"Dad, I'm not sure I can do this," Lacey gripped the wheel of his car.

"You've done the driver's ed course at school. You've shown me you can do the parallel parking stuff. You even know about hill parks. You're ready. We're going over to the DMV in Concord and you're taking your driver's test. It's time." Her father pulled his seat belt over his shoulder and buckled it. "You can drive in."

"Yeah, but that's in the city. It's not like home where I know every street and alley. I even know most of the roads outside of town."

Lacey stayed quiet as she concentrated on the freeway traffic. She followed the GPS instructions and turned into the crowded parking lot in front of the department of motor vehicles building.

"Dad I'm nervous. Look at me. I'm shaking." She grabbed the arm rests to stop the trembling.

"You know how to stop at a stop sign, and a red light. Tell the examiner you need directions and instructions as to where you need to go. Let him know you're from a small town. I'm assuming a him, but that isn't necessarily true. You can do this. It's no worse than competing out of town on strange equipment." His quiet confidence didn't help like it usually did.

Lacey pulled the park brake and turned the ignition off. "If you put it that way, I guess it won't be that bad. And I will be driving this car, so it's not like I'm in a strange one." She felt like she was trying to talk herself out of a panic attack.

"That's the spirit. Let's head inside and let them know you're here." Her father squeezed her shoulder, as she fought her nerves. "You've got this, Tiger. Treat this like you do a competition. Take a few deep breaths now and we'll go in and see if they are ready for you."

"It's just another competition." She repeated the phrase in her head like a mantra as her Dad pulled the door open for her. "It's just another competition."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Lacey swaggered into school the next morning. Her brand new temporary license in her hand. Terry met her as she entered the gym from the football practice field behind the school. She tucked it into her bra and took a running jump into a couple of cartwheels, a round off, and a laid out back flip, her smile a mile wide.

"What got into you?" Terry hugged her, spinning her around before he dipped his lips to hers, kissing her soundly.

"Got my driver's license yesterday. That's why I left early. Dad made the appointment and surprised me. We drove all the way into Concord to get it done. Scariest half hour of my life. I hate the city." Lacey said when she caught her breath. Man, he had a way with his lips. Her knees were never steady after he kissed her.

"Wow! We've got to celebrate. Pizza and a movie? It's Friday and we don't have a game or anything this weekend. It's next weekend. Isn't Sara coming next Thursday? We get an extra day off, don't we?" Terry waved Percy over.

"What's up," Percy's serious blue eyes were on Zee as she and the dance group polished their moves for a second routine.

"Double date? Lace got her driver's license." Terry bragged.

"Really? Congrats!" Percy lifted her effortlessly to his shoulders and Terry moved in beside him. Lacey knew it was her signal for the new move they perfected. Thank God for the practice mats Terry's father had in their barn.

Lacey moved across so she had a foot on each of their shoulders. When had Terry gotten taller? Really his shoulders were almost even with Percy's now. Not like the beginning of school year. Arching backward, she reached for her ankles and carefully placed her hands just outside them, slowly pushing into a handstand, leaning forward, and dropping headfirst toward the floor. The gasp from her coach, told her she had the move right, as the boys caught her legs and she rolled out into a front somersault.

"Okay, that's going into our competition routine. Can you save yourself if they miss?" Coach asked.

"Of course. It's no worse than a fall off the high bar." Lace said. "Do you want to see?"

The coach shook her head. "No need. Let's not tempt fate."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

"There he is again," Lacey said as she looked in the rear view mirror of her brand new car.

Zee turned to peer out the back window of the Jeep Wrangler. "It sure looks like him all right."

"I'm going to park at the police station for a minute. Let's see if he stops or he goes by."

Zee kept her eyes on the dark sedan. It was hard to tell if it was blue or black with dark clouds obscuring the sun. She recognized it though, the same one that followed them back to the office the other night.

"He's slowing down," Lace breathed as she set the brake.

"Shit, he's got a gun, duck!" Zee's scream had her dropping to the side cracking her head against her twin's as she did the same.

Two gun shots shattered the driver's door window, and cops came pouring out of the front entrance of the station.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Lace apologized as she rubbed her head, a bump forming under her searching fingers.

"He tried to kill us. Or at least you," Zee said. "Be careful, you've got glass all over you. Oh my God, he's crazy, he tried to kill us." Her voice rose hysterically.

Lace screamed as the driver's door opened.

"Police, are you all right?"

"No." Zee repeated herself, "He tried to kill us." She barely heard herself over the sirens rocketing down the street after the car with the gunman.

"Stay still," the officer said. "We're going to get this glass off you. What's your name?" He asked as he started brushing glass off Lace.

"Lacey Pemberton, that's my twin, Zena Henderson," she said as he picked pieces of glass off her back. "He shot at us. A pistol. I saw it at exactly same time as Zee told me to duck."

"He must be crazy to try that right in front of the police station." Zee said as she sat up, shaking a couple of shards of glass out of her hair. "He was really trying to kill us." She repeated herself again, trying to convince herself it really happened.

"Where were you headed?" The cop swept the rest of the glass out of the way as Lacey sat up.

"Concord airport. We had the GPS programmed and everything. We have to get there because my friend Sara is coming. She doesn't know anyone here." Zee's panicked voice squeaked a little.

"Well you need to call your parents. We have to get your statements and it's going to take a couple of hours before you can go. We'll need to keep the Jeep for a couple of days to figure out what caliber the bullets were. It looks like they're stuck in the roof." He pointed to two holes above their heads. "You're going to need another car before you can go pick her up."

"I can't even message her, she's still in the air," Zena wailed.

"We'll work it out, first step first. Call your parents. Did you recognize the vehicle? And did you recognize the driver?" The cop helped Lacey out as the passenger door opened.

Zee jerked as she turned to face another officer.

"I'll help you out, Zena. We'll make sure your friend is okay and someone makes sure she gets a ride here." The voice was reassuring, and she sighed.

"I hope we can go. She doesn't know anyone else." Zee's worry for Sara blocked everything else from her mind. The officer extended a hand and she took it. She didn't know if she could stay on her feet.

She watched as Lacey and the cop with her, picked their way through the broken glass and around to the curb. She spotted Uncle James sprinting toward them. Before Lace got to her side, her father spun her around to look her over.

"Are you okay, Tiger? They called me at the office. I heard the gunshots." He half shook her twin before she could answer, then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. He looked like he would never let her go.

"She's scared, but uninjured, James." The police chief said from behind them where he stood surveying the scene. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

"You'd better." Uncle James turned to Zee and pulled her in under his other arm. Surprise and a warm flush bled through her freezing skin.

"I'm taking them down to the office. I'm glad I was there putting in some extra time."

He's treating me like I'm his daughter. How did I inherit another Dad? This is so weird. There's something different about this driver. I can't put my finger on it, but this one isn't the same as the tall skinny geek from the pep rally. He was the one who followed us the other night, but this one isn't the same. The car was but the driver was different.

"I'm sending one of the detectives with you. He'll get their statements there." The Police Chief waved at a woman wearing a dark blue business suit. "This is Detective Blade. Heather Blade. She's one of our best."

"Come on James, let's get these girls inside. If I recall correctly, your wife has all the makings for hot chocolate in the kitchen." The Detective started down the block toward the office. "I've spent enough time talking to you about our juvenile delinquents to know."

Zee didn't object when Uncle James kept his arm around her shoulder. Lacey eased free and rubbed her forehead again. She could see a bruise forming there and raised her own hand to touch the sore spot right at her hairline. Her fingers traced a bump there.

What about Sara. Are we going to be able to go get her? If I keep thinking about that, maybe I won't remember I could be dead.