Hunting For The Sun

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

The Assassin's Guard

We clattered down the black-painted fire escape, having performed a daring maneuver involving a lamppost and two trees. It was really very dark, and I was having difficulty seeing the path ahead. We had been on the seventh floor or something, and there were a lot of steps to get down. Our feet had a clattering rhythm, which reminded me of something. I tried to think what it was and ended up with the Pink Elephant song from that movie about the big-eared elephant stuck in my head.

Pink elephants, doo do do doo do do doo, pink elephants...

I sighed. I was lost for the rest of the night if I started thinking that. Nope. It was no good. I shook my head and widened my eyes to catch all the light from a flickering neon strip-light outside a dingy little pub in the street below. Neit's dark hair glinted in front of me, but I could see very little else. A strip of pale skin on Ori's neck as he led us, a flash of silver at Neit's neck. Otherwise, we were all wearing black. I had a pair of black scarves clutched in my hand and my black leather gloves covered the pale skin.

'We're at the ground,' Ori's voice murmured. I turned to make sure that Perse had got the message, and I saw her nod.

'Okay,' I murmured back. It was cold and I was glad of my trench coat. Ori jogged a little ahead and peered around the corner. He beckoned to us, his black wool polo-neck jumper reaching up to the longer strands of his hair. He leaned back against the wall and pulled his balaclava over his head, straightening the eye and mouth holes until he could see. I ran to stand next to him, flicking my black fabric-wrapped plait back over my shoulder and tying one scarf around my forehead and the other around my chin and mouth, pulling it up over my nose until only my eyes were visible. Neit had a sort of ninja-style black mask over the top half of her face and Perse wore a balaclava like Ori's. I had passed on wearing one of those, sensing claustrophobia on its way. My heart was racing at the thought of stealing something. Well, someone. This was my area, my forte.

Ori nodded to me and I looked around the corner. The floodlit court in front of the white building was empty, and then I heard a distant tapping noise. The black garbed figures began to march past in an orderly fashion. We sprinted across the road and dropped in behind them. I turned and realised that we had left Neit and Perse behind. I caught sight of Neit's hand making the OK symbol at the corner and sighed. Once we had passed through the gate with the other masked guards, Ori and I darted into a side passage and waited for Perse and Neit to come with the next lot. We pressed our backs to the walls as we heard the sound of feet on the stones. I caught sight of a coil of Perse's hair at the end and grabbed her arm. She and Neit dropped in beside us and we ran down the hallway as the great iron doors slammed shut behind us.

Ori scratched at the wool of his mask, looking up and down the corridor we were left in.

'We need to disable the security cameras,' he said, his voice muffled. 'Rae, would you like to do the honours?'

I grinned and nodded, tightening the scarf over my nose and mouth and drawing my gun.

'Perse, can you still feel electricity?' Ori asked.

'No, dear,' she murmured. 'That's Raven who can do that.'

'Bugger,' Ori said, with feeling.

'I can help Rae,' Neit offered, shrugging.

Ori nodded. 'Perse and me'll find the offices and get whoever's watching the cameras. You guys get rid of the cameras themselves.'

I nodded and we looked down the corridor as Perse and Ori went back the other way.

'In the corner,' Neit muttered. I loaded and took aim, holding it with both hands. At this angle, we weren't in the screen yet. I fired a slug right into the side of the lens and it exploded in a shower of sparks. We ran down that section of corridor, pausing at the next featureless section leading up to a barred door.

'Looks hopeful,' Neit shrugged. I nodded, taking aim directly along the wall at the camera in the corner. The moment the bullet hit the network of wires, I started to run again. I stretched onto my tiptoes to look through the gap in the bars. Sure enough, it was a row of cells. Neit was on her knees, examining the lock.

'Bloody thing,' she muttered, twisting a hairpin inside it and biting her tongue. I gently guided her hand out and pressed the end of the gun into the keyhole. Neit rolled her eyes.

'Oh, you think I'm trigger happy, do you?' I asked archly.

'Of course not,' Neit grinned. 'I think you're trigger bloody ecstatic.'

