Chapter Text
Javi gives her a boost into the truck, letting her lean on his shoulder as she pulls herself up into the driver’s seat by the grip handle. He hands her cane to Nick to store in the back seat, and Kate settles herself behind the wheel. She takes a deep breath through her nose and lets it out slowly, trying to expel her nerves like a gust of air. She’s not going to wimp out. Not today.
It’s been a long time since she’s been behind the wheel of a pickup. It feels both strange and familiar, like putting on a favorite pair of shoes, but realizing that they’d always been a size too big. She steers onto the Chickasha highway and it feels more like driving a tank than a car.
“Dang, Javi,” she grumbles. “This thing’s a boat.”
Javi grins, “You sure you remember how to drive a truck?”
“Too late to ask that now!” Kate replies cheerfully.
“That’s real comforting,” Nick mumbles from the back seat.
“Speaking of comfort,” Kate says teasingly, “how do you like working for Storm PAR, Dr. Reeves?”
“Better and better all the time, if all the folks at FEMA are like you,” Nick retorts.
“Nah,” Javi disagrees. “Kate’s one of a kind. Thankfully.”
“Jeez,” Kate gripes. “You’d think a cripple would get a little respect around here.”
She peeks into the rearview mirror in time to see Nick roll his eyes, and she doesn’t bother hiding her grin.
“Did Javi tell you guys I was this hurt when he signed me on?” she asks curiously.
“No!” Javi objects, sounding insulted. “It’s nobody’s business.”
“Well, it might be,” Kate says mildly. “I mean, I am driving you guys straight into the path of a tornado. It’s not unreasonable to want to know who’s backing you up.”
“I told them you were the most talented storm chaser I knew. They don’t need to know anymore than that.”
“And you expect them to take your word for it?”
“Yes,” Javi says, as if that should be obvious.
“Okay, General Riviera,” Kate snorts. “Sir, yes sir.”
“Shut up,” Javi scoffs.
“I take it you guys know each other pretty well?” Nick asks sarcastically.
The joke makes Kate pull up short. Yes. She and Javi know each other very well. She glances over at him out of the corner of her eye, only to see him looking right back.
“Yeah,” Javi whispers, answering even though the question was probably rhetorical. “We know each other.”
Kate nods, the right side of her mouth pulling up into a half-smile. She reaches her right hand over to Javi, holding out two fingers. He grasps them with two of his own, shaking them lightly in a somber version of the Muskogee Meteorologist Secret Handshake. She wants to make a joke about how he knows what her insides look like, but that’s a bit over the line, even for her.
Instead, she says, “Did you know your fearless leader used to have a mullet?”
“No,” Nick gasps, horrified.
“Yes,” Kate replies gleefully.
“Do you have pictures?” Nick asks, leaning forward in his seat.
“Not on your life,” Javi says warningly.
They drive through wind country. It’s beautiful. All of Oklahoma is beautiful, in Kate’s expert opinion, but wind country has a specific sort of awe to it. Miles of miles of flat, green sod, carefully dotted with towering, man-made giants. It’s the best of both man and nature, working in perfect harmony. The sky seems to stretch on for eternity, like a person could start walking and never reach the end of it. The sky is a devastating blue, bright and clear. The only flaw on the otherwise perfect landscape is the dark cloud cover stirring on the horizon. As they get closer, rain starts to fall, pounding down against the windshield.
Kate points towards the storm clouds circling above them. The dark clouds move in a counterclockwise circle, getting tighter and tighter on each pass. Kate’s not at the point of patting herself on the back just yet, but she would put good money on their odds.
“Look,” she says. “The updraft is cycling.”
Dragging her eyes back down at the road, Kate winces. Shit. She hits the breaks and turns the wheel sharply. The truck careens onto a gravel road with a jolt. Kate pulls off the break and stomps the gas, driving a bit faster than recommended by the state of Oklahoma.
“Jesus, Kate,” Javi says, scrambling to grab onto the dashboard.
“Sorry,” Kate says, not really meaning it. “Trust me.”
“Javi! What the hell was that?” Kate can hear Scott from out of Javi’s earpiece and across the cab. It’s not funny. Really. She only laughs a little.
“The hell if I know,” Javi grumbles. He presses the button on the side of his earpiece and replies to Scott. “It’s forming just like she called it. Can you see it?”
