Page 96 of The Best Trick

I couldn’t help but think about that when the next text came in from Zeus and Odin:

Stay out of sight. Shit hitting fan.

A day later we managed a call over a burner phone.

“Things are getting hotter,” Odin said. They had decided to drive back—that’s how hot air travel was for them now. He suggested we stay indoors except for letting Doris out to poop.

We spent the next few days ordering pizzas and watching movies. I worked on a new module for my Swiss cheese masterclass—everything you ever wanted to know about making Swiss cheese—with my real face being shown. It was a gesture of hope.

“I can re-record the parts with my disguise face later,” I said when I showed Thor the new module. “If things don’t work out.”

He put his arm around me. “I have a feeling you'll never have to put those chipmunk cheeks in again,” he said.

I liked hearing him sound hopeful. It was such a change from when he didn't want us to talk about the future.

“Do you think they'll reinstate your license?” I asked.

He didn't know. We’d done a lot of bad things.

The next day we got a frantic text from Zeus and Odin. They were coming in hot.

“Uh oh!” I said.

We slammed into the car with Doris.

They needed us to wait for them in a running car in a place we’d identified earlier as a great place to switch vehicles during a car chase. We always found at least one of those near every place we stayed; sometimes we even rehearsed.

We got into the spot and waited. It was an illegal spot, but the best thing about illegal spots is that they’re always open.

“We have to find a place for Doris,” I said. “She is not a fan of these crazy car rides.”

I wasn’t either.

“I’ll keep you safe,” Thor said. “Both of you.”

The parking spot was well-obscured with sightlines blocked from every angle. I winced as I heard a chopper overhead.

“We got this,” Thor said. “They’ll lose them on the covered walkways.”

The plan with spots like this was that Odin and Zeus abandon the first car and go off on foot, running up walks between shops and hopping into the new car, we’d whisk them off while their pursuers held a foot chase.

The chopper got louder. Sirens wailed. I made sure the doors were unlocked for the umpteenth time, and then crouched with Doris in the middle seat, holding fast to her leash. She whined and pawed at the floor of the car.

“It’s okay, honey,” I said to her.

Five minutes later, the doors opened. Zeus and Odin dove in on either side of us.

“Drive!” Zeus panted.

“Down!” Odin said.

The three of us crouched on the floor of the back seat with Doris while Thor pulled out and joined the calm stream of Saturday traffic. He had on a Lakers cap, making him look like every Southern California dude out there.

“Anything?” Zeus asked. “One of the pursuit vehicles was an unmarked red Subaru.”

“So far so good,” Thor said.

It was nerve-wracking to drive slowly, but we’d done this a hundred times. The sirens seemed to get louder at one point.

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