Into the Shadows

Chapter 1

Breath in, breath out, I repeated to myself in my head over and over again. You got one chance. Do not blow it. I took one last look over to my right and saw them in position. Breath in, breath out, breath in, and fire!

A shiver went through my entire body as the recoil of my rifle shoved me back an inch. I looked back through the scope and saw the target dead on the ground from the bullet I had put between his eyes. Everything was silent.

The team moved into position as soon as the man was dead. Their goal was to break into a very secure government facility to retrieve information on the government's patrols, tactics, and security. This was key to gaining a huge advantage over them and turning the tide of the war. We could finally hit them where it hurts instead of going after minor targets and points of interest.

The shadowy figures made their way inside of the building after taking out the guards with ease. I stay perched on top of a roof overlooking the entire building. They finally arrived in the security room to get what they needed. Everyone nodded and set their clocks to three minutes and the team in the building started copying all the information they could get.

In charge of making sure no one interrupted them, I looked down at the clock and saw two minutes. I mumbled to myself, "They need to be getting out of there real soon." I checked the perimeter to make sure no guards were nearby.

Another minute went by, but I still saw them in the room. I started to panic, wondering what was going on inside there. I decided to use my commlink in my helmet to get ahold of them. The crackling of static filled my ear and I winced at how loud it sounded. I realized I have no way of communicating with them. I could only see their heat signatures through my helmet, and they did not seem to be finished.

Thirty seconds, I need to warn them somehow. I fired a shot through the glass window, causing it to shatter to the floor.  The members inside turned their heads to see the broken glass. That seemed to get their attention. They looked down at their watch and started to scramble to the door. Finally, they started making their way to the top of the building and I took a big sigh of relief, "That was way too close for comfort."

I watched as they finally arrive at the roof. I took the rifle and fired a zip line across to the building they were on. It stuck right into the wall above them. I promptly secured the line and glanced down to the streets below. I really do not envy them having to climb across these buildings.

They latched on one at a time and started to walk across the wire. However, something captured my gaze for a split second. Lights from the floors below the roof started flashing and making their way up the staircase. What could that be? No alarms were tripped and everything went according to plan. 

I looked across the building to where my team is. Just then, the shrieking sound of the alarm started blaring throughout the entire building. Any second, there would be dozens of armed soldiers on top of the roof ready to shoot. Scratch that, everything did not go according to plan.

"Hurry!" My shouts echoed across as I grabbed the rifle and pointed to the door where the soldiers would be at any moment. I took in a deep breath and patiently waited for the door to burst open for what seemed like an eternity. No one came out the door to stop us. It was almost as if they had completely abandoned the entire building. I started to scan for heat signatures through her helmet but came up empty. No sign of any life inside. 

What the hell is going on? I could not help but wonder where all the guards are. The alarms continued to sound off and the team should be getting shot at by now. Something was not right, I could feel it. I looked back over to the others crossing the wire. One wrong step meant falling hundreds of feet to certain death.