by Sara Schoen
“You sedated me again?” I asked with sleep still heavy in my voice, but quickly getting replaced with anger. “What was in those pills?” They were probably sleeping pills this time, since I vowed to myself to never let them near me with what I assumed was chloroform from their first kidnapping. I could still smell the acetone every time I took in a deep breath.
“I had to, you know how you are in car rides,” Damon responded as he handed me my bags. “Now, follow Whiplash and then get changed. We need to be ready to move in less than thirty minutes if we want to be there before night fall.”
“How could you do that to me?” I asked as Demon pushed me to follow Whiplash. I groaned as I wobbled my way after Whiplash and up the stairs. I took it a step at a time until the fog cleared from my head and I got to the door that Whiplash was waiting outside of without any help. “You could have helped me.”
“I'm not the one that sedated you,” he said curtly. “This is yours and Spit Fire's room, next door is mine, Demon's, and Raider’s room. Go get changed and be ready in five. We have a few more things to go over before we leave,” he said before walking into his room and leaving me alone to explore mine.
It was a very simple hotel room, with two beds, a bathroom, and a small table for us to eat at. It doesn't even have a television or a radio, I thought as I placed the bags on one of the beds. The room looked empty without all the appliances that were usually in hotel rooms. It was depressing in a way by how empty it felt until Spit Fire walked into the room with a bright smile.
“What made you so happy?” I asked curiously.
“I punched Raider in the stomach and watched him crumple over like a leaf,” she said with a smile as she walked over and plopped onto the next bed.
“Sounds great,” I said, trying to share in her enjoyment, but it made me curious what Raider did to make her so angry at him. “Are you going to change?” I asked, changing the topic so I wouldn't stick my foot in my mouth and upset her.
“Just going to change my shirt, how about you take the bathroom and I will just change quickly?”
“Deal,” I said as I pulled the mission outfit and walked to the bathroom. I quickly changed clothes as knocks rapped on our main door, knowing that I was running out of time and didn't want to upset the team by being late. I donned a three-quarter inch sleeve black shirt, black straight jeans with more pockets than cargo pants, and the black and white Converses. I pulled my hair into a tighter ponytail before I left the bathroom in a rush. The team had made themselves comfortable in our room, and I almost ran into Demon, who had been standing outside the bathroom door.
“I need you to pick a code name, we don't want real names slipping out and risking more lives than needed,” Demon said as I walked out of the bathroom. I glanced around the room to see Raider sitting on the heating and air conditioning unit, Whiplash sitting on the table, and Spit Fire sitting on her bed. I looked to Spit Fire, who just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. It was a good thing Spit Fire had suggested that I use the restroom, otherwise my entire team would have come in while I was changing. “Pick a name, Sara. It can be any name.”
I thought for a moment, trying to remember why I did this. I chose this life to safe others from what happened to me, and to save my new family from the pain of my life. I sighed heavily as I sat next to Demon, every time I thought of that night or the Rickers I remembered that lightning was a constant comfort to me. It would represent my new life, the change in course and my family, both new and old. “I pick Night Stripe,” I said with a smile.
“What the hell is that?” Raider said in such a rude tone it almost sounded as if I insulted him with the name I had chosen.
“It's like lightning, the only light on a dark and stormy night. Quicker than the blink of an eye, strong, and deadly. You should know how that feels since you've fought me before,” I replied with a smirk.
Raider was about to speak when Demon interrupted, “Go get ready for the mission, we leave in ten. I don't want to hear a word out of you until we have left this motel.” Raider grunted before he turned on a heel and walked out of the room. “As for you, I need you to pay attention,” he said as he pulled out a folder from his backpack. “This is a photo of the encampment, this red line is how I want you to go through. You're going to this building,” he said, pointing to the one circled in red. I nodded to let him know that I was listening and that he could continue. “You're going to get files, as many as you can carry or take photos of that are relevant to what we need. You can't take all of them, but if you feel like you're running out of time, get out. All you do is get in, get the files, and get out! That is all!” he said. “Do not put yourself in danger, just get what we need and get out. I'm not losing more people to this.”
“Demon,” I said, gaining his attention. “I'm ready.”
“Good, because it's time to move out. Time for you to shine, Night Stripe,” Demon said with a smile as he ushered me out of the room and bid me good luck on my first mission. “Let's get Raider and move out. We'll be back before the night is over.”
Chapter 17
We stood on a rooftop of a convenience store a few blocks away from the compound. From what I could see, there wasn’t much activity on the grounds and the few lights the place had were starting to extinguish. Soon the whole place was thrown into darkness with only a few spots remaining lit in the late hours of the night. Spit Fire and Raider had been sent out on reconnaissance to determine what the best route was for me to take, and provide any intelligence they had gathered. I hoped that they could put their argument on the back burner so that we could get through this mission alive, but I wasn’t sure that was possible between them.
Their fight had been in hushed tones, at times stopped completely when I was around. I knew they were talking about me, and if I had to venture a guess I would say it was about how successful I would be on this mission. I felt my heart ache slightly as my chest tightened and made it difficult to breathe. My nerves were starting to get to me, but I tried to shake them loose and focus. I didn't want to think about what would happen if they started to argue during the mission. I shuddered at the thoughts of me getting captured and killed just as Demon tapped my shoulder to get my attention.
