Grace Feckterhight

Chapter Fifteen

I narrowed my eyes at the building. It was taller and older than the last mission, and it appeared to have three floors. The sounds of production filtered through the cracked walls, and softly echoed to the street. Each of the windows seemed to have sheets draped over them, probably to hide what was happening inside from the public. They were somewhat ineffective, as I could still see some dark shapes moving inside. Some looked like men, but others looked like machines.

Signs of movement heightened my senses, and my mind was on high alert. My eyes darted between the moving shapes on each of the different floors, and I subconsciously took in each of the different light sources and sounds throughout the block. I was focused, and I had to stay that way if we were going to make it out of here alive. I was expecting the strongest operation, since this mission was in a larger building and had not yet been taken down by B.L.A.D.E.

Braz sat beside me, observing and analyzing the building just as I was. "Plan?"

"I can't make one until I see the inside. Where's Silvsley?"

"He's coming."

The low rumble of his car's engine was approaching from behind us. Dix and I turned and watched him arrive, the black car slowly pulling up as to not draw attention. He parked a ways down the street, in case we had to.. detonate the premises. Silvsley's grenades would be invaluable if we needed to go to the extremes.

"Perfect." I kept my eyes on him as he got out of his car and made his way to our crouched shapes. I gestured over to him, and Dix understood. Together we dropped into the alleyway between the building we were on and the next, the one next to the street. We stepped out and watched Silvsley walk towards us from down the street.

Once he got to us, he started speaking. "Is that far enough away?"
"Yes. You have all your weapons?"
"Yes."

"Are you nervous?" I asked him.

"Kinda." He looked down, a little embarrassed.

Dixter laughed. "You'll be fine. Keep your head in the game, and use your weapons at the right time. It's gonna be alright."

I nodded, my mind on other things. "Yeah. Let's move."

The three of us turned the corner, and looked at the building from street level. Silvsley came up from behind me. "Woah."

After a moment of observation, Silvsley spoke again. "How do we get in?"

"Usually the air vents, or a side door. I have to get a view of the roof," I said, my eyes unwavering. I began to quiet my voice, now that we were closer to the building. "But we have to remain undetected."

"Okay," Silvsley nodded, and Dix followed.

I made a hand signal to tell them "follow me," and turned the corner. The building housing the windsword operation had a chainlink fence surrounding the perimeter. We quietly made our way around to the back, which didn't have any streetlights to illuminate it. We were shrouded in darkness behind the building, behind the metal fencing.

I jumped the fence as discreetly as possible, but it was hard. The clinking of the metal was loud enough to make me cringe, but the two boys' less-than-smooth movements made me cringe harder. At least now they were over the fence.

As the sounds of the fence resonated throughout the alleyways around us, my eyes darted around the windows of the establishment to check for any reaction. No one seemed to bat an eye at the sound.

I released the breath I'd been holding, and jerked my head to signal that we could keep going. After the chain link fence, there were some crates in piles all around us. I assumed they were filled with sword-making materials or windsword parts, or shipments of the final product. There was another thing in our way: a shipping truck, parked right next to the back wall. I kept my eyes on the prize: A metal box that was well within grappling distance. It was perfectly in view from where we were on the ground.