“Look at those turbines,” Nick says, leaning up over the console to point out the windshield.
Kate glances away from the road long enough to watch the blades of the closest windmill stutter, pausing in their motion and beginning to spin backwards. She turns her eyes back to the road immediately. Her hands grasp tightly onto the wheel, knuckles white.
Javi begins barking orders, “Scarecrow, Tinman, get into position. Wizard, stick with us.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Kate can see two of the white trucks peel off from their formation, driving off onto a passing field road.
“What’s the plan,” Kate asks carefully, flexing her fingers against the steering wheel.
“Tinman’s taking the right, Scarecrow’s behind on the left,” Javi tells her tersely. “Get us in front of that thing, as close as you can.”
A strong gust of wind hits the side of the truck, and Kate struggles to keep it on the road. The windshield wipers stutter in place, the force of the wind stronger than their mechanisms. Adrenaline hits her system like a shock. She can feel the blood pumping to her brain like a steady pulse in her forehead. She flexes her fingers on the steering wheel. Her lungs feel tight in her chest. Kate sets her jaw, pressing her lips into a flat, tight line. She’s not wimping out. Not today.
Above them, the orbit of the clouds tightens, swirling faster and faster as it rotates. In the middle of the mass of clouds, a funnel begins to form. Like slowly stirring a spoon in a glass of water, the tip of the funnel sinks lower and lower, reaching for the ground like the middle finger of God.
“That’s our tornado, baby!” Javi exclaims. Nick whoops, leaning up across the console again to get a better look.
Kate watches with bated breath as the twister touches down. It touches the earth like a tender kiss, before impacting hard against the soil. Red dirt kicks up in the air, sucking up into the sky. Lightening flashes in the distance and even from inside the truck, Kate can feel the warmth being sucked out of an otherwise sweltering summer day. The deluge of rain against the windshield turns into the steady “ping, ping” of hail hitting the roof. Watching the storm, Kate is completely unprepared when a truck barrels onto the road in front of her, nearly sideswiping the side of the truck.
“Shit!” Kate yells, jerking the wheel hard to narrowly avoid hitting him.
The truck flies off the gravel. Kate slams on the brakes, but they still hit the road ditch at fifty miles an hour. Nick, still half leaned over the console, jerks backward in his seat. Javi’s head slams against the passenger door window. He moans, and Kate is terrified. The impact smashes Kate’s knee up against the dash, but she can barely feel it, her mind numb with panic.
Bogged down in the heavy grass, Kate can feel the tires slipping against the slick, wet stalks. She takes her foot off the brake immediately, barely keeping the wheels from spinning out from underneath her. Frantically, she searches the dash and the interior of the truck, her hand fumbling for the four-wheel drive. She shifts into four-high, and suddenly the truck has traction again, although the engine protests against the high speed.
“It’s like the damn wild west around here!” Javi yells angrily, clutching the grab bar with one hand and the dash with the other.
The ditch she’s driving in begins to deepen. Kate glances frantically at the side of the road, unsure about how she’s going to get them out of this mess. Stepping on the brakes is her first instinct, but the slick grass and heavy sleet could cause the truck to spin into the side of the embankment and flip over.
She catches a glimpse of the truck that ran them off the road, and it’s like her blood freezes in her veins. It’s a red Ram pickup truck, with a welded roll cage on the bed. Tyler Owens’ truck. Anger overrides her common sense, like the only thing she can see in the world is the glaring red of that stupid truck. Kate guns the engine and turns the wheel sharply, aiming the tires up the side of the embankment. The truck rockets forward, engine rumbling angrily as it tries to automatically shift gears against the pressure of trying to climb in four-high. Kate presses down on the gas hard, and for a long moment she thinks they aren’t going to make it out of the ditch. She takes in one breath, two. Then, like taking off in a plane, they’re suddenly in the air, the front tires landing hard onto the gravel road.
Kate jerks the wheel again, pointing the tires at the back of Owens’ tailgate. She pulls off the gas just in time to avoid plowing into the Ram’s bumper. She shifts back into two wheel drive. Before she can start laying on the horn, the red truck fishtails, suddenly turning left into the field Kate had just escaped from. Tyler hits grass head on, dipping down and catching air as he jumps the road ditch and plows through some poor farmer's bean field.
“What in the hell is he doing?” Kate asks, verging on hysterical.
