After their talk with Carter Halbrook, the teens all piled back in their cars and started driving westward. Carter went separate from them to reduce risk of Circe or her witches catching him with their enemies, and Ricardo had to hang back for a bit to gather up some explosives. But Carter promised the teens that he'd book a hotel for them.

Conner and Saige drove while Olivia, Lanie, Zoe, Rachel, and Miles rode. After two days on the road, they came to the hotel Carter had booked for them in Houston, Texas. Carter was waiting for them there-along with Ricardo, who'd somehow beaten them there.

"Welcome to Houston," said Carter. "I take it you had a safe drive?"

"Yes, we did," said Lanie. "We had to stop on the side of the road last night so Conner could get some sleep, but we made it."

"We probably would've gotten here first," said Olivia, "But Zoe insisted we stop for the night, too."

"Well, at least you're all here," said Carter. "And now we can formulate our plan."

Everyone went inside their hotel room, where they knew there was far less chance of anyone overhearing them. "Okay," Lanie said when they were all secluded. "Carter, you still have Zoe's blood, right?"

"Right," said Carter. Before leaving Jackson, Zoe had let Carter draw a sample of her blood, which he had then brought to Houston.

"Good. So, to make sure we have this right, you'll go in, create the pathogen that'll kill the virus and the fleas carrying it, then put it into the DNA test tubes or whatever it is you're using to create the virus. Then we'll figure out a way to sneak Ricardo's explosives in and destroy the building-hopefully with Circe inside."

"Actually, it's a little more complicated than that," said Carter. "You see, Circe is planning a ceremony for when they release the fleas that carry the virus. Right when I'm finished with the virus, everyone will gather for the ceremony and watch the swarms of fleas fly out to spread the virus. My thought was that after giving Circe the virus, I would slip away and escape the building right before the bomb went off."

"So you're saying that we'll rig the bomb to explode during the ceremony?" Rachel asked.

"Exactly."

"That means we'll have to bust in while you're working on the pathogen," said Olivia.

"Yes, you will," said Carter. "But I was thinking I'd have one of you come in with me to help me with the pathogen."

"WHAT?" said Zoe. "That's stupid! Won't the witches notice-"

"I'll tell them you're my niece-or nephew," said Carter, "That I've decided to bring in to show what I do for work."

The teens exchanged glances.

"Conner, you would be my first choice," said Carter, "Because you're the one least likely to be recognized."

"I guess you're right," Conner said, though he didn't look too excited about the matter.

"What about the rest of us?" Saige asked. "How are we gonna get the explosives in?"

"Well, I've got them all in my truck," said Ricardo, "And the Genetics Engineering lab has a garage for its transport vehicles. If you can get in there and open the garage door, I can drive my truck in."

"But how would we get in there in the first place?" Rachel asked. "We keep coming back to that."

"I'm guessing not the front door," said Miles.

"Well, there is a side door," said Carter. "But it's under armed guard, so that might be a problem..."

"Wait a minute," said Zoe. "I've got an idea!"

***

The next morning, Zoe and Lanie were both waiting in an alleyway near the Genetics Engineering lab. Carter had gone in a few hours prior with Conner in tow, ready to start working on the "virus" that was really a pathogen. Now Zoe and Lanie were waiting for Conner to text Lanie that it was time.

When Lanie's phone buzzed, she read the text and felt her heart rate increase. "It's time," she said.

Lanie and Zoe both approached the building's side door. It wasn't as big as the building's main door-more like the door to the inside of a warehouse. But when Zoe knocked, the door was almost immediately answered by a gruff-looking security guard. "What do you want?" the security guard asked. "We're kind of busy here."

"Hi!" Zoe said with a smile, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. "We're selling delicious Girl Scout cookies! Can I put you down for a box?"

The guard's expression softened at these words. "Well," he said, "I do have a thing for cookies..."

"Then how do you like THESE cookies?" Lanie asked. She summoned a ball of electrical energy and lobbed it at the guard. The guard's body shook violently like he'd been Tasered, then collapsed to the ground.

"Nice one," said Zoe.

"We've gotta hurry," said Lanie. "The others are waiting for us."

The girls shoved the unconscious guard's body out of the way and entered the side door. Carter had told them there was a closet of spare guard uniforms down the hall from here, which they could use to disguise themselves. Sure enough, the closet was right where he said it would be. Zoe and Lanie both put on guard uniforms and set out down the corridors.

"Okay," said Zoe, "So Carter said the garage was down...this way?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Lanie. But when they rounded a corner, they saw both Josie and Lauren talking at the other end of the corridor. The witches had their backs to Zoe and Lanie, so they couldn't see them, but the girls were still startled by the sight. They ducked back around the corner and hid there, hardly daring to breathe.

"Oh, fuck," Zoe said under her breath. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Lanie replied. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what to do herself. Sure, she'd taken down that witch Angie back in Atlanta, but that was just one witch. She doubted she could fight Josie and Lauren at the same time and come out alive.

After a minute of standing there, wondering what to do next, Lanie and Zoe heard Josie and Lauren start to come their way. "...if Mr. Halbrook didn't get the right DNA sample?" Josie was saying.

"We'll have to hope he did," Lauren replied. "Apparently he trusts this mercenary friend of his, and he showed us that he did indeed have a blood sample."

"But just say..."

"Then Circe will be very furious with him, won't she?"

"Oh yes. She'll probably burn him at the stake like the witches of old used to be."

Lauren snickered. "The men of medieval times thought they were the ones in power," she said. "Now we'll see who's laughing when we burn their descendants at the stake."

"Or turn them all into women," said Josie.

"Well-yes, that's true."

By this point, Josie and Lauren were both nearing the edge of the corner. Lanie and Zoe were holding their breaths, wondering if they should stand their ground or make a run for it. Fortunately, they were saved when the loudspeaker came on. "Your attention please," said the voice of Circe, "The ceremony where we release the swarms of fleas will begin in thirty minutes. Please start gathering on the topmost floor of the building."

"Finally!" Josie squealed. "The moment we've all been waiting for!" She and Lauren turned and went back the way they came.

"Whew," Lanie said when the witches had gone. "That was close."

"Thirty minutes," said Zoe. "We don't have much time."

"You're right," said Lanie. "Let's go."

***

From the shotgun seat of Ricardo's moving van-type truck, Saige saw the garage door of the Genetics Engineering building open. "There it is," she said. "Looks like Zoe and Lanie made it."

"Good thing," said Ricardo. He shifted his truck into Drive and eased his way forward. There in the garage, he could see Zoe and Lanie waiting for him.

"We're going in," said Saige. She knocked on the back of the cab and said "This is it, guys! We're inside the building now!"

"Okay!" said Miles. He and Rachel were riding in the back of the truck with the boxes of explosives. "Oh boy," he said to himself. "This is it. This is when we'll finally take down these witches!"

"I know," said Rachel. "Are you scared?"

"Yes," Miles admitted.

"Me too," said Rachel. "But in case we don't make it out, I'm glad I met you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Rachel. "When I was locked in that padded room, I thought it was all over for me. But then when you busted in to rescue us, it was like a new ray of hope had entered my life."

Miles smiled. "Well, it has been fun, riding in the car with you and fighting Genetics Engineering with you," he said.

"Maybe we should-" Rachel started.

She broke off when Ricardo opened the padlock on the back of the truck. "Okay, guys," he said. "Now for the next stage in our plan."

To be continued...