The rumbling sound of the engine was like a rotating motor on a bad night. How in the hell did people use such things? I mused bitterly. The scent of gasoline was as archaic as the fuel itself. Its wiry scent matched that of the desert, coarse, unpleasant and bountifully irksome.

The urge to call up Naedon his crew was there, but I let the thought diminish as fast as it came. I felt that Colvolt had bribed him and his men. Not that bribing a mercenary would take much.

I stared at the buggy left, feeling the sand forcing the vehicle in that direction. As much as I wish I could’ve dictated the pace of this ride I knew it was futile. The sand guides you in The Carib Waste…never fight it, but never follow it…or so someone once told me. God knows cause I certainly couldn’t remember who said the words to me.

“You betrayed me.” Elhisia finally said, voice groggy and barely audible thanks to the roaring winds. “Betrayed? you? Don’t make me laugh girl.” Rikor spat. “…I’m a mercenary. I’m loyal to credits and credits alone!”

“I can pay you more than he can!”

“NO, YOU CAN’T” Rikor hissed, “can’t you see girl? You’ve been played. PLAYED by your own father.” He snarked, laughing as he finished.

“What are you talking about?!” Elhisia hissed.

“Your father orchestrated EVERYTHING here, don’t you know?”

“What?”

“You’re father knew you would’ve instigated the protest. A protest you were TASKED to stop. That was your first mistake. Then, you went ahead and then you reached out to me. I told Valeon and he knew of your plan. Hell, he paid me to do it…so that you wouldn’t stray too far. Your father saw that coming to a mile away girl, accept it!”

“You weren’t my first option!” Elhisia whispered.

“You weren’t but no one would dare follow through with your plan. No one but me.” Rikor said coldly.

Silence sat between the two. I couldn’t tell what happened, but I could only guess that Elhisia cursed and spat at Rikor with her eyes.

“WHY?!?” Elhisia screamed, “WHY GO SO FAR IF YOU DIDN’T CARE TO HELP US!”

“Because Gartheon Defence Services is touted to receive the security contract that’s associated with Landfill Withdrawal Contingency Act Bill.”

“You know of the contract? Of course…your father guaranteed credits to Valeon for two decades. He needed us, and got what he deserves! ”

“The contract to protect the Automatons whilst they shovel all of the Federations Trash into the WASTE,” He said laughing dryly.

“The credits for the contract should be sent to the people! That way children won’t starve or eat cloned food for the rest of their lives!

“I grew up on cloned food girl. They’ll survive.” He said with a gallowish drawl.

So Colvolt did know what Elhisia was up to.

“I will admit this, you have balls woman, balls of steel. Your Great-Great-Grandfather built all the roads within the Federation. Hell, your Great-Grandfather built the wall that encompasses The Antillean Federation. Now your father has the opportunity to remove all the trash that’s been building up within the city within the past two centuries, and you’re worried about, people not eating?”

“You know nothing of my family mercenary.”

“I know more than you.” He spat back.

Silence again, and I again I could tell that Elhisia wanted to chew Rikor’s eyes out. “Tell me…why do you think your father allowed you to go so far after you betrayed him?”

“I didn’t betray him. I wanted to ensure that people could survive!”

“Look around girl, we’ve survived the god damn apocalypse…cleaning up trash can’t affect us!”

“…we barely survived the Imbibe you ape! Look. Around. They are three coalitions left in the western hemisphere. We’re Barely surviving because of the water pockets embedded throughout the tectonic plates!”

“That doesn’t mean shit!”

“…Water will return, that’s why we built the wall, to protect us, putting the trash in the waste will also poison our water supply.”

“I don’t give a fuck!”

“Untie me and I’ll show you, you piece of shit!”

A loud smack echoed into the mic followed by a whimper. Not only was Rikor a piece of shit, but he was also a piece of shit that got off the power of control. “You bastard I’ll kill you.!” A slap echoed through the mic, and Elhisia screamed.