'Fair point,' I shrugged, stepping back and putting a hand against the back of the barrel to hold it in place. I pulled the trigger and felt a tingling jarring in my palm. I shook my hands and slotted the gun away, leaning back and kicking the door open. Neit grinned to me as the metal door swung wide, smacking against the wall. I whipped my gun out again and shot the camera at the end. Neit and I began peering through the bars of cells.

'She isn't here,' I said, having checked both rows, calling 'Skye' softly.

'Bugger,' Neit muttered. 'Which way now?'

'Hey,' Perse called. I turned and trotted over to her.

'How did you find us?' I asked.

'Followed the trail of smashed cameras,' she smiled. 'Come on. We killed the guards and we're headed the other way. If you come and blow up the screens in the office, then you don't have to blow up every camera.'

I nodded and we followed her at a jog back down the hallways to where Ori waited. He beckoned us into a small room. The wall was plastered with TV screens. Three of them were showing only black and white dashes.

'I have a raging temptation to kick them,' Ori said thoughtfully. 'I hate it when programs are cancelled. I shall now pay them back for that time they cancelled Clockwork Orange.'

I raised an eyebrow at him, but he was walking over to the control desk. I glanced down and saw a limp figure underneath. Ori stepped onto the desk and leaned back until I was sure he'd fall, and then rammed a foot through the screen.

'And that's for making me wait another week to see that rape scene again!' he snapped, wrenching his foot out of the sparking shards. I glanced around nervously at the noise it made, worried that we would be caught and cornered like beasts in here. I drew out my gun and shot through the rest of the screens.

'Come on, let's get out of here,' I murmured, swallowing and loosening my collar slightly with a finger. I was getting a humid, oppressive tingling along the back of my neck and shoulder blades. I could feel sweat beading on my forehead under the bandanna and soaking sluggishly into the black fabric. My eyes flicked wildly from side to side and I swallowed again, running to the door and beckoning to the others with my gun.

I ran out into the empty corridor. Screeching noises filled my ears, like the sound of nails down a blackboard. I gasped for air in the heavy, pressing atmosphere, coughing and choking. I started to flee down the corridor ahead, where we had been heading on the way in. I clawed at the bandanna over my mouth and nose, loosening it desperately. I heaved for air, but it was just as bad as before. I slipped the bandanna back up for protection against whatever it was, my feet stumbling over each other in my haste to get away.

I pounded up some steps, scrabbling at the handrail with my left hand. I didn't know where I was going. Maybe upwards would have better air -- clearer air. It didn't seem too likely, right now. This next hall was swirling like seen through moving water or on the surface of a bubble. I tried to run straight and ended up wheeling like some demented bird and crashing to my knees. I reached out feebly to a door on my right, my gun clattering to the ground. I used to handle to pull myself up, grabbing onto the bars for dear, sweet life.

My hazy brain slowly registered, through a cloud of disbelief, that a white-haired young woman was slumped against the back wall of the cell.

'Skye?' I wheezed, my arms shaking with the effort of holding my own dead weight off the ground.

'Rae!' she croaked, her eyes opening. The nausea and dizziness vanished suddenly, leaving me in a ringing silence. I gasped for air, hooking the bandanna off my nose. 'I didn't think it would work...'

'What?' I panted, straightening and wiping my face with the cloth.

'I was trying to call you...'

I linked two and two together.

'Don't do that again, okay? Just let me find you myself,' I said ruefully.

I heard footsteps as the others caught up to me. They began to murmur delighted greetings to Skye, so I bent down to pick up my gun. I slotted it away and looked at the lock.

'Do you know how this works?' I asked Skye.

'I think it has a code and a key,' she replied thoughtfully. 'There's always this clicking noise before the door opens, and he always has a key in his hand.'

'Thanks,' I smiled. 'But this could take a while...'

'Why?' Perse asked.

'Well, codes always take longer to break. If it has keys and codes, we can't blow it apart,' Skye explained.

Neit leaned against the wall, sighing. Ori frowned thoughtfully and Perse bit her lip.

'Okay,' I decided. 'We need two people to go and find the keys. The other two need to stay here and break the code. Who's better at what?'

'It's almost always the same bloke who comes in,' Skye supplied. 'I don't think he's a wizard. He must be a Muggle slave or something. He doesn't have a wand, for sure. This place is under DE control, because they visit every now and again.'

