Halle Brennan watched the mile-and-a-half-wide wall cloud lower over the flat Texas terrain that was devoid of natural trees.

Without warning, the thing grew exponentially.

"This storm's a monster." James Winter whistled at the intensity of the readings as he brushed thick, dark hair from the nape of his neck. He swiveled sideways in the driver's seat to check a laptop positioned between them. Mobile Net Threat displayed off-the-chart storm-chasing readings as NEXRAD's radar bounced data off two orbiting XM radio satellites. The software created detailed pictures of the storm's activity. More importantly, the program tracked the vehicle locations of other chasers in the area with GPS. A second laptop ran Street Atlas USA, a program that navigated the highways, streets, and dirt roads that tornado chasers frequented. Ironically, poor driving habits of rogue chasers killed experienced storm chasers more often than tornados. Planning an escape route during a chase was an essential tactic when traffic converged near violent storms.

Halle unbuckled her seat belt as James eased the armadillo-plated vehicle onto the soft gravel shoulder of the remote township road. With it's multiple antennae and polycarbonate armor, the high tech storm chasing SUV could have been part of a latent Star Wars ground invasion. The custom chase vehicle, nicknamed The Interceptor, slowed to a stop.

Both storm spotters remained silent as they studied the massive formation above them for updraft and inflow and tried to pinpoint the storm's genesis. The difference between the two twenty somethings was evident. With an angular face and piercing gray eyes, James remained emotionally detached as a seasoned politician while Halle bristled with the mercurial scientific curiosity of an avid field researcher. Every fiber of her being vibrated with excitement as she perused the expensive radarscope the tornado chasing vehicle was equipped with. "It's a massive front. Winds are at thirty five and the pressure's dropping. Any type of low level winds and we may get a twister." Although the Interceptor was stationary, a powerful rear draft wind buffeted their vehicle. The sound was similar to open car windows while driving fast. Around them, huge wind breakers undulated through the grass like invisible velociraptors.

Appraising Halle's vibrant intensity, James repressed an amused smirk. Newbie drivers often froze when faced with the naked savagery of vast storms, but Halle was a different breed. Instead of being intimidated by Mother Nature's ferocious wrath unleashed on mere mortals, she'd surprised him by running into the maelstrom during their first storm encounter. With a thrill, he recalled her battle cry.

I've waited my whole life for this!

The girl not only had guts, she was a human Doppler radar. A flesh and blood weather detector. Today, anyone with a car and a smartphone could go storm chasing. There were apps that precisely anticipated where a supercell would form and where a tornado would make landfall, but the average storm chase ended in disappointment and  failure. Halle excelled at choosing the right storm systems using Doppler radar, but once they sat beneath the mesocyclone, her ability to spot signs that led them to tornado activity was uncanny. He found her reckless abandon intimidating and exciting.

Previous female chasers he had invited along to impress were clueless— morons willing to sacrifice their lives for the off chance of dating him. The problem with inexperienced chasers was they had all the information they needed on their phones, but they didn't know what to do with it. They were the ones that ended up stranded on the side of the road with their windshields bashed in by golf ball-sized hail.

Vicarious thrills aside, Halle was the Wonder Woman to his Superman.

She makes me look good and doesn't have a clue how gorgeous she is.

With her tanned face, green eyes and strong aquiline nose, the lithesome girl reminded him of a beautiful centurion warrior. His pulse quickened. Screw the potential mesocyclone that might drop from the sky any minute. This time he wasn't the quarry—he was the pursuer.

I want her.

Halle observed the storm. "I'm going to check if it's formed a tail."

A slow smile spread across his face.

She's already forgotten I'm here.

The first sign storm chasers searched for on radar images of a tornado was a hook echo, or tail, an appendage that dangled off the end of the storm indicating where the tornado would materialize. The optimum place for viewing a tornado was just underneath the "inflow notch," the part where air is being pulled into the storm.

Grabbing a video recorder, the lanky female chaser exited the armored vehicle. She was careful to avoid a large bull snake which lifted its camouflage-colored head from the long wheat colored grass to flick its tongue out and taste the tropical air. Sensing the storm, the sandy-colored reptile vanished as it made a rapid descent into its earthen burrow.

