Guardians of the Portals (7 page)

Jake grabbed his daughter’s shoulders and shook her hard. “I can’t carry him, not even the two of us can do it. They’ll be waiting at every floor for us to pop out. Leave him, kiddo. He ain’t worth it.”

“Dad!” she sobbed as Jake punched the open button. The door slid silently ajar to an empty room. He reached around to the console, hit a button and backed away as the door once more closed, leaving Kieran in a crumpled heap in the elevator.

“He’ll be our distraction now. Come on. We’ve gotta go.”

“Where? There’s nowhere to go!”

“We ain’t down and out yet. Come on, we’re going up to the roof.”

Caitlin moaned a long drawn-out “Nooo!” as her father half carried and half dragged her down the hallway to an exit door leading to a stairwell. The ear-splitting clanging made talking impossible.

He yanked the steel door open and ushered her through. She glanced down, her instincts screaming for escape toward the familiar but Jake hissed, “Up!” She took the stairs as fast as she could. Jake stayed behind her, offering assistance when she faltered. She wasn’t sure she’d make it to the top before her legs gave out or her lungs burst. Fit was one thing, fleeing for your life added a whole other level of difficulty. And she hadn’t a clue what they were supposed to do once they made the roof of the ten-story building.

Jake elbowed past and barrelled through the safety door then skidded to a halt. The distant sound of a chopper on fast approach, and muted sounds of shouting from below, competed with the thud of her erratic heartbeat and the pounding of blood through her veins. It was pitch black on the roof but her father stepped confidently to his left and sought out the A/C unit and ventilation system. He used his hands to feel along the smooth metal until he found a door fastened with an ordinary Yale lock.

“Open this.” He handed her a key while he stood watch. She quickly unlocked the door and stepped aside as the flimsy metal door swung open.

“What’s this?” Caitlin had to shout in his ear as the din had increased exponentially.

“Your way out, girl. Come here. I need to get you suited up.”

“Please don’t tell me you’ve got one of those parachute things in there.”

Jake looked at her with an odd expression and laughed out loud.

“Fuck, why didn’t I think of that?”

––––––––

“D
ad, I’ve got a problem.” She swivelled her head, keeping watch but the rooftop remained clear, for now.

“Shush, girl. I’ve got my hands full. Need to concentrate here.”

“I didn’t change completely!”

Jake asked, “Whadya mean, you didn’t change completely? You blew it in there. That damn brother of yours made you while you went off into la-la-land.”

Caitlin yanked at her fine, straight hair and quickly ran a hand over her nose and mouth. She wriggled her shoulders, confirming what she’d suspected but hadn’t had time to think about in their mad dash up the stairwell. Now that she had to stand back and watch her father make preparations in the dim ambient light from the parking lot floods, with the noise of a helicopter on fast approach, and a small army in the parking lot ten floors below them in full search mode, time slowed and her perceptions came into sharp focus.

“My clothes. They didn’t change!”

She leaned over and felt the slick leather straps glide across her small breasts, no longer binding her tight. The only thing keeping them in relatively the same place was an ornamental silver pin that anchored the pieces of leather together between her breasts. If she moved quickly, the straps slipped off to the side or toward her navel and she was left with no foundation garment. She had no other word for what the strange attachments could possibly be called.

Jake grunted, “Well, make ’em change. I’ve got a tangled length of line here and I can’t see well enough anymore, so for God’s sake shut up for a coupla minutes while I work it out.”

Caitlin mumbled, “Shit,” and turned to watch the approaching chopper. It had yet to turn on its high-powered floods; once the pilot did that, her dad would see just fine and they’d be perfect targets.

“Let me help. My hands are a little more flexible than yours.”

Jake flipped a length of line back to her, then knelt awkwardly and fished a metal box out of the innards of the storage closet. He opened and removed something that glinted briefly in the ambient light. The solid snick of a magazine being loaded into a weapon and the chink of metal-on-metal rang loud and clear as the waves of shouts from Greyfalcon’s militia faded briefly. The ‘pfft-pfft’ of the chopper dissipated as it dropped below rooftop level, obviously landing somewhere in the parking area. Jake motioned her closer. He looked like he had a plan, one she wasn’t going to like.