'I'm so sorry we left you so long,' I told her, looking at the floor.

She hesitated.

'It doesn't matter. It's in the past and you're here now. I've had worse sentences. This bloke, anyway...'

'Yeah, sorry,' I said. I still wasn't sure.

'He's about six-foot ... three. He has a bald patch and sort of mousy hair. He has blue eyes and he's fat and ugly. He comes from that direction,' she said, pointing to her left. If you get his key ring, I can tell you which one it is.'

I nodded. 'So who wants to go after him?'

'I'm no master of codes,' Neit said thoughtfully. 'I'll go after the bastard. By the way, hello Skye. I'm Neit.'

Skye nodded politely.

Ori shrugged. 'Well, I won't pretend I'm any good at anything much, but I don't like maths, so bugger codes.' He held out his hand to Neit and they walked out of sight to our right, back the way we came.

I dropped to my knees in front of the little code wheel.

'How many times do they turn it, Skye?' I asked her, examining the make.

'I think it's five. Yes, five.'

'Thanks.'

Persephone crouched down beside me.

'Go to ten,' she said. I nodded, trusting to her vampire senses. I turned the dial ten clicks and waited. She bit her lip, focusing. 'Up to twelve.'

I did that.

'Thirteen.'

I turned it once more.

'Okay.'

I pushed the dial and it clanked, the lock buzzing slightly. I grinned to Perse. She winked at me.

'Um, I think this one is back something. About twenty. Try that.'

I turned it anti-clockwise for twenty, [and] then pressed my ear against it as she thought. I turned it very, very slowly, listening for a while after every click. When it had reached twenty-six, I heard a small catch after the click. I pressed it in, and the buzzing sounded again. I grinned and sat back a little, flexing my fingers.

'The next one's right seventeen,' Perse told me. I groaned, but she sounded certain. I turned it carefully, listening for the clank at the end. It came at sixteen, so I pressed it in.

'Alright, sixteen, then,' Perse said ruefully. 'Ah well. This one is right to thirty-seven, go twenty to the right.'

As I pressed the last figure in, there was a prolonged buzz. The lock popped out, showing us a keyhole in the side. I sat back on my heels to watch for Ori and Neit. After about three minutes of tired silence, they appeared around the corner, spattered with blood and looking pleased with themselves. Ori slung a ring of keys to me. I stood up to catch it and dangled the keys through the bars, as far as I could. Skye got up and came as close as her shackles would allow. She sorted through the keys after closing her eyes briefly.

'This one,' she said, grinning.

'You're on,' I replied, slotting the metal into the keyhole. I turned it nervously, but it made a small snapping noise before the door opened slightly. I gave a whoop of delight and ran into the cell, throwing my arms around Skye. She laughed and hugged me tightly.

'Thanks for coming!' she said fiercely. 'I missed you...'

'I missed you too. Alethea's dead,' I said, suddenly remembering. Skye bit her lip.

'Well, I can't say I'm sorry to hear that,' she said hesitantly. I laughed.

'Don't worry about it. Ori's human now... And me and Draco split up.'

'You were way too busy to come and get me,' she said expansively, but there was a guarded hurt in her voice.

'I wanted to!' I protested. 'They kept saying we would but not arranging anything...'

'Stop,' Skye said firmly. 'It's all said and done. Now let's get out.'

I nodded, examining her chains and testing every key of the same make in the lock. The fifth one clicked the padlock open, and we helped Skye to her feet and out of the cell. She stretched her legs and pushed the door shut carefully. After a pause, I hung the keys on the handle of another cell door and retied the sash around my face. We jogged quietly through the corridors, retracing my maddened and faltering steps back downstairs.

Before we reached the staircase, however, there was a deafeningly loud siren blaring through the building and red lights flashing. Ori's head snapped around and he looked at the 'Break Glass' alarm point on the wall. It was glaring scarlet lights at us with the words 'SECURITY BREACH' plastered across its small screen. We began to hear people moving around on the floors above and below. I whipped the pistol out and flung my dagger to Skye. She caught it perfectly, starting to run down the staircase. Perse's face mutated sickeningly and she gave a shrieking roar, clenching her fists like claws. Ori closed his eyes, his back curving slightly, before straightening in dismay.

