The three of us plunged down into the maze of cargo crates. It took turn after turn, but the fact that it was in the dark with all the shadows looming in and around every corner made this a little bit eery.
"Hey, over here!" Cole hisses, keeping his voice low as possible. We rush over as we spot a familiar Arbalest transport crate. It was one of the smallest items in the yard, and yet we knew it had to be one of the most valuable.
"That's it." She ran her fingers over the logo embossed in the top, right above the shipment number which confirmed it was what they were looking for.
"Now all we have to do is get it out of here," said Cole. "After that climb, it should be a—"
A sharp blaring noise cut through the night. In an instant, a dozen spotlights lit up, flooding the area with bright white light. Night disappeared; suddenly, it was almost as bright as daytime.
Cole stiffens. "Spoke too soon."
"Frankie?" Ashe barked. "Julian? What's going on?"
"Sorry!" Julian came tearing around the piles of crates, gasping for breath. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"
"What happened?" Ashe cries out for him.
"I was setting up ... the exit ..." Julian panted. "Got too close to a service door ... Think there was a movement sensor—"
"Did you set the charges?" He nodded furiously.
"Then we're not caught yet. Grab the other end of this crate, (Y/N), and let's go!"
She grabs one hand;e and I grab another, making out way to our exit.
"What's going on?" Frankie's voice crackled in our ears.
"We got the goods and we're coming," Ashe breathes out. "Move away from the wall!"
They made it to where they'd come in, their ropes still dangling. Farther down the wall, Julian had set up a ring of charges.
"Wait." He stopped them before they got too close. "Get behind that stack of crates!"
The four of us crouch behind it, covering our ears as Julian raised the detonator and pressed it. The klaxons disappeared beneath the explosion, and bits of concrete and dust began to rain down. But there was no time to wait for it to clear. In a flash, we were up again, running to the freshly made hole in the wall.
We freeze in place.
"Oh no," said Julian.
The bombs had taken out a huge chunk of the barrier, but they hadn't gone all the way through.
"I thought you said you brought enough explosives?!" Ashe yelled at Julian, who looked bewildered.
"I thought I did!"
"Now what?" Cole asked.
There was no time to be mad. Or even to think.
"C'mon," ordered Ashe, pulling the crate, and by extension, Cole, back toward the ropes. "Julian, you have an extra rope in your bag, right?"
"Yes," he said. "But—"
"Be quiet and listen to me," Ashe ordered. The alarms were still going off, and that explosion was going to bring the security drones any second. "We'll tie one of the ropes to the crate. You use another to climb the wall. When you get to the top, tie the one with the crate to the extra rope, then throw it down to B.O.B. He can pull it up."
I stop all of them.
"Wait, I can break through it I think."
"You sure?"
