She kicked at him, and he gasped. “Ouch, Jane!”
Her eyes flew wide open. “Ryan?” she mumbled into his hand, and he loosened his grip, letting her turn around to look at him.
“Who else?”
She scoffed.
“No time, we gotta go.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her farther down the alley, but she yanked it free. He turned to her, exasperated.
“Where?” she asked. “I saw him, he’s there across the street. And who was that?”
Ryan’s fingers raked through his wet hair. “It’s not him, because I know where he is. And those are the Black Eagles, I think.”
“Black Eagles?” she wondered. “I’ve never met one. How do you know?”
“Oh, I’m sure you have. I’ll explain later.”
She let him pull her into the darkness, and followed him blindly through the maze of narrow, filthy alleys.
They came out to a low brick building eventually, and Ryan rose to a window to peer inside. He beckoned her closer, and she hovered in the air next to him, confused beyond measure.
“He’s in there, a man in a ski mask,” Ryan said. “I saw him duck into an alley, and the others followed a false trail. He walked into this building, but then I saw you right around a corner from them…” He trailed off, and instead of finishing the sentence, headed down to the ground. Jane followed him. “Ready?” he asked, taking position at the door.
She nodded, and Ryan slammed his foot into the door. He disappeared inside in a flash.
Someone cursed and a shadow dashed into a corner, visible in the cell phone light, until it winked out, plunging the room into darkness.
“You’re surrounded! Don’t move!” Ryan shouted from above, his voice echoing off the walls.
Jane switched on her flashlight, catching the man in its beam even as he snatched something from a table and disappeared right through the wall. She followed him, only to find another door.
Ryan shoved her out of the way, darting through the opening before her.
“Careful!” she hissed. The Commando could be armed, but then, Ryan probably was thinking the same.
A running figure disappeared around the corner even as she made it through the door. They wouldn’t miss him from above this close though, so she darted into the air.
“In the alley!” She pointed for Ryan as he joined her, though she couldn’t see the man.
“I can’t see him.”
“He’s down there.”
A second later, they landed at a dead end full of dirty boxes and trash.
Jane looked around in bewilderment. “Where is he?”
“I told you he wasn’t here,” Ryan said.
“No, I saw him go down this alley! There was nowhere else to go from here.” She kicked at a cardboard box, seeing Ryan’s disbelieving look. “Let’s check for any doors and windows, come on.”
She pulled him back down the alley, already knowing they wouldn’t find anything. Once again, the mysterious enemy had fooled them. But still, she kept going.
“Wait.” Ryan halted, pulling her back. He pointed at a single narrow, broken window.
“He wouldn’t fit in there,” she whispered, making sure to stay away from the window.
“You sure? He didn’t seem so big. Maybe we’ll find another way in, if there’s any trace of him inside.”
“Yeah, and by then, he’ll be in Canada. I’ll just go in and check.”
She peeked into the window—it was pitch-black inside. If the man had left footprints, they’d need to use the flashlight to see them, and better not point it from the outside.
She slipped her right arm and shoulder through the opening.
“Are you crazy?” Ryan yanked her back out, and she stumbled as he set her down on her feet. “You’re not going in there alone.”
“Then you can try and squeeze in.”
“I’ll never fit in here,” he whispered angrily, waving at the window.
“Well, I guess all that muscle is not so helpful, after all?” Jane snapped back and slipped through the opening before he could grab her, some stubborn urge forcing her inside despite Ryan’s raging disapproval.
“Get back here!” he hissed. His palm slammed into the windowpane, making her flinch, but she turned around and stalked across the small room.
Focus on the job, she told herself even as her chest heaved with frustration and anger. Taking out her flashlight, she covered it with her hand and let some light spill onto the floor. Nothing. Not a single wet footprint, aside from her own.
“Jane,” Ryan whispered behind her. “You can’t go in there alone, please.”
He was right, of course. Peter had made it abundantly clear—no one was to wander off on their own at night. And why were they fighting, anyway? It was all the strange things in Ryan’s behavior lately. They had piled up like toxic waste, eating her up from the inside. As if it wasn’t enough that her sister now often forgot about her existence, her best friend had suddenly forgotten how to talk to her.
She let out a long breath, closing her eyes. There was no one here but the two of them, soaking in the rain like idiots. The Commando must have taken some other turn and was long gone by now.
Slipping her flashlight into its pocket, she turned around and retraced her steps. Ryan’s tense figure relaxed at the sight of her, and he helped her out of the window, gently this time.
“There’s nothing here,” she said, not bothering to keep her voice down anymore.
Ryan’s arms fell to his sides, and he stepped back, the space between them cold and awkward. “It’s okay. We can search some more around here.”
She nodded without meeting his gaze. Her earpiece clicked, and she hid a sigh of relief.
“What is it?” she asked, catching Ryan’s troubled look.