'Fuck,' he grunted, grabbing hold of the metal handrail and pressing a foot against the wall. He pulled back sharply. I heard his shoulders crunch with the straight, but his muscles knotted, and he jerked again, this time pulling a yard-long strip of thick metal bar away from the wall. He swung it experimentally, steeling himself for a fight. Neit whipped out a long dagger. I followed Skye quickly, pausing to check which way she had gone. I heard people behind us and spun briefly.

Not seeing anything, I put all my strength into running as fast as I possibly could down the corridor after Skye's white glowing hair. She skidded to a halt as a line of black-garbed guards appeared before her. I took a running leap, diving into a roll and skidding on my knees to shoot three of them dead smoothly. Skye slashed across the neck of another and I grabbed one more, firing a bullet up through his chin. Skye kicked into the neck of the last one and we both turned, looking for Ori, Perse and Neit. The three appeared at the foot of the stairs, running at top speed. We crashed through a side door, where the guards had come in. The floodlit courtyard was right there and I laughed through gasps for breath, running out into the fresh air. The massive electrified gates were sliding down as we ran. Skye put on an extra burst of speed, flinging herself through without even having to duck. Persephone bent almost double to slide under it and Neit took a diving roll. The metal slammed down just as I reached it and I could have cried with frustration. I glanced around, running up against the wall, but it was way too high. Ori clubbed a couple of others down, running to me.

'The gate!' I cried, scrabbling at the wall.

'Never mind!' he snapped. 'Stand on my shoulders.' He knelt down, glancing briefly at the closing circle of guards. They didn't seem willing to get close to the bloke with the temper and the big metal bar. I stepped up onto his shoulders and he stood up, grunting with the effort and pressing his hands against the walls, walking them up to support him. I wobbled madly, putting my hands against the stones. One of the guards came forwards, but I shot him dead and reached for the top of the wall. I stretched until my bones cracked and I was totally on tiptoe. Ori grunted, his hands gripping my ankles.

'Stand on my hands,' he said through gritted teeth.

'No way!' I snapped, reaching up.

'DO IT!' he yelled. He shifted his hands so that the palms were flat in front of his shoulders. I felt the tendons clench beneath me, and stepped reluctantly onto his hands. He groaned, pushing me upwards as hard as he could. His arms were shaking so hard and I was sure he'd collapse. Every now and again he gave a small grunting squeak, but after an agonising second, his arms locked. I felt his chest slam against the stones to support himself. I hooked my elbows over the wall and dragged myself up slowly. I spun and reached down to Ori, but the guards had overcome their shock, it seemed. They were closing around him. I could hear Neit and Perse and Skye calling me from the other side of the wall.

'Ori!' I cried, reaching down as far as I could. He stretched up, jumping slightly to try to reach my hand. He couldn't. He shook his head and turned back to look at the guards. 'ORI!' I screamed. 'Oh shit! ORI!'

He was backed up totally against the wall now. There was only a small gap between him and the ring of guards.

'Just go, Rae!' he snapped. I closed my eyes briefly, pushing my gun back into the holster. I reached my hand down and focused what little energy I had. I tried to picture him on the ground the other side of the wall. The guard at the front raised his gun. Ori closed his eyes and turned his head to one side. I gave a choked gasp and screwed my eyes shut. I pushed everything I had into my fingertips and slammed my teeth down on my tongue to distract myself. I let out a broken sob as I heard the slam of a bullet and smelt the cordite scent.

I let my fingers curl in on thin air and slithered backwards off the wall and crumpled to the floor on the other side of the wall. I opened my eyes slowly to see Skye bending over me. She hooked her hair behind her ear and asked me something, but I couldn't think. Neit crouched beside me, tugging at my arm. Persephone was beckoning.

Ori. Ori's gone... he can't be... I failed him... they shot him... it's all my fault that he's mortal...

'Rae, Rae...'

I peeled my eyes open and found them looking into blue-brown ones, alight with relief and energy. Spiky strands of brown hair grazed my face and soft lips caught mine.

'That's some bloody good timing you've got there, girl,' Ori grinned.