Arachna

Chapter 13: A Pit in the Stomach, and a Bullet in the Chest

Lance's heart almost stopped as light banished the darkness and the first guard pointed his rifle at him. The other one drew his pistol on Derek.

Lance's breathing became rapid. He waited for the killing calm, but it didn't rear its head. Horror crept up his spine. Now it chooses to shut up?

"What are you two doing in here?" asked the guard with the rifle.

"We..." Lance started, but he couldn't think of anything with the gun pointed at him.

The calm stirred somewhat in his chest, but he tried to ignore it. If it had appeared seconds before, he could have taken them, but now the officers had the advantage.

Yet that stirring was persistent. It lingered and spoke to him, whispering for him to attack. If this went on much longer, he wasn't sure he would be able to resist. His body struggled against his mind, tensing and urging him to rush the men.

"I'm sorry," Derek said. "We'll just leave. But can you please put those weapons down? We're on the same side here."

The first guard lowered his pistol, and the other lowered his rifle. Lance tried to keep his sigh of relief quiet.

"Sorry," the rifleman said, turning his attention from Lance. "You just caught us off guard. But you still haven't answered my question. What are you two doing in here?"

Derek looked at Lance. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

Panic rose within Lance again, but as he stuttered, trying to come up with something, Derek inched within arm's reach of the pistol. Lance showed it no attention and said whatever came to his mind.

"I... I wanted to get a picture of the view outside the window. Seriously, have you looked out at the city from here? It's beautiful."

The guard with the pistol looked at the rifleman, who said, "You seriously snuck in here just so you could take a picture?"

Derek paused for a moment, a predator preparing to pounce. Then, in the blink of an eye, he ripped the pistol from the officer's grip and bashed his visor in.

Lance charged the guard that was already aiming his rifle at Derek and disarmed him, tackling him into the desk and slamming his head until the visor shattered and violet blood splashed onto the polished wood.

Relief swept through Lance. His body relaxed just slightly, as if releasing that bit of energy had tamed whatever beast lay within his gut.

Derek flipped the light switch, returning the room to darkness. Lance slipped out of the office with him and started to shut the door quietly. He turned to speak, but Derek stopped, turned around, and peeked into the room. He nodded at the two unconscious men on the floor, gesturing with his hand as if he was talking. Then he shut the door and muttered to Lance, "Act calm. If someone else is watching the cameras, they can't suspect anything."

"At this point, I think they already do," Lance said. "I wish we'd noticed the cameras."

"I didn't see any when we first stepped on this floor, and I don't now." Derek shook his head. "We're lucky. If either of them had managed to get so much as one shot off, these halls would be flooding with men right now."

They reached the elevator, and Lance summoned it with the press of a button. He stole a glance at the ceiling and walls. Just as Derek had said, no cameras were visible. Wherever they were, they were hidden well enough that even the professional ex-assassin hadn't noticed. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

"I guess," Lance said. "At least we have a lead now. I'm ready to get out of this place for good."

"Yeah, I wonder how Kaela's doing."