Suicide Mission (Guarded Secrets #1)

17: "I can't lose you too."

We stood on a rooftop of a convenience store a few blocks away from the compound. From what I could see, there wasn't much activity on the grounds and the few lights the place had were starting to extinguish. Soon the whole place was thrown into darkness with only a few spots remaining lit in the late hours of the night. Spit Fire and Raider had been sent out on reconnaissance to determine what the best route was for me to take, and provide any intelligence they had gathered. I hoped that they could put their argument on the back burner so that we could get through this mission alive, but I wasn't sure that was possible between them.

Their fight had been in hushed tones, at times stopped completely when I was around. I knew they were talking about me, and if I had to venture a guess I would say it was about how successful I would be on this mission. I felt my heart ache slightly as my chest tightened and made it difficult to breathe. My nerves were starting to get to me, but I tried to shake them loose and focus. I didn't want to think about what would happen if they started to argue during the mission. I shuddered at the thoughts of me getting captured and killed just as Demon tapped my shoulder to get my attention.

"There are only be a few more moments before Raider and Spit Fire will be back with the all clear to go," Demon whispered to me. He must have caught onto my uneasiness. There was worry in his eyes, not just for me right now, but for when I left to gather the files. It was dangerous, that was becoming crystal clear the longer my nerves were allowed to set in. There was a growing fear in his eyes when I didn't answer right away, I was making him anxious.

I nodded to tell him that I heard him, he returned the gesture and went back to his position to let me prepare, but my mind soon went back to Spit Fire and Raider. They had been sent ahead to scope out the encampment together since I was still under trained and wouldn't know what to look out for when looking around the compound for the first time. They were determining guard schedules, positions of other members, locations of the important members of the cartel, and scoping out the route I was taking to make sure it could be done. I was told that the job they were on was typically done by a thief or someone trained in stealth to lower the risk of being seen and found out before they went in. When I was trained properly and with more time, I was informed that the job would fall on me, the team would rely on what information I had gathered from the reconnaissance. It was a lot of pressure to be under, even now I was nervous about the responsibility on my shoulders.

I took a deep breath to calm myself as I let the silence of the night relax my nerves and ease my mind. Demon and I glanced over at each other, trying to figure out what the other was thinking. I could guess that he was thinking about me, hoping that I would be safe and make it out alive. Whereas Demon would have no problem guessing what I was thinking. My thoughts were typically written all over my face, and I was unable to hide what I was thinking because of it. I was expressive in facial features, and without knowing I would react and let my thoughts reflect in my face. It was only a pain when I tried to lie about something, especially if someone asked if apparel looked good on them or when they made rude remarks.

There were sudden footfalls behind me that forced me out of my mental reverie. Whiplash landed on the roof with us, finishing his exploration of the small neighborhood, and positioned himself between Demon's and my position. He had gone to make sure that all the stores around us were closed, that there were no citizens out in the night, and that nothing was around to catch us off guard or alert the cartel that we were nearby.

"The neighborhood is quiet," Whiplash said as he moved to take a position next to Demon. "They have no idea what is coming."

"Or maybe they do," Demon interjected. "This isn't a great part of town. They may not even be surprised by the news of it tomorrow."