Unwelcome

15

      

        My feet pitter patter against the sidewalk as I jog down the empty block. The cool night air kisses my cheeks, brushing my hair into my face as I hasten my jog. I shake my hair away from my face with my fingers gingerly brushing the now tender part of my face. My body aches at that small movement— it aches every where as my feet slap against the pavement, the pain sharpens each time my feet connect with the ground and I wince when my feet nearly impale themselves on a sharp rock on the floor.

I slow down once I get closer to my destination.

       My car is parked down the road I'm walking away from. The streetlight above it blankets it in soft yellow glow. The rest of the road is empty save for a car or two parked in corners with about a mountain of dust accumulated on top of them.

I glance behind me to check that no one is around and turn sharply.

Around the corner is exactly what I expect.

       Sure enough, the rickety building that's called 'CRAIG'S CARS' is surprisingly still standing. The crusty place that we call our HQ groans.

A gust of ice cold makes it shudder and I narrowly avoid a piece of wood that falls alarmingly close to my head.

I make a mental note to find a better place or relocate our HQ.

While I make my way to the entrance I slowly pull out the slightly blood smeared files from my coat. The fresh scent of blood hits me when I peel the files away from the plastic folder.

        I hastily wipe it away with the sleeve of my coat and turn around.

Phil stands there alert. Unlike the guard from Blacks building an hour ago his back is ramrod straight as he stares broodily at his surroundings.

He nods up to me in greeting before retreating into the shadows again.

The office is suffocatingly dark, the empty seats. But I know that merely hours before, those same seats would have been occupied by Ian and some of the others from our team.

The lights flicker on when I walk in and head straight for the private room in the back. The door is hidden between two walls making it look as if its non-existent. My fingerprint unlocks the metal door.

          When I open the door I'm hit with the smell of old papers, ink and jumpers for some reason. In the corner the cupboard filled with files is backed up against the wall and a cute looking vault stands next to it. The dull lights shine against the metal as I get close to vault and squat down to peer at the vault.

I tap in the code that JJ created and stuff the files in for later analysis. Now is not the time to study stolen files.

Now I had to get back to the house before the Da Silvas caught me sneaking out of it.

I let the sigh that's been building in my throat loose and slam the vault shut. The sound of metal against metal reverberates in the room for a second before letting the silence bank back in.

       

      

       The bright lights of the outer walls of the mansions in this neighborhood nearly drowns me in white. I duck my head deeper into my hoodie to cover my face moving my hair into the gaps where the hoodie can't cover me.

Just in case.

My body throbs in pain as I hasten my walk. Its nearly 3 am now. Riano wakes up at 4:30 am to go on jogs. So if I bump into him on my way in. I might as well dig my grave now.