Fuck them in all possible ways.
The alley that Luca, Jorge and the rest went into as they got ambushed is quiet. I don’t hear or see anyone, but that doesn’t have to mean anything.
I knew where to look on our way back to the crossing, but I’ve not been in this area yet, so I don’t know if we might be overlooking anything.
Caleb touches my back softly and I look back to him, then to the two others shadowing us. I can feel my emotions starting to bubble up, worry starting to take hold of my mind. I need to get to Luca and Jorge. And then I need to get back to Mathew and Riley. I need all of us together.
I nod and slip from behind some trash cans, crossing the alley and slipping behind some cars on the other side. There are bodies in the middle of the alley, but I can’t go over to them to see if they’re from our teams or if they’re from the Hearts. I can only hope they’re not ours.
Then I make my way past more cars and a few vans, until I reach the next crossing.
It’s quiet. This time, it doesn’t feel right. Something’s off.
I glance around. The street lights on this intersection are all out. All the other intersections had at least some working lights, but these are all out.
Fuck.
I lie flat on my stomach, looking under the cars, trash cans and other stuff in the alleys. It’s not easy to see anything with so little light, but since the change was pretty gradual, my eyes are used to it well enough.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary, no movements, no lights that aren’t supposed to be there.
Then, as I slowly breathe, making as little sound as possible, I hear voices, murmuring, on the other side of the alley.
Bingo.
I crawl back two cars, finding Caleb waiting for me there, and I point to the other side of the alley. He nods, taking his gun and holding it as relaxed as possible.
Without waiting for more, I slide between two cars and cross the street as quickly and as quietly as possible. If the people from the Hearts spot me, I know Caleb has my back. And, if not, more fun for me.
I’m almost across the street when my luck seems to run out and there’s a commotion coming from the van with the Hearts in it.
Well, it was getting too good to be true.
Caleb shoots in their direction, not at them, but in the wall above them, which seems to make them less inclined to try and get a look at me. Better for me.
I manage to get between two vans on the other side of the alley when Derrick’s voice comes over the earpiece.
“We just heard shots. What’s going on?”
While I’d love to reply, I don’t want to give away my location, so I simply sneak forward, not able to suppress my grin.
When nobody else answers, Miles speaks up, sounding sheepish. “That must be Vera and Caleb. They’re coming your way.”
“Fuck. Of course.” Derrick lets out a deep groan. “We’ll talk about this later.”
I pull a silly face to try and get the grin from my face, as I’m now so close to the Hearts that I need to be really careful.
They’re inside the second van from the crossing, I can see the open side door from here, and they seem to be trying to decide what to do next.
I take deep breaths, slowing my heart rate and increasing my focus.
Then Caleb kicks a can across the alley, making the Hearts people jump up, before Caleb starts shooting at the windows of the van.
Immediately, one of the people comes out, rushing in my direction, since that’s the only way that lets them stay in cover.
The moment the woman reaches me, I grab hold of her arm, making her spin around, before I grab onto her tighter and slit her throat. She lets out a few gargled breaths, before slumping down.
One down.
