Midnight, In the Storm [on temporary hiatus]

Four - Rooftop reminiscence

The clock struck eleven fifteen, the night sky was clear.

The patrols should begin in another fifteen minutes.

Sheathing a pair of twin daggers in her arm guards and checking that they were concealed under the sleeves of her black trenchcoat, Audree glided to the corner of her living room, staying low to keep her silhouette from being casted on the curtains.

She heaved a brown armchair aside, crouching and prying open a particular floorboard.

The simple jet-black handgun lay there, untouched atop a pile of varying gear - just as she'd left them when she'd first moved in a month back.

Picking up the firearm, she inspected it's condition, contemplating whether it'd be worth it to bring it along. The Glock 19 was the only gun she'd owned, also the fact that ammunition wasn't easily obtained in the small town being another disadvantage holding her back.

Only if I get in tight situations, she guaranteed herself, Audree nonchalantly picked up the gun, accustomed to the weight of it's cold grip in her palm. Fitting it in a leather holster, she secured the weapon around her slender waist. She reached back into the hole, going through the limited assortment of attachments and blades.

Finding what she needed, she grabbed the suppressor and fastened it to a slot by the gun.

She stood, sliding the worn floorboard back to its space with a laced boot, pushing the armchair back over the small weapons trove.

All set.

Flattening herself against a wall, she parted the curtain by barely an inch, eyeing the street below for guards.

The coast was clear.

Soundlessly padding to her room, she rolled over her bed, not wanting her shoes to touch her clean sheets, and slung her legs out the open window. She made another flash scan of the midnight street and pulled on her mask.

Utterly deserted. Nice.

Feline stealth and grace laced her every maneuver as she set herself off the windowpane - and onto the five-inch wide ledge outside.

She looked down.

Fuck. Shit-poor choice.

Though she was a fan of heights, the vertigo still struck her square in the head. Her mind swam, nails digging into the windowsill. She managed to shake herself of the daze.

A fifty meter plus drop below her feet, Audree shoved her hesitation aside and slid her left foot aside, her right one briefly following as she soundlessly tugged the window shut behind her.

She continued in the same slide, drag, slide, drag pattern for another harrowing minute. Back pressed flat touching the weathered exposed brick and peeling paint of the multiple blocks, she hardly plucked up the courage to even breathe as she made the last few inches - not due to the fact that she'd almost made it, but rather the reckless stunt she had to pull next.

Holding her breath, she kicked a leg off the wall, spun and pressed her front flat to the wall once more.

She spared another few more valuable seconds hugging the coarse surface. Her slick palms braced flat against its solidity - her smooth forehead resting against the grazing exterior of the building she rested it against - as she gathered herself.

Heart hammering against her ribs, she pried her hands from the wall, balancing on the cramped ledge.

A flash of light sent her hammering heart utterly still.