Draycos did a startled spin, twisting around like a cat on a hot charcoal grill. The sudden arching of his neck crest relaxed as he saw it was Jack. 'I went out to better study the movements of the patrols,' the dragon said, his tail twitching restlessly. 'I am sorry, but I may have been seen.'
Jack glanced up at the window. 'Where?'
'To the north,' Draycos said. 'I heard movement nearby and went up into the trees.'
'What happened then?'
'I eluded the patrols without difficulty,' Draycos said. 'I do not think they really know what they are looking for. But they may still be searching for me. I am sorry.'
'Wait a second,' Jack said as a sudden thought struck him. 'The patrols are off chasing each other's tails up north?'
'They have gone all directions,' Draycos said. 'From the movements of lights, it would seem they are searching the entire perimeter of the camp.'
'Are they, now,' Jack said, scratching his cheek. 'All of them, you think?'
The tail twitching suddenly stopped. 'What are you suggesting?' Draycos asked cautiously.
Jack nodded toward the window. 'I'm thinking this might be a good time to go crash the party.'
Draycos's neck crest stiffened a little. 'But the patrols are on alert.'
'Right,' Jack agreed. 'But they're on alert somewhere else. Give me a second to get dressed.'
Two minutes later he was back. Draycos had closed the window down to a crack again and was crouched on top of the shower wall peering out. With the immediate excitement over, his scales had returned to their usual red-edged gold. 'I see and hear no evidence of movement,' he reported. 'But I am not convinced this is a wise move.'
'The worst that can happen is that we have to dodge the patrols,' Jack pointed out as he pulled on the thin plastic camouflage gloves that had come with his field kit. No point leaving fingerprints or traces of sweat where someone could find them. 'If we wait until tomorrow, we'll have to do that anyway. At least here we start with an open playing field.'
'Tomorrow the patrols will be on a known schedule,' Draycos countered. But nevertheless he pushed open the window and slid through.
Climbing up onto the shower wall, Jack got his legs through the opening and followed. The window was pretty high, and as he lowered himself he wondered briefly about his chances of twisting an ankle as he hit the ground.
He needn't have worried. Draycos had taken up position beneath the window, stretching up on his hind legs with his front paws braced against the wall. Jack's feet found spots on the dragon's shoulders, and a second later he was safely on the ground.
'Looks clear,' Jack whispered as they crouched together beside the barracks. 'Let's go.'
Draycos put a paw on Jack's outstretched hand and disappeared up the sleeve. Jack waited until he had slithered along his skin to his usual position with his head at Jack's right shoulder. Then, with one final look around, he headed off toward the headquarters building at a quick trot.
He had paced off the distance two days ago on his way to the mess hall and knew it to be about a hundred yards. Sneaking through the trees in the dead of night, senses alert for trouble, it seemed a lot farther.
There were no shouts of discovery as they reached the front corner of the headquarters building. 'Do we enter through the main door?' Draycos murmured.
'Probably not,' Jack puffed. 'But I'll check.'
One glance was all it took. 'Not a chance,' he told the dragon, slipping around the side of the building. 'The lock's armed six ways from August. We're not going to pop it without a set of tools.'
'What then?' Draycos asked.
'We find a likely window,' Jack said, pausing at the first window and giving its edge a quick examination. 'Maybe on the second floor where they might not be so careful.'
'Or perhaps the third?' Draycos's head lifted out of Jack's shoulder, pushing aside the shirt material. His tongue flicked out, pointing toward the stars.
Jack looked up. Directly above them, two windows up, was a darkened third floor window. Even in the dim light, he could see it was open a few inches. 'Looks promising,' he agreed doubtfully. 'Can you jump that high?'
'Brace yourself,' Draycos said in reply. 'What do I do when I am inside?'
'Find a way down here,' Jack told him, pointing at the first-floor window in front of them. 'Doesn't look like there's too much of an alarm here. I should be able to talk you through the disarming procedure.'
'Very well. Are you ready?'
Jack planted his feet firmly against the ground and loosened his shirt at the back. 'Ready.'
An instant later he was nearly knocked off his feet as the dragon leaped upward from his back, his front paws shoving down hard on Jack's shoulders for momentum as they passed. Before Jack could even flail for balance the dragon's rear paws thudded down in the same spots, giving himself an extra push upward. Jack grabbed for the edge of the window in front of him, nearly putting his hand through the plastic in the process, and looked up.
Draycos was hanging by his front paws from the third-floor window ledge. For a moment he peered inside, his tongue flicking through the gap to taste the air. Then, working his snout into the opening, he pushed upward, levering the window all the way open. A quick pull, a lunge of golden scales, and he was inside.
Jack turned and looked at the silent woods and the darkened buildings half-seen through them. With Draycos gone, he suddenly felt a lot more exposed out here. He hoped the dragon would hurry.
Too late, he also hoped the Edge hadn't loaded their headquarters with hidden security cameras. Getting Draycos recorded on videotube would be all they needed.
The light touch that brushed across his shoulder was like a high-voltage electric shock. He twitched violently, nearly wrenching his back as he twisted around, half expecting to see Sergeant Grisko grinning at him over the muzzle of a gun.
It wasn't Grisko. It wasn't a gun, either. It was, instead, the plug end of an electrical extension cord.
He looked up. Draycos had reappeared in the window, the cord dangling from between his front paws. 'A change of plan,' he whispered down at Jack. 'It may be safer to stay on this floor.'
Jack took a deep breath, sternly ordering his heart to start beating again. 'Right,' he muttered. Getting a grip on the cord, he started to climb.
