36. Cash #2
Two people turned in the opposite building, gaping at me as I soared toward them. I gave a slight wave just before I ran out of line and was jerked backward. My eyes widened as I was suddenly swinging in the opposite direction, dipping low as my momentum swung me toward the other building.
Air licked at my skin, burning it with the intensity of how fast I was moving. I kept my arms tucked in, sure I would move with better speed, and that meant I was less likely to plummet to my death.
Right?
My body started arcing back into the sky as the line ran out again. This time, I was soaring above the building with the sniper’s nest. My fingers found the carabiner, readying to release me.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I shouted, though the words didn’t actually leave my lips.
As I started to swing back, I pushed the carabiner to release me, but nothing happened. Panic shot through me as I twisted and found the release again, this time unlatching myself.
The roof came up all too quickly, but I was at the edge. I wasn’t going to make it. “Fuck!” I shouted, holding out my hand to snatch the edge of the roof. I barely gripped it as my arm jerked painfully, tearing my shoulder from the socket.
My fingers were slipping, barely holding the edge, but I somehow managed to shift my weight enough to grip the top of the building with my other hand. Digging my feet into the side of the building, I shifted one inch at a time until I hoisted myself up enough to climb over the edge.
Rolling onto my back, I stared up at the sky as the noise from all around me came rushing back with an intensity that was overwhelming. I almost died.
Again.
I was gonna kill Slider.
Air whooshed into my lungs as I worked to regain the feeling in my body. I could do this. I was here. All I had to do now was finish the job.
If only my legs would function. Jelly…my whole fucking body was like jelly right now. I breathed hard, focusing on not passing out from the sheer intensity of it all. I could do this.
I rolled over, shoving to my feet, but almost fell. Dizziness washed over me. Yeah, I was not made for Mission Impossible. Sucking in a deep breath, I focused on the job at hand. Get to the other side of the roof and take out Iron. Easy peasy, right?
I took a whole two steps before bullets ricocheted off the ground just feet from where I stood. I ran for cover as the gunfire continued, eating up the rooftop behind me. I ducked behind a concrete barrier, pulling my own weapon.
“This is not the way this was supposed to go,” I gritted out.
Fucking hell, we were going to have the entire Secret Service bearing down on us.
Correction, on me.
Taking a deep breath, I looked around the corner, spying the sniper on the opposite roof. Fucking hell, they were surrounding us. Backups, in case one of them failed.
I hadn’t intended on using my gun, wanting to keep our movements as hidden as possible, but that was no longer an option. If only I had Sally right now. Taking a shot from this distance with a handgun was unlikely to produce the results I wanted, but I had to try.
I had minutes at best before Secret Service was up here, hauling my ass to prison, and then it would be too late. It was now or never.
I shot up, firing my entire magazine toward the sniper on the opposite roof. He quickly ducked, falling out of my line of sight. I was effectively pinned down, with no way to take him out, and no way to get to Iron, who had a direct line to the president.
But as long as the Secret Service kept the president tucked away, they couldn’t take the shot, and at least this mission would be successful. Not that it would stop the Shadow Government. They would just try again after they were released from custody. Their pull was that strong.
Taking a deep breath, I shot out of my spot, racing across the rooftop toward the sniper on my roof. My feet ate up the ground, closing the distance just as he was lining up a shot. Was it possible the Secret Service hadn’t heard the shots?
Fuck, we were so high up, it was altogether possible. I hit the ground hard as a bullet pierced my leg, sending agonizing waves of pain through my knee. But I rolled and got to my feet, pushing through to get to Iron.
With all the strength left in my body, I flung myself at him, wrapping my arm around his neck and jerking him away from his rifle just as his finger slid over the trigger. He threw his elbow back, catching me in the jaw, but I clung to him, wrapping my leg around his body and holding him in place.
His arm flailed, trying desperately to knock me away as I cut off his air supply and held his body in place as I strangled the life from him. His other hand flashed to his side, gripping a knife. But I didn’t dare move. If I loosened my grip, he would break my hold and escape.
The knife slashed out at me, catching me in the upper thigh of my good leg, but it wasn’t enough. He was fading fast, with not enough air to keep him going. Gritting my teeth, I twisted hard, snapping his neck.
His body went limp in my arms, and the knife clattered to the ground. Breathing hard, I stayed where I was. Some part of me couldn’t believe I had really killed him, that it was over. So, I held on, refusing to believe that the man was really dead.
Shoving him aside, I laid there, breathing hard as I stared up at the sky. He was dead. I scooted over to the edge of the building, grabbing the scope from the rifle. The rally was still going on down below, but that was no surprise. This building was so fucking high, they hadn’t heard a thing.
The president was waving his hand as he spoke to the crowd. He was alive.
Sighing, I turned and rested back against the wall. I had done it. Against all fucking odds, I had done it. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I dialed Rae’s number.
“Is it done?” she asked without preamble.
“It is,” I breathed. “What about the other teams?”
“Lock took out…Lock. But Watch is still missing.”
“Keep looking. He’s got to be around here somewhere. Have you heard from Knight?”
“He’s headed toward you now.”
I glanced around, wondering where the fuck he was, when I saw a helicopter rise in the sky with Scottie at the controls, saluting me. Then I saw Fox.
“Who the hell let Fox in the helicopter?”
“I’m not sure anyone lets Fox do anything, boss.”
“I thought you said we couldn’t get clearance,” I snapped.
“Boss, it’s like you’re trying to find a reason that you shouldn’t have made that jump. You were fantastic, by the way.”
“Thanks a lot,” I grumbled.
I hung up, shoving to my feet with a wince just as Knight jumped out of the helicopter, followed closely by Fox. Blood dripped down my leg, but considering all that happened, I was in pretty good shape.
“You look like shit,” Knight grunted.
“Where the fuck were you? I had to jump off a fucking building and swing through the air to get here, and now you get a fucking helicopter?”
“I was taking care of a few things.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“You know, protecting the president, making sure your wife didn’t get mixed up in things, keeping this asshole from breaking out in show tunes during the rally.”
“All admirable tasks,” I jeered.
All humor washed from his face as he stepped closer. “We have an issue.”
“If you mean that Watch is still missing, I already know.”
He shook his head minutely, sending chills down my spine. “What is it?”
“Watch is former Secret Service.”
“Fuck,” I groaned, staring up at the sky in frustration. “He wouldn’t be here.”
“No. He’ll be on one of the routes. We need to find out which one and take him out.”
“He could be embedded in them right now,” I pointed out.
“I already have Dash working on clearing every single person on the president’s detail, but it’s going to take some time.”
“Without knowing their protocols, there’s no way for us to determine how they would handle a threat, where they would go…basically any information that would help us.”
“So, having IRIS set off an explosion wouldn’t do a damn bit of good.”
“Not really,” he answered. “Our only option is to find Watch and take him out.”
“Piece of cake,” I muttered.
“Did someone mention cake?” Fox shouted, running up to us. “Man, that ride was amazing. You should have done that instead of swinging from a rope.”
“I’ll consider that next time,” I mumbled, feeling a little lightheaded.
Fox pointed at my leg. “Hey, you should probably get that looked at.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“I’ll wrap it on the way. We don’t have time to stop.”
I nodded and allowed him to shove his shoulder under my arm, helping me toward the helicopter. Scottie was drinking, right along with Max. If this was a new thing, we were definitely going to have issues.
Fox hauled me up into the chopper and Knight got to work cleaning me up and wrapping the wound. It was the best we could do at the moment.
“So, what’s the plan?”