36. Cash
CASH
This was the most convoluted job I’d ever been on. But we did it. Scottie landed the plane without further incident, then picked us up at a private airport. I managed to bypass all scrutiny, even though the hike was killer on my leg.
Now, we were in New York, chasing down the last of the Shadow Government. We were so close. If they were going to hit anywhere, it would be at the rally. It was the most exposed, the easiest place to find a sniper’s nest.
“Boss!” Rae shouted, running up to me, avoiding several people walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world. She shot them dirty looks when they scoffed at her for daring to nearly run into them.
Our gathering spot on the sidewalk was less than ideal, but time was of the essence, and there were no safe houses in the vicinity to stage a meeting.
“Iron has the perch. I spotted it, but getting there is going to be a problem. He bypassed the Secret Service and he’s on the roof right now.”
“So, we tell Secret Service,” Kavanaugh said, already on the move.
I snagged him by the jacket, dragging him back. “That won’t work. These men are all highly respected.”
“Yeah, but Secret Service won’t ignore a threat,” Thumper argued.
“Maybe not, but they sure as hell would let them go when this is over. We need to take them out now. Remember, these guys are smooth. They know how to work within the constraints of the government, but also get the job done. Taking them out now is the only option.”
“Brick was on the plane,” IRIS stated. “That’s one of them down.”
“We just need to take care of Iron, Watch, and Lock,” I reiterated.
“Not me, Lock, but another Lock,” Lock explained.
I stopped and eyed him carefully. His eyes were wide as he looked at everyone, being damn sure they all understood the distinction.
“Thanks for the clarification. I would hate for someone to put a knife in your back.”
He blew out a breath, nodding like it was a real possibility.
“I’ll take the sniper’s perch. Rae, you’re on my six. Thumper and IRIS, you’ve got Watch. Find him and take him out. Lock, take FNG?—”
“Boss,” he groaned.
“And find Lock. Not you, Lock, but the other Lock,” I said mockingly.
He turned to FNG and scowled. “You got that?”
FNG nodded. “Take out the bad Lock. Now I get to use my trusty umbrella. I told you guys this would come in handy,” he grinned.
“Where the fuck are Fox and Knight?” I snapped, searching the streets for them.
“Well, the last I saw Knight, he was bored to tears, so I would guess Fox is singing a show tune for him. Most likely something from West Side Story so he can get in his murdery mood. Knight is probably clenching his jaw as he always does, holding back the rage of being subjected to another show tune, all the while Fox is wearing his jacket because it makes him look like a Jet. And Eva was with them, so she’s probably trying to keep Knight from murdering Fox,” Kavanaugh stated. “If I had to guess.”
I couldn’t wait for Knight or Fox. The only option was moving forward. We had to stop this now. “Look, we have to move out without them. We have half an hour until the rally, and then all bets are off. If we don’t stop this, you know what that means.”
“Murder, death, chaos, toilet paper shortages…” FNG stated. “Basically, the worst humanity has to offer.”
“Exactly. Let’s move.”
I took off with Rae, letting her lead me to the building across the street from the sniper’s nest. It was one hell of a distance, and there was no fucking way we could jump it.
But we also couldn’t get into the building Iron had chosen to take the shot from.
Security was too high. We’d spend the entire time arguing with the Secret Service, and in the meantime, the President would be killed.
Taking the stairs two at a time, my thighs burned the farther we got, but I kept pushing past the pain from my leg wound. Nothing else mattered other than this. It was not only my ticket home, but something we couldn’t afford to allow to happen.
I was sweating hard, my leg throbbing in pain by the time I reached the top. Thankfully, Slider and IKE were already there, but they were attaching a harness to a cord.
“What the fuck is that?” I asked, feeling strangely uncomfortable with this whole thing.
“Ever seen Mission Impossible, boss?”
My heart skipped a beat in my chest. “Why?”
“They have some really cool stunts in there,” he grinned. “Step.”
I did as he asked, mechanically moving one foot and then the other into the harness.
“IKE, what the fuck is he talking about?” I demanded as he finished securing the line.
“Remember the impossible break-in?”
“Which movie?”
“Boss,” Slider chuckled. “Really, it’s Mission Impossible. It’s all fucking impossible.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I snapped, feeling more agitated by the second.
