Page 22 of Savagely Scarred

Smiling, I look down to check the alignment of the windows we will need to breach. Unfortunately, there is no roof access door we can break through. We secure the rappel ropes to the ventilation system and then hook them to our harnesses. With our backs facing the front of the building, we walk down the brick wall and stop just above the windows.

“In position,” I announce through the headset.

“Standby,” Dylan says, “Calloway?”

“Charges set,” she relays.

Adrenaline starts pumping through my body and I grip the rope in my hand tighter. With our rifles ready, I bounce on the balls of my feet anxiously waiting for the signal. Lorenzo turns his head toward me and smiles.

“Ready, cabrón?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Three. Two. One. GO, GO, GO!” Dylan yells.

Lorenzo and I jump backwards, propelling our bodies off the wall as far as we can. Our bullets break the glass at the same time the charges that Liv and Dorian placed blow up the back door. We swing into the now open windows and land on the floor, quickly releasing the ropes and readying our guns.

A quick survey of the stark white room tells us it is empty.

“Clear,” I call.

We maneuver around the abandoned computer desks and make our way into the hallway. We split up and proceed to check the other office rooms until we get to the stairwell.

As we slowly descend the concrete steps, Dylan chirps in my ear.

“Sage. Only one suspect is on the main floor. No signs of the other.”

“Copy that.”

I peek through the glass window on the door that leads to the third floor, making sure that no one is behind it. The hallway is dark, cast in shadows with a single light flickering in the ceiling. As soon as we enter, Lorenzo stops dead in his tracks.

“Do you smell that?”

“Gasoline,” I confirm.

We creep forward, light on our feet. The flashlights on our guns illuminate the path ahead of us. As we approach the first set of office doors we spot it. There is a trail of liquid going down the rest of the hallway.

“What the fuck,” I whisper.

My flashlight follows it until it lands on a pair of boots. Instantly, we aim higher to reveal a stocky man dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt.

“NYPD! Don’t move!” Lorenzo shouts.

The man shifts on his feet, reaching behind his back. While Lorenzo screams for him to put his hands up, I notice that the gasoline trail branches off into the offices.

FUCK

A spark ignites from behind the man’s back and then he extends his arm revealing a flare. I grab Lorenzo’s arm so he doesn’t fire off a shot.

“There are a lot of people in this building that you need to think about. Innocent people,” I say in a calm tone.

“Why should I care about them when they don’t care about anyone except themselves? They’re all greedy! We were just teaching them a lesson. Robbing the rich to give to the poor,” the man shouts, gripping his disheveled brown hair with his free hand.

“Not all of the people down there are greedy. Some are your coworkers. Your peers. Equals. You want to harm them too when they are just surviving on low wages like you?”

The man twitches, his face grimacing. Lorenzo stiffens beside me, tightening up his position.

“They shouldn’t have to suffer. Their families shouldn’t have to either. Their children.”