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Because it’s not just me they want.
I grab Isaac by the shoulders and throw him across the room before I dart for the door. I slam it behind me and race down the hall, throwing anything I can into the path to make following me more difficult. I head straight to the back stairs and fling open the door.
I follow the stairs marked “roof access” as I listen to Isaac’s steps following close behind. When I get to the top, I slam the door behind me. There’s a chain on the ground, one that used to bar the door. I pick it up and secure the chain around the latch. There’s no padlock for it, but it should delay Isaac for a few seconds.
The roof is flat with a short barrier around the outside of it. I head immediately to the edge closest to the next building and look at the gap between the structures.
I can’t make it.
I know my physical limitations, and the gap between buildings is just shy of what I can manage. There’s a fire escape with a ladder up against the building, and I might make that if my jump is perfect, but I could just as easily fall to the ground. The impact wouldn’t kill me, but it might slow me down enough for Isaac to get to the ground before I can escape.
Behind me, I hear the door to the roof slam open with a loud clang.
There’s no other choice.
Backing up a few feet, I sprint to the edge of the building and jump into the air, arms out. I fly over the gap between buildings but start to fall too quickly to reach the other side. Extending my arms as far as they will go, I barely catch the edge of the fire escape with my finger tips and grab tight, tensing my shoulders.
With a jerk, my body comes to a stop, nearly pulling my arms from their sockets. I pause to take a breath before I start to climb up. I hear Isaac yelling at me from the other side.
“You can’t win this, Sten! We’re going to bring you back home!”
I take one last look at my friend as I press my fingers against the interface chip in my neck, shoving it back into place. I feel the sting of the prongs followed by a sharp click inside my head as the device reconnects. I have no way of knowing for sure if the interface has been damaged, allowing me to be tracked, so I have to move quickly.
I speed off between buildings and down alleys, taking a haphazard route back to the edge of the city and then around to the east. The checkpoint isn’t far from here, and I’m sure I haven’t been followed.
The abandoned service station is deserted and dark, just as it had been the first time I was here. Remembering Wick’s words, I creep forward and check for a card in the window.
There is nothing.
No white card, no red card.
In fact, the window is broken. There’s no shattered glass on the ground outside, so someone must have forced their way from the outside in.
My skin chills, and I check around the area with all my senses to determine if there is someone else about, but I get no sense of life at all. Cautiously, I head to the back of the building.
The back door, previously padlocked, stands open.
Pressing my shoulder to the outside wall just to the side of the door, I tilt my head and cup my ear, listening for anything at all. There is a humming sound of electricity in the walls but nothing else. No footsteps, no shallow breaths.
I slide through the doorway and inside.
“Wick?” I call out softly, but there is no reply.
If he’s here, he’s dead.
My defenses are on alert as I come around the corner. It’s dark and silent; I still hear nothing. It’s such a small building, I should be able to hear something. Wick should be here in this area. Even if he’s in hiding, I should have some sense of him, but there’s nothing to detect.
I open my mouth slightly and inhale slowly. The smell and taste of blood is faint but detectable. I follow the scent through a small doorway and into a storage closet full of electronic equipment in various states of disrepair. I find Taylor Wick’s body shoved between two shelves. There’s a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead, but the bruising around the rest of his face tells me his death wasn’t that quick.
Isaac knew where I would be, and the route has been traced back here. If they found Taylor Wick and questioned him before killing him, they may have discovered my point of origin.
“Riley.”
Chapter 27
I sprint at top speed from the service station to the small town of Marra. I never slow down, and I take the straightest trajectory to my destination. When I arrive, the town looks deserted. Even at this late hour, someone should be out and about, but I see no one. Every structure’s windows are dark, and there is no one on the streets.
I run through the center of town instead of skirting around the outside. I keep to the shadows of buildings, knowing I’m far more exposed, but Riley is in danger, and I can’t let anything delay getting to her side. I need to know that she’s safe. I need to be there to protect her.
