“So where are we headed, exactly?” I say, lounging in the backseat.

“Just beyond this stretch of mountains.” Tanya says. She’s sitting in the passenger seat, this time. Sater has the wheel.

“And we’re getting some kind of...evidence?”

Tanya nods. “The weapon…” She cuts off, looks past me. After a couple seconds, her eyes come back to me. “The weapon that was used in the assassination.”

“I was gonna say...not that I could really think about it at the time, but I was pretty sure you didn’t straight up kill those Rifters, back there.”

“No,” Tanya says. “There’s a specific weapon you have to use in order to do the deed. That’s what we’re on our way to pick up. It’s connected to the Black Dart. We’re the only ones that know the exact location.”

Makes enough sense, I suppose. I’ll go along with it.

We’ve been moving north at a steady pace, at our fastest when we were crossing the desert. We slipped through a canyon in the cliff’s face at the edge of the desert, coming out into a yellow valley on the other side. Now the jutting red rocks are becoming increasingly sparse, hidden by the sprawling fields of tall, hazel-colored grass.

We’ve been sticking to a winding trail, one that’s dusty and gravelly, and yet to be overrun by the grass. The engine emits a constant, low growl. The going is bumpy and jerky, but I’m too distracted by the view to be bothered by it.

None of it is real. It’s just a collection of information being transmitted into my consciousness. The real me is laying on a couch, eyes probably flitting back and forth under the lids.

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But it feels real. I can reach out my hand as we pass an intruding blade of grass, its scratchy texture scraping my palm.

I’m pulled back in my seat as the buggy dips up, moving at an incline, pulling up a wide, mostly barren hill.

The whole situation is a bit beyond me. Less than an hour ago, I didn’t even know that Black Darts were real. Now, I’m involved in upending a conspiracy surrounding them. I’m a blind man, being led by...well, people that I sure hope aren’t also blind. That would sure be a pickle.

What if it’s the opposite of that? What if they know even more than they’re letting on?

It’s true that this could be a setup. For a while now, I haven’t been able to shake the idea that some vital snippets of information have been kept from me. And not just the part about the pain in my head. Slivers of the truth—the fact that the Black Dart is real, the involvement of the feds, etc—could be used to distort reality. If all that was even true. Heck, how hard is it to stage a SWAT team raid?

“You seem to know your way around the Dart.” I say to Tanya.

She shrugs. “Not as well as I’d like, considering the situation. Unfortunately, the thing doesn’t exactly come with an instruction manual.”

“Sure.” I say. Honestly, I’m not completely sure what I was fishing for. “Say, did you notice anything odd back at the house, right before we synchronized?”

“Odd.” Tanya says. “Like how?”

“Like, uh…” I freeze. “Nevermind.”

“Okay, weirdo.”

“You know,” I say, “It’s not too late to sound the horn. Get a hundred or so geeks on our side. Feds wouldn’t stand a chance. I could even wave a flag.”

Tanya’s expression goes dark. “You haven’t seen what these guys can do, yet.”

“Can they do the Fandango?”

Tanya’s jaw clenches. She adjusts in her seat, facing me. “Don’t face these guys head on, Kit. We need to lure the feds to collect the data, but that’s it. After that, we’re out.”

She watches me, as if trying to make sure I understand. Honestly, it’s kind of unnerving.

“What’s with the concern, all of a sudden?” I say.

She points a finger. “Don’t fuck this up, Winter.” Then, she swivels back around, arms folded.