He reached the edge of the roof and jumped down to the one belonging to the next building along. There was a ladder at the edge of it, leading down to the street. He jogged over to it, looking over the edge and checking in both directions. The ladder ended just above an alleyway that ran along the side of the block. An ornamental metal gate blocked access to the main street, but, since that was the direction from which the assault had commenced, Björn was not concerned about that. The alley continued along the block and looked as if it might open out onto the road that hemmed in the buildings on the northern side. It didn’t much matter. They couldn’t very well stay where they were.

Six and Eight brought La Bruja to him.

“Come down behind me,” Björn said to La Bruja. He nodded to Eight. “Cover us.”

He let the submachine gun hang from its strap and then started to descend. Eight trained his weapon on the alley as Björn and La Bruja made their way down to it.

108

Chase watched the assault unfold. He was impressed; the soldiers were coordinated and effective, breaching first through the roof and then through the doors at the front and side of the building. They did not look as if they were particularly interested in taking prisoners, either, and the clatter of small-arms fire echoed around the neighbourhood. Lights flicked on in windows and bleary-eyed Paisas came out of the doorways to watch. Smoke drifted out of the open doors and up through the skylights, the moonlight catching it and painting it silver.

Shit.

He saw a door open on the roof and then, a moment later, saw the bright white muzzle flash of an automatic weapon. It fired four times, in four concentrated bursts, and Chase watched as the soldiers who had commenced the attack from above were all hit. One fell into the skylight and another toppled over the edge of the building, flipping through an untidy somersault, bouncing off the ground and then flopping onto the sidewalk. Chase looked back to the roof and saw a man emerge from the opened door, closely followed by two others who were suspending a fourth person between them.

He called Hicks.

“It’s Chase—are you there?”

“I’m here.”

They’re on the move. I can see her. The woman.”

“La Bruja?”

“Yes. There are three others with her. Two men and a woman. They just shot the soldiers on the roof.”

“Where are they now?”

He watched. “They’re on the roofs, headed north.”

“Okay. Hold up. You hearing this, Ziggy?”

“I am,” Ziggy said. “Is Milton with them?”

“No,” Chase said. “I don’t see him. Why?”

“Because his tracker just left the building.”