Lady, Part VII

“Jenna, who is that?” Dane asked slowly.

            “Oh crap.  This is not good.  Dane, put this on.”

            Jenna shoved a bag onto his lap.

            “Ummm, Jen?”

            She didn’t bother looking at him.  “Just put it on!  When you finish grab the blue backpack behind you.”

            Jenna sped up, feeling hunted as the bright red Porsche drove behind her.

            “What do you want me to do with this?”

            She turned on the cruise control and unclipped her seatbelt.  “Take the wheel while I put this stuff on.”

            Jenna put Lady’s costume over her dark dress.  “Okay, I’m good now.”

            “Why are you dressing as Lady?” Dane asked slowly, as though he knew the answer.

            “Because I have to.  Do you know who’s behind us now?  Why you’re dressed in Butler’s padded suit?” Lady spoke with a flawless British accent.

            Dane nodded.  “Stay quiet?”

            Lady nodded.  “Butler’s voice is much deeper than yours.  If you talk you’ll give yourself away.”

            She gradually slowed the car, finally stopping in the middle of the narrow road.  Ringleader’s Porsche stopped behind her.

            Lady and Dane got out, facing Ringleader.

            Ringleader, dressed in the red coat and tan breeches of his namesake, seemed to loom over her as he asked, “So what brings you here, dear Lady?”

            “A challenge,” she said simply.  “All the police are here.”

            “Ahhh,” he replied.

            Strong Man got out of the car and stood solidly behind Ringleader.  A warning.

            “Now, Butler and I have to go, so if you wouldn’t mind, you’ll need to move your car.”

            “Lady, why would you stop if that was all you wanted to say?”

            “You were following too close.  I can’t turn around with you behind me.”

            Ringleader smiled maliciously.  “I don’t think I’ll just let you go, though.”

            Panic surged through Lady, and she swallowed several times to suppress it.  “Why not?  What harm can Butler and I cause you?”

            “You and Butler?  Not much.  But you and young Daniel Waite could cause a bit.”

            “What does Dane have to do with anything?  I don’t even know where he is!”

            Ringleader nodded at Strong Man, his slicked-back dark hair beginning to slip forward.  “We know exactly where Dane is.”

            There was a resounding crack through the silent woods, then Dane grabbed his shoulder.

            “Look at that,” Ringleader said coolly.  “I found him.”