Page 99 of Warrior Unraveled

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Sitting in the passenger seat of Wesley’s car, Virginia pointed to the curb on the arrivals level of one of the six domestic terminals at San Francisco International Airport.

“There she is.”

Wesley directed his gaze toward the woman now crossing the street. He slowed the car even more, pretending to look for a spot to pull alongside the curb to pick up a passenger, since parking and waiting weren’t allowed here. Luckily, the tracker in Deirdre’s handbag was still working, and Pearce had been able to send them real-time updates on her location so they wouldn’t miss her when she exited the arrivals hall.

Deirdre looked around as if searching for something. She was casually dressed in slacks and a light jacket, her oversized handbag slung over her shoulder.

“She looks younger than in the photo,” Wes commented.

“She’s older than I am.”

“Being immortal does have its advantages.”

“She’s not immortal anymore. She’ll start aging now.”

“Where’s she going? Taxi?”

“She’s not taking a taxi,” Virginia said. “Look.”

Deirdre had reached the other side of the street and was now walking toward a shuttle stop. “She must have booked a rental car,” Wes said.

Behind him a horn sounded. He looked in the rearview mirror. An airport employee was signaling him to move along.

“I can’t stay here any longer.”

“The stop she’s waiting at only services Hertz rental cars. Do you know where their lot is?”

Wes nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. Meet us there.”

Before he could respond, Virginia had cloaked herself and, judging by the sound of rustling fabric from the passenger seat, was passing through the closed car door.

“No parking here, move along,” somebody called out through a bullhorn.

Wesley sighed and merged back into the outside lane, driving away slowly, trusting that Virginia had reached the spot where Deirdre was waiting for the rental car shuttle. There was nothing he could do right now, other than make his way to the rental car lot.

It took about ten minutes before the shuttle arrived at the Hertz rental center on North McDonnell Road. Wesley watched it pull into the parking lot, letting the passengers disembark outside the office. Only a handful of passengers exited, and Deirdre was easy to spot. She had no luggage to speak of, only her handbag.

Wesley was parked and waiting by the exit from the rental car lot. Nobody paid him any notice. He watched every car that exited, checking to make sure he didn’t miss Deirdre. Suddenly, he heard a sound inside the car.

“I’m back,” Virginia said.

He sighed with relief and turned his head, as she appeared next to him in the passenger seat.

“She’s rented a Toyota Corolla. It’s white. She should be the next one out. I’ve memorized the license plate just in case.”

“Good. Did she sense you following her?”

“No. She’s fully human now. None of her Stealth Guardian senses remain. It was easy to follow her. Just stay far enough back so she doesn’t realize a car is tailing her.”

“Don’t worry, I’m trained.” After all, Scanguards had trained him well in all kinds of disciplines, including surveillance.

“Here she comes.”

After briefly stopping at the security hut at the gate, the white Toyota exited the car rental lot and merged into traffic. Wesley turned the engine over and followed.