In front of her, a mammoth, mile-long, rain-free compact base blanketed the horizon under angry, roiling cumulonimbus clouds. Behind her, the sky was clear blue. Rays of sunlight crowned her bronze hair and made it sheen like a burnished helmet. Strong, sultry winds blew honey-colored tendrils of hair back from her face as the monster cloud grew in strength. Explosive sound and chaotic energy accosted her as she zoomed the camera lens in tighter. Everything on the ground became miniaturized in comparison to the towering nimbus formation. Warm air out of the Gulf of Mexico had poured north across the Great Plains and collided with cool dry air pouring off the Canadian Rockies to create this invisible ethereal cauldron that birthed tornados.

The powerful inflow sucked her forward and she stumbled before righting herself.

The air was full of moisture and instability.

The fuel of a super cell.

Without warning, an ugly, gray needle-like funnel lowered from the center of the grayish mass, but the bollus was short-lived and quickly evaporated from the overhead cloud. The wind dissipated and she lowered her camera, shoulders tensed. "This front's not going to form a twister—there's no rotation." She frowned as the packed cloud masses broke up into inflated clouds and floated off in all directions.

James stood beside her and observed the disintegrating wall cloud. "You're right. The front's dissipating while precipitation's lowering." They both knew moisture was the fuel that kept a tornado firing on all cylinders. A mischievous glint filled the driver's eyes as he shrugged off the failed endeavor. "Let's not make this outing a total loss. I'll treat you to lunch at the Fork 'n' Knife Cafe." Nine out of ten times, tornadoes chases ended with the chasers commiserating over dinner followed by a slice of homemade pie at the local Midwest diner. It was so common that his father kept a tab there.

Instead of answering, she strode back to the customized vehicle and checked the radarscope.  Pivoting on her heel, she panned the horizon. The hair on the back of her neck tingled. Her senses twitched as pressure expanded inside her cranium. "There's a stronger front an hour to the south. It's pulling this one towards it."

"What?" He peered over her shoulder and her ponytail whipped his face as she turned and faced him.

She showed him the coordinates. Sure enough Mobile Threat Net was reporting that something wicked brewed further to the north, over the Oklahoma border. Angry red pixilated clumps of swirling cartoonish clouds indicated intensity and motion as they swept across the screen and dwarfed the milder colored weather patterns.

"Here." She jabbed the radarscope screen. "Something's coming in from the south. Another system." Her shoulders relaxed as the meteorological data confirmed her hunch. "When these two fronts collide, there's going to be a Mega storm."

James shook his head. "Bullshit. That's pure speculation on your part. It's not going to happen. The whole system's collapsing."

"You're wrong. I know where this supercell's going to form." She put her face in his, her mouth a few inches from his and challenged him with her eyes. "We need to head north and set up in Greensboro ahead of the mob."

Her plump lips taunted him, but James shook his head. "My dad needs the Interceptor back in Keene for the tornado chaser conference. National Geographic scheduled photo ops Wedsnsay tonight."

"We can drop The Interceptor off and take my car."

"A Chevy Cobalt? Are you crazy. That's a death trap."

"Lots of chasers use Chevy Cobalts. And even their cheaper counterparts Yarises."

"And end up dead." He spread his feet apart and assumed the I'm in charge stance she detested. "Halle, stop being so stubborn. Come to the conference with me tomorrow and we can hang out. It's early in the season. We'll catch another storm." He moved closer to her. His grey-blue eyes searched hers. "I like you, Halle. You're smarter than all the other girls I know."

He advanced into her personal space. Without thinking, she shoved him back with her palms. "Stop it, James, I'm not interested in a relationship. I made that clear before we set out. We can work together professionally, but that's all."

He put his arms on her shoulders, but restrained himself from shaking the obstinate streak out of her. "You don't mean that. You're afraid of men because of your mother's bad choices. Don't ruin this for us." It was common knowledge in the local community that her mother, Magenta Brennan, had been involved in several abusive relationships.

She pulled away from him. "Don't." He caught her chin in his hand and tried to kiss her.

"I said stop!" She flung his hand away and slapped him. Her eyes flashed like a terrible storm. "If you do that again, you'll regret it."

Her hand shot up, faster than a bull snake, and snatched the black baseball cap embroidered with his father's iconic storm chasing logo, a jagged lightning bolt, off his head and tugged it down on her forehead.

"What are you doing?" He tried to grab his hat from her, but she skipped nimbly out of reach. "Don't be mad, Halle."

"It's going to rain. I need a hat." Grabbing her gear and back pack out of the chase vehicle, she stormed down the road. "I earned this trophy helping you during the last chase," Without looking back, she called over her shoulder. "See you in Greensboro."