Silver (On Hold)

Chapter 4: Back to the Present

3 years later

Somewhere in New York

I sat in silence on the rickety chair. The blood suckers pinned my hands behind me. The side of my jaw was swelling. How they got their filthy hands on silver knuckles without dying, I'll never know. My burns, cuts, and bruises are screaming in pain. Their methods are mediocre though, so I never even flinched. No one has ever caught me before without me allowing it. Everyone is just too blinded by pride to realize it. Idiots, Sakura grumbled. How to get out?

I stepped forward and put my chin to my knee. My bound hands slipped over the back of the chair. I stood as best I could do on my bare feet that were tied to the chair. I leaned back and sat on my forearms. The straight knife was strapped to my side. My thumb pushed it out so it slid down out of the holder and out of the pant leg of my shorts that used to be pants before they cut the legs off. My good jeans too...

I opened the knife at an angle and cut the rope around my hands then whacked off the rope binding my ankles. The door to the poorly lit room wasn't even locked. Idiots, Sakura said again. I agreed. The concrete hallway was empty. I went left following the map Ivy and Jade made me memorize. Ivy didn't want me to get more than 400 stitches. Again. Jade didn't want the were she saved to die. Jezebelle and Astrid didn't want me to go out at all. Mary and Vivian wanted to come with me, but Ivy said no because she didn't want them to kill each other. Mary and Vivi fought a lot. Get the job done and come home. Sakura reminded me.

Right. The job. Get in. Grab it. Get out. Survive. Sounds easy right? That's cause it is. For me anyway. I jogged passed several doors before stopping in front of an unusually ornate one. In a sea of grey steel doors the glossy wooden one stood out like a vegan at a Texas BBQ. Sadly it was locked. Astrid tried to get me to bring a lock pick set, but I knew an easier way.

I pulled a screwdriver out of my thigh holster. It was small, but it would do. I unscrewed the steel plate of the door and turned it to the side, exposing the gears that make the lock function. I found the gear that holds the deadbolt place and tampered with it a bit. I slid the plate over the gears and put the screws back in place. The door open like a charm. Do charms open? Sakura asked. I giggled and walked in to the lavish office. I passed the antique desk with a brand new computer and chair to the Picasso. I remove the probably real and stolen painting, revealing a safe. Lacks imagination, Sakura grumbled.

I slammed my fist into the locked door. Hope it doesn't drop, Sakura said. The door was seriously dented now and unlocked. I grabbed it with my bloodied hand and threw it across the room. Inside were to flash drives. Dammit, Sakura hissed. Which one do we grab? I snatched both. Returning my screwdriver to my holder, I turned to leave and saw that the safe door had gone through the wooden door and buried itself into the gray concrete wall. I walked out into the hall and started sprinting. Then the alarm went off. Well shit. I tapped into Jade speed.

Doors flashed by me. I heard boots pounding in the halls. Turn left, Sakura murmured. I did as she asked. That door. Then get the air vent. I tried the knob and found it locked. I used the key that always worked. The door normally would have taken two kicks, but with Jade's added strength it crumpled like paper in one. I grabbed the vent cover and ripped it off then crawled inside. I heard swearing in different languages. Well, it sounded like swearing.

Five minutes and a few turns later, I hit another cover. I opened it quietly as possible. On my left was a set of stairs. Convenient, Sakura murmured. Left to the top of the stairs was the front door. Extra convenient. I walked out the front door, took off my holster, and shifted. My silver fur was glowing eerily in the moonlight, even when it was covered in some dried blood. I broke into a run after grabbing the holster. After two hours of running, the last of my adrenaline wore off. Everything hurt. I had a hit clearing. I glanced around. Looks ok, Sakura said. I turned into a human, took out my straight razor, and cut my palm. I pressed it into the soft earth and heard a snick sound. Vivian's head poked out of the portal that had just appeared.