“Come here. I’m gonna put this here harness on you,” Jake explained as he strapped a climber’s harness onto her thin frame, “and then I’ll anchor you to one of the pitons I put in place awhile back. I’ve got ’em on every floor except the first two. Figured I could survive a two story fall easy enough.”

Caitlin spat out, “Not now you couldn’t,” trying for levity but the worry and uncertainty came across as surly and spiteful. Before she could apologize her father hissed, “Don’t you give me lip, we don’t have time. You listen and listen good.”

Stammering, “I-I’m...” she failed to find the words to cover her anxiety.

“Never mind that. Before the chopper goes airborne again and lights us up like a Christmas tree, I’m going to create a distraction.”

“I don’t like the sound of that, Dad.”

“You’re not supposed to, girl.” Jake moved in close and spoke into her ear, “Over to my right, other side of this A/C unit, round the corner, is the main parking lot. They’ll be keeping a close eye on the van, expecting us to make a break for it at some point, if we can. They’re not dumb. They’ll have figured out we’re on the roof and they’ll send a team up the stairs, if they ain’t already on the way. The chopper will light us up and herd us to them.”

“Do they want us alive?” Caitlin could barely form the words, not sure she wanted an answer.

“Oh, yes indeed. Alive, but not necessarily unharmed. I want to minimize the damage.” Jake took her chin in his hand. “It’s not your fault, girl. You did good.”

“But, Dad, if I hadn’t shifted, if...”

“Don’t worry about it. We both screwed up. We’ll deal with it. I need for you to get to the ground and get somewhere safe. I can handle Knutr’s goon squad.” Squeezing her shoulder, he gave her a small shove toward the ledge.

****

T
rey watched what looked like a military exercise from a small bluff near the Liberty Reservoir on the western edge of the industrial park where he’d determined Greyfalcon’s location. It afforded a reasonable view of the headquarters and the main parking area. He used a high-powered scope to augment his already enhanced vision. He was intrigued when an older man and a younger woman exited from a decrepit minivan. They disappeared from his vantage point once they climbed the steps to the main entrance.

Though there was no way to know for sure what was going on, he could make an educated guess. The ninth floor remained well lit while the remaining floors had cycled down to evening status. Wherever the two were going, it surely had to be there. When he’d scanned across the woman, he’d had a strange sensation in his gut—almost a recognition of sorts, though he’d never seen her before. The older man also pinged a memory cell. He’d seen his face but couldn’t come up with a time or place.

He set the custom-built Tactical M40T4 rifle with the Nightforce scope onto a portable sandbag mounting device. He flicked the sand sock at the rear out of the way and sighted carefully. He was well outside the thousand-yard range and would need to get closer if he wanted to take out any of the targets.

His uncle’s “you are there to observe only” admonition rankled. He seldom got this close to a Greyfalcon nest of vipers. To lose the opportunity to reduce the numbers of the competition seemed a serious waste of time and effort. He had no idea what more intel he could learn as a glorified peeping tom.

The last words of the O’Brien woman flashed through his consciousness: “You will know her as your own.” It played on an internal feedback loop like an inane song that repeats endlessly, testing patience and sanity alike. The image of the young woman, her height and body build, all reminded him of something. He tried to dismiss the outlandish uniform, if indeed that’s what it was. There was no mistaking the sniper rifle slung at her hip. She was there as more than eye candy.

He mused,
red hair, there’s something wrong with that
. He gathered up the rifle and its supports and lunged to his feet. He’d have to think on why such a bodacious Amazon would tickle his fancy.
You might want to rephrase that
, he smirked to himself. Turning away from the tree line, he ambled down a narrow deer trail and dropped off a small bank onto a dirt road. The Porsche lay hidden in a narrow opening in the forest, well away from the cones of light from vehicles driving on that lonely stretch of road. The reservoir might attract young lovers and gang member’s intent on business transactions, but during the middle of the week he doubted he’d need to concern himself with that. He’d had his techs alarm the vehicle for silent operation. His implant would alert him to any tampering.

