They hit the stairs as footsteps pounded the floor behind them, shouts rising above the tapping. Bodie fired off a couple cover rounds when a group of men breached the corner, sending them doubling back as Buck grabbed the handrail — hauled ass up the steps.
Bodie followed behind Rowan, blocking any possible shot when a spray of semi-automatic fire lit up the space, one bullet ricocheting off a metal rung. Sparks showered Bodie’s face, the resulting sting spurring him on.
They took the steps two at a time, burst onto the upper floor, a large skylight brightening the far end. Buck waved them ahead, tossed a canister down the stairs, each tiny reverberation echoing through the air.
Shouts erupted beneath them, a clatter of boots scattering in every direction before the flash bang detonated — drowned the room with lights and sound. Smoke billowed up through the opening, muffled groans mixing in with the lingering roar.
Bodie stopped beneath the skylight as a loud crack sounded below. Sharp. Low.
Dalton.
Had to be. Buying them time. Keeping any forces at bay long enough for them to access the roof, despite putting his own location in jeopardy — risk having every sentry hunting him down.
Bodie shoved the thought aside. The faster they escaped, the safer Dalton was, too.
A couple rounds shattered the hinges holding the hatch — popped the lid open with a nerve-rattling screech. He shoved his joined hands at Buck, but the man waved him off, cupping both of his together.
Bodie frowned but accepted, pushing the hatch aside, then hauling himself up. Rain cooled his face as he rolled onto the roof, that same buoy clanging in the distance.
He turned, offered Rowan his hand as Buck heaved from below. She all but shot out the opening, landing beside him in under five seconds.
More shots.
Busting through the windows beneath them. Dalton’s aim almost frightening. Bodie reached down, again, locked his hand around Buck’s forearm and lifted. His buddy grabbed the edge, pulled with him until he crested the lip, scooted to the side.
The comms crackled. “Bodie. Brother, I’ve got men swarming the building. You three need to disappear and fast.”
Rowan ran to the edge, looked over. “No fire escape, and it’s a good fifteen feet to the adjoining cannery roof. Suicide in the dark with everything slick from the rain, assuming I could jump the distance at all.”
Bodie scanned the area. Fog rolled in off the water, the alarm still blaring through the building. Flashlights lit up the mist, footsteps banging up the metal stairs.
“Here.” Buck waved them over.
A thick, rusted old pipe spanned the gap between the buildings, the far end a couple feet lower as it edged the adjoining roof. What Bodie guessed had been some kind of slurry run during the cannery’s heyday.
Buck pushed on it. “It’s sketchy, but it beats dying.”
“If it holds.” Rowan shook her head. “That’s a pretty big if.”
Bodie looked at the pipe, at the ground three stories beneath them. “It’ll hold, just don’t look down.”
Dalton cursed in Bodie’s ear. “You’re out of time. Whatever you’re gonna do, go now.”
Chapter Ten
Fog clotted the cannery roof, a steady rain soaking the pressed felt layer beneath their feet. Rowan stared at the old slurry pipe bridging the fifteen-foot span — orange, rusted, the middle bowing under its own weight. It looked as if it had been there since the dawn of time.
Waiting.
Slowly crumbling.
Dalton’s voice sounded through the comms, a tight edge to it she hadn’t heard before. “Tangos on your six. Roof hatch. I count two in the next twenty. Get moving. Your window’s tight.”
She tensed, the hatch creaking in the background as two men peeked through the sliver of space. Bodie fired off a couple warning shots when they rose above the edge, both dropping out of sight as the bullets punched through the metal siding, only an inch from one of their faces.
Bodie huffed. “We’re out of options.” He pointed at Rowan. “You go, first.”
“You should go.” She held up her hand to stop him from voicing the objection she knew he’d raise. “You’re stronger. If something happens, the pipe shifts or falls after you reach the other side, you might be able to catch me if I have to jump. I’d never be able to hold you or Buck. Besides, this is my investigation. I should go last.”
