AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This whole job would be a hell of a lot easier if we didn’t have to work so hard to cover our tracks, but X made it very clear that he doesn’t want this to look like sabotage—or at least, not sabotage against our actual target. That’s where Vic’s ingenious idea of burning down the warehouse next door comes in. It allows us to torch the place we ultimately want to bring down, without making it obvious that that’s what we’re trying to do.
“Good to go?” Malice asks, his gray eyes shifting from me to Vic. We both nod, and so does he. “Good. Be safe. Be smart. Get it done.”
I grin again, because that could almost be the Boy Scouts motto or something, except for the fact that I don’t think the Boy Scouts give merit badges for arson.
We split up, climbing over the fence and darting through the shadows toward the warehouses. Malice stops near the one at the end, making his way toward the back door, while Vic and I continue on.
As soon as we reach the warehouse we’re planning to burn, he comes to a stop and starts tapping away on his tablet, his fingers flying across the screens. I watch him, poised to go as soon as he gives me the signal. After a few minutes, he looks up.
“Okay. We’re good. Security is disabled on this building and the next one. I’ve let Malice know.”
I nod, then pick up a rock and use it to smash out a window on the first floor of the building. Since we’re not exactly going for subtlety here, we can break shit on the way into this space—unlike Malice, who’ll have to pick the lock to get into our target warehouse and steal the files.
Vic and I climb through the window, careful to avoid the shards of glass still clinging to the edge of the frame, and then glance around to get our bearings.
“You know the drill,” I say in a hushed voice, handing him a carton of accelerant.
The two of us get to work immediately, moving quickly and silently through the space, spreading the accelerant in a way that should make the building light up fast when we want it to. It probably says a lot about us that this is a skill we’ve developed to the point where it’s practically an art form, but fire is an effective way to cover your tracks, so we use it a lot.
Once we’ve used up all the accelerant, I glance at Vic. “Any word from Malice? Is he done?”
He glances down at his phone, then shakes his head. “Not yet.”
“Fuck.”
I grind my teeth in agitation, hoping like hell that he’ll get the files and alert us soon. With only three of us, there’s always one who ends up working solo when we have to divide forces, but it always makes me feel antsy. I like it better when we can all have each other’s backs.
“He’ll get them,” Vic says, confidence ringing in his voice. “Get your lighter ready. I’ll disable the sensors that are supposed to set the sprinklers off. Be ready on my signal.”
His fingers move across his tablet at lightning speed again, and I swivel my head back and forth, glancing around the shadowy interior of the building and making sure our path to the exit is clear.
After another few minutes, Vic looks up, his blue eyes glinting in the dim light. “We’re good. Light it up.”
A grin stretches across my face as I do just that, lighting the accelerant and watching flames spring up. He jerks his head toward the window we entered from, and the two of us make a run for it, careful to stick to the shadows as we slip out of the building.
We meet Malice on the way, and the three of us move out, heading back toward our car and making sure no one sees us on our way.
As we climb the fence and land quietly on the other side, flames start licking around the warehouse behind us, roaring through the building as thick dark smoke starts billowing out of shattering windows. We all pile into the car, watching silently as the fire spreads to the warehouse at the end of the row, beginning to devour that one too.
“That’s it,” Malice says after several long moments, cranking the key in the ignition. “It’s done.”
Another job for X finished, which should keep him off our backs for a little while, at least.
14
MALICE
I’mbehind the wheel as we pass under a road sign that says “Welcome to Detroit.” Vic and I have been trading off all the way back, and I pushed the pace a little harder than usual, ready to be done with this shit.
Something like relief fills me when I finally pull into the garage, killing the engine and letting the feeling of being home settle in.
Ransom woke up as the car rolled to a stop, and now he sits rubbing at his face.
“Oh good, we’re here,” he mumbles around a yawn.
Vic’s in the passenger seat, wide awake. He never sleeps when someone else is driving. Not even me. He’s always gotta have his eyes on the road, ready to anticipate what’s coming next.
We talked a bit while I drove, keeping our voices down so we wouldn’t wake up Ransom, but for the last few hours, we just rode in silence. I could tell Vic was counting in his head, something he does when his shit is off balance and he needs to center himself.
