Marcus gave a short laugh under his breath. "So, let me guess," he said. "You weren't just around convoys." Elias finally looked at him. "No."
Marcus nodded slowly. "You were the guy who figured out why they failed." Elias looked back at the road. "Sometimes," Victoria leaned back slightly in her seat. "That's quite a career change," she said.
"Yeah." Marcus glanced at him again. "What made you walk away?" Elias hesitated for a moment. Then, he answered simply, "My daughter."
Victoria watched him carefully. "That's it?" "That's enough." The SUV rolled across a small bridge spanning a narrow creek below. Water rushed beneath them, dark and swollen from the storm.
Marcus checked the speed again. 32. Elias nodded approvingly. Keep it there. The radio crackled again.
Lead vehicle to command. "Road ahead clear." Marcus answered, "Copy." Victoria glanced out the side window at the trees sliding past. Do you think the person who set this trap is still nearby?
Elias considered that. "Hard to say, but possible." Marcus added. "Yeah." The road curved gently left.
Marcus slowed slightly. "Pressure still holding," he said. Elias watched the brake gauge for a moment. Then he looked up again. Something in his expression changed.
Marcus noticed it immediately. "What?" Elias leaned forward slightly. "Slow down." Marcus frowned.
"We're already slow." "Slower." Marcus eased off the accelerator. 25. Elias kept staring ahead.
Victoria felt the shift in tension. "What is it?" Elias pointed through the windshield. At first Marcus didn't see anything unusual, just wet pavement stretching forward beneath the convoy headlights. Then he noticed it.
A faint shimmer across the road, almost invisible, like oil on water. Marcus's stomach dropped. "Is that?" "Yeah." Elias said quietly.
Victoria leaned forward. "What are we looking at?" Elias's voice remained calm. "Another trap." Marcus braked carefully, bringing the SUV nearly to a crawl.
The convoy vehicles behind them slowed instantly. Victoria stared at the road ahead. The thin reflective layer stretched across lanes like a glass sheet under the lights. Oil? She asked.
Maybe, Elias said. Marcus shook his head slowly. No accident would leave a spread that even. Elias nodded. Someone laid it there.