Page 97 of Long Enough
He raised an eyebrow at her. “What am I supposed to use to defend us? Questionable language?”
She offered him her gun. “Take mine. I need a long-range weapon.”
“Daleyza?” Steel asked.
Looking at him, she said, “The bell tower is one of the main hubs for the power lines. We can use it to draw their fire.”
Understanding came to him. “No.”
“We don’t have another choice if you want to get out of here. Your friends may be good, but I’m guessing you’re the best shot,right? And that means I’m your best cover. You taught me, Fanso. You know I’m right.”
Fuck. He hated when she was right. “Give her your rifle, Demon.”
Reluctantly, the medic handed it over. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“No, but she’s right. We don’t have time for other options right now. Nemo, Gem, make your way to the main entrance of the residence, then come toward the church to the elevator under the covered walkway. You’ll need to be there to help Demon, TB, Ka-Bar, and Waters get down to Medusa. Demon knows where to go.”
“What will you two be doing?”
Daleyza checked over the weapon. “Ildefanso and I will head up to the church bell tower. There’s an open space there with some reinforced cable lines. Fanso will zip-line down the cable to the guards’ quarters and draw their fire. That will allow Nemo and Gem to come up on our guards unaware, as well as allow him to have a better line to pick off a few of the men protected by the overhang. Demon will lead you all down to the warehouse, then through the hallway to get to Medusa.”
“How are you going to get out of here?”
“We’ll follow. If we’re not there five minutes after you, take off. We’ll find another route.”
“Knew I wasn’t going to like this plan,” Demon mumbled.
“Just go. Waters can’t stay here, and we’re sitting ducks if we do nothing.”
Daleyza took off for the stairs to the second floor of the church, and Steel followed her. He didn’t like this plan either, but the fact remained that they had to do something. Splitting up so they could cover the other men’s escape was their best option.
He followed her up the circular stairs into the bell tower, where they were now four stories over the quadrangle. Below them, they could now see the entire mission from their vantage point. While the three security towers had been destroyed, the debris well and trulyblocked the main gate. Isolated soldiers could be seen firing through the debris at the attacking Mythos members, but it was a slow exchange since there seemed to be only two of them.
He shed his pack and pulled out a hand trolley. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to use the handheld system, but it wasn’t his favorite mode of transportation. In fact, he refused to use it unless absolutely necessary. Today, they needed to distract the soldiers keeping them inside the church. Hopefully, this worked, because if it didn’t, the group would be even further divided and weakened, and he wasn’t sure what they would do next.
“Are you ready,belleza?”
She nodded, her eyes wide. “Be careful.”
He ran a hand along the side of her face, cupping her cheek, and while he didn’t really have time to do so, he kissed her softly. “See you soon.”
He hopped up onto the bell tower ledge, then slung the trolley over the line. He made sure his rifle was secure across his body, then grasped both handles on the mechanism and propelled himself down the cable. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Most likely, the soldiers were too surprised to take action. He’d almost made it to the roof of the guards’ quarters when they finally opened fire on him.
Immediately, he dropped from the trolley onto the roof and scuttled behind a small exhaust chimney for cover. While they fired, he cleared his rifle and waited for them to stop. When they finally did, he popped out from the side, taking several shots at the closest guard. He was too far away for them to hit with any accuracy, but he was too tantalizing a target to avoid shooting at, so several men ventured out from beneath their cover to get closer.
Their mistake. Just as he was too far out of their range, they were too far out of his.
But not Daleyza’s.
He gave her credit. She was patient. She waited until the line of men had advanced. Eight of them. They were halfway between thechurch and his position when she began firing—picking them off, one by one.
After the first three went down, the other men caught on that someone was attacking them from behind, but by then, it was too late. The ones she hadn’t dropped from her perch in the bell tower, he took care of from his vantage point. Nemo and Gem made short work of the men who’d remained behind and were soon leading the others to the elevators.
“Come down, Daleyza. We need to go.”
Seeing the path cleared, he easily slid down to the edge of the roof, then dropped himself down the low height to the ground. But when he got to the elevator entrance, Daleyza wasn’t waiting for him.
All the hair on his body stood on end.
