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Shouting from above had me looking up. In the fading light from the top floor, someone was yelling either at us or to someone else.
“Ho!” Fox shouted from below.
I peeked over my arms as the ground came rushing up to meet me. I released my legs from the cable and tightened my grip on the cables to slow my descent, then landed with a hard thud on the ground. Carefully, I unwound my hands from the cables and stepped back. I survived.
“Man, that was so much fun,” Fox grinned. “Sort of like inMary Poppinswhen they get sucked up the chimney. Man, what I wouldn’t give to dance on the rooftops like Dick Van Dyke.”
“What?”
“Oh, well, of course, it was different. They went up a chimney. We went down an elevator shaft. Same difference. Still, I was singing ‘Step In Time’ the whole way down.” He nodded to himself. “In my head. Not out loud. Didn’t want to draw attention. They might have joined in,” he laughed, then slapped me on the arm. “Not really. No one ever seems to want to sing along.”
He clapped his hands together and grabbed his tool to open the doors at the basement level. I shook my head and followed, though I wasn’t sure why exactly. I’d met Fox a few times and knew he was a little on the weird side, but I’d never been on a job with him. Now I was wishing I’d never come.
After prying the doors open, I followed him through the basement, back the way we came. Except, when we got back to the entrance, men were already waiting for us. With guns already pointed at us, we had few options at this point. My gun was secured at my ankle. There was no way for me to grab it right now, though I doubted any of these guys were expert marksmen. Still, a stray bullet that hit you still hurt.
“Hey, fellas!” Fox grinned, waving to them. “Nice night, huh?”
“Put your hands up!” one of them shouted.
“I know, right? It’s killer hot in here.”
“What?”
“Yeah, what?” I asked, though I really shouldn’t have.
“Man, this is going to be so awesome. I always wanted to perform ‘Steppin’ Time’, and now I actually get to do it. You with me?” he asked.
“I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.”
“Just follow my lead,” he grinned. “Steppin’ Time!” he shouted. He grabbed my hand and spun me out, then pulled me back in. His legs started doing some weird dance that looked like a jig. Meanwhile, my hand just kind of flopped in his. He released me and jumped on top of a table, then continued his dancing, flipping forward off the table. He turned and winked at me before spinning back around.
I was growing impatient. I didn’t understand why he was dancing and singing when we were on the verge of being caught. With the guards distracted, I grabbed my gun from my holster and took a knee. I fired off one shot, wounding the guard that was closest to me. The second guard turned, eyes wide as he fumbled with his gun. I took the shot, hitting him in the shoulder of his shooting arm. I quickly fired off three more shots, taking down the rest of the targets.
As I stood, I cracked my neck and realized it was so much easier just to get shit done. It looked like I wasn’t as out of military mode as I thought. I headed for the door as Fox stared at me in shock.
“What the fuck was that?”
“That was me getting shit done. While you were dancing, I took out the targets.”
“What happened to not hurting anyone?”
“They’re not dead, are they?”
One guard was slumped against the door. I shoved it open and his body fell out into the alley. I stepped over him and tried to shut the door, but couldn’t with his dead weight in the way.
Sirens blared in the distance. We didn’t have long to get out of here. I quickly made my way down the alley with my back to the wall.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Fox hissed. “I was just about to break out my moves!”
“You were taking too long.”
“I was distracting them with my excellent dancing!”
“You were wasting time,” I murmured over my shoulder.
“You have no respect for the art of musicals. Seriously, you’re never going to fit in.”
“Good thing I’m not trying.”
