Free Fall (Pyramid of Gold)-Chapter 55: On the Run

We left the tower when the last vestiges of light disappeared from the sky. Mickey followed me like a shadow, silent and strangely still. We were too paranoid to use the subway or buses, but a taxi wasn’t something that the Protectors could easily track. Without a second fake passport, there was no point in going to the airport, but a short-distance train ticket could still be bought without providing an ID. The distance didn’t really matter: as soon as we were out of the city, our options would increase tremendously, and at the same time the Agency’s control over the area would diminish. Then it was just a matter of chance. With luck, we would be able to reach the border on foot without being spotted, cross it and continue moving south. There were still places in the world where the Agency could not reach. Crossing half of the continent and getting there in one piece would be a miracle, but it was not impossible -- especially to Mickey and me, who were both high category wraiths. We even had money. There was still hope.

We just had to get out of the city before the PA closed it off completely.

The taxi dropped us off a couple of blocks away from our goal. Soon we were standing in the shadows across the street from the train station. My heart was beating like a beast trapped in a cage. This was it, the moment of truth. We just had to go in, buy tickets, and get on a train. As simple as that.

If no one was waiting for us to come.

The station looked normal. Despite the late hour, there were plenty of people going in and out. They were relaxed and joyful, not at all like someone informed about the murderous wraith hiding somewhere in the city. There were not a lot of policemen around, too. The PA did not announce their manhunt on Mickey yet, which meant that they could not act openly. Maybe they had no time to put people around the station. After all, the Agency was a giant bureaucratic machine, and the wheels of bureaucracy always worked slowly. Closing off an entire city was not an easy task.

Yet, somehow, I doubted that the Protector would be that inefficient. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

That’s why hope and fear both burned feverishly in my chest, and I hesitated for so long before approaching the station. I scanned the surroundings a thousand times, making sure that there was no one suspicious lying in wait to ambush us. Mickey was doing the same, his face was exhausted, his eyes lost in shadows.

’Matt...’

I sighed.

’Let’s go. There’s no point in waiting any longer.’

We crossed the street and approached the station. Every step we made sent jolts of adrenalin into my bloodstream. I waited for everything to go wrong. For someone to scream at us. For sirens to howl, tearing the calm evening to pieces. For police cars to dash toward us at high speed. Even for the sound of gunshots.

But nothing happened.

We were almost inside the train station, and relief was threatening to flood my head like alcohol. Mickey quickened his pace, ready to be saved from this nightmare. And yet my paranoia was still screaming for me to stop.

I grabbed him by the shoulder and froze.

Everything was fine and normal, but something felt wrong.

I just couldn’t see what.

’What’s the matter?’

I slowly backed away, pulling him with me.

What was I not seeing?

The interior of the train station was brightly lit. A small queue of people was in front of the ticket office, waiting for the clerk to sell them their tickets. Several families were sitting in the plastic chairs of the waiting area. Kids were trying to get a toy from inside the electronic claw machine. An old man was buying water from the vending machine.

Everything was normal.

But I wasn’t seeing something.

My eyes stopped on the janitor washing the floors. Green overalls, hunched back. What did Mickey say back when we were trying to avoid the Protectors on the university campus? A janitor’s uniform makes you practically invisible.

My heart skipped a beat.

The janitor looked unfamiliar, with greasy grey hair and an unkempt beard. But it took me less than a second to recognize those thin lips. After all, that man followed me around for a few months.

He was a Protector.

After noticing him, it took me just a few moments to find his partner, the elusive woman who changed her appearances like gloves. She was actually behind the glass of the ticket office, pretending to be the clerk. This time, she was wearing a short blond wig, with makeup that made her almost unrecognizable. Just by looking at her precise and efficient movements, you would never suspect that she hadn’t worked in that booth for years. But I knew her face and body too well. There was also the third man, who was standing in the queue with his back to me. I recognized him because of the impression of the wedding band on his ring finger -- a small, but consistent characteristic of his that I had memorized back in winter.

They were all here.

My heart dropped, and for a second I struggled to breathe.

’Mickey, we have to get out of here.’

’Why?’

’It’s a trap. The Protectors are watching the station.’

He looked at me, eyes as wide as saucers, and slowly turned around.

’Have they noticed us?’

’I don’t know.’

If they did, we were done.

’Don’t run. Walk slowly.’

We walked away, feeling like a couple of prisoners going to their execution. One step, two. Three. Time has never felt so slow.

