“What do you mean?”
“You and I both know Twisted Fates is the superior team. You are my future cast for Stormz Rising. We need to play up the big brother role.”
“I’m not following.”
“Show the audience that you aren’t simply team players. You’re the type of people who lend a hand when needed because this is dangerous work. You offer advice. You keep an eye on the weaker player. Other people’s safety is more important than your ego or the game.”
I snorted. “Except it’s not.”
“It is from now on. Think about it. I’ll find out where Olivia’s crew is. I want you to spontaneously land in the same vicinity again.”
“No.”
Charles talked over my protest. “I want you to check in on them. Maybe give a short lesson on the kind of storm that is taking place, but be careful you don’t come across as condescending. That’s a fine line we don’t want to cross. Offer a kind word. Educate, and Oz?”
“What?” I said through gritted teeth.
“Do you want to win? Do you want this spot on my show?”
“Of course I fucking do.” If I didn’t get a spot, I might never be able to leave home.
“Then you’re going to do as I say.”
“Yeah. I hear you.”
“Good. One last thing. Listen carefully.” He paused, and my patience thinned. When I was about to speak because the silence had gone on too long, he shouted, “Record every fucking minute! Don’t turn the goddamn camera off this time, no matter what that whiny brother of hers says.”
I tore the phone from my ear, startled at his abrupt command.
The bored lady at the desk must have heard too and glanced over where I stood near the lobby window. I shrugged, and she smiled, going back to her magazine.
By the time I returned the phone to my ear, Charles had hung up.
“Asshole.”
The text with Olivia’s location came through before I made it back to the room. No one was going to be happy. It wasn’t like I had agreed to Charles’s nonsense, but it wasn’t like he’d given me a choice either.
His angle made sense. Charles had called my rescue of Gale the previous week brilliant. His only complaint was that we’d turned the cameras off too soon and should have recorded the entire ride home. I’d done it at Gale’s request, and I didn’t care what Charles said. It was the right thing to do.
Lingering in the hallway for a minute to gather my thoughts, I came to a decision. Why did the team have to know everything? The reason for venturing out was sound, and no one would disagree that we should record raw footage of the storm. If I told Lex where to drive and we happened to end up in the same spot as Olivia… again… such was luck.
I hated deceiving my friends, but we were tangled up in this show because of me. I needed to keep everyone happy or risk a rebellion. I couldn’t lose this opportunity.
With a sound plan, I barreled into the room and announced, “Pack up. Let’s hit the road.”
I earned a few odd looks. No one moved.
“Seriously. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” I clapped my hands. “The audience doesn’t want to see us staring at computers all fucking day. They won’t find Doppler radar half as exciting as we do. They want heart-thumping energy.” I pounded my chest. “So I say, we go dance in the rain and record this wickedthunderstorm while she’s roaring around out there. She’s a doozy. Might as well show the audience her destruction, even if she doesn’t want to produce.”
For a moment, I didn’t think they would take the bait.
Then Vern, thank God for Vern, whooped. “Yeah, baby. Daddy wants to play truth or dare with some fork lightning. Who’s with me?”
That was all it took. In under ten minutes, we piled into Black Bug and headed out.
Lex was used to leaving the navigating to the rest of us, so following instructions on where to go was second nature. He wasn’t the one with his eyes on the radar, so he put his trust in us. This run was different. We weren’t racing to a specific area or following tornadic activity, but I needed to get us to the same vicinity as Olivia so we couldaccidentallycross paths.
I checked with Charles to get her current location and pulled it up on my phone. She was seven miles northeast of town. It made sense. It was the direct path of the storm. Numerous systems were moving through the area, and they all seemed to converge on that one spot. I suggested it as our destination. My reasons were valid, so no one disagreed.
