Chapter 23
LANTANA
There was a thick, oppressive drizzle that turned the asphalt of the pier district into a black mirror. I could smell the salt of the East River mixing with the metallic tang of rusting iron and the faint, cloying scent of rotting fish from the nearby docks.
Beside me, Rainbow shifted her weight, her boots splashing softly in a shallow puddle.
Demise stood like a statue, her eyes scanning the silhouette of the building ahead.
It was a hulking carcass of a warehouse, a skeletal structure of corrugated steel and crumbling brick that looked as if it were leaning away from the city in disgust. It’s shattered window panes that clung to the frames dangerously, didn’t help it look any less menacing.
"This place is a dump," Rainbow whispered.
"Dumps are great for hiding things you don't want found," Demise replied, her voice a low rasp.
A crackle sounded in my ear. Obsidian’s voice was cool, a sharp contrast to the sweltering heat.
"You're approaching the blind spot of the perimeter. Move now. And Lantana, keep your guard up. This woman learned her skills from the best of us."
I tightened my grip on the hilt of my blade, feeling the familiar texture of the wrap against my palm.
"Heard," I confirmed into the comms. "I learned to fight from a Marine, I can handle her.”
"Overconfidence is a fast track to a body bag," Obsidian countered. "Enter through the loading bay on the north side. The door is rusted through. You can slip in without triggering any audible alarms."
We moved in a tight formation, our shadows stretching and warping under the flickering amber glow of a distant streetlamp. We reached the loading bay, the heavy metal door hanging off one hinge, leaving a gap just wide enough for a person to squeeze through. I went first, sliding into the darkness.
The interior of the warehouse smelled putrid, of dead animals and ancient dust. Massive concrete pillars rose up like monoliths, disappearing into a ceiling lost in shadow. The silence was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic drip of water leaking through the roof.
"Clear," I whispered, signaling the others.
"Do you feel that?" Rainbow asked, her voice barely a breath.
"Feel what?" Demise asked.
"Like we're being watched. Not just by a camera. Like someone is breathing down my neck."
"Paranoia is a survival trait," Obsidian’s voice cut in. "But your instincts are usually right. There’s a thermal signature moving on the catwalks above you. Don't look up. Just keep moving toward the center office."
We crept forward, our footsteps muffled by a layer of grime and debris. I kept my center of gravity low, my eyes scanning the floor for tripwires or pressure plates. Every creak of the building felt like a gunshot in the stillness.
"Almost there," I whispered.
Suddenly, the silence shattered. A flash-bang grenade detonated ten feet in front of us. A blinding white light seared my retinas, and a roar of sound slammed into my eardrums, leaving me reeling. I stumbled back, my vision swimming.
"Ambush!" Demise screamed.
A blur of motion descended from the catwalks. A figure clad in matte-black tactical gear slammed into me, the impact knocking the wind from my lungs in a sharp wheeze. I hit the concrete hard, the air leaving my chest in a guttural grunt.
Vesper didn't waste a second. She landed with a feline grace, her boot connecting with my ribs. I felt a bone crack, a hot spike of pain radiating through my side.
"You're out of your league, little girl," Vesper hissed. Her voice was like grinding stones.
She swung a combat knife in a blurred arc. I rolled to the left, the blade whistling past my ear, slicing a thin line across my cheek.
"Rainbow! Demise!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet.
But Vesper was already moving, throwing a smoke pellet at their feet. A thick, grey shroud erupted, swallowing them up.
"Lantana!" Rainbow’s voice echoed through the haze, sounding distant and panicked.
Vesper didn't stay to fight the others. She lunged at me, her forearm slamming into my throat, cutting off my oxygen.
I gasped, clawing at her arm, but she pivoted, using my own momentum to fling me across the room.
I crashed into a stack of wooden crates, which collapsed over me in a rain of splinters.
By the time I pushed the debris off me, Vesper was sprinting toward the rear exit.
"She's heading for the backstreets!" Obsidian yelled in my ear. "Lantana, don't let her get to the piers! If she hits the water, we lose her."
I didn't think asI burst through the rear doors and into the torrential downpour. The rain had intensified, turning the world into a grey blur. Vesper was a dark smudge against the concrete, weaving through the narrow alleys of the backlots.
I pushed my legs to the limit, my lungs burning with every breath of humid air. We raced past rows of rusted shipping containers and abandoned warehouses that looked like tombstone monuments to a dead industry.