Maybe thanks to luck, or maybe thanks to my paranoia, no one rushed to stop us. We managed to get away from the train station without being seen. We were still free and alive.

But the presence of Protectors proved that the PA was watching exits from the city. And if they were here at the station, they were probably at every other exit too. They could have been waiting for us anywhere. Everywhere.

My worst fears came true.

Of course, we still had to check. It took us several hours to realize the depths of the desperate situation we were in. On every road leading out of the city, police officers and video cameras were checking the cars driving in and out. Long-distance buses were under the surveillance of other teams of Protectors. We even thought about leaving the city on foot, but it turned out to be almost impossible. The vast highway that coiled around it was full of traffic, cars and trucks moving at a breakneck speed. Every pedestrian crossing was equipped with cameras, and simply running through traffic would cause a commotion, if not a crash, and get us noticed in seconds.

Tired and on the brink of losing hope, we stopped at an empty parking lot to catch our breath. Mickey’s voice was soft and quiet.

’Matt. What do we do now?’

I was silent for a whole minute, trying to calm myself down and think. I had to come up with a plan. I had to save Mickey.

’The port. We are going to the port.’

’But... there’s no passenger ships. And it’s too late for the tourist boats.’

I shook my head.

’That’s good for us. It means they might not be looking for us there. We can sneak aboard a cargo ship or a fishing boat and stowaway until it leaves the harbor.’

’I... I don’t know about that.’

He was right to be doubtful, it was a risky plan. But in our circumstances, every other idea that came to my mind was even more dubious.

’It’s a chance, Mickey. Don’t give up yet. We can do it.’

He hesitated for a few moments and then nodded.

The crescent moon was high in the sky by the time we got to the port. It was not open to the public, and heavily guarded even at night -- which was not surprising, considering the amount of cargo that was coming into the city by water every day. The lake was incredibly vast, connecting two countries as a convenient trade route. With every other path of escape cut off, it was our best chance of getting away from the PA.

Finding a blind spot with no cameras and waiting for the right moment when the patrolling guards were far away, we quickly climbed over the fence and dropped to the ground, trying to stay as quiet as possible. For a moment, I remembered the railroad museum Mickey and I explored at the beginning of our search for Zero. Gods, it seemed so far away, as though decades have passed since that cold day. But in reality, it was just a few months ago.

So many things have changed in my life since that day.

Becoming friends with Mickey.

Meeting Zero.

Learning about my mother’s fate.

And, of course, Claire...

Don’t think about it!

Behind the fence, there was a small jungle of shipping containers, heavy machinery and small warehouses. Slowly and carefully, we made our way toward the wharves, avoiding lights and patrolling security guards. When needed, I used the Ability to make sure that no one noticed us. But the closer we got to the water, the harder it got to move forward. Finally, we were forced to hide behind a tall pile of gravel, waiting and waiting for an opportunity to cross the open space in front of us.

So far, there was no sign of the PA, but I didn’t dare to relax.

Mickey touched me on the shoulder. I turned to him, noticing a strange and somber expression on his pale face.

’Matt...’

His whisper was barely audible.

’... It’s not too late to turn back. You... you don’t have to risk it. For me.’

I stared at him, trying to understand what he was trying to say. When I was about to answer, his pupils suddenly widened, and he put a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet.

In the silence, there was a muffled sound of sand scraping under someone’s foot. It came from a place hidden in deep shadow a dozen or so meters ahead of the gravel pile we were hiding behind. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone there. No guard had walked into that shadow ever since we had reached this part of the port. No worker had walked in that direction either.

We both froze, afraid to even breathe. A minute passed by, then another. And then, another sound came from the shadow. This time, it was the hiss of a hand-held radio coming to life.

’Report.’

I knew the voice that came from the radio.

Someone moved in the shadow, raising a hand to their lips.

’River Seven, reporting. No sign of the mark. Over.’

Of course, I knew it. It was Mitchel’s voice.

And the one who answered him had the same accent, meaning that it was one of the foreign Protectors who came to this city to hunt Zero down. And was now hunting us down.

Mickey’s trembling hand found mine in the darkness. He pulled me forward until we were face to face, both pale as ghosts.

’Matt. Matt. What do we do?’

His whisper was numb with fear.

I closed my eyes, trying to prevent panic and hopelessness from sipping onto my face. I had to remain strong, at least outwardly, so that Mickey too could hold himself from falling to pieces. But I couldn’t lie to him either.

My bag of tricks was finally empty. I couldn’t think anymore.

’I... I don’t know.’