“Don't worry about him,” Javi barks. “Just put us in front of that tornado.”
Kate takes three quick breaths out of her mouth. Anger and fear are a toxic mix in her belly, making her stomach roil. She tries to catch a glimpse of the Ram out of the corner of her eye, but she can't see him anymore. Damn it! Where did he go?
“Keep an eye on the tornado!” Javi barks, jerking her out of her reverie. To his head set, he says, “Wizard, hand back and set up the receivers.”
Right. The tornado. Right. Kate looks forward again, keeping one eye on the road and the other on the storm.
“Where Kate? We’ve got to be within 300 meters for this thing to work.” Javi tells her urgently.
“There,” Kate decides. Kate turns the wheel sharply, pulling off onto a farm road close to the direction the storm is headed. It’s not perfect, but it’s close. The tornado is going to turn, she can feel it in her bones, but this is the only spot that’s within Javi’s 300 meters and still a safe enough distance from the head of the storm. She slams on the brakes and turns the wheel sharply, fishtailing in a controlled half-spin so that the tailgate is facing the tornado.
Javi hands Nick a pair of goggles and then they dive out of the truck and into the storm. The sudden change in air pressure makes Kate’s ears pop. She rolls down her window and sticks her head out the side of the truck, rolling awkwardly onto the side of her bad leg. At the back of the truck, Javi and Nick unload the radar panel, lifting it out of the truck bed and locking the studs into the ground. Without her permission, Kate can feel her breath catch in her chest.
Over the sound of the diesel engine and the wind, Kate hears the rumble of another vehicle. Startled, she turns around in time to see Tyler Owens’ red dually pull up beside her. He slams on his breaks, rolling to a stop right next to the driver’s window.
“Howdy, Kate,” he says, a wide grin on his smug face. “What are you doing all the way back here? The tornado’s over there.”
He grins and winks at her, revving his truck engine once, twice, before pulling off at full speed, driving straight toward the tornado.
“What the hell are you doing?” Kate cries, fumbling for the door handle. She opens the door and lunges forward, not thinking. She lands on her left leg with a pained cry, her knee twisting unnaturally. The joint threatens to buckle, but she catches herself on the doorframe, dragging herself along the side of the truck. She hobbles forward, using the truck bed like her cane, and reaches Javi just as Tyler plows straight into the twister.
“Oh my god!” Kate exclaims, horrified. “What is he doing? He's going to get himself killed!!”
The tornado is a solid F2, more than strong enough to lift a truck straight off the ground. Kate heaves a ragged breath, feeling like her lungs are filling with air but none of it is oxygen. It feels like someone has dug their hand through her ribcage and is squeezing her heart in their fist. Her leg, already twinging with pain, threatens to buckle again. Kate hears an explosion and immediately fears the worst.
“God,” Kate wheezes, “please don’t let him die, too.”
Instead of a ball of flames, however, Kate sees something fast moving shoot up into the twister. It explodes into a ball of red and green sparkles, bright and vibrant against the dark clouds.
“Are those fireworks?” Kate asks, aghast.
Kate looks over at Javi and sees him holding a hand to his ear.
“Is it working?” he asks. “Come on Wizard! Is it working?”
He holds his hand to his head for a moment, and Kate can immediately tell that he doesn’t like the answer he gets.
“Damn it!” Javi yells. He turns around and slams a fist against the tailgate. “That freaking redneck’s in the way, again! He’s corrupted the data!”
Javi brings both of his palms to his forehead, clutching at his hair angrily. Kate swallows heavily, her mouth suddenly dry. She’s seen Javi angry before, but never outright furious like he is now. She stumbles back a step, trying to stay out of his way.
To her right, Kate can hear the wind change. She watches with bated breath as the tornado begins to turn, spinning out and further away into the field. Kate takes a deep breath, releasing it heavily when she sees the red truck still sitting there.
Three of the four doors open, and Kate watches as Boone, Ben, and Tyler spill out onto the grass. Tyler and Boone don’t look any worse for wear, but Ben collapses to his knees and curls over himself, probably to hurl. Kate turns away, disgusted with Tyler and Boone, sympathetic towards Ben.
Javi is still furious. His phone is out now, and he’s walked away from her and Nick, pacing as he yells at whoever’s on the other end of the line.
“Has this happened before?” Kate asks, looking over at Nick.
