I saw Precipice start to raise two right hands, like a student in class who had something to say but wasn’t sure about it.

He stopped, dropping his hands. Not the time for it. We had other immediate concerns.

Our driver was leaning against the door of the van when we returned from our excursion, smoking. All was well until we drew close enough that the streetlights illuminated our group, and the driver saw the three bodies we’d draped over the back of Rachel’s dog.

There were a few directions one could go, when their immediate peer group had just been taken out by the scary people with powers. Fight, which meant drawing that gun and doing as much damage to us as possible, flight, which meant hopping into that vehicle and trying to drive away…

His hands went up.

Freeze is another option. For the guy, not for us.

Other people couldn’t afford for us to freeze.

“I’m going to knock you out while we figure out what to do,” Chastity said, as she drew closer. She drew out her whip. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I don’t know what they said, but I’m not part of it,” the driver said. He backed up a little. The hand closest to his gun dropped a couple of inches, still raised. “I’m new.”

“He is new,” Chastity said. “It’s true.”

“Don’t announce that you’re going to bitch slap a grown man and then fail to follow through,” Aroa said. “It makes all of the Heartbroken look bad.”

“Is there a way forward where we don’t take him out?” I asked. “Because I’m really not keen on running interference while someone else drives on icy roads, so I can grab it if it starts skidding. It’s nerve wracking. He seems to have the driving down, at least.”

“It’s what I do.”

“Shh,” Rachel shushed the man. “You don’t have to whine about guarding the car. My dogs can handle that.”

Whine?

“You have Yips with you, and Yips is barely a dog,” Candy said, pointing at the gangliest of the monster dogs. Rachel glared at her.

“All I’m asking is who drives, if he doesn’t?” I asked.

“I can drive,” Foil said, at the same time Precipice volunteered with a, “Me.”

They exchanged looks.

“Enhanced timing and accuracy with my power.”

“I’ve been driving since I was old enough to see over the wheel, most kinds of weather. I don’t have much going for me, but I’ve got that, at least.”

I put my fingers at my nose, pinching the bridge.

“Why haven’t we beat down the merc?” Aroa asked. “Priorities.”

“Because we don’t know what we’re doing, hon,” Chastity told her. She flicked her hand, the motion traveling down the length of the whip that draped across the icy road. “These things take negotiation.”