"I see her!" I yelled, though there was no one to hear me but Obsidian.
Vesper suddenly stopped and spun around. She didn't look tired. She looked bored.
"You're persistent," she said, the rain slicking her dark hair back against her skull. "I'll give you that."
"Give it up," I panted, bringing my blade up. "There's nowhere to run."
"I'm not running," she replied. "I'm just biding my time."
She vanished into the shadows of a narrow corridor between two brick buildings. I followed, my heart hammering against my chest as I stepped into the alley, a heavy iron pipe swung from the darkness, catching me squarely in the shoulder.
The impact sent me spiraling. I hit the wet pavement with a sickening thud, the cold water rushing into my clothes. Before I could recover, Vesper was on me.
She didn't use the knife this time. She used her hands.
A palm strike slammed into my nose, and I felt the cartilage snap. Blood erupted, warm and metallic, mixing with the rain on my lips. She grabbed my collar and slammed my head back against the brick wall. Stars exploded in my vision.
I swung my blade, a desperate, wide arc. She caught my wrist, her grip like a steel vice. With a sickening pop, she twisted my arm. I screamed, the sound swallowed by a roll of thunder that shook the ground.
"You fought a soldier," Vesper whispered, leaning close. I could smell the scent of gun oil and peppermint on her breath. "I was the one who taught the soldier."
She drove a knee into my stomach, folding me in half. I vomited a mixture of bile and blood onto the pavement. She didn't stop. A flurry of strikes followed to my ribs, solar plexus, jaw. Each blow was a precise, calculated strike designed to disable, not just hurt.
I tried to fight back, throwing a wild punch that grazed her chin, but she countered with a spinning kick that sent me flying backward into a pile of discarded pallets. I landed hard on my back, the air escaping me in a pathetic wheeze.
Vesper walked toward me slowly, the rain drumming a steady beat on the pavement. She looked down at me with eyes that held no malice, only a cold, professional indifference.
"You have spirit," she remarked. "Too bad it's wasted on a corpse."
She raised her boot and brought it down with crushing force onto my chest. I felt my sternum buckle. A white-hot flash of agony surged through my entire body, and for a moment, the world went silent. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't scream. I could only stare up at the dark, weeping sky.
She leaned down, her voice a low murmur. "Tell your friends that the next time they come looking for me, I won't leave a witness."
She turned and vanished into the rain, her footsteps disappearing as she merged with the shadows of the piers.
I lay there, the cold rain washing the blood from my face. My vision began to fray at the edges, turning a hazy, bruised purple. Every breath felt like I was inhaling shards of glass.
"Lantana! Respond!" Obsidian’s voice was frantic now, stripped of its usual composure. "Lantana! Where are you? I've lost your vitals! Talk to me!"
I tried to speak, but only a bubble of blood escaped my lips. I closed my eyes, the sound of the rain becoming a distant hum. I felt a strange warmth spreading through my chest, a heavy lethargy that beckoned me to just stop fighting.
"Lantana!" The voice wasn't in my ear. It was real.
I felt hands on me. Warm, shaking hands andI forced my eyes open. Rainbow was hovering over me, her face pale, her eyes wide with terror. Demise was beside her, her expression grim, her hands pressing hard against the wound in my chest to stop the bleeding.
"Oh god, there's so much blood," Rainbow sobbed, her voice cracking. "Demise, she's not breathing right! She's not breathing!"
"Stay with us, Lantana," Demise commanded, her voice shaking despite her attempt to be firm. "Keep your eyes on me. Do not close them. Do you hear me? Do not close your damn eyes!"
I tried to smile, but it only brought a fresh surge of blood to my throat. I looked up at the sliver of moonlight breaking through the clouds.
"She... she got away," I whispered, the words barely audible over the rain.
"Forget her," Rainbow cried, clutching my hand. "Just stay awake. Please, just stay awake."
I felt the world tilting, the concrete beneath me feeling like it was turning into water.
The pain was starting to fade, replaced by a terrifying, hollow cold.
I could hear the distant sound of a siren, a lonely wail echoing through the Manhattan night, but it sounded like it was coming from another planet.
"We've got you," Demise whispered, her grip tightening on my shoulder. "You're not dying in a godforsaken alley. Not tonight."
As the darkness finally pulled me under, the last thing I felt were the droplets of the rain, or maybe it was the warmth of my friends' tears falling onto my cheeks.