As Tasìa circled the upscale suburb (not one, but three gated communities) to get back on the interstate, she caught an enticing aromatic whiff coming from a Donca Donuts shop.

Her stomach felt precariously light, and she was uncertain whether she could hold anything down still.

However, she had to try. She paid for three big donuts with crumb cake toppings. She had been drinking beer all night, and for a moment, Tasìa considered ordering a tall coffee to go, but there was another Quick Mart down the block.

They had more beer, and that was a good enough reason not to settle for coffee.

At the Quick Mart, to her perked interest, there was a sale on imported Canadian.

Unibroue.

She had never had the brand before, but it appeared dark, thick, and yeasty, all the things that would help her digestion. She grabbed a second 4-pack to share with Jún-Jún later on that evening.

Before leaving, she hit the munitions aisle where she grabbed two boxes of .32 ACP rounds.

Though the rounds were subpar for operational purposes compared to her custom reloads it mattered not; she was only using them to get her rocks off.

The flush of romantic yearning lingered still beneath her skin. Even as a nun, she had found, given her unfortunate limitations, the best solution for release was to fire her gun off at the shooting range.

Unfortunately, her memberships to the two local ranges expired while she was in prison. She had another place in mind to fire off her gun, the backlot of a recycling center.

There would be plenty of glass bottles to pop there.

While she paid for the ammo and beer, Tasìa caught sight of headlights circling to the backlot of the Quick Mart. The vehicle itself stayed out of her sight.

Was that on purpose?

It could be merely some gamblers going to a back arcade. No. Their path would have been more direct and linear if that was the case.

See the sign where the light settled before they switched it off? The voice of her gut brought this matter to her attention. The car is parked there so it can swerve into traffic easily, and follow someone. That someone being you.

Tasìa answered in turn.

Fine. If they want to play with fire, let me lead the way.

After paying for the items, Tasìa left the Quick Mart, and she dropped the beer and ammo in the leg bag where she had placed the donuts.

She slung herself on to the bike and hauled out of the parking lot. She kept an eye on her mirror. A full block down the strip, and no vehicles had departed from the Quick Mart lot.

Tasìa was almost convinced her gut had descended her mentality into paranoid delusion as she sat at a red light, but then she glanced back a final time just before she expected the light to change.

Sacre Madré! Timing so immaculate. Tasìa thought, admiringly.

There were a mere four more seconds left, in her estimation, before the light changed. They must have been observing another light just in front of the Quick Mart as it synced up with this one down the strip a block.

Professional spook craft, all the way for these guys.

The black Audi A7 pulled out of the lot and onto the strip, immediately settling on an inconspicuous cruising speed. They would be able to hang back to tail her without missing the green light ahead.

Who were these men?

She thought of Sol but dismissed it. Tasìa was convinced that he was wising up, and would not take an aggressive tact. He would cut a deal. Perhaps, even a reasonable one.

The EU then? Much like the USA before their turn to a de-escalation stance, the EU had an alphabet soup of aggressive agencies they could utilize, but they preferred to operate through local talent to keep their own hands clean.

Never direct, as León said, this deep into the hinterlands.

How did they spot her? Easy enough, Tasìa concluded. They could have been following her motorcycle from the satellite and deduced who she was from it.

Well, then. If the EU threatened her peace and tranquility in Villa Marrón, she would just have to eliminate them as a threat.

Tasìa chuckled at this chain of thought. Listen to you, and your big bad ego! They could probably pop you with that energy weapon and have you trembling in a seizure and foaming at the mouth on the ground.

So, why didn't they? Their mighty raygun would destroy the neoPalm PAM.

That was her gut talking. With a well-articulated belch, Tasìa decided she was quite proud of her gut.

The light changed to green. There were no other vehicles nearby, as of yet, so Tasìa played it up to her advantage.

She paused before going forward. She held the bike steady with her boots clasped to the asphalt, and then she grabbed the back of her helmet, pretending that she needed to adjust it.

The Audie edged closer, but it did not accelerate. They kept their calm, cool pace. She could see through the light green tint that four individuals rode inside of it.

Aw, so much professional spook craft on display, and now you choose to fuck up!

One of the backseat passengers, a woman with a narrow, determined face, pulled a gun, a bullpup submachine gun, down where Tasìa would not be able to see it.

This mistake made Tasia feel cheeky. She pulled Demona Heloïste's neoPalm out of her fanny-pack and she waved it in the air for them to see.

As they pulled up within fifty-five feet and the Audi changed into the left-hand lane, Tasìa slid the device away, hastily. She raised her legs up and hit the brake release. Pressing with the edge of her elbows, she pulled the back of her shirt up to expose the Desert Eagle holstered against the stretch of her haunches.

She did this just to let them know she could have shot them up at her advantage and leisure if she so chose to do so.

Tasìa sped off and made the next light just as it was turning back to red. The driver of the Audie chose to hang back, and drive slower than before.

For now, they stayed smart. Likely, they had some decisions to make, knowing Tasìa spotted them before their game plan even commenced.

Given the look on the woman operative's face, however, Tasìa doubted that they would stay smart for very long.