~Flight~ Chapter one

One1

I crouched in the shadows of ‘The Dead Seagull’ and waited for the man wearing the grey vest to start moving again. I could tell he was drunk by the way his feet scuffed the ground and his body swayed, still trying to look like he was sober.2

I followed him silently as he walked towards the Old Hall, trying not to startle any stray animals; I didn’t want them to give me away.3

I wondered fleetingly why he was walking when he could just catch a cab but put it down to spending all his money at the tavern. That led to another question; why would he be at such an ill-reputed place as ‘The Dead Seagull’ when he could have gone to a number of fancier places where none of the ‘street scum’ were allowed? The man certainly looked rich enough...I didn't dwell on it, because in this line of work, a distracted thief was a dead one.4

I peered up at the roof-tops when the man stopped to pull a piece of paper out of his pocket and wondered if it was possible to get up there. If I needed a quick escape, roofs were always a good option.5

My attention was brought back to the man I was shadowing as he angrily tore up the paper he was reading and threw the pieces into the air.6

"Bloody thieves!" He muttered and a vile taste rose in my throat. I crept forward to see if I could hear the other things he was mumbling but the man started walking again and I was forced to follow.7

He stopped abruptly near an old jeweller’s store, and stepped towards it, seemingly drawn in by the glittering gold rings and necklaces. I was sorely tempted to stand next to him myself and gaze at all those beautiful, sparkling pieces of jewellery...Shaking my head, I told myself to snap out of it; I had a job to do and I would do it well.8

The man turned from the store and glanced down the street, so I took the chance to study him. He was a young man, perhaps twenty-three, with had striking features. His dark brown eyes seemed to pass over everything, without properly looking at them, but I knew better; he was really studying everything carefully. I was surprised to see that his hair was tied back in a ponytail; it was a dying fashion, and only some could still pull it off. Although long-haired and handsome were my type. I grimaced at my own thought; I was not into this guy.9

"Something is wrong," I thought as the man turned to look at the jewellery again. For a second I thought he may have seen me, but dismissed the thought quickly; if he had, he wouldn’t be so calm.10

He’s not drunk! I finally realised, cursing myself silently that I hadn’t noticed. And I’ve always prided myself on being able to see someone’s true nature...well, it’s not the first time I’ve been wrong about someone... A low growl rose in my throat, but I stopped it hastily and pressed myself further into the shadows. Closing my eyes, I listened for the footsteps that would surely come; he was waiting for someone.11

Something shifted a loose rock further back on the street, but that was all I needed; I could hear where the other man was now and also knew that, unintentionally, they had trapped me between them.12

I shifted my foot slightly and felt the reassuring pressure of the knife in my boot. If they did happen to see me, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t go down without a fight.13

"There you are..." I hissed as the other man walked past my hiding place, not seeing me. He was a short, plump man and I was surprised that he had been able to move so well. He greeted my man with a slap on the back, like two old friends reuniting, and the voices that carried through the street spoke of the same.
"How are you? Haven’t seen you..."
"...and you say she’s well now? That’s fantastic..."
"Tierney..." My man spoke and something nagged in the back of my mind. Tierney had started to sweat, and continually mopped his forehead with a rather large handkerchief.14

"Yes, Darrel?" he asked, his voice squeaking.15

"My name is not Darrel, why do you always forget that?" Darrel’s voice was soft now. Deadly soft. I was drawn into the light, trying to get closer as I finally realised who the man I was following really was; Darrel Jordyn, the infamous...16

"Don’t move." I heard the click of a gun and felt the barrel against my temple. "If you move, you will die, reward or no reward." The voice was rough, and I didn’t know him. I looked straight ahead, not daring to turn and saw Tierney hand Darrel a silver disk. They hadn’t noticed me or the man. Yet. A few more minutes out in the open and...17

