“I’m listening.”

“I have simulacra of them, too,” Jonas reminded him. “And you know I currently hold Trevor here, and Pigeon, as well as Victor Battiato, John Dart, and the illustrious Mozag. Cross me, and they all perish, Nate. I’ve killed before. I won’t hesitate. Are we clear?”

Nate felt stunned by the man’s bluntness. He nodded weakly.

“Serve me well and you’ll be rewarded,” Jonas said. “Do I keep my promises, Conner?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jonas gave a sickly smile. “It’s important to keep your promises when dealing with mercenaries. My word matters to me for many reasons. For example, I set rules to the contest between the clubs. The Jets won the contest, therefore the Jets will retrieve Uweya.”

“Makes sense,” Nate said.

“Once I have Uweya,” Jonas continued, “you and your friends will no longer be threats to me. Serve me well, and you will all go free. Your families will be spared. Even though you never had my best interests at heart, I’ll reward you. Defy me, and it’s not just your own life you’re gambling with, Nate.”

“I get it,” Nate said. “I’m not crazy.”

Jonas wagged a finger. “Yet children sometimes do crazy things.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Very well, Nate. Off you go. Serve me well. Fetch Uweya. Your friends are depending on you.”

“I understand.”

Conner opened the door.

Nate jerked a thumb at Conner. “In the interest of employee feedback, this guy needs to work on his people skills.”

“Conner wasn’t hired to do customer service,” Jonas said around a smirk.

Nate followed Conner out of the room.

*****

The SUV climbed a steep, rutted dirt road that made Nate cling to the door for support. Cleon drove. A small woman named Jeanine rode shotgun. Seat belts fastened, Nate, Lindy, and Risa sat on the bench behind them. Chris reclined in the far back.

The SUV rocked and reared over the challenging road. A couple of times Nate thought they were going to tip over. In her middle position on the bench, Lindy flopped from one side to the other with all of the jostling.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Nate asked.

“Don’t tell me you can’t handle a little bump or two,” Cleon replied.

“What happened to the regular drivers?” Lindy asked. “The guys you used to cart around the other clubs?”

“This mission is too sensitive for anyone but family,” Cleon said with a grin.

A particularly strong jolt sent a shockwave through Nate’s spine. “We might have a hard time getting Uweya if we’re paralyzed,” he complained.

“This is nothing,” Cleon said. “You’re just used to driving like city kids. You need more off-roading in your life. It’s good for the soul.”

“But not the spine,” Nate muttered.

They continued to climb the shoulder of Mt. Diablo. The sun was now well above the horizon. Cleon had said that due to the daylight, he was under orders to escort everyone to their destination instead of letting them fly.

“You guys found a tunnel last night?” Nate asked. Cleon had not yet fully explained.

Cleon yawned, his fillings visible in the rearview mirror. “I deserve a big, fat nap after all of this is done. So does Jeanine. Those in the know have searched for an entrance to Mt. Diablo for years. Several of the mines in the region secretly had that as a goal. But everybody dug too low.”

“Are we going to the top?” Lindy wondered.

“Closer to the top than you might have guessed. See, if you drop the Protector, he always falls facing the direction to Uweya. We spent much of the night fumbling in the dark. In the end, we found the entrance.”

“Where are the Gate and the Protector now?” Nate asked. “We’ll still need them, won’t we?”

“They’re up ahead, ready and waiting,” Cleon said. “We left them there last night. Figured it beat losing them in a hijacking today. Mr. White likes to play it safe.”

The SUV continued up the mountainside. From time to time, with a rough shake and the grinding of metal, the SUV would get high centered and become immobile. Cleon would look over at Jeanine, who would close her eyes and make the SUV wobble until the wheels got traction. Nate assumed she must be the Crusher Ziggy had mentioned.

At length they reached a steep, rocky point where the SUV could proceed no farther. Cleon killed the engine and got out of the vehicle. The others climbed out as well.

Cleon stood with his hands on his hips, teeth bared as he glared up the slope. “We’re not too far from the entrance. A little hike might do us some good.”

Nate levitated a few inches off the ground. “Do you some good,” he corrected. “Daylight or not, I don’t see anyone around, so I’m saving my strength.”

“Kid has a point,” Jeanine said, her voice a bit huskier than Nate would have predicted. She rose half a foot off the ground. “It’ll cost me less exertion to float there than to walk.”

“How about floating me?” Cleon suggested.

Jeanine arched an eyebrow. “Drop a few pounds and we’ll talk.”

Cleon pressed his lips together, as if biting back a sharp reply. He nodded, rubbed his lips, and started plodding up the long slope. The others hovered around him like a flock of ghosts.

Risa drifted over to Jeanine. “You can fly?”

Jeanine considered her coolly, but answered. “In a sense. I can do tricks with gravity that enable me to float.”

“Why not fly Cleon?” Chris asked. “Is he really too heavy?”

“Messing with gravity takes finesse,” Jeanine said. “I’ve learned to float myself efficiently through lots of practice. Floating others requires more energy and concentration.”

“You were making the car float back there?” Lindy inquired.

“I was shifting gravity enough to let us get traction,” Jeanine explained. “Lifting the entire SUV would wipe me out before long.”

“Do you really want to specify your limits?” Cleon huffed.

“Are you really out of breath already? You need to slow down on the ribs and nachos.”

Nate tried to choke back his laughter. Muffled giggles surrounded him.

“Yuck it up,” Cleon complained. “We’ll see how funny old Cleon is once the trouble starts under the mountain.”

“If we’re attacked by corn dogs,” Jeanine said with a straight face, “our enemies will be doomed.”