Nick shrugs. “Shooting fireworks into the tornado’s a new one to me. But yeah. Owens hasn’t been particularly helpful. We almost got some pretty good readings last week, until he drove through the radar field and screwed with the parameters.”
“Doesn’t he know what you guys are trying to do?” Kate asks, outraged.
“Javi and Scott talked to him about it, but I’m not sure he cares. It’s weird, though. I mean, he’s crazy, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve always thought he was a nice enough guy. I went to school at Texas Tech, and he usually spends a couple days there every winter as a guest lecturer.” Nick shakes his head and frowns. “I don’t know why they don’t get along, but he and Javi sure enough hate each other.”
Kate frowns. She’s heard of scientists being rivals before, but this is ridiculous. A guy respected enough in the community to guest lecture at Texas Tech in the off season should understand the importance of what Javi’s trying to, not actively try to sabotage it.
She squints and watches as Boone tackles Tyler into the grass. They fall heavily to the ground but pop back up to their feet almost instantly. Boone lets out a whoop that Kate can hear an acre away. They load back up into the truck, and Kate watches as drills, like the kind used to dig post holes, ascend from the ground and up into the roll cage. Kate begrudgingly admits that it’s clever. Driving straight into a tornado is still a stupid thing to do, but with that kind of set up, a truck could withstand an F1 or F2 pretty easily.
Tyler drives up beside them and grins. He raises his index finger at twirls it, mimicking a tornado. Kate glares at him and responds with a different finger. Tyler tips his head back with a laugh, and Kate can’t help but notice that he isn’t wearing his cowboy hat this time.
***T*W*I*S*T*E*R*S***
The Chickasha Motel is bustling, a sentence Kate guesses is usually said sarcastically, rather than in truth. Tonight, though, she's not lying. The Chickasha Motel is bustling.
Javi navigates, directing her through the crowd of cars, trucks, camper vans, and other various storm chaser rigs to one of the spots Scott booked. Kate parks and wrestles herself out of the truck while Javi grabs her bags.
Kate hisses as she hits the ground, her knee picking that moment to decide to be angry at her. Sitting in a car all day after that hard landing on her knee wasn't good for her. After their shitshow afternoon, though, Kate hadn’t been able to bring herself to say anything to Javi about it.
“Hey, you alright?” Nick asks, pausing as she nearly falls on top of him.
“Yeah,” Kate wheezes through gritted teeth, leaning up against the side of the truck. “Just a little stiff.”
“Stiff?” Javi asks sharply, coming around the tailgate to look at her.
“Yes, stiff,” Kate snaps. Her knee joint is locked so tight that her toes feel numb.
“Easy tiger,” Javi says, lifting his hands in surrender. “Do you need anything?”
Kate takes a deep breath and pastes a wry smile on her lips. “Sorry. No, just my painkillers and heating pad. And someone to pull on my leg a little.”
“Like, why did the chicken cross the road?” Nick asks uncertainly.
It's a stupid thing to say, but Kate can't help but laugh. Nick still has his arms outstretched, ready to catch her if she falls. He looks incredibly young in that moment, and Kate is hit again with the fact that he’s just a kid, really.
“Of course not, you idiot,” Javi huffs. He strides around the side of the truck, pushing Nick aside. “And you, stop laughing like a maniac. You’re scaring the children.”
“Here,” Kate says, still laughing. “Come here and pretend to be a crutch.”
Javi loads their bags off on Nick and sends him off with their room keys. The young scientist takes them with speed, jetting off before Kate can even stop laughing.
“Jesus Christ,” she wheezes, leaning up to wrap her right arm around Javi's shoulders. “Where did you say you found him, again?”
“Standing naked in the middle Interstate 40,” Javi says sourly, carefully wrapping his left arm around her waist.
Kate giggles again before letting it train off into a sigh. “That was so stupid. Poor kid.”
“If you were hurting, you should’ve said something,” Javi scolds her lightly.
Kate rolls her eyes. They fall into step together, Kate leaning on him heavily to keep from having to bend her left knee. She uses Javi literally as a crutch, distributing her weight between him and her cane so that her left foot barely grazes the ground. Each step hurts, but with the pressure off her knee, it makes it a little easier to move.
“I wasn't hurting,” Kate says, which technically isn't a lie.
“But you were getting stiff,” he repeats.