“There are only be a few more moments before Raider and Spit Fire will be back with the all clear to go,” Demon whispered to me. He must have caught onto my uneasiness. There was worry in his eyes, not just for me right now, but for when I left to gather the files. It was dangerous, that was becoming crystal clear the longer my nerves were allowed to set in. There was a growing fear in his eyes when I didn’t answer right away, I was making him anxious.
I nodded to tell him that I heard him, he returned the gesture and went back to his position to let me prepare, but my mind soon went back to Spit Fire and Raider. They had been sent ahead to scope out the encampment together since I was still under trained and wouldn’t know what to look out for when looking around the compound for the first time. They were determining guard schedules, positions of other members, locations of the important members of the cartel, and scoping out the route I was taking to make sure it could be done. I was told that the job they were on was typically done by a thief or someone trained in stealth to lower the risk of being seen and found out before they went in. When I was trained properly and with more time, I was informed that the job would fall on me, the team would rely on what information I had gathered from the reconnaissance. It was a lot of pressure to be under, even now I was nervous about the responsibility on my shoulders.
I took a deep breath to calm myself as I let the silence of the night relax my nerves and ease my mind. Demon and I glanced over at each other, trying to figure out what the other was thinking. I could guess that he was thinking about me, hoping that I would be safe and make it out alive. Whereas Demon would have no problem guessing what I was thinking. My thoughts were typically written all over my face, and I was unable to hide what I was thinking because of it. I was expressive i
n facial features, and without knowing I would react and let my thoughts reflect in my face. It was only a pain when I tried to lie about something, especially if someone asked if apparel looked good on them or when they made rude remarks.
There were sudden footfalls behind me that forced me out of my mental reverie. Whiplash landed on the roof with us, finishing his exploration of the small neighborhood, and positioned himself between Demon’s and my position. He had gone to make sure that all the stores around us were closed, that there were no citizens out in the night, and that nothing was around to catch us off guard or alert the cartel that we were nearby.
“The neighborhood is quiet,” Whiplash said as he moved to take a position next to Demon. “They have no idea what is coming.”
“Or maybe they do,” Demon interjected. “This isn't a great part of town. They may not even be surprised by the news of it tomorrow.”
While I had grown up in Virginia, about two hours away from Sandtown, I had never heard of it. I had heard of Baltimore, obviously, but because my father had tried his best to keep me out of areas he determined to be unsafe and dangerous I didn't even know this town existed prior to this weekend. I had been sheltered from these areas for many reasons, but the main factor that my mother had brought up on a constant basis was that I was naïve and far too trusting, and people would abuse that.
It really was for the best that they had kept me out of these areas, and that I hadn't heard of this town before now because otherwise I may have chickened out. If I knew the rumors and the events of the area that surrounded me I would have been terrified to come here. It seemed that even my teammates and the agency were timid about being here. Our motel was about half an hour away from here, there was nothing close to this town for us once we completed the mission and I had a feeling it was because they didn't want to risk staying here overnight, in fear we were discovered or followed.
“It's quiet,” Raider reported as he leapt to our roof top. I hadn't even heard him coming, nor heard him come onto the roof before he spoke. I turned to see Spit Fire followed closely behind him, her footsteps just as silent as Raider's had been. No sound as the bottom of her tennis shoes slapped onto the roof. It was as if she was a ghost, you could see her, but never hear her.
“They are busy packing in a different building,” Spit Fire added to the report as she came to Raider's side. All the tension and anger from their earlier argument seemed to be gone. Thankfully, they must have pushed it aside to remain professional and focused on the mission.
“It should be an easy trip for her,” Raider said, giving me a sideways glance quickly followed by an over exaggerated eye roll, as if I was a complete waste of his time. When was he going to push his negative thoughts about me away for this mission, I asked myself as Raider continued his report. “We will take our posts as soon as we show her to your instructed drop off, Demon.” Demon nodded to show that he heard and understood, which allowed Raider to give an order to Spit Fire, “Spit Fire, please handle the rookie,” he said as he turned and leapt across the rooftops again.
“He's still trying to forget that I beat him, isn't he?” I asked jokingly, hoping to bring some ease of mind for a moment to those around me. I heard Spit Fire and Demon chuckle, I even got a laugh when I looked over my shoulder at Raider, who was glaring back at me to let me know that he heard my comment. I smiled as I caught the deep glare in his eyes, which told me that he wasn't pleased with me. I offered him a friendly wave, letting him know that I wasn't going to be intimidated by him and that I had no shame in knowing he heard my comment or was wishing me dead right now. Spit Fire let out a strangled laugh when she saw Raider's angry expression, but covered her mouth to control the sound from coming out. She was about to speak to me when Demon grabbed my hand to pull me into him.
I bit my tongue to prevent a shriek of shock as I collided into Demon's chest. It reminded me of running into a car door when I was a little girl or a door frame that I managed to hit every morning on my way out of the house: solid, unmoved, and unaffected by me when I ran into it. I glanced up to look Demon in his steady gaze, letting me know just how serious this conversation was going to be and that time for jokes was over.
