Chapter 2: Escape Route
Planet Sepheril, Aeegan System, Outer Colonies
Zion City
Jorgen's head disappeared in a cloud of red haze, and his body toppled to the floor. People began to scream and scatter, and a pair of bodyguards hopped onto the stage and ran to the minister's aid. Already, people directly below Maya's position began frantically pointing up at where they heard the gunshot come from, but everybody was too busy trying to get out of the line of fire to listen.
Maya checked her watch. In briefing, it was estimated that it would take approximately two minutes for local authorities to respond. Maya had to ditch the weapon, wipe any evidence of ONI involvement, and escape the building.
Simple.
First, she backed off from the window, wrapped her rifle in swathes of cloth, and hid it under a pile of cardboard boxes. Next, she dropped an incendiary device, timed at exactly one minute, to remove any traces of fibers or DNA. Finally, after making sure everything was in order, Maya opened the door and barreled down the stairs. It was too risky to use the elevator, since it could be stopped.
"Longbow, this is Eye in the Sky. Recommend you find a different route out. Police have arrived sooner than planned. Repeat, police have already arrived. Your exit route is compromised."
Maya cursed under her breath. That would make things more complicated. Sanders was outside waiting. With her most direct route cut off, she had to go around, which would take longer.
"Recommend you take the back door, Longbow. Not much activity there."
"Roger that."
Maya began to pick up her pace a little, and made a beeline for the maintenance door. That would lead to the rear of the building and-
"Excuse me, ma'am."
Maya froze and turned. Two men in police uniforms came to confront her.
"Sorry to disturb you, miss, but we were wondering if you heard anything out of the ordinary."
Good, they still didn't suspect her. Maya feigned confusion and answered.
"Yeah, I thought I head something popping, like a gunshot or something like that…"
Both policemen quickly grew more alert.
"Where?"
"I think it was somewhere upstairs."
One of the policemen nodded. One made a dash to cover the stairs and the elevator, while the other got on the radio. Maya turned to leave, but was stopped short.
"Hold on there, miss. We can't let anybody leave the building, not until we've cleared it."
Definitely NOT good. Maya was the only person in the building, and once they found the rifle, it wouldn't be too hard to make put two and two together.
"Longbow, this is Control, what is your status? Confirm!"
Thankfully, the radio was a small transmitter fitted into her ear, so only Maya could hear it. She inched her mouth toward the transmitter in her collar
"Hit a snag, sir. Held up by locals. They haven't caught on yet, but they won't let me leave."
"Well by god then, FIND a way! Every second you waste is another second the enemy can use!"
"Yes sir."
Fortunately, the policeman's back was turned toward her, so Maya tried to take the chance to inch away toward the maintenance door, until she felt a hand land on her shoulder.
"And where do you think you're-"
In a blur of motion, Maya's fist connected with the policeman's face. The policeman staggered back, and tried to draw his pistol, but Maya quickly delivered two more punches into his gut. The man grunted and fell over. Ignoring the cries from the other policeman to stop, Maya opened the maintenance door and ran through.
"Longbow, this is Eye in the Sky. We've got contacts all over. Police units centering in on your location. Estimated time, ETA 30 seconds!"
Maya opened another door and burst into a back alley. She quickly glanced around and dashed to the nearest street. Already, police sirens and lights were appearing on the opposite side of the alley.
"Contacts behind you! Closing in fast!"
"I'm aware they're after me, damn it! Find me a way out of this mess!"
"Uhhh, keep going down. There's a side alley right across the street. Go into it and take a left."
Maya burst out from the alley. Carelessly shoving aside pedestrians, two police cars roared down the street to cut her off.
"Persistent bastards."
Maya kept running. Once both cars stopped, Maya jumped and slid across the hood of one of the cars. Landing on her feet, she made a beeline for the next alley, but she could already hear car doors opening behind her and pistols clearing leather holsters. She ignored the hails for her to stop and kept running.
Suddenly, she heard shots, and then she stumbled as if she had been hit in the side with a sledgehammer. Maya winced in pain and kept moving. She reached the alley and turned in to it. Now the policemen couldn't get a good shot in at her.
As she ran down the alley, Maya reached down and felt her side. There was a small, but noticeable hole in the side of her jacket. Thankfully, she was wearing a kinetic impact vest under it. Though it wouldn't stop a bullet, the vest was strong enough to at least slow it down and deflect it enough so a shot won't be lethal. She probed the hole with her fingers, and they came back wet and bloody. Maya looked down. Her jacket wasn't soaked with blood yet, and she didn't really feel much pain, so she assumed the wound wasn't that serious.
She then spied a door on her right. She quickly threw it open and ran inside. She found herself inside a diner, which was packed with people eating breakfast. That was good, since it would be harder to spot her in the crowd.
Outside, dozens of police officers and an armada of cars and lights raced past the diner window. Several patrons looked up to see what the commotion was, but most didn't do so much as bat an eye, as if such events were a common occurrence. Maya leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She made it. This time.
"Hey miss, you going to stand there, or are you going to buy something?"
Maya snapped her eyes open, remembering that she still had to meet up with her extraction team. She turned to face the slightly portly cook behind the counter.
"N-no, that's okay."
Then, another employee, a kid really, came up.
"Hey, you know what that commotion was all about? I heard someone got shot or something."
Maya managed to give a thin smile.
"Don't worry. Nothing special has happened here. Never has, never will."
With those words, Maya opened the door, looked both ways, and disappeared into the Sepherilian morning haze.
