“She had to have been an employee,” Marshall replied, jerking his thumb at the bright walls of the office building. “Better be careful. There might be an outbreak coming.”
Roma made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat but did not add anything more.
Perhaps it was a little sadistic of Juliette, leading them all to meet here, three feet away from a corpse. But they needed to see this before they went in. They needed to remember exactly what was at stake.
One guilty life for countless innocent ones. One guilty life to save the city.
Perhaps this was the choice that should have been made four years ago. If only Juliette had had more guilt on her soul back then. It would have made her death worthy.
Stop, she chided herself. Her pulse was thudding a symphony in her ears. She was a little afraid that the others could hear it. She wondered if each time she opened her mouth, the sound would travel from her chest and through her throat, making its way to the outside world.
Juliette pushed past her nerves. She had conquered much fiercer opponents than a loud heartbeat.
Now or never.
Juliette cleared her throat. “This is how we will proceed,” she started. “We need guards at the back. Zhang Gutai’s office has a window he may jump from.”
Roma nodded at Benedikt and Marshall. Wordlessly, they hurried off to the back of the building.
“Kathleen.”
Kathleen snapped to attention.
“I need you to cause some sort of evacuation on the first floor. Enough commotion that no one will stop us from approaching the second level and entering Zhang Gutai’s office.”
Kathleen pulled her pistol, readying it in her two hands. A slow exhale. A nod.
“Listen for my signal,” she said. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Juliette.” Kathleen ducked out from underneath the vines.
Dear God, I hope so too.
“As for us—” Juliette turned to Roma. Tied the handkerchief around the lower half her face. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
A thunderous gunshot echoed out from the office building. Three more pops followed in close succession. Glass shattering. Shouts of confusion.
“Let’s go.”
They hurried for the front doors, merging into the commotion without notice. Kathleen wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but that only meant she had been fast at getting herself out of there. She had left behind a scene of general bewilderment, but no panic—people were too concerned with muttering over what they should do, to notice Roma and Juliette hurrying up the stairs. This was more a simple assassination mission than it was a direct confrontation. The faster they could get in and get out, the better it was.
Unfortunately, there were people on the second floor too: two men standing outside Zhang Gutai’s office door. Perhaps they had been asked to guard it. Perhaps Zhang Gutai knew his assassination was coming.
“No,” Roma hissed before Juliette could start forward. “We cannot kill them.”
“Announce your business!” one of the men by the door called lazily.
“They are in the way,” Juliette hissed back to Roma.
The two men by the door were growing alert now. If the cloths over Roma’s and Juliette’s faces weren’t enough to rouse suspicion, the pistols in their hands certainly were. The men started forward fast.
“Leg,” Roma mediated.
“Stomach.”
“Juliette.”
“Fine!”