Kate rolls her eyes. “That's not exactly news, Sherlock.”
“Kate,” Javi says sternly. “I'm serious, okay? I know you're doing me a huge favor just by being here. It's no skin off my back if we need to slow down or stop early. There'll always be another tornado.”
“And give Scott another reason to be pissy at me?” Kate snorts. “No way.”
“Oh, screw Scott,” Javi says hotly. “He’s smart enough to know when he's being an asshole. Call him out on it, and he usually shuts up. Besides, he works for me, remember?”
“I thought you were partners?” Kate asks, raising an eyebrow.
“The tech is mine, the data is mine, and I'm the one who knows how to read it.” Javi tells her frankly. “I can always find another programer.”
They're both quiet for a minute as they pass a group of people with guitars, singing around a campfire.
It feels strange, Javi’s arm wrapped around her waist. It's familiar and comfortable, but entirely different from how it used to be. Addy’s arms aren’t wrapped around his other side. Her fingers aren’t pulling on Kate’s shirt sleeve, her voice isn’t a soothing hum in Kate’s ears. Kate never had to talk much, when Addy was around. Jeb isn’t trailing behind them, three bags slung over his left shoulder, smiling that sweet smile he always wore when he was happy. Praveen isn’t in front of them, walking backwards, sniping with Addy about this or that, camera clutched in his left hand with an SD card that has as many candid shots of the four of them as it does magazine worth shots of cloud formations and topography differentials. Javi’s arm around her waist, her arm thrown over his shoulder, is familiar but empty, comfortable but aching. Kate swallows hard, willing her eyes not to water. She doesn’t have a free hand to wipe away her tears.
Feeling old and sentimental, Kate flaps her hand inelegantly against his shoulder in a vague approximation of an affectionate pat. “Have I told you how proud of you I am, yet? Seriously, Javi. You've come a long way from the hippie with a mullet who slept on the ground.”
“Thanks, Kate,” Javi says softly, squeezing his hand against her side. Then, ruining the moment, Javi grins, “I know you’re just saying that because now I can spring for motel rooms.”
“I was trying to be nice, you dick.”
Kate doesn’t see the red truck until they're right next to it. Well, she sees it, but it doesn't register in her brain until she sees Tyler Owens standing in the bed of it. Javi stops short, breaking their stride. Kate nearly pitches forward, only her tight grip on the back of Javi’s neck keeps her from falling on her face.
“Owens,” Javi says guardedly, looking up at him with narrow eyes.
“Well!” Tyler says with a wide grin. “If it isn't Storm PAR! You guys enjoy the free show? You had the perfect seat for it.”
Kate can feel Javi’s shoulders go stiff and tight under her arm. His loose grip on her overshirt turns into a yank as he tightens his fist.
“If I wanted to see a clown show, I would go to the circus,” Javi grinds out through gritted teeth.
“Now, now,” Tyler tuts. “That’s not very nice, Storm PAR. Wouldn’t want to sound like sour grapes, would we?”
Kate glances over at Javi’s face and sees murder in his eyes. She glances around the group, before her eyes land on Ben.
“Hi Ben,” Kate says quietly, cutting Javi off before he can start a fight. “Did you get anything good for your article?”
The journalist waves at her nervously, camera clutched tightly in his fist.
“Hello again, Kate,” Ben says quickly. “Yes, I did. It was quite informative, although perhaps a bit more colorful than I was expecting.”
“You mean, you’re not crazy enough to want to drive straight into a tornado?” Kate asks dryly, glancing up at Tyler with a half-smirk. “I hear that most people aren’t. Crazy, that is.”
Tyler meets her eyes and smiles back, something almost wicked in the line of his mouth. “Now, Kate, I think you might be trying to compliment me.”
“Nah,” Kate says idly. “Just repeating something I heard once.”
Tyler shakes his head at her with that same wicked smile, before taking a swig of his beer.
“Hi Kate! I’m Boone. It’s nice to meet you!” Kate drags her eyes away from Tyler to look at the rest of his intrepid team of troubadours. Boone is smiling widely at her, his face a happy one. Kate’s first thought is “max golden retrieve energy.” He points out the rest of the group, listing them by name. “This is Lily, Dexter, and Dani. And of course, you already know Tyler and Ben.”