"Move backwards. Two steps. Do it now." The last word was a hiss; he had obviously come to the same conclusion, but I bristled at having to obey orders. I wasn't some school child...Nor was I 'just a girl.' If I was, I wouldn't be out here tonight. I thought of the knife in my boot; it was of no use now, but if I could just reach my belt, then maybe...18

The man grabbed my arm and spun me around. I stared at him and my eyes widened momentarily, but that was my only reaction. Half the man’s face was melted into a bubbling mass of skin. I tried to remove his hand from my arm, but his grip was iron. My eyes slid back to his face and I saw him smirk as he noticed my disgusted look. For some reason, it made me mad.19

I ripped my arm forcefully from his hold, almost causing him to stumble, and calmly reached for the gun in my belt, even as he reached for his. We held the guns up at the same time and then froze.20

I knew he heard the same thing that I had; footsteps approaching our alleyway. His eyes slid sidewards and slowly lowered his gun before motioning me back into the shadows. Not that good, then. Silver would have killed me if I had even thought of backing down just because someone else came along. I scowled as my thoughts betrayed me; it was no time to be thinking of my past. I slid silently next to the man with the melted face, a slight smile on my face.21

The footsteps stopped at the mouth of the alley and after a moment’s hesitation, they started again, this time towards us. My breath came easily but even in the dark, I could see the man next to me sweating. I almost started laughing; he had obviously never done something like this before. I let my head drop and felt my shoulders shaking. The man next to me must have thought I was scared, because he put a hand on my shoulder. I would have hit him if it wasn’t that we were possibly about to become ‘inactive’. That was how He always put it anyway.22

I lifted my head, a wild grin spread across my face. This was my favourite part; now I had to think of a way to get out of this mess and lose Mr Melted-Face. I felt at the top of my game.23

The footsteps were so close now. Three or four metres left and then there would be no other choice but to fight. And possibly die. My eyes narrowed as I watched another shadow mount on the wall and gripped the knife that had appeared in my hand tighter.24

"I don’t think anyone is down here, Dar...I mean, Sir..." Tierney shouted behind him and left the alley quickly. I sighed quietly; hard was fine, but killing anyone was out of the question. I saw the melted-man reach his arm out and grab mine. I almost shouted, but he shoved a grubby hand over my mouth and pulled my towards a door I hadn’t noticed before.25

"Now, you will follow me, baby, so I can collect my reward."26

My eyes narrowed and I spat at him. "Don’t you ever call me that! I am not you baby and will not come with you, understand? If you try and make me, I will kill you..." I stated simply but glared at him until he had to look away.27

"It’s just a job...nothing personal."28

"When you say that, it just means it’s not personal to you. It’s personal to me!" The gun was in my hand again and I was twirling it dangerously. "Now, what did they tell you?"29

"Nothing..." he stuttered. I didn’t believe him. I could see through a bluff well enough; years with Finn had taught me that. If they were sending people after me, then I wasn’t being careful enough. I needed to find out more.30

"Hmm..." A knife joined the twirling gun. I had learnt from them so many things, from rewiring cars to piloting planes, but my favourite subject had been thievery. I loved learning the finer details; theft was an art, and more complicated than many suspected.31

Now they were after me again, and I had no idea how much they knew. I expected the worst, but hoped that they hadn’t found the house yet; if they had, then my friends Alida and Mai...32

Steel flashed from behind the man and I dodged to the left, but there was no need; the knife hadn’t been aimed at me.
As I stood, I caught a glimpse of a dark green cloak as it vanished around the corner. I followed, paying little attention to the dead man on the floor; he wouldn’t be found for a few days at the least.33

I ran into the street but knew I had already lost the person in the cloak a few passages back. Sighing with frustration, I suddenly remembered I still had a job to do. I had lost Jordyn, but I didn’t need him anymore; I had the pieces of paper he had ripped, and they gave me everything I needed to know. I felt my jaw lock with determination. I would finish before the hour was up.34

I set off at a steady jog towards the Albeit Museum.