Page 3
Shortly after Raven saw the short
dark grey figure of Merxes running toward the stairs. He entered an exit
and came out again a few minutes later on a lower level. Again he crossed
the floor taking another staircase down to the next level.
Meanwhile Raven was scanning the screens, hoping to see a glimpse of the
thief. Suddenly he saw him. The elevators on the first floor opened and
out stepped the criminal. He advanced toward the reception desk were Raven
was keeping an eye on everything, armed with an automated weapon, an uzi
if he took a guess on the low screen resolution. He'd be dead within
seconds if he showed himself. Doing the only thing he could do, Raven
whispered: "He's down here." and changed into his other form. A
dark raven flew to the ceiling and hid in the shadows.
Ivana stepped out of the elevator.
The research building had 19 stories, the top most the one that she had
been stealing from. Carefully she felt the heavy package on her back. She
hoped the prototype could handle a few shocks. Ivana knew there'd be
someone at the desk. Someone to check the camera's and coordinate the
operation, and if they hadn't changed there modus operandi since they had
caught her, that someone would be Raven.
She pulled off her mask and drew her uzi. She wanted to look him in the eye
when she killed him. She wanted him to know who she was. She stormed into
the reception area and realised no-one was in plain sight. Someone could be
behind the desk, but that wasn't like Raven. Last time he had stopped her
escape firmly by pointing a gun at her and shooting the hat from her head.
The man was dangerous.
Carefully she checked behind the desk, thinking he really might have
changed or maybe even died since he had put her away. No-one was behind
the desk. Raven had probably left his post to go check on his two
teammates. Highly unusual, but they had been both woman, men always lost
their heads around beautiful women, at least all the men she had known had
changed fast enough.
Quickly Ivana grabbed the security tape from the recorder and left running
as she threw it in her bag with the prototype. She put back on her mask as
she left and wondered how she could destroy the security tape fast enough
to not annoy her contractor.
Merxes opened the door of the
staircase at the first floor. He ran toward the reception desk, barely
stopping long enough to consider a tactic. He had his gun, he could aim.
That was his plan. Shoot the bad guy in the leg.
"Raven!" Merxes yelled, his brown eyes flinched together to aim
faster.
"Here!" Raven yelled.
Merxes looked around and finally his eyes locked on a metal closet. It
only took him 2 seconds to get to the closet and flung the door open.
Inside Merxes saw Raven squashed between two compartments of the closet.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Hiding. When someone races in with an uzi I'm glad to be a
coward." Raven said climbing out of the closet.
"Why didn't you shoot him?"
"Because they would have come back. The thief was hired. And more…
She…"
"She?" Merxes interrupted.
"Remember Ivana Rickall?"
"The cute blonde?"
"Yeah, figures you'd remember her like that."
Outside an ambulance arrived, lights flickering blue as a team of medics
rushed out. They stopped briefly at the reception desk where Raven and
Merxes directed them to the top floor where Ilandra and Ovi waited.
"Rookie did good." Raven said as they followed the rescue team
with their eyes.
"He didn't even get to the action." Merxes remarked.
"He kept his cool and called an ambulance while we were
talking."
"You've got a point."
Lantessama
Isle
Cy
DragonStake - Darkling
Dawn
Credits:
Backgrounds compiled with images found on Google