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2 a.m.
Darkness had crept across the city with reluctance, edging out the harsh sunlight as if night and day were fighting their own inevitable battle. Yellow lights flickered from buildings and parking garages, and traffic was sparse.
The air turned cold and replaced the terrible heat of the day, and a rolling wall of sand came into the city just after midnight. Already, visibility was almost impossible. Car alarms blared, and everyone was tucked safely in their homes for the night. The only bad thing was that Logan had no more visibility through the outside cameras they’d placed than anyone else might. All they had to go by was their GPS units and night-vision goggles.
“We’re going to be in trouble if this storm lasts long,” Jack said. “The replacement plane will be grounded.”
“One thing at a time,” Gabe said, staring straight up the side of the museum walls.
He could only see a few feet in front of him, and he didn’t like the idea of climbing the side of a building mostly blind. He and Jack stood on the side opposite the main road, the lake at their backs. They were both dressed in black—ski masks pulled down over their heads—and the outside guards had taken their watch indoors because of the storm, so all that stood between Gabe and the painting was three stories of glass.
Gabe looked down at the black gloves that covered him from the tips of his fingers to his elbows. “Are you sure these are going to work?” he asked Ethan.
“Pretty sure,” Ethan responded. “As long as you’re touching glass. I haven’t figured out how to make them stable against other materials yet.”
“You’re pretty sure?” Jack asked incredulously. “Why are you never completely sure?”
“Well, you’re only going up three stories. I’ve found the gloves have a tendency to lose strength around five stories, so you should be okay.”
“You should have let him blow up,” Jack said to Gabe.
Gabe ignored them and placed his hand against the window. He immediately felt the pull of the glove against the glass, as if he were dealing with magnets instead of rubber and glass. He mirrored the image with his left hand to make sure both gloves were working properly, and then he began to climb.
His shoulders and arms strained under a rigorous display of pure strength, but he barely noticed the burn as he made his way up the side of the building. Jack kept pace on the window next to him, and neither of them spoke as they made the climb. Not until they saw what waited ahead of them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jack said.
The glass stopped at the top of the third floor, but there was a five-foot lip that extended over the roof of the museum that was solid stone. No glass in sight. And Gabe couldn’t tell how far the ledge extended up because of their limited visibility.
Gabe detached one of his hands from the safety of the glass and reached up to touch the stone, hoping there was at least a little traction, but the glove slipped off the stone as soon as he tried to grasp it, and his body dropped and knocked against the window lightly so he was dangling precariously by one arm.
“Everything okay?” Logan asked.
“Dandy,” Gabe said, pulling himself back up into position, his heart racing at the close call. He tugged at the glove on his right hand with his teeth until it was free and let it drop three stories.
“Shit,” Jack muttered, following his lead.
Gabe held himself up with his remaining glove and used his feet against the glass to gain momentum. He pushed up and released his hold on the window just as his fingers clamped around the protruding stone. The rough edges bit into his fingertips and he held on with a prayer as he discarded the other glove and let it drop to the ground. He brought his left hand up to strengthen his hold on the ledge of the building. His muscles bunched and strained, and sweat snaked down his spine as he slowly pulled himself up.
Once he edged over the stone protrusion, he rolled onto the roof and lay there a few seconds on his back.
“I’d like you to work on making the gloves useable in all conditions, Dragon,” Gabe said as calmly as he could manage.
“Sure thing, boss. Sorry about that.”
Jack rolled onto the roof next to him and muttered the most inventive string of curses Gabe had ever heard before, but they both quickly regrouped. Gabe looked at Jack and nodded, and they made their way across the roof to the skylights that were positioned over the third-floor café.
“Ghost and Renegade are in position,” Gabe said calmly. “Going into phase one.”
Jack took the electric screwdriver from his pack and removed all the screws that held the skylight in place.
“Once you remove the window, Grim Reaper will only have thirty seconds to reactivate the alarm systems using the override codes,” Ethan said. “I should be the one doing this. What the hell does Grim Reaper know about computers?”
“Ease down, Dragon. It’ll be fine,” Gabe said. He pulled a small black square from his backpack and tossed it to the ground, catching the tent that popped out quickly before it could blow away. He secured it to the roof and covered the skylights so the wind and sand wouldn’t accidentally set off the alarms. No one would be able to see the tent until after the storm cleared, and by then it would be too late. They’d already be gone.
“You ready, Grim Reaper?” Gabe asked.
