In The Shadows

Chapter Twenty Four

What would I find? What was Xanthus hiding that required such a contraption in an ordinary dresser drawer? Thoughts raced through my head like rain in the wind, whipping at me from every direction.

The cubby was dark, so I reached in, felt around, and picked something up when I found it. My fingers reached a thick wad of paper, connected with a binding material. When I pulled it out, I found it was a thick stack of money bundled together with a stretched out rubber band. After flipping through it, I didn't find anything hidden inside or on the bills.

I shoved my hand back in again, reaching a small piece of paper. It was a white envelope, unsealed, like someone had opened it very carefully. On the front lay two capital "R"s, one forward and one backward, connected by a single line. I recognized the symbol, I knew I had seen it somewhere before. I just couldn't place where I had seen it. Careful not to move too fast so I wouldn't rip anything, I opened the envelope to reveal a letter. It was a lined piece of paper folded in half with pen indents on the outside, like whoever had written the letter was so worried or felt so urgent that they pressed so hard against the paper.

I opened the folded piece of paper to reveal a short three line letter scribbled in chicken scratch handwriting.

Xanthus,

Meet at Courris Station in two weeks time at 19:00 hours.

Bring what you have and we will determine whether or not we have a deal.

My heart raced at the words. What did Xanthus have? What deal was this? Who was reaching out to him? So many possibilities rang through my head, echoing through my wild imagination. I held the future in my hands and the weight of that realization made my stomach sink, what was I supposed to do now?

My comms system crackled and voices came to life.

Mason's voice was cracked with static but still came through, fearful and shaky. "Jax? Where did you go? The lights just went off."

"I'm by the entrance. The lights didn't go off up here. Come back up, it might just be a timer," Jax whispered. I froze in my crouched position, forgetting to breathe. My blood ran like ice in my veins and my arm hair stood on edge as goosebumps prickled on my skin. They were at 101 Wallace Way, the location that Xanthus Luther had been seen taking several trips to lately.

"Mason, are you okay?" Chase asked. "We didn't see anyone enter or leave the building."

The silence was unbearable, waiting for her check back in.

"Did you guys hear that?" Mason's voice rose to hysterics, chopped up by the thick static. I shoved the letter back in the envelope, careful for the edges and the folds. The conversation was making me uneasy and I wanted to get out of here, fast.

It seemed that Crystal had the same idea because she appeared in the doorway, eyes blazing with a wild fire, usering, "Let's go. We're out."

She disappeared, floating down the hallway with soundless steps. I quickly put the envelope back in the hidden drawer, and popped the hidden drawer back into it's invisible spot in the dresser. As I followed Crystal down the hall and back into the living room, I kept the words memorized, repeating them over and over in my head for when the time was right. She was waiting by the window when I got there, urging me over with a beckoning hand.

"Did you find something?" She asked. I nodded.

"Okay," she breathed, and gave a slight nod in return.

I slipped through the window, surveying the landscape to check for spying eyes. But I found nothing. I didn't wait for Crystal as I began to fly down the stairs, walking on my toes to ensure a silent escape.

"Oh no," Noah muttered through the system.

"Mason, Jax, get out of there," Chase warned. "People are coming, quickly. They have weapons."

"Mason, where are you?" Jax asked, his tone thick with urgency. A siren was blaring in the background, drowning out his voice.

"I'm here, I'm here," Mason sounded breathless but shouting enough to be heard over the siren. "I see you, and I'm coming around the corner."

"Guys, get out of there now," Noah ordered. "There's people coming in through the front. If you go around towards the back, there's a window propped open where you can escape."

Crystal and I reached the end of the fire escape, immediately sprinting off behind the buildings, ducking through the alleyways, staying out of sight.

"Okay, there's a back room where I'm suspecting the open window is," Jax yelled into the system. "Going in now."

"Hurry, you don't have much time," Noah reminded. Underneath the wailing siren, we could hear Jax bust down the door. But something went wrong because Mason shrieked, high pitched and unexpected, with enough fear to make my throat run dry at the sound of it.

"Keep going," Crystal urged, leading us through the alleys until we were far enough from Xanthus's apartment. We slunk down in the dark, behind one of the dumpsters, several blocks away from the apartment. I tried to breathe slowly, slowing down my heart rate, and pressed a hand against the sharp stitch in my side.

Both of us were silent, just listening.

There was another man's voice, ringing out above the terrified voices of Mason and Jax. There was crashing and banging, shattering glass and smashing furniture. Their voices blurred together so that I couldn't make out one from the other. They all just muddled together into fear and anger and urgent frustration.

Then the struggle ended, and Jax shouted "Go!". There was some scrambling, and I suspected that Mason was escaping. The siren seemed even louder, screaming in my ear without mercy.

"They're in," Chase said, his voice sharp and sad. My heart hitched, I hoped they both made it out on time. I hoped they were okay.

"What do we do now?" I asked, hugging my knees to my chest. I could see little creatures, insects, scuttle off into the darkness, and I could only imagine how many were around me right now. A slightly prickling sensation tickled my ankle, but I was too afraid to move my hand under my jeans and itch it.

"We wait," Crystal said simply. Her voice seemed small and fragile. I snuck a glance at her and saw her knees folded into her chest as well, her curly black hair falling against her face, her forehead shiny with baby beads of sweat. Her breathing was soft, and it seemed like her chest wasn't moving at all. But her eyes. Her eyes darted back and forth, watching both ends of the alley, watching the bugs and the occasional rat scuttle over cracks and into holes in the wall. She was lying in wait, waiting for a sign to move.

"We're out," Jax informed, breathless and wheezing. "But our position has been compromised. Return back to the base, this mission has been terminated."

*********************

Hey everyone!

I know I've been absent for a really long while, I was just very busy with other priorities. Thank you to anyone who has come back and stuck by me, it really means a lot.

If you stopped by to read this, don't forget to vote for this chapter or just leave a comment saying hi! 

-Payton