Blade of a Broken Glass

Chapter 1

I'm sitting at the end of a run down public bus, staring into open nothingness. I'm repeatedly going over every detail of what I'm about to do in my mind, knowing well enough how important this night will be for both me and my family.

The bus comes to a slow stop and I know the time has come. I stand up and walk out the empty bus as the driver speaks through the speakers, informing no one that this is the last stop.

After the bus departs, I look both ways down the empty street, ensuring I'm alone. I glance through every window, rooftop and corner in sight to guarantee no one is near. I don't find anything to suggest suspicion so I cross the street, using the moon as my light.

I enter an alley way between an apartment building and a tall skyscraper with the words 'Bartson Inc.' in big red letters on the rooftop. I sprint to the end of the alleyway, pushing myself off the wall with one foot and grabbing ahold of the fire escape stairway 7 feet above the ground. I climb up the stairs to the top floor and look up to the rooftop, where I need to be. I look to the left where I see a window sill and plan my next move. I take two steps back and take a deep breath in. I start running, raising my right foot onto the railing and pushing off, leaping towards the small platform.

My feet being too big to stand firmly on cause me to lose my balance almost immediately. I fall back and for a brief moment, I feel my heart stop beating. My hand reactively reaches for the window sill, holding on for dear life. I pull myself up and slowly stand. My heart is racing and my fingers become sweaty. I decide I need to keep going so I jump up and place my feet and hands against the walls, holding me up. I climb as high as I can, which is high enough for me to reach the rooftop edge. I pull my body up and climb over to safety.

After my heart slows down, I stand up and look across to the skyscraper seeming to be made entirely of glass. I pull out a gun from my holster and aim it towards the window one floor below me. I jump off towards the building and shoot at the window mid-air. I hit the window feet first and crash straight through.

I pull my black hoodie up as quick as possible and start running to the staircase. The alarm blares through the empty hallways, echoing out into New York City. I start the stopwatch on my watch as I enter the staircase and start speeding up the stairs to four floors above me.

I enter the hallway and look for the correct door. I spot the only metal steel door with no windows and what looks to be a very advanced security system almost immediately. I approach it and pull some explosives out of my back pocket. I activate it and stick it to the door. I turn around, take a few steps away from the door and plug my ears with my fingers. The explosion, being stronger than I anticipated, knocks me forward and shatters all the windows on the floor, exposing the hallway to the cold breeze of New York.

I stumble up and walk through the now empty doorway and see what I came all this way for. The moonlight shines on its zircon red surface. The small, octagon room fills with its hue as the light gets caught in the crystal.

I walk up to it slowly, knowing this is what I need to help out my family. I grab it, stuffing it in my right pocket and quickly exiting the room. I hear guards with dogs coming up from the stairs. Having already planned for this, I go to the ledge, stepping on pieces of broken glass. The guards reach my floor and try catching me but it's too late. I leap forward, trying to reach the rooftop I was on before. My heart speeds up as I fall 5 stories, the wind blows my hoodie off my head, and my feet prepare to break my fall. The moment I land, my body instinctively rolls forward. The guards and dogs stare down at me, not able to do anything as I keep running, not looking back. I disappear into the darkness, knowing the mission was a success.

After twenty minutes of walking, I finally reach my final destination. 'Joe's Pub' stands across the street from me, the lights shining through the green stain glass windows. The classic rock playing inside gets louder and louder as I cross the street. I walk in and everyone continues to do what they were doing. I walk to the back of the pub, nodding at the bartender as I passed him, and enter the small room leading to the basement. I knock on the door twice... Then once... Then five times. The door is unlocked and I open the door. I walk to the guy sitting at the end of the room sitting behind a big desk with his girl sitting on his lap. I take the crystal and sit it on his desk. He looks at it and taps his girlfriend as a way of saying give us a minute.

"Liam! Nice to see you made it in one piece!" he smirks and grabs the crystal, putting it in a drawer in his desk. He reaches under the desk in between his legs and grabs a brief case. I stand there and give a light smile as he places it on the desk and opens it, showing me the $10,000. I grab the suitcase with my left hand and shake his hand with my right.

"Pleasure doing business." I say and walk out of the pub. I head home to my apartment. I climb through the fire escape and silently open my window, not wanting to wake up my mom. I slide my closet door open and place the case in the back, concealing it with dirty clothes. I close the door softly and go into the hallway. I walk to my parents room and see my mom sleeping alone. I give her a soft kiss on her forehead and head back to my room. I take off my hoodie and shirt and change my shorts preparing to sleep. I hide my gun in my drawer and fall onto my bed, letting my body finally relax after a long night. After a few moments of resting my eyes, I pass out.