Geometry

Chapter 16

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The buzz of an Immortal close by got stronger as Marina and Diefenbaker worked their way along the back of the warehouse, hunting for a way in. Whoever was inside had to have felt her by now, Mina's sensing range was long but she was well within the range of any Immortal at this point.

When they found a loading dock along the back, two big rusty rolling doors chained shut with a suspiciously new and shiny padlock, Mina flicked a glance up and down the alley, checking for anyone watching behind the old oil drums, reeking overflowing dumpsters and half-rotted wooden shipping pallets piled haphazardly against the filthy cinderblock walls. Nothing.

Marina unholstered her Sig; pulled a silencer from an inside pocket, screwed it onto the barrel and with two quick shots blew the lock off. The thunk the lock made as it hit the concrete of the loading dock was louder than the two silenced shots were- damn, she loved Archangel's gear, it didn't come any better! She kicked the broken lock off the edge of the dock and it dropped out of sight in a clump of weeds and trash.

Shoving the left hand door open just enough to let Dief slip through, she squeezed in after him and left it ajar in case they needed to beat a hasty retreat. The rusty old door made no noise as it slid open, which sent a prickling awareness of suspicion along her already heightened nerves. A building this old and neglected shouldn't have freshly-greased rolling hinges on its back door.

Mina reached down and tangled her fingers in Diefenbaker's ruff, and the wolf looked up at her.

"Stay out of sight, lovemate," she murmured. "As long as it's a fair fight, don't show yourself, but if it's a trap, I may need your help."

Diefenbaker growled his understanding and gripped her wrist in his jaws. He would be close if she needed him. Always.

His answer made Mina smile fondly and brush her fingertips over his lower jaw. "Now that I've found you, I'll always need you," she whispered.

Dief huffed a satisfied ruff and let go, slipping behind a pile of crates and out of sight.

Marina took a deep, steadying breath, holstered the Sig and slid her katana from its sheath, leaned her head sharply left, then right, cracking her neck twice and feeling the tension leave her spine as it realigned. Holding the sword deliberately out of line for an attack, she turned in the direction the pull of the other Immortal was strongest, and moved forward.

The warehouse was conspicuously silent as Mina picked her way down the center aisle of the main loading floor, careful not to make a sound. Wide plank floors were dusty with a thick mostly undisturbed layer of city grit and grime and the air smelled stale, tinged with the faint stink of rat urine and old lubricating oil. What dim light filtered through the filthy windows high above left any corner or alcove shrouded in shadow, and the empty shipping crates rusting in rows on the main floor provided endless opportunities for an ambush.

Marina followed the strange Immortal's hum all the way to the front of the warehouse. Unlike the rest of the warehouse, the street-side loading bay was bare of crates and long chains hung down from winches on the ceiling, casting dim stripes of shadow on the dusty concrete floor. The front left corner of the main floor was enclosed into an office space, about twenty feet by thirty, and had a iron staircase running up the side to an observation deck above the office. Probably the warehouse manager's office, Mina thought, he could supervise the loading and unloading of cargo on the whole main floor from that observation deck. The windows into the office were less filthy than the ones outside, and when Mina caught movement from inside she stepped out into the empty space, still holding her sword out of line for an attack, and waited. She didn't have to wait long, the office door opened and a man stepped out.