us all caught with his stupid feats!" he raged.

"You're gonna have to wait your turn. Chief looks like he's called shotgun." Reece said.

"They're gaining on us! If they box us in –" Michelle looked behind fearfully.

"That won't happen," Brook said with grim determination. The radio turned on and a voice spoke.

"Brook you idiot where are you?!" Jett's voice yelled.

"Eighty-eight from the base. I'm leading them away."

"They're after you?!" Jett asked.

"Yes, so shut it and let me drive!"

"Brook! I order you to come back to the base at once!" Soriano's voice replaced Jett's.

"No can do! They're on my tail and I can't shake them! if they find the base it's over!"

"Relax you dimwit we'll distract them! Get Michelle out of there! Payton will dissect them from the V-turn and the chief will flash them from the west. Head for the water tank road now!" Paige yelled through the radio.

"I don't take orders from you! I'll lose them my own way!" Brook shouted back.

"Brook! They'll kill you if they get the chance! You can't give them that chance and put Michelle in danger! GET OUT NOW!" Soriano said. Brook turned off the radio.

"Brook what –" Michelle began.

"They think they can sacrifice themselves... that's not gonna happen. I'll get us out of here one way or another." Brook said to her. Michelle gulped and clutched the seat. A car parallel to them a few feet away blared its horns. Brook gave a split-second glance out his window and roared.

"You idiot Payton! I said –" he turned on his radio.

"GET AWAY! You can't lose them!" Brook yelled into the radio. Payton's voice came back in an amused laugh.

"You're one to talk." The car shuddered suddenly as they took a hit from behind. Michelle screamed.

"Man, you really are stupid. Bringing Michelle out here in the night... I always have to clean up after you." Payton said with heavy sarcasm.

"I'll ram you myself if you don't get out of here! I can handle this!" Brook yelled back. Payton scoffed.

"Not with your girlfriend in the car you won't." Brook slammed his hand on the wheel and turned to Michelle.

"Michelle –"

"Do what you gotta do," Michelle said, her eyes steeled and focused on his. He nodded.

"Close your eyes if you're afraid."

"I'm not," Michelle said resolutely. Despite the situation, Brook's lips tugged into a little smile. He hit the gas pedal with full force. The speedometer ticked to two thirty. The car began to inch a few feet away from the men. Payton watched them slip away in anger.

"Dammit Brook what're you doing?!" Payton asked. Michelle winced.

"Why do you guys swear so much?" she half-mumbled. Brook turned off the radio.

"He's getting away! I can't head them off if he keeps up!" Payton yelled through his own radio to the others.

"Which direction?" Jett asked.

"Hourglass cliffs! He's crazy if he thinks he can lose them there!" Payton said.

"I know what he's gonna do," Soriano said. "Paige, Reece, you tail the pursuers. Payton, ram them if you have to, to get their attention. How many are they?"

"Three," Payton replied.

"Head them our way. We'll take care of the rest."

The black Bugatti raced past the desert plains, keeping ahead of the pursuers. It wasn't until a set of rock cliffs appeared that Michelle spoke.

"Brook? How are we gonna get around that?"

"We're not going around. We're going over."

"What?" Michelle could hardly believe what he said.

"We're going over a sixty-foot mountain?"

"It's the only way to lose them fast." Michelle turned around to see how many cars were chasing them.

"Wait... where are they? Brook, they're gone!" Brook looked just as surprised as Michelle when he glanced in the mirror.

"We can't have lost them that fast. Payton must've... Argh!" Brook said in fury.

"No, I don't think it was Payton. I've seen this before. They did the same thing to me – Look out!" Michelle screamed as the headlights of a stationary car in front of them turned on, blinding them. Brook slammed the wheel to the left, sending the car spinning in circles unable to stop, the screeching tires deafening them. When the car finally stopped, Brook squeezed Michelle's arm.

"Michelle, are you okay? Are you hurt?" She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." She gasped suddenly and pointed to the front of the car. The driver from the car that had stopped in front of them stood a few feet in front holding a grenade. His face was hidden in a silhouette from the headlight shining from behind.

"Go, go!" Michelle yelled. Brook started the car before she finished speaking and reversed at high-speed. The man threw the grenade at them.

"Brook!" Michelle screamed. Brook turned the wheel to the right and drove straight past the stationary car towards the cliff narrowly missing the grenade. A loud explosion went off behind them causing Michelle to cover her ears.

"Not this time..." Brook muttered under his breath. He sped up the mountain, his foot hard on the gas. In a few moments, they heard the roar of the car pursuing them.

"Michelle..." he said. She turned to him.

"It's now or never." He said in a grim voice. She nodded. Brook didn't stop as the car neared the edge of the cliff and in a millisecond – hurled the car off the steep drop on the other side. Michelle felt her heart flip as the car flew in mid-air. She looked forward with wide eyes as the ground grew nearer until the car hovered right above the ground. The next moment the car hit the ground with a terrific jolt, screeching and rumbling as Brook hadn't let go of the gas pedal. The car continued down the road away from the cliffs, headlights off. Up on the edge of the cliff, the driver who had been pursuing them got out of his car, watching them with narrow eyes.

"Well played..." he said to himself.

Brook drove back to the base after making sure no one was tailing them. He slowed down and turned on the headlights as the car rolled down the ramp into the tunnels.

"Michelle... are you alive?" he asked, unsure what to say to her. She smiled in the darkness and touched his hand which was resting on the gearshift.

"When I'm with you – yes." She replied shakily. He turned his palm up so he could hold her hand.

"I'm sorry about tonight. I'm sorry for everything I put you through." He said in a low voice. Michelle heard the aching regret and tightened her fingers around his hand.

"Don't you dare be sorry. I'm not." He looked at her in the reflection from the headlights.

"But I put you in danger..."

"You saved me from danger. You gave me the best drive of my life, gave me the most incredible date – and now you're saying you're sorry?" her voice broke near the end. Brook braked the car and turned to her, cupping her face in his hands.

"Michelle, I don't regret being with you. Every moment makes me feel like a different person. Like I'm really living. But don't you see? I'm dangerous for you! I can't stand you being in danger if you're around me. I'm – I'm no good for you." he hung his head. Michelle put her hands over his which were on her face and squeezed them.

"You don't get to decide that for me," she said with determination. "People go through a lot worse just to stay together. I'm not going to give up on you if you won't. Please, Brook." He raised his eyes to hers.

"Every thought in my head is screaming at me to get away from you..."

"But?"

"But I'm not gonna listen." He pulled her in for a fierce kiss. Michelle's hands automatically came up to his collar and clawed at them. Before she could lose herself in him, he pulled away.

"We have fireworks to face." He nodded to the base.

"We'll face it together. You're not alone anymore." She said resolutely. Her words made his spirit soar despite everything.