Boone shifts his beer into his left hand and extends his right for a shake. Kate takes her arm from around Javi's shoulders, pushing away to rest her full body weight against one of the iron pillars that hold up the second story. She shakes Boone’s hand politely. She also shakes hands with Lily, the girl with the drone, and Dexter, the guy who was selling t-shirts earlier. The last member is Dani, who just waves.
“Nice to meet y’all,” Kate says politely. “I take it you’re all storm chasers?”
“Certified Tornado Wranglers, baby!” Boone says with a whoop.
“Nice,” Kate replies with a grin. Kate turns to Lily. “I love the idea of filming these things with a drone. I bet you get a great view of the cap breaking.”
Lily nods with a small smile. “Yes ma’am. There’re some really nice time lapse cuts of twisters forming on the channel. You should check them out sometime, if you’re interested.”
“I will,” Kate replies. She looks over at Javi, noticing the dark look on his face, and figures that she needs to start wrapping this up. “Well, it’s really nice meeting you all. I think it’s almost past my bedtime.”
Before she can start shuffling Javi off toward their motel rooms, she hears a familiar voice call out to them.
“Hey boss!” Nick hollers. She turns to see him jogging down the walkway towards them, two sets of room keys jingling in his hand.
“Here you go,” he says, passing her key over. “Your stuff is in your room.”
He turns to Javi, “Scott wants to talk to you. He thinks he’s got a lead on a cell forming for tomorrow.”
“Really?” Boone asks eagerly. “We’ve been looking at the radar too. Whatcha guys thinking?”
“Oh no,” Tyler interrupts. “I know better than to go asking Storm PAR about the weather. They’ll straight up lie to you.”
“It certainly didn’t seem to slow you down any,” Kate snaps, looking up at him. It’s her temper that responds, not her common sense, but Kate can’t seem to keep her dang mouth shut when it comes to Tyler Owens. She bristles at being called a liar. It’s a hypocritical reaction, seeing as how she did intentionally lie to his face, but it still rankles all the same. Kate doesn’t like being a liar. She doesn’t like how this antagonistic dynamic is turning her into the bad guy.
“That’s what makes Tyler famous,” Boone boasts. “He’s got, like, a sixth sense when it comes to storms.”
Tyler ducks his head, looking down at the ground shyly, but he doesn’t disagree. Kate can see a flash of white teeth against his lower lip, and something in her gut twists.
“A sixth sense for getting in the way, more like,” Javi says darkly.
“I didn’t know you had a monopoly on the weather, Storm PAR,” Tyler drawls. “I’ll try to remember that for the next time you’re too slow.”
Kate steps in front of Javi, leaning heavily on her cane. It’s a dumb thing to do. If they decide to get into a physical confrontation, a girl half their size with a bum leg isn’t going to be much of a barrier, but Kate feels an unnatural urge to keep them away from each other. She catches Javi’s gaze and puts a tentative hand on his chest.
“Not here,” she says lowly. Louder, faking good cheer, she says, “Better go see what Scott wants. You don’t want to leave him hanging, Javi.”
She looks over to see Nick glancing between them carefully, now aware that the conversation he’d interrupted wasn’t exactly a friendly one. Kate remembers with vivid clarity him chanting the Tornado Wrangler motto and calling Tyler a nice guy, and she feels guilty that they’re dragging him into the weird, toxic mess.
“Right,” Nick says, backing her up. “He wants to see you right away, Javi.”
Javi doesn’t do anything for a long time, and Kate is half convinced that he’s going to brush past her and drag Tyler down off his truck anyway. After a long moment, Javi nods, turning and striding away. Nick jogs after him and Kate watches them until they’re swallowed up by the shadows of the motel. Javi didn’t, Kate notes, ever look her in the eye.
“Well, that was a bit dramatic,” Tyler says with a laugh. “All it takes to rile that guy up is to steal his thunder.”
Kate is immediately furious. She turns slowly, but it’s not enough time to wipe off the fierce scowl on her face. She glares up at Tyler, and again, it’s like she can’t control her tongue. The worst thing she’s thinking, the meanest and angriest string of words in her mind, spills from her lips before she can gather up the sense to stop them.
“You know, when I first met you, I couldn't figure out why Javi didn't like you. Now I know. You're an arrogant, spiteful man. Don't you know what kind of research he's trying to do? Why would you jeopardize his work with a dangerous, tactless stunt like that? Just to get some views on your YouTube channel?”
