The blaring sirens stopped, and an eerie silence settled over the area. I kept my body close to the wall, and while I moved quickly, I tried not to make any sounds. I had chosen the west side because it had no lights, which worked in my favor, considering I was in all black.
Two shafts of light blazed down the exterior wall, passing by me again and again. I kept my head down, counting on the black suit to help me blend with the dark red brick while I stayed in the shadows of the outcroppings, hoping my movements wouldn’t catch their eye. A beam flitted over me. I froze and held my breath, but the light left me as soon as it had found me.
Three floors down, I waited for the lights to move far away from me. “Jumping to the neighboring roof,” I said in the com.
“It’s not far now.” Rosabella’s voice was calm and even. No wonder Division kept her on as a team leader. She had a calming influence on an out-of-control situation.
I knew my landing wouldn’t be soundless, but if I could make it to the other roof, the guards wouldn’t have a chance at catching me without a rope. Shooting me was another story. I would have to be down the fire escape ladder on the far north side of the building before they noticed me, or I’d be a blazing target running across the roof. I needed sort of a distraction. I glanced at the karabiner attached to my waist, and a plan formed in my mind.
A fifteen foot gap separated the building I was hanging on from the one next door. I pushed off hard, away from the building I was anchored to and over the narrow alley to the other building. I was glad the other building was only two stories high so that if I fell, I’d have a chance at surviving. It took me three swings to get enough power to fly out over that roof, but I eventually did.
As I landed with a loud thud, I released the karabiner from my waist, secured the rope around my flashlight, and swung it hard and fast back toward the building I’d just descended. The flashlight hit a window, shattering it. Just as I’d hoped, my pursuers’ attention flew to the sound, and a spray of bullets pounded the area around the window.
I was already halfway across the roof when a barrage of bullets followed me. My distraction hadn’t been distracting enough. I zigged and zagged, and hoped I’d calculated the position of the fire-escape ladder correctly. I had the schematics of the building memorized, but I wasn’t always able to use the dimensions of something to my benefit. Two feet to freedom, bullets rained down around me, sending rocks and debris flying all around. I had to act now or I would get shot—and this suit was not bulletproof.
I turned my body toward my attackers and jumped out feet first, off the roof, hoping I’d land on the escape ladder. I missed by a good six inches. I was in a freefall. The hard stones below would break my legs at the very least. In a last ditch effort to save myself, I swung my feet toward the rough stucco wall of the building and pushed upward in hopes of grabbing hold of the ladder. I missed and pushed again. My fingers wrapped around the cold metal of the bottom rung of the ladder.
The ladder descended with a loud series of clicks and rattles. About halfway down, I was able to put a second hand on one of the rungs. I said a quick prayer of thanks in my mind as the ladder continued to roar downward. The ladder yanked to a stop about ten feet from the ground, and I cried out in pain as my shoulders strained with the effort of holding on.
I let go, then tucked and rolled as I hit the hard asphalt, my shoulder aching and my feet stinging as I landed. Something sticky rubbed up against my cheek, but I had no time to wipe it away. I rolled into a standing position and hightailed it out of the alley only to be met by a white van. The side door slid open, and two hands pulled me inside.
Chapter 4
Ace slammed on the gas as someone slid the door shut. It was Markay, a swing operative who jumped from mission to mission to fill any needs that might arise. I took a second to wipe the goo from my face with my sleeve and reached out to wipe the nastiness onto Halluis’s hand before laughing out, my breaths hard and fast.
“Man, you guys really made me work for that one. Remind me next time to ask for helicopter extraction.” I laughed even louder.
“You are the queen of cutting it close.” Rosabella said. It surprised me a bit to hear Markay snort since he always seemed so darn serious. But it didn’t last. Halluis passed me some wet wipes and wiped away the goo I’d smeared on him.
“We’re supposed to be under the radar. Helicopters would never work,” Markay frowned. I could tell he was nervous.
“Lighten up, Markay,” Ace said over his shoulder, “the kid did good. No way would you have fit into those air ducts.” He handed me a piece of mint gum and I popped it into my mouth.
“You call that good? The alarms went off! She was fired upon! We got nothing. The mission was a disaster.” He shook his head and huffed.
“Things are never textbook when working with this one,” Halluis said, swiping at my messed up hair. He stared me down, a slight smirk on his lips.
I sighed. “It’s always an adventure with me, Hal, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, it wasn’t my fault—you guys saw those two goons that broke into Dufor’s
