Without another option, Trent wasn’t inclined to argue with her. Together, they charged up the concrete steps, the blaring klaxons echoing below getting quieter, the shouts of the security guards getting fainter.
It won’t be much longer until they figure out where we’ve gone, though,Trent thought.It’s not like there’s a lot of places to go – only up or down.
“Geeze,” Trent muttered. “This is embarrassing. Even if we get out of this, I’ll probably get assigned to, I don’t know, Adelaide or somewhere after this.”
“Adelaide?” Smiley asked, glancing at him. “Is there something bad about that?”
“Not really, I guess,” Trent said. “But it’s not what I would call exciting. If you ever need to lay low some place where not much happens, head to Adelaide. That’s my advice.”
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” Smiley said. “If wedoin fact get out of here.”
There wasn’t really any moreupto go to – they’d reached the stairs leading out to the roof. And the lock required a keypass.
“Stand back – let me handle this,” Trent said. “You have the power of hacking, but I have the power of kicking.”
“Oh, great,” Smiley muttered – but Trent knew she couldn’t deny the effectiveness of his approach as, with one mighty kick, he sent the door spinning off its hinges and out into the night beyond. He never missed leg day, after all.
“Oh, all right – I guess that was alittleimpressive,” Smiley said, as they came out onto the freezing cold roof. “But just a little.”
“Thanks.” Trent shot her a grin – it might’ve been only faint praise, but he’d take it. “So – where’s the ride you promised?”
“Over there.” Smiley pointed, and Trent followed the direction of her finger to the helipad on the roof of a neighboring building.
“Huh.” Trent nodded. “Did you have any plans about how togetover there? I can jump, but notthatfar.”
Smiley swallowed, glancing at him. “I have a grapple gun and rappelling line,” she said after a moment. “But… I have no idea if it’s strong enough for two. Especially someone as, uh, large as you are.”
“Hey, this is all lean muscle, I’ll have you know,” Trent told her.
“Yeah, that’s part of the problem – muscle weighs more than fat. And you’re obviously all muscle.” She paused, pursing her lips. “But I guess if we want to get across, we don’t exactly have many other options, and security will figure out where we are in the next few minutes. And then I don’t like your other options for getting off this roof.”
“You could just go across without me,” Trent pointed out. “You’ve got the hard drive. You could just cut me loose.”
Smiley paused, then she screwed up her face. “Donottempt me. You wanna get off this roof in one piece or not?”
“That would definitely be my preference,” Trent murmured, as Smiley pulled a small grappling gun from her belt and ran to the side of the building, lining up her shot. The line shot out, attaching itself to the neighboring building, and then Smiley hooked the other end to the stone lip of the one they stood on. She took the hook from her belt and attached it to the line, then turned to look at him.
“Are you coming?”
Trent didn’t need to be told twice.
“Let me hold the hook, though,” he said, as they prepared to shove off. “Like you said, I’m heavier than you. You don’t want to be trying to hold me up.”
“Fine.” Smiley passed him the hook, and he grabbed hold of it.
“Now grab on to me – let’s get out of here.”
Smiley, grimacing, wrapped her arms around his neck, while Trent held fast on to the hook. And then, he pushed off.
The air was cold and cutting as they whizzed down the line, and for a moment Trent could feel it sag dangerously, as if it was threatening to break, or the end of the line was going to detach from the building under their combined weight.
But in the next moment, every single thought, every single fear, was erased as he felt Smiley shift against him, hooking on to his waist with her legs, her head tucking up under his chin as her arms squeezed even more tightly around his shoulders – and the sudden knowledge blasted through his mind, leaving no room for anything else –
Mine! She’s mine! Ours! Our mate!
His kangaroo stood up straight, beating on its chest with its forepaws, leaping frantically with the sudden explosive realization.
Oh my God, it’s true,Trent thought, dazed, staring sideways at the top of Smiley’s head. She seemed utterly unfazed, utterly indifferent to the sudden revelation he could feel coursing through every single cell of his body.