“Remember what I taught you and take your time. You'll need to take the time to blend in with the shadows so you aren't seen and so you can move more freely. You have to move with them or you will be seen,” he warned. “This isn't the same thing you've seen in movies or television shows. This is real life, and every choice you make will affect you and this team directly. I need you to be in this and focus on being quiet and fast. Just be careful, please,” he begged. Even if the fear and worry weren't prevalent in his tone, the added please would have been a giveaway.
He was worried about me and fearful of what would happen while we were separated and he couldn't be there to protect me. He had to rely on others to do what he had done for years, and it wasn't suiting him well.
I wanted to say something that would ease his mind, but I didn't know what to say. He had been with me for years, protected me from everything, including myself, and now he had to rely on me to stay out of trouble and others to get me out of it in case I needed it. There was nothing I could do to make this transition easier for him, I just hoped that I could make him proud of me for successfully doing this job.
I didn't want to let him or myself down.
“I got it, relax, Demon I can do this. You wouldn't have recruited me otherwise, and Sharp Shooter wouldn't have helped train me if he didn't think I was able to do this job,” I said as I gave him a hug, whether to comfort him or myself I wasn't really sure. I let go and offered him a gentle smile, to which he grabbed my hands and offered me a moment to collect my thoughts. I took another deep breath before I turned and attempted to leave, but he tightened his grip on my arm and held me in my spot.
“Get in and get out, I'm not losing more people from this group.” Demon growled, letting the words emanate deep from his chest. “I need you to come back alive, even if it means without the information. We can find them again, and we can stop them, but I can't replace your life. I can't lose you too, please just be safe and find a way to make it out of there alive if I can't get to you in time.”
His begging tone had shocked me, but what got to me the most was the tears in his eyes. I stepped closer to look him in the eyes, only to notice that for the first time since I had known him, he was about to cry. I had never known Demon to cry and it made me feel awful for causing it. I wished that I could say something to make him feel better, but the only thing I could do was to promise to try my hardest.
“I understand, Demon. Don't worry, I will be fine,” I said as I hugged him for comfort again before turning to meet Spit Fire. She nodded to me and offered me a reassuring smile for the first time today. It was to let me know that she was understanding that this was hard on me, but also to let me know that she would be here for me so I had nothing to worry about. There was one more leap to take before getting dirty in the mission. I took Spit Fire's hand and we jumped from rooftop to rooftop, racing toward the compound, and hopefully not to my death.
Chapter 18
Spit Fire led me through the neighborhood via rooftops and back alleyways until we made it about it block away from the compound, where Demon’s route started. “It's all you from here on out,” Spit Fire said as she came to a full stop and scanned the area briefly before she turned to me again. “You're going to slide under that fence and follow the route Demon gave you. To do that, all you have to do is take a running start and slide straight under like you see girls do in softball.”
“I never played softball,” I said, confused on how to slide without hurting myself. I had seen some pretty bad injuries from girls landing wrong or having inappropriate footing. That would not be the best way to start off this mission.
“That doesn't matter, it was an example. Just fall backward, and don’t twist your foot.” I offered a look that asked, how the hell I was supposed to manage that, bu
t only got yelled at in return. “Just go!” Spit Fire ordered as she pushed me out into the open to fend for myself. “Raider and I will be in separate parts of the compound in case you need us. Just call out if anything goes amiss, but if you can, just slip out and make it as if we were never here.”
“I can do that,” I said with a nod as I took in a deep breath, hoping to relax my nerves a bit before I left. “Anything else?”
“I need you to relax, and remember Demon's advice and training along with Rum's as well. You can put it to great use if you just take the time to relax and ease into it. This is so much easier than you're thinking about, and I know it's difficult because you don’t have an actual thief to train you, but it will work out. You'll learn from experience and it will help you grow.”
“I will do my best, Spit Fire. Was your first mission easy?” I asked, getting a laugh from her to tell me that she found it to be a joke. I guess hers was just as difficult or worse compared to what I was doing tonight.
“I can only ask you to do your best,” she said, completely skipping over my question. “Now go, I will see you soon and that's a promise. If you need me, I’ll be around here and I’ll help you.” She turned and took off to wherever Demon and Whiplash had her set up for the mission. She would be waiting somewhere in the shadows in case I ran into trouble, and Raider would be waiting to cause trouble of his own for when I needed an escape.
Once she fully disappeared into the shadows, I took a deep breath to relax myself and to focus because I couldn't turn back. Without another moment of hesitation I took a running start toward the gate. My feet pounded the ground as I raced toward the compound. There was a sinking feeling as I got closer to the fence. There had to be a way to slide under the gate so I wouldn't injure myself, but I didn't have time to think about it. I had to react, and just learn from experience as Spit Fire said. I rolled onto my back causing dirt to fly up around me as I slid swiftly under the gate. It seemed to happen for me in slow motion while I barely managed to flatten myself enough to not scrape the fence’s edges. The sharp points could easily do more than just give me a cut or poke an eye out.