by Jon Gerrard
* * *
In the right-hand aisle, red dots from the guards’ laser sights played along the floor and swept across the shelves as they checked for signs of their quarry. As they neared the middle of the aisle the team leader raised his fist, silently calling the group to a halt as he checked the area ahead. He had heard something.
Movement at the base of a shelf drew his attention. A plastic jug for a water cooler had been knocked from the shelf and lay on its side. Water gurgled from the open mouth of the bottle creating a gradually widening dark patch on the floor. He checked the area carefully but there was no other movement.
The leader opened his fist, holding his hand flat, and straightened his arm to point forward. His team resumed moving toward the front of the building.
“Shooting someone in the back isn’t very sporting,” a voice said quietly from somewhere above them.
The guards looked up. A shadowy form was sitting on the top shelf, partially concealed between a pair of large crates. Although they couldn’t see him clearly he seemed to be holding one hand extended toward the front of the room while his other hand pointed down at them.
Before any of them could react Danny drew power from the very EM field that had been erected around the door to block their powers. Lightning leapt from the sealed door to his hand then shot from his other fingertips down at the guards who were standing in the puddle. Blue-white bolts of electricity danced along the guards’ bodies. Their mouths dropped open in silent screams as they spasmed in the grip of the powerful current. The guards at the rear of the group sprang back and threw up their hands at the brilliance. A moment later the lightning ceased and the guards who had blundered into the puddle collapsed to the floor. Above them, the teen was gone.