Kate glares up at him, her right arm on her hip. She glares up at that arrogant, unrelenting face, and it feels like her whole body is on fire. Like driving straight into that tornado today, every nerve in her body is alight, adrenaline pulsing in her veins.
Tyler stares down at her for a long moment, his eyes unreadable in the faint light of the setting sun. The corner of his mouth flicks up in an ironic grin. In one swift movement, he grabs the side of the truck bed with his left arm and vaults over it to land light footed on the ground. It’s a move so smooth that Kate feels irrationally jealous. Tyler walks over to stand next to Boone, leaning with one hand against the truck bed. His eyes never leave her face.
“You sure think you have all the answers, don't you?” He says finally. His voice is quiet, but the words come out like a hammer hitting steel. “I know what your boss is researching. I also know who his investors are, and what they're doing with his research. It ain't all sunshine and rainbows, Newbie. And yeah, I don't mind disrupting his research project with a little harmless fun, because what he's doing is exploitative and cruel.”
Kate's mind reels, stunned. It’s like he hit her in the gut with a baseball bat. Javi, exploitative and cruel? There's no way. None. No way. Those three words don't even belong in the same sentence together.
“That's insane,” Kate says, hoarsely. “I know Javi. I trust him with my life. There's no way he would be involved with something shady. No way.”
“It's the truth,” Tyler says. His jaw is set and his blue eyes are stern. His lips are pulled thin and, although his body is entirely relaxed and nonthreatening, Kate is suddenly, viscerally aware of the fact that he is genuinely angry. His eyes are unflinching, but his tone is sympathetic when he adds, “Maybe you don't know him as well as you thought you did.”
Kate cannot let this stand. She practically explodes, getting right into Tyler's space. It hurts like hell, but the pain only stokes the fire of her rage.
“That's bullshit. That's bullshit. You don’t get to say that to me, you understand? Javier Riviera held my bleeding leg together for an hour while we waited for an air evac. He held my hand while the emergency room doctors tried to decide if my leg was worth saving. He slept on the floor of my hospital room for fourteen nights while I fought an infection that spread to my bones. You cannot tell me what kind of man he is, because I know what kind of man he is. He is short tempered and short sighted and occasionally mean, but he would go to the ends of the earth for somebody in need and he always, always does the right thing when it counts. You cannot say that shit to me and mean it.”
The air is deadly silent, suppressed and still like even the cicadas and the crickets are stunned by her outburst. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate can see Lily grab Dani’s hand. Boone looks shocked, like someone took a cattle prod and jabbed him with it when he wasn't looking. Tyler's jaw is tight, but his eyes have softened, his lips less pinched.
They are all quiet, all staring at her, and the anger escapes from her body in a tired whoosh. She suddenly feels empty and aching, like she's attempted open heart surgery on herself with nothing but a rusty scalpel and a melon scoop. The burn in her leg feels less like anger and more like foolishness.
“I'm sorry,” Tyler says finally. “I'm really sorry, Kate. But you need to ask him about Marshall Riggs. About what Riggs has given him and the conditions on it. If you don't, I think you'll be sorry you didn't.”
“Fine,” Kate says wearily. “Fine. But I want you to do one thing for me, too. Google the name Kate Carter and the words ‘lone survivor,’ and you'll see what he's lost.”
Kate turns around and limps to her hotel room, feeling each step like a punishment from God.
***T*W*I*S*T*E*R*S***
By the time Kate showers and exercises her leg, it’s late and she’s dead tired. It doesn’t matter that her entire body is aching, her mind cannot quiet. Kate stares up at the water stained motel ceiling, but it’s Tyler that she’s looking at. All she can think about are Tyler’s words, that steady assurance in his voice. She wants to write him off as arrogant, as jealous of Javi’s success, but she can’t for get the look on his face, the conviction in his eyes. Sitting up in bed, she fumbles for the cellphone on her night stand.
It’s not disloyal to fact check, Kate reasons with herself. Knowledge is power, and she can’t defend Javi if she doesn’t have all the facts. If nothing else, Javi deserves to know what’s being said about him.
She googles the name Marshall Riggs and isn’t impressed by what she finds. He looks like the Texas version of a used car salesman, with slicked back gray hair, a handlebar mustache, and a Boss-Hog-esque solid white, three piece suit. His face is plastered all across his website. He’s a real estate salesman. Worse, he’s a real estate developer.
