A month had passed and Ray and I were sitting atop the roof across the street from Vince's apartment building. Clad in all black we were outfitted with every tool and weapon we thought we may need. Due to my specialty, of course, we wore compact gas masks.
I constructed four knockout grenades, a highly corrosive acid, and a spray that should induce short term memory loss. We bought ice climbing picks, lockpicks, a grappling gun, handcuffs, walkie talkies, and our new outfits.
Ray used a grappling hook to bring us to the roof. My heart fluttered in my chest as we were shot across the street, our legs dangling and our toes curling. I hit the wall first, my feet against the brick, and turned to secure Ray. I looked down at the city below. The roads were empty for all but two people trying to find somewhere to go. With my heart in my throat I held the line with my right hand while I secured my ice climbing pick between two bricks with my left. Just to be safe Ray still held onto my collar. Looking inside I saw that it wasn't a bedroom I was scoping out, it was an office. I poured acid around the edges of the window and as the glass was falling I grabbed the edge and eased it onto the floor.
I hopped inside and Ray followed. She wasted no time to climb into the leather chair and turn on the monitor. As she hacked into the computer I made sure the door was locked before I rummaged through the desk. I found a letter atop a stack of papers. After reading it I turned to Ray.
"It's confirming the pickup of a tenant named John Ben."
"The emails are written in code, too," She said before closing the window and opening the files.
I browsed through the rest of the papers. Each name mentioned was painfully generic. The documents were monotonous.
"You don't think I'm being crazy, right?"
"No. It'd be weirder if your mom married a normal guy."
Suddenly I heard an alarm. We turned to each other and froze for just a second before I ran to the door and placed a knockout bomb on the floor. I tied a string to the pin and the knob. The bomb was heavy enough to detonate when the door swung open.
I started to run back to Ray when I heard a rumbling sound from beside me. I turned to see one of the bookshelves retracting and sliding to sit behind the other.
"You go. I'm in their system. I can hold them back."
I ran into a brightly lit room and froze. The walls were lined on one side with guns and knives, the other side with tools from any assassin's dreams. I kept walking, passing mannequins wearing clothes that seemed normal, but touching them revealed that they were bulletproof.
Alongside the far wall was another locked door. I radioed Ray to tell her about it and she replied that it was a dead end. I bit my lip. I looked down at the keypad. On a hunch I typed in my birthday and the door swung open.
I stepped inside to see a room lit with red LEDs. Another computer sat on a desk by the wall. Flanking it were two tables where stacks of files stood. I picked one up and opened it to see a picture of a woman. A red stamp that read DECEASED covered her picture. The rest of the page described her. I picked up another file and I saw my picture.
"Run!" I heard over the walkie talkie.
I tucked the file into my shirt and ran for the exit only for Ray to meet me in the hall. Her eyes were filled with horror.
"I tried to fight them but they set off the gas and cut the line."
"Our masks will give us time. Come on."
I grabbed her hand and as we ran to the window I heard the sound of a hiss as a thick mist began to fill the air. Ray ran to the opening of the window but before she could even reach for her belt I heard the pop of skin breaking as she was shot in the neck. I screamed, diving for her and gathering her into my arms. I pulled the dart out of her neck. She was already unconscious. I slapped her face repeatedly but nothing came of it. I grabbed smelling salts from my jacket and slipped them under her mask. Nothing.
I threw her over my shoulder before running to the door, having to feel my way through the room. I threw the door open and the grenade detonated but I was already running across the hall to the other room. I heard the shot of another tranquilizer but it missed me. When I locked myself in the next office I detonated another knockout bomb before running to the window and shattering it. It spent time but I laid Ray on the table to be sure she wasn't shot. I checked her pulse again. I grabbed the gun from her belt and deployed a line that I attached to the window frame. Using my gloves I slid down, crashing into the lamp post, hot pain spreading throughout my shoulder. The leather squealed as I slid to the sidewalk. I ran around a boutique and through a back alley, zigzagging to avoid any shots before I came to the parking lot where a tall woman stood, her gun already raised.
I raised my free hand in surrender and the woman smiled.
"Please let me set her down? I made her come here. This isn't her fault."
She nodded before pointing to the ground with her gun. She was a beautiful woman with a teardrop shaped face, big eyes, thin lips, and a pointed chin. Her grey and white hair came to her high cheekbones. She looked to be in her thirties but her hair made me think she was in her sixties.
I bent at the knees and cradled Ray's head as I lowered her to the ground. Again I checked her pulse. She was fine but still a single tear spilt onto her cheek.
I stood and raised my hands again. The woman now smiled, her jagged metal teeth shining in the golden light. She pulled the trigger and I felt pressure against my neck. Instinctively I pulled out the dart and grabbed my throat. I fell to my knees. Warmth quickly spread throughout my body. Already the world was spinning around me. My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. I couldn't resist the pavement that sunk like memory foam under my weight. I could hear each step the woman made for me. I could see three sets of heels step into view. They morphed into one pair, then to three again. I closed my eyes and accepted defeat.
I awoke at home. The walls were moving. I sat up to watch as they rippled like water before the floor fell out from under me and I fell onto the couch. The springs groaned. I sat up. My mom was sipping her coffee.
"My boyfriend is coming over. You'd better be on your best behavior."
I was a teenager again. It was six months after my dad died and she was dating his best friend.
"Aren't I always?"
She scoffed, "You? Always on your best behavior? You're going to drive him away from me by constantly bringing up your father."
"Why do you even want to be with his friend? Doesn't it hurt?"
I blinked and I was in my late teens. I was walking down the stairs and I froze when I saw one of my mom's boyfriends coming inside. His shirt was splattered with blood but he didn't have a cut or scratch. We locked eyes and he started for me. My muscles turned to stone. Fire burst to life in my chest when he grabbed my face and forced me to look up at him.
"You keep this to yourself. You understand me?"
I nodded and he shoved me as he made his way back up the stairs. The next day I came to my mom to tell her what I'd seen. She screamed at me and told me to shut my mouth or I was on the street.
I felt groggy when I woke. Upon opening my eyes I was burned alive with the bright florescent lights from above. I squinted my eyes shut.
"Ray?" I called out, my mouth as dry as cotton.
I heard someone shush me. He sounded like Vince. A big hand stroked my hair before a needle slid into my shoulder and I tensed. Everything felt heavy again. The cold metal slab I laid on became a cozy bed.
"You're safe," It was Vince. I could hear hurt in his tone and my eyes burned. He remained there stroking my hair until I slipped away.