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About ten klicks out from Kumeu, the van’s trail suddenly deviated from the North-Western Motorway. It swung towards Massey, then looped around the Henderson Valley, then angled back towards New Lynn before rejoining the motorway once more.
It was a meandering route; circuitous.
But Kendra knew the VAJA operators weren’t just enjoying a sightseeing tour. They were executing a surveillance-detection run. They were alternating between a densely populated area and a lightly populated one, using the difference in rhythm to flush out any shadows.
Kendra wondered how much of it had to do with the way she had hurt them this afternoon. She wondered if it had forced them to be more self-aware, more cautious.
But, ultimately, it didn’t really matter. The radioactive isotope would allow Adam to hang back and patiently track them from a distance.
At Western Springs, just shy of the city centre, the van deviated once more. It entered Grey Lynn and crisscrossed side streets, then orbited back out.
There seemed to be an increase in urgency here; an uptick in tempo.
The van now raced towards Sandringham, then Epsom, then it descended the Greenlane off-ramp and entered the Southern Motorway.
Kendra felt her anticipation rising, like fire in her blood.
She could see the pattern now.
Ever since the van left Kumeu, it had been consistently moving in a single direction. Sure, there were diversions, but they were always momentary. And the van always swung back towards the south, towards Manukau, as if that was the centre of gravity, the intended destination.
Why would they be taking so many damn countermeasures unless the endpoint is their base of operations? This has to be it.
The van continued on for two klicks, then it detoured by mounting the Ellerslie-Panmure on-ramp. It circumnavigated the roundabout, then it rejoined the motorway once more.
Another five klicks.
The van branched off into Sylvia Park, and after a quick loop, it returned to the motorway once again.
Kendra shifted in her seat, chewing on her lip.
She was certain now.
This is it.
The van travelled for another seven klicks, then it pulled off the motorway for the final time.
It entered Highbrook Drive, and an industrial park loomed. A swathe of factories and warehouses were nestled amidst landscaped fields and gleaming waterways.
This was where the signal ended.
Kendra straightened, her eyes big. ‘We’re here, aren’t we?’
Adam inhaled and nodded. ‘We’re here.’