Chapter 4: The Invisible Ride - Nightshade's First Test Run
1657 Words
The highway blurred past as Ella gripped Nightshade’s steering wheel, the Camaro’s engine purring like a caged beast. The laptop on the passenger seat glowed—100% of the tracker’s core code extracted, saved to a encrypted drive. Ryan stared at the rearview mirror, his hand resting on his Glock.
“Two cars behind,” he said, his voice calm. “Black sedans. Yuri’s men—they didn’t give up.”
Ella’s jaw tightened. She glanced at the dashboard, where a small screen displayed Nightshade’s stealth settings: Nanotech Coating: 0% Activation. She’d never tested it at high speed—only in the garage, with the lights off. Now was the time.
“Hold on,” she said, slamming her hand on the activation button.
The Camaro’s body shimmered, like water rippling over metal. The red paint faded first, then the chrome, until the car blended into the night—only the faint glow of the headlights gave it away. Ryan’s eyebrows lifted. “Impressive.”
“Not enough,” Ella said, flicking off the headlights. The highway went dark around them. “They’ll use thermal.”
Sure enough, the sedans behind sped up, their grilles glowing faintly—thermal cameras, scanning the road. Ella slammed on the brakes, then swerved hard to the right, onto a dirt side road. Nightshade’s tires kicked up dust, but the nanotech coating masked the car’s heat signature.
The sedans roared past, missing them by inches.
Ryan let out a low whistle. “Your dad teach you that?”
Ella shook her head. “Trial and error. Spent six months messing with the coating—stole military surplus parts from a junkyard.” She smiled, a small, sharp thing. “Worth it.”
They drove for 20 minutes, the dirt road winding through desert hills. Ella finally pulled over behind a cluster of cacti, killing the engine. The laptop beeped—an incoming text from an unknown number.
Leo’s fine… for now. Tomorrow’s race: no Interpol. No tricks. Just you, the code, and the track. If I see cops—he dies.
Ella crushed the phone in her hand. “Bastard.”
Ryan put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s bluffing. Interpol’s team is waiting at the Juarez border. We get the code to them, they storm the track, rescue Leo.”
Ella stared at him. “And if they’re late? If Yuri kills him before they get there?”
Ryan didn’t answer. He just stared at the desert, his jaw set.
Ella turned back to Nightshade, popping the hood. The engine was warm, but the EMP generator—her ace in the hole—was cold. She’d designed it to disable electronic devices within 50 feet: cars, cameras, phones. Perfect for taking out Yuri’s men.
But it had a flaw. “It drains the battery,” she said, tapping the generator. “Only 10 minutes of use. Then we’re dead in the water.”
Ryan leaned over the engine, his eyes scanning the wires. “I can fix that. Add a secondary battery—we passed an auto shop back there. Closed, but I can hotwire it.”
Ella hesitated. “Yuri’s men are still out there.”
“They’ll be looking for a invisible car on the highway,” Ryan said, grabbing his jacket. “Not a dead-end dirt road. I’ll be back in 10 minutes.”
He vanished into the night. Ella sat in Nightshade, her hand resting on the steering wheel. She thought of Leo—tied to a chair, scared—and of the crew, back in LA, finding the garage in shambles. Dom would be furious. Mia would be heartbroken.
But she had no choice.
A noise made her jump. A coyote, howling in the distance. She laughed, nervous, then froze. The sound of tires on dirt—coming closer.
She slammed on the ignition, but it was too late. A black sedan skidded to a stop in front of her, blocking the road. Two men got out, holding rifles.
“Get out of the car, Marquez,” one said, his voice cold. “Hand over the code.”
Ella’s hand darted to the EMP button. She could activate it—disable their guns, their car—but it would drain Nightshade’s battery. She’d be stuck here, with no way out.
The men advanced. Ella gripped the steering wheel, ready to fight.
A gunshot rang out.
The man on the left fell, clutching his leg. The other spun, firing wildly. Ryan stood behind him, a wrench in his hand—stolen from the auto shop. He swung, hitting the man in the head. He crumpled to the ground.
Ryan tossed a secondary battery into the car. “Let’s go. More will come.”
Ella nodded, slamming the hood. She activated the EMP generator for 10 seconds—just enough to disable the sedan’s engine—then hit the gas. Nightshade roared down the dirt road, the new battery humming.