“They said you were a genius you know? But I’m disappointed. Do you know your father allowed this scenario to play out because he wanted to show the board where they stood?” He asked.

Elhisia sobbed from the pain, which only made me clutch my steering wheel even tighter. If only this machine could go faster. I wouldn’t have to sit and listen to this piece of a shit ramble. “Your death, will be a message to the board he told us, you know that? I couldn’t stand a daughter that chose people of the family.”

“OUR WORKERS ARE FAMILY.”

“No…their workers, just like I’m a mercenary.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll all end soon.”

“You’re right” I whispered, “it will end soon.”

The buggy scaled over the dune, landing in a puff of sand. I whipped my face for the thousandth time as I pummelled through the desert trying to make my way through, as fast as I can.

The problem was, they had a two minute lead on me, which in layman terms. Impossible to catch, unless something happened. The weight ratio in the sand would be a big difference, also the air pressure within the tires, but with the luck, I had recently. I certainly would be relying on it.

I swerved left, picking up speed going down a hill as the buggy hurried speed across a ravine. I passed a mesa on my left and spotted a shattered butte with boulders sitting in the middle of the pathway.

The only line I had, was a narrow one. So I selected my line as best as I could, and allowed the buggy to skid across the surface, perfectly angling the VIC as best as I could. I scrapped the side of the buggy as I barely fit through the tight space and felt as my heart finally went back down from my throat, back into my chest.

I throttled through a small hell, then made a hard right, following the trail as best as I could. Rikor’s trail was zig-zagging as if he was losing control. Not good.

After a two minute battle with the sand and my steering wheel, I finally caught up to the bastard. He sped down a short incline, then shot up in the air sailing the buggy about five meters before landing to a wobble.

I zoomed in on the buggy, and the distance between us was 62.5 meters, approximately. The constant swerving and dodging of broken stones were beginning to aggravate me, but it was that or crash and I die.

A huge rock appeared after I sailed in the air, floating seven meters, I countered steered, feeling as the sand allowed the vehicle to skid then steered the vehicle back into place without going over the ledge that led to a bottomless pit.

As bad as that was moment was for me. It brought me closer to Rikor’s vehicle in an unexpected way. Twenty meters… I celebrated. I allowed theme with a slight reprieve to fill within but quelled in an instant. Just a little bit more.

“It looks like you never truly trusted me.” Rikor said, “whoever they are…they’re good. Not many men can manoeuvre through the desert-like this.”

Elhisia didn’t answer, but I could hear the pounding sound of the wind flapping against her shirt as she tried her best to get herself free.

Rikor swerved left, then skidded to his right. It was a plot to make me run into a mesa, but I saw it and kept left and slowly angled my car towards his. Twenty Meters.

The line he took, was laden with broken stones and soft sands, making his buggy slower than it usually was. It wasn’t enough to catch immediately, but the much-needed advantage I craved was more than I could ask for.

The sun’s light struck me in my natural eye, forcing me to squint which made me miss an elongated stone as it sat in the middle of my path. I dodged it, barely and scrapped the side of my buggy, only to lose five meters I’d just gain on the bastard. Damn it! I cursed, annoyed by the amateur mistake.

Rikor skidded across the surface and sped up a short incline. I followed him, twisting and turning as we made our way up what seemed to be a broken road made up of splintered charcoal and sands.

It was bumpy and turbulent, making it easy for me to keep my pace up as I moved. My right hand began to slowly tire as I felt my heart thump with each bump we came across. Fuck it

I sunk my foot into the accelerator, feeling as the pathway guided me through the rickety section, and felt the buggy go up on two wheels. Inertia struck me immediately and I felt the weightlessness for one second.

Uncertainty sang for half a second then I kept control of the buggy, feeling the groves of the sand, turning the steering wheel as it slammed back on the ground. Forty meters damn it!

The back and forth was about annoying at this stage and I wanted to shoot the tires, but I don’t know what would happen to Elhisia and my Three Hundred Million Credits. It was her, or nothing at all.