I nodded, watching Bex pull his own rifle from the l bag. He didn’t set it on its stand in front of him; instead, he set it in front of me.

“Just look through the sights. Don’t take the shot, even if you have one. It’s just for practice,” he said in a low voice.

I began to whisper affirmation, but voices below startled me. Claire slowly put her hand on the barrel of my rifle, and then let go, situating herself to aim.

“Look through your sights,” she whispered. I did so, and three men in suits came into view, along with a man in uniform. “Count them. How many do you see?”

“Four,” I said.

Bex leaned in beside my ear. “Look by the entrance.”

I slowly moved my rifle in the direction he referred to, spotted two more. To my surprise, the men were not in uniform, but in suits. Their broad shoulders and extra-large frames reminded me of old movies about the Mob.

“Bodyguards,” Bex said. “Look closer at their jackets. You see the slight bulging on each side?”

“They’re armed,” I breathed.

With one finger, Claire tuned the tiny adjustment on her rifle. The tiny click sound it made seemed as loud as a jet engine to me, but the noise was so insignificant, it was inaudible to the men below.

Bex touched my elbow with the back of his finger. “She’s going to account for crosswind and range-to-target, but this is an easy shot. Once the gun goes off, try to relax. I’ll get you down and out of here, and by the time you blink twice, we’ll be on our way home in the Lotus.” His low, even tone reminded me of an emcee for a televised golf tournament, or the narrator for an African Lion documentary...minus the accent.

Claire held her breath, peering into the scope. She bit her lip, and began to squeeze the trigger.

“Damn it,” she whispered. “Ryan just pulled up. He’s a block north. You and Nina intercept him, I’ll meet you in twenty.”

“Wait—,” I began, but before I could protest, Bex lifted me off the wooden beams and climbed out the broken slats of an old vent, dropping more than thirty feet below. He landed smoothly, and tugged on my hand. “Come on,” he said, keeping his voice to a whisper.

We ran down an alley as fast as my legs could move, slowing only when we reached the next street down.

“This way,” Bex said, leading me by the hand across the street, this time at a reasonable pace.

“Nina?” a voice called.

I turned to see Ryan walking toward us; confused, but happy to see me.

“Hey,” I forced my best smile, trying to control my breathing. “Clocked-in already?”

“Yeah,” he smiled, flicking his badge. “What are you doing this far north?”

“Uh….”