They reached the Juarez border at dawn. A white van waited for them—Interpol, their logos hidden. A woman in a black jacket stepped out, her hand extended. “Agent Carter. You have the code?”
Ella handed her the encrypted drive. Carter plugged it into a laptop, her eyes scanning the screen. “It’s good. Yuri’s plan—he’s using the code to shut down the border’s traffic lights. Smuggle weapons in tomorrow, during the race.”
Ryan nodded. “We need to get to the track. Ella races, we sneak in, rescue Leo.”
Carter shook her head. “Too risky. Yuri has 20 men there—armed. We’ll wait for backup, storm the track after the race.”
Ella’s blood boiled. “After the race? He’ll kill Leo before then!”
Carter stared at her. “We have a plan, Ms. Marquez. Trust it.”
Ryan pulled Ella aside. “She’s right. We can’t rush—we’ll get Leo killed.” He whispered, “But we don’t have to follow her plan. We sneak in early, find Leo, then join the race.”
Ella smiled. “Let’s do it.”
They said goodbye to Carter, pretending to head to a hotel. Once the van was gone, they turned Nightshade toward the desert track—10 miles outside Juarez.
The track was a dirt oval, surrounded by bleachers. A few men wandered around, checking guns, fixing race cars. Ella parked behind a hill, activating the stealth coating.
“There’s a tunnel under the bleachers,” Ryan said, pointing. “Leads to the back room—where they’re keeping Leo.”
Ella nodded. She grabbed a wrench from the toolbox, slipping it into her jacket. “You go for Leo. I’ll get the race car ready.”
Ryan hesitated. “Be careful. Yuri’s watching every car.”
Ella winked. “I’m good at hiding.”
They split up. Ella snuck into the pit area, pretending to be a mechanic. A man in a red jacket stopped her. “Yuri’s orders—no one touches the cars.”
Ella smiled, slamming her wrench into his gut. He doubled over, and she dragged him behind a stack of tires. She climbed into a beat-up race car—Yuri’s “gift” for her—and started the engine. It roared, loud and proud.
Ryan slipped into the tunnel, his Glock drawn. The back room was guarded by two men—he took them down with a silent gunshot each. Leo sat in the corner, tied to a chair, his gag hanging loose.
“Ryan?” Leo said, his voice hoarse. “Ella sent you?”
Ryan nodded, cutting the ropes. “We’re getting out of here. But first—we need to stop Yuri.”
Leo stood, stretching his legs. “He’s got a bomb. In the race car—if Ella loses, it goes off. If she wins—he triggers it anyway.”
Ryan’s blood ran cold. “Where is it?”
Leo pointed to a small device on the wall. “The trigger. He’s got it in his pocket.”
They heard a gunshot. Ella’s voice, yelling. Ryan grabbed Leo’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Ella stood in the pit area, a gun in her hand—stolen from a guard. Yuri stood in front of her, his own gun pointed at her head.
“Give me the code, Marquez,” he said, his voice sneering. “Or your brother dies.”
Ryan and Leo ran out, Leo yelling. “He’s lying! He’s got a bomb!”
Yuri spun, firing at Leo. Ryan pushed him out of the way, the bullet grazing his shoulder. Ella slammed her gun into Yuri’s jaw. He fell, dropping the trigger.
Ella grabbed it, holding it up. “Game over, Yuri.”
The sound of sirens filled the air. Interpol’s vans skidded into the track, agents pouring out. Yuri tried to run, but Ryan tackled him, pinning him to the ground.
Ella hugged Leo, tears streaming down her face. “You’re okay.”
“I knew you’d come,” he said, smiling.
Ryan walked over, his shoulder bleeding. “We need to go. The crew’s on their way—Dom called Interpol, asking about you.”
Ella’s heart dropped. “Dom knows?”
Ryan nodded. “He’s mad. But he’s worried. He’ll be here in an hour.”
Ella looked at Nightshade, parked in the distance. The Camaro’s nanotech coating still shimmered, invisible to most. She smiled. “Let’s go. I’ve got some explaining to do.”
They climbed into Nightshade, the engine roaring to life. The track faded behind them, as did the desert. Ella thought of the race, of Yuri’s arrest, of Leo safe beside her.
Tomorrow would be hard—facing the crew, explaining the lies. But today, she’d won.
And Nightshade? She’d passed her first test.
Next time, they’d be ready for anything.
- Writer