Rae secured a pack to my back, grinning the whole time, which had me fucking worried. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Only one harness. We didn’t have time for more.” She clapped me on the shoulder, grinning wildly at me. “This is your win, boss.”
“You mean you think this might not work.”
Cocking her head at me, she frowned. “I don’t think I said that.”
My gaze snapped back to Slider. “What the fuck is going on? Explain!”
He walked over to me, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
“Look, this building is taller. All you have to do is run that way,” he pointed in the opposite direction.
“Jump off the building, let the momentum swing you in the opposite direction, then untether yourself when you fly over the building with the sniper’s nest. It’s really that simple. What could go wrong?”
My jaw clenched hard at his words. I didn’t think as I lashed out, grabbing him by the shirt and jerking him to my face. “This is the best fucking thing you came up with?”
“Boss, they did it in Mission Impossible. Now, if there was ever a movie that described us, it would be that one.”
“I would say it was RED,” Rae shrugged.
“Yeah, but they didn’t have the same cool stunts. Stepping out of a car while it’s still moving and firing your gun at a moving target is awesome for the movie, but very unhelpful in this particular situation.”
“Slider,” I ground out, snagging his attention.
“Yeah, boss?” he asked with just a tad too much enthusiasm.
“I’m going to murder you.”
He grinned, clapping me on the shoulder. “Just wait until you get the bad guy. This is gonna be good.”
I glared at him, then walked over to the edge of the building, staring down at the massive drop below. This was insanity. He actually wanted me to jump off the building and just…swing.
I couldn’t do this. I backed up a step, my hands sweating profusely as my heart hammered in my chest. I would die. Plummet to my death, and then where would we be?
I spun to face them, scowling when Slider gave me two thumbs up.
Stalking back to them, I put on my game face.
I could do this. I had to do this. There was no other way to stop the chaos, and if it didn’t end today, it was very unlikely we would get another opportunity to take them out before they took us out.
“What about a sniper shot?” I asked, hoping there was still another option.
“No shot,” Slider shrugged. “And we don’t have Sally 6. Or is it 7?”
“I think it’s 7,” Rae acknowledged.
“Why don’t you just name it something else so you know which it is?” IKE asked.
“Because he’s in love with Sally. It has to be her,” Slider said.
“What about…” I rubbed my fingers together as an itch formed under my skin. I was going to die. “Scottie could fly overhead and drop me. That has to be safer.”
“No fly zone, boss,” Slider grinned. “You know that.”
“A drone?—”
“Again, not gonna happen,” Rae chuckled. “It’s okay. You got this.”
She slapped my arm, making me wince. Christ, I was falling apart.”
“You checked the strength of this cord?”
“It’ll hold,” he assured me. “And I got the best of the best for you. I swear, I wouldn’t let you plummet to the ground like a pancake.”
I nodded, feeling a little reassured.
“I mean, unless you release too soon. Then that’s not on me.”
He just had to open his fucking mouth. I gritted my teeth, reminding myself that I was not going to kill anyone today. Well, not any of my teammates.
“You’ve got this, boss.” Rae grinned at me, looking a tad too enthusiastic about all this.
When I turned to IKE, hoping he would be the voice of reason, he had the same shit-eating grin on his face. “This is gonna be good. You’re gonna be a legend.”
“That was not what I wanted to hear.”
He frowned, “That’s exactly what I would want to hear on a job like this.”
Somehow, we had very different feelings about this. Probably because none of them were going to jump off a building and then try not to die a very painful death.
“You know, boss,” Rae whispered. “If it makes you feel any better, if by chance anything happens, it’ll be a few seconds of sheer terror followed by a very quick death.” She squeezed my shoulder and winked at me as she stepped back.
I wasn’t sure how the fuck that was going to make me feel better, but as they all backed away from me, I knew there was no more time to contemplate what might happen.
I faced the edge of the building, taking in the distance I would need to run to gain enough speed. I could do this. I would do this. They did it in the movie and Tom Cruise did, like, all his stunts. It would be good.
“You checked the length, right?” IKE muttered behind me.
“Of course I did,” Slider retorted.
I didn’t wait another second. I took off at a dead run, ignoring the pain throbbing in my leg, and then I leapt from the building, catapulting my body through the air as my legs and arms pinwheeled.
Then I was flying. Air pricked at my eyes, drying them instantly. My heart ceased to beat in my chest as I arced through the sky high above the insanity of the city below.