Kate shuts off her phone and drops it against her chest.
A real estate developer isn’t inherently a bad thing. People need houses to live in. And Javi did say that the future of his research was to install alert systems in homes. A real estate developer isn’t inherently a bad thing, but Tyler’s words, Tyler’s voice, keeps circling her skull like storm clouds. Exploitative. Cruel. Exploitative. Cruel.
Kate picks her phone back up. If it’s late by Oklahoma standards, it’s even later in D.C., but Kate doesn’t let it stop her from calling up her boss on her personal cell phone. For one, Kate’s 99% sure the woman doesn’t sleep, and two, she and Kate have an understanding. They both love and hate tornados in equal measure.
Dr, Jo Harding answers the phone on the third ring, answering with a distracted “Harding here” and what sounds like the rustling of papers.
“Hiya doc,” Kate replies with a tired smile.
“Kate?” Dr. Harding questions. “Oh, good. I was hoping you would call. How’s your friend’s research coming along?”
“It’s no Dorthy, but I think it has promise,” Kate teases. “He sent me some of the initial numbers we got to day, and they look really good. He needs more data, but I can’t imagine what kind of simulations a person could run with these things. Paired with the right code, I think it could do everything he says it will do.”
“Amazing,” Dr. Harding says. “Absolutely amazing. God, if it were fifteen years ago, I would be riding in the truck with you. Hell, five years ago, if it’s as big of a break through as it sounds.”
“I’m pretty sure they’d fall over themselves if you decided you wanted to be out here right now,” Kate says with a laugh. “Javi had the biggest nerd crush on you when we were in school.”
“Oh, pish,” Dr. Harding says, brushing her off. “I’m old news. Now, what do you need?”
“I need to run a name by you. I know you keep pretty close tabs on the scene down here. Have you ever heard of a Marshall Riggs?”
“Marshall Riggs, Marshall Riggs,” Dr. Harding repeats thoughtfully. “No, I can’t say that I do. Is he a scientist?”
“No,” Kate says with a sigh. “He’s a real estate developer. I think he might be one of Javi’s investors and I’m worried about the implications.”
“Well, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I mean, some of my initial funding was from a Texas oil company. It’s not like this is a clean energy project. A lot of people have a vested interest in minimizing the risk of tornados.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Kate says hesitantly. “Do you think it’s something I need to worry about? I normally wouldn’t be concerned, but the word “exploitative” was thrown around by another chaser, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Oh,” Dr. Harding says, startled. “Well, that’s a different matter entirely. Just keep an eye on it, I suppose. And bring it up with your friend. If he’s involved with something shady, we need to know about it.”
“Okay,” Kate says, nodding her head frantically. “Okay. I’ll talk to him. And, really, this could just be some kind of misunderstanding.”
“I’m sure.”
“Thanks. I just…well. Wanted your advice, I guess.”
“Of course! That’s what a mentor is for, after all. Dispensing sage advice, sharing old war stories, etc.”
“Thank you, oh wise one,” Kate intones dryly.
“Yes, yes, don’t get snippy with me, young woman. It’s past your bed time.”
“I’ll let you go…” Kate begins, only to have a sudden thought. “Oh, one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“What do you know about a Tyler Owens?”
“Oh! Tyler! Did you run into him by chance? I figured he would be in Kansas this time of year.”
“Uh, yeah.” Kate says, surprised by the excited tone in Dr. Harding’s voice. “You could say we’ve met.”
“Well, he’s a good kid. He reminds me of my husband, a little bit. He takes far too big of risks of course. Driving into a tornado. How ridiculous. But he’s got a brain somewhere under that cowboy hat of his. He was in Beauregard in 2019. Didn’t just come into town for the storm, either. He was giving out ham sandwiches and the awfullest t-shirts. I’m sure the locals appreciated them, though.”
“Giving out t-shirts?” Kate frowns. “Are you sure he wasn’t selling them?”
“Tyler Owens? No way. He donates a fairly large percentage of his social media earnings to storm victims through food and clothing. It’s quite ingenious, really, using the storms to pay for their own destruction.”
“Alright. Thanks for the info, Doc.”
“Anytime, kid.”
Kate hangs up the phone, lost in thought. It’s a long night. Kate doesn’t sleep.