Project Perses: Redemption

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Four

I had warned Li that she would see some freaky shit.  She’s probably wishing she’d listened right now, but this isn’t the time or the place for reassessing one’s ability to handle the absurd.   All things considered, she’s been handling things pretty well so far. Hell,  I think she was handling things better than me.

We had left Mitchell, Teddy and Warner on the eighth floor of the building across the street.  It just happened to be the very same building Li and I had done reconnaissance in a few days prior.  Teddy and Warner were well coordinated, having their laptops and other equipment setup in a matter of minutes.  It took longer for them to get a Wi-Fi connection than it did to hack their way into the Ministry’s systems and start the process of shutting them down.  The ease with which they completed their tasks surprised me.  When the lights for the whole block went out, they switched to auxiliary batteries and kept up their assault. 

Our activities were already raising red flags over there.  Li and I waited patiently by the windows, watching as darkness descended and the men positioned at the front doors started to get nervous.  Their head swiveled from side to side, taking in the shadows around them, while they attempted in vain to radio in to their comrades.  According to Warner, all they would get is static. We were to also maintain radio silence until we were ready to exit, or in case of emergency to prevent any interception of our communications. When the fire alarms started going off in the building, it was then that Mitchell gave us the go ahead.   The hacked alarms provided the perfect cover.

We raced up the stairs and burst out onto the frozen rooftop, the frigid night air turning our breath to steam.  Li had turned to me then.  “Ready?”

I nodded in response, and in unison, we approached the edge and looked down.  The men below were so focused on the street they never once looked up.  They usually never do.  Li whipped out the modified crossbow and aimed it across the expanse.  The large metal arrow whizzed through the air as she pulled the trigger, a long length of nylon rope trailing out behind it from the bag at her feet.  It impacted the wall next to the roof entry with a ‘thunk’.  She anchored her crossbow to the wall where we were lurking and pulled in the excess length until the rope was taut.

“How much weight can that line take?” I asked her, eying it suspiciously.  I had known that was her plan, but after looking at the thickness of the rope, I wasn’t so sure it was a good plan.

My question surprised her, because she stopped for a second to look up at me, probably figuring I was getting cold feet.  “Certified for up to two hundred pounds, why?”

I grimaced and shook my head.  “I’ll be finding my own way over.” I stood then and pulled my mask over my face, the tracking screens immediately turning on as soon as it was in place.

Li looked at me in confusion.  I was kind of embarrassed to look into her eyes when she said, “You’re freaking serious?”  Her eyes traveled my body, making me really uncomfortable.

I shrugged.  “I weigh more than the limit of that rope, and don’t ask.”

Her return to a standing position was slow, a look of total disbelief in her eyes.  “You’ll explain that later.”  She glanced over.  “How are you going-”

She didn’t get a chance to finish.  I had already turned away from her and jogged back over to the center of the roof.  As soon as I felt I had enough room, I took off at a flat run, straight towards the edge of the roof.  I caught Li’s face out of the corner of my eye as my foot planted on the concrete ledge and I catapulted myself off of it, soaring up and over the expanse below.  Over the four lane street I flew with its parked cars, trees and security men milling about, until seconds later, the Ministry’s roof was directly below me.  As I landed and rolled, Li had followed, her body zipping through the air on her rope.