The large Therian walked toward them. “Take them!”
“No.” Cael shook his head when Dex grabbed Cael’s vest and pulled.
“We have to go!”
Cael and Dex sped down Ninth Avenue and into the commercial building site on the corner of Ninth and West Thirty-First Street. Their boots kicked up dirt and splashed through mud puddles as they dodged the bullets whizzing around them. They sprinted in between containers, through massive tubes, and jumped over cinder blocks. Shots rang out all around them, but they couldn’t stop. Cael led the way, knowing Dex could follow the reflecting letters of his name on the back of his vest. The Therians would be able to see him regardless of the letters, and hopefully the Human gunmen would knock themselves out against something, the assholes.
Cael knew exactly where they were, and he thanked the city’s never-ending construction for the first time in his life. He knew where they could hide, rest for a while until they could get a hold of someone to come get them. But first they had to lose these bastards.
“Dex! Leapfrog!” Cael called out behind him, holding out the case at his side and slowing enough for Dex to overtake him. Dex snatched the case and ran, skidding when he came to the chain-link fence at the end and getting on his hands and knees. Cael picked up speed, leaped on his brother’s back and his tac vest, snagged a hold of the fencing, and climbed. They’d done this hundreds of times as kids in the park. Cael landed on the other side, catching the case that Dex tossed over before he climbed the fence. Dex was as adept at climbing as any Therian. He’d spent his childhood getting into mischief by climbing whatever he could reach.
They took off, the hijackers forced to climb or break through the fence, giving them enough of a lead. Cael ran across Tenth Avenue into the 10 Hudson Yards office tower currently under construction. It was a maze of steel girders, cranes, equipment, coverings, tubes, mixers, wiring, and shrouded with enough floors, rooms, and darkness for them to hide in. They ducked through some scaffolding, and Cael clipped the case to his tac vest before he started to climb, Dex close behind. They climbed up the scaffolding and into the building, careful to avoid falling into any unfinished areas. Cael could hear the shouts of the men down below as they tried to find their way. Cael took Dex’s hand so they could venture farther into the darkness, where the Human hijackers would have trouble chasing them even with their flashlights. They climbed up and up, until Cael heard nothing but the faint sounds of the city. When they finally thought it was safe, he bent over to catch his breath, his heart pounding fiercely. It was dark all around them, save for the rays of moonlight shining through the small gaps in the plastic coverings.
Dex gasped a lungful of air as he paced. “Fuck.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Fuck.”
Cael didn’t have to ask Dex what he was thinking. His brother was worried about Sloane, same as Cael was worried about Ash. “Why do you think they took them?” Cael asked.
“I don’t know, but that wasn’t by accident,” Dex said, taking a seat on a cinder block to catch his breath. “They purposefully shot at them, and that one guy, he shouted at his men to take them. They were under orders to take them.” He leaned his elbows on his knees, his head falling into his hands. “This is so fucked.”
Cael couldn’t agree more. Normally the whole of their organization would have been out there by now making it rain fire and brimstone, getting everyone to safety. The hijackers would have been down and out. Even if dispatch was incommunicado, there was no way they wouldn’t have heard of a damn hijacking in the middle of the city involving tactical vehicles and a Mack truck.
Something stirred in the shadows, and Cael removed his Glock and aimed at the figure heading toward them.
“THIRDS! Hands up or I’ll shoot!”
“Easy there, pal.” Austen emerged, his hands held up in front of him.
“Austen?” Dex stood, his fists at his sides. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Austen kept his distance, his hands still held up. “I’m here to take that off your hands.”
He nodded toward the case, and Dex put himself between Austen and Cael. Cael swiftly unclipped the case from his vest and held on tight.
Dex was having none of it. “Fuck you. We were hijacked, and you want us to hand this over to you?”
Austen frowned at him. “I was the one who warned you about the hijack, dumbass.”
“That means fuck all,” Dex snapped. “You could be working with them and did that so we’d trust you. So we’d give you the case if you asked for it. Well, it’s not going to happen.”
“I’m not working with them,” Austen insisted, taking a step toward them.
Dex had his gun out and aimed at Austen’s vest in a heartbeat.
“Whatever. We’re not giving you anything. We’re waiting for backup.”
“Backup’s not coming.”
“What?” Cael couldn’t believe that. There was no way the THIRDS wouldn’t send teams out. Their agents were down, the streets were in chaos with armed men running around, and who knew how many were hurt.
“The THIRDS have been notified of a traffic accident. Your Team Leaders have reported in that everything is under control. The situation has been contained. The area has been cleared and swept.”
Cael gaped at him. “That’s bullshit. Two of our Team Leaders ar
e down.”
“It’s been cleared,” Austen assured them. “The hijackers are gone. Our operatives have taken care of everything.”
“Your operatives?” Dex shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face. “It’s Sparks, isn’t it? She set us up.”