He loved technology. If only he could transport the M40 through the Portals he would be a happy man. He stroked the barrel fondly, but his thoughts morphed into a vision of him caressing the long, lean thigh of the redhead in the ridiculous outfit. All she was good for, the sniper rifle notwithstanding, was a distraction. That thought kick-started a chain reaction. Trey broke into a run toward his vehicle. Something wasn’t right. His gut told him so, and it was seldom wrong.

****

“Y
ou got it loose?”

“And coiled, yes sir.” Caitlin found it oddly satisfying to revert to addressing Jake as if he were still military. She guessed you could take the man out of the Marines but you’d never take the Marines out of the man. That sounded like something he’d drummed into her and Kieran from a young age. Such mantras afforded a measure of calm in the face of certain disaster.

Jake went into a semi-crouch and crab-stepped his way across the roof to a point where a ventilation shaft and the roof ledge sat no more than three feet apart. It would shield her from the helicopter, which would lift from the opposite end to their position and afford her precious seconds for her leap of faith.

Jake rapidly threaded one end of the mountaineering rope through the rappel anchor, pairing it with the opposite end. After pulling the ends to the halfway point, he quickly tied them off with a figure-eight knot, then tossed the rope over the edge of the building, all the while giving her last minute instructions.

“It’s just like we did at the gym; you walk your way down and lean back like I showed you.”

Jake adjusted the climbing harness, gave Caitlin a pat on her cheek and helped her up on the ledge.

“This is the hard part, darlin’. Hop back and out, easy like. I’ll stay and get you started.”

Caitlin moaned, “Dad, I can’t leave you.”

“It’ll be fine. Don’t go into the woods. They’ll be expecting you to head to the section over by the reservoir.”

“Where should I go?”

“There’s a coupla fair sized corporate buildings across the road. Angle to the south, along the tree line, and then cut over. You can ease your way in. Be like running a maze for them. Stay low ’til the dust clears. Then head on home.”

“What then, Dad? Won’t they be waiting for me?”

“I’ll, uh, tell them otherwise. You just get on home, pack and get the hell out of there. You know where the Jeep’s located. The key’s under that rock; you know the one?” Caitlin nodded, tears stinging her eyes. Jake took a shirtsleeve and roughly wiped her face.

Caitlin teetered on the ledge as Jake peered down to check for any activity. She took a deep breath and lightly floated away from the building to land six feet lower, her booted feet pressed against a narrow vent. If she bobbed up and down she could still catch a glimpse of the action on the roof.

––––––––

J
ake muttered, “Love you,” and skittered back to the A/C unit. The helicopter rotors had begun their slow whine as they picked up speed. He knew it would be all over soon. He yanked his Glock from the waistband of his pants, picked up an ancient AK-47 off the floor, and made best speed to the front of the building. Though the pilot was likely a GFI lackey, he was determined not to risk possibly harming a civilian. He had too much death on his hands already.

He listened for the tell tale sounds of an assault on the safety door. Knutr would carefully orchestrate the attack to minimize the damage, at least to Caitlin. The capo would want the helicopter in position first, with his men at the safety door ready to storm the roof, while the rest of his militia guarded other egress points. He eyed several vehicles scattered about the parking area, two hemming in their ancient mini-van. Jake sighted down the AK-47’s barrel and proceeded to lay a pattern around the chopper and the closest vehicles. Even from the roof, he saw the pilot’s panicked look as he backed up and away from the building, frantically trying to gain altitude and distance. Satisfied that the pilot would continue north and away from Caitlin’s position, he dropped the magazine, inserted a new one and proceeded to make mincemeat of the vehicles within range.

****

T
rey pulled into the driveway leading to a set of squat office buildings slightly south and across the road from Greyfalcon headquarters. He killed the vehicle lights as he idled into the parking lot.

“What the hell?” Trey gasped as gunfire erupted across the road from his position. He gunned the Porsche and barrelled around the corner of the building out of range of any stray bullets. He parked it toward the rear of the lot, in a relatively dark area. The flat black of the finish would help camouflage the car from any casual passers-by. He jumped out and ran back to the road, taking care to keep to the shadows.