As soon as the agent finished the report, they went back to firing their weapon. It was my chance. I would have to slide from the ladder to the balcony wall. It was a minor distance but still, one slip and that was it.
Hugging the concrete wall, I stepped onto the short balcony wall. Slowly, I transferred my weight to it, leaving the safety of the ladder. Completely exposed to either the cop in front of me or anyone in the buildings behind, I didn't think twice—and my heart froze when I jumped down onto the safety of my corridor, throwing myself against the door of an apartment.
I did it! Finally, I thought—but the pistol stopped, and a light was pointed in my direction. The officer must have heard me landing.
From my position, they couldn't see me. Stiff as the concrete at my back, I heard heavy metal steps walking toward me. Running to my apartment would just draw them into my house, leaving me trapped. Against my will, I stood up, glued to the wall, watching the light get brighter with every breath I took.
There was no avoiding it.
When the gun entered my field of vision, I grabbed it and knocked it down against my thigh. Then, with a quick move, I pulled their hand back, immobilizing them with an arm wrench. They struggled, but I tightened my grip and pushed them against the balcony wall.
The flashlight was on the ground, throwing shadows on our faces. I couldn't be recognized—it was too dangerous. I had to get that pig out of my way.
"Bye-bye, officer…" My heart didn't waver. That cop was too close to my house, and I couldn't take any chances.
I lifted the pile of steel using the Force tags, ready to throw it out of the building.
"Wait!!" a female voice shouted, her feet already off the ground. "Fenix?"
My heart pounded in my chest, making me lose my breath. I knew that voice.
"It's me, Officer Abrom!"
Desperately, she tried to turn her head to look at me while I kept pushing her against the balcony. The helmet made every agent look like a soulless robot. Half her torso was on the outside, getting wet by the weak rain that started again.
Suddenly, the helmet retreated to the base of her neck, revealing her red hair and allowing me to meet her green eyes.
Inside my head, millions of thoughts were racing by like the bullets in the war zone downstairs. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't trust she wouldn't shoot me—it's not like we knew each other. My heart was killing me while my flesh shook under my skin.
"Move faster!" shouted a male voice coming from the staircase.
The Trinity members were almost there—there was no time to ponder over hypothetical scenarios. I had to do something.
Under a muffled growl, I pulled her back by the arm and dragged her away from the corridor. Everything looked so dark. My vision was blurry and my hands shook as I raised my wrist to unlock the door to my apartment.
Once again, the shots began—this time coming from the staircase. They were so close, my eardrums hurt with the sound. Had been a while since I last felt such intense emotions.
My door opened and I shoved the woman inside and closed it with my body. I leaned against the metal in a needless attempt to barricade the entrance.
Of course, it wasn't over. My biggest fear came in with me, dragged by the hand in an act of despair to save us both. Looking at her in the dark, single-room apartment, the only thing I could focus on were her green eyes, staring at me with relief. Something in that woman made me uneasy. I guess I had a debt with her, but I don't think the proportions of this payment were right.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Why are you here?"
Even though nobody ever even came close to the door, I couldn't bring myself to move. To be honest, I didn't even think my words through. All I wanted was to get rid of that distressing feeling of fear.
"The Mayor commanded a search."
To my comfort, she didn't seem to be in a much different state than me. Also glued to the wall by my side, Officer Abrom kept looking at me as if she were waiting for somebody to knock on the door.
We were both apprehensive. Our breaths were heavy, as if our bodies were trying to process what could have happened moments ago.
"Search for what?!" The metal under my palms and back seemed to slowly bring me back to Earth.
"The masked terrorist."
Finally, I moved. Thinking about the police taking over the last peaceful place in this city overtook my mind. I had to check what happened while I was out.
I sat on my chair and pulled back the curtain, letting the blue night light of the ads that covered the slum faintly lighten up the place. Officer Abrom stayed by the door, watching me.
Paying attention to anything in that moment was hard. We both knew how intense the last few minutes were. There's no way to bring something up without sounding phony. Nevertheless, she was there and wouldn't leave soon, since the shooting was still on—but that didn't mean I would initiate any kind of conversation.
All I did was sit and bury my face in the wide screen, with many projections surrounding me.
After I got used to her not moving, I managed to focus on my research. I had cameras installed around my apartment and some others used by the Trinity that I accessed, giving me eyes all over the slums. Going back a little before I arrived, some cameras registered a very organized police operation entering the slums.
People started to run home, establishments closed their doors with customers still inside—it was a commotion. Judging by their formation, it seemed they had some notion of where to go, but soon got lost and bumped into a group of Trinity men in the yard downstairs. That's when the shooting started.
"How do you have access to so many surveillance devices?"