AN 3.06.17: While writing this chapter I realized that I'd left a detail out of chapter 7. It's not vital, but I added a brief scene at the end of that chapter, so it wouldn't be a complete waste of time to go back and reread…
Getting out of the hotel was easy. At two in the morning, no one was roaming the corridors, so it was a simple matter of slipping out of their room and into the empty stairwell.
When they reached the ground floor, Misaki expected that they would open the window and climb out; instead, as soon as they stepped off the stairs Li raised a black-gloved fist in a signal to stop. Misaki halted obediently and watched as he leaned forward and twisted the light bulb out of the sconce on the wall. The narrow stairway went black and she understood: there were no blinds on the windows here; anyone looking in from the street - or Fujiwara's headquarters across the way - would be able to clearly see two figures dressed in black climbing out of a brightly-lit window.
"Good thinking," she whispered, and started to move forward again; but once again Li stopped her.
"Give it a minute." His voice was so low that she barely heard him. "Just in case anyone comes to investigate a burned-out bulb."
Misaki nodded and pressed herself up against the wall, next to him and out of sight of the street. Her heart was thudding in her chest so hard that she would have been surprised if Li couldn't hear it.
Several silent minutes elapsed before he said, "Masks on."
She pulled the ski mask down over her face and found the slots for her glasses. Beside her, Li had practically disappeared into the shadows. He was a deeper darkness outlined in the window as he flipped the latch and slid it slowly upwards, barely two feet high, then slipped out. She suppressed a shiver and followed after him.
It wasn't the most graceful exit she'd ever made. She tried to follow Li's lead - sitting sideways on the sill, she folded up her right leg and swung it down on the other side, then bent over and squeezed her torso through. But as her left leg followed, her knee banged into the sill and she lost her balance, pitching forward for a heart-stopping moment - until Li caught her around the hips and held her steady while she extricated her leg.
"Thanks," she breathed. He didn't answer; as soon as she had both feet on the ground he looked up and down the street, then darted across with a hand signal to follow.
It was only a couple feet, Misaki chided herself as she jogged after him. Not a three-story drop; if this is the least dangerous thing that happens tonight you'll be lucky.
She glanced up at the east-facing windows as they reached the shadow of the building; all were dark except for the one that was in the corridor where Li assumed the stairwell was. Just like last night - that was good.
Her partner had already reached the rear corner, his impatience clear in his posture as he waited for her. Misaki jogged on and they slipped into the narrow street behind the headquarters building.
Li slid along the wall towards the delivery entrance; Misaki would have never seen him if she hadn't known he was there. She mimicked his movement as best she could, until they reached the door.
"I hope you're right about the camera," she whispered with a glance up at the tiny red light on the side of the security camera. Well, even if he'd been wrong, their earlier test had been worth it, she thought, the memory of his hands on her waist almost palpable.
He didn't answer. Instead, he squatted down and pulled the small (black) gear bag that he wore across his back around to his chest and fished inside for a moment before retrieving what she assumed to be his lock picking kit. Misaki couldn't see anything in the darkness; he must be doing it all by feel. Either that, or his vision was better than a cat's.
In the time that it took her to glance up and down the street once, Li had the door unlocked. Misaki heard the faint click as he pushed it open and turned back to see a strip of light spill out into the street. They both hovered just at the edge of the light, Misaki keeping an ear out for the sound of a guard coming to investigate - and an eye on her partner's masked face. He barely seemed aware of her presence, he was so intensely focused on the corridor beyond the door.
She wondered if he did everything as intensely - then she sucked in a deep breath. Now was really not the time to let herself get distracted.
Li made a gesture with his hand; Misaki checked that her gun was secure in its holster, then darted into the corridor. There was a door immediately to her right, but according to their guesswork of the floor plan, the stairs would be ahead, where the hall took a hard left. Stepping softly, she pushed on until she reached the corner; then she paused, Li on her heels.
She pointed to her eyes, then up at the corner. Li nodded once; he'd seen the camera too. They stood out like a sore thumb in the brightly-lit corridor; those cameras had better not be live.
From here Li took the lead. He turned the corner ahead of her; when she followed she spotted an elevator - and next to it, a stairwell. Relief tempered the anxiety in her stomach, but only briefly. It was her turn to be on point. Cautiously, she pushed open the door to the stairs and checked inside before giving Li the all clear.
They made their way up to the second floor and down the corridor to the southeast corner office in the same way, leap frogging each other at every corner and junction, one person checking ahead while the other kept an eye on their rear. Misaki didn't see a single person or hear any sign of life on either the first or second floor; she hoped that meant that the building was indeed empty for the night.
The door to the office was closed. Misaki reached out and tried the handle - locked. Li was there a moment later, crouching down in front of the lock with his tools in hand. It was a little nerve-wracking, not being able to see his face as he worked; but she supposed she must appear the same to him.
He opened this door just as easily as he had the one on the street. With a huge, silent sigh of relief, Misaki stepped out of the bright hallway and into the dark room.
Li shut the door behind them, and Misaki's eyes snapped to a tiny blue glow coming from the center of the office.
She reached for her gun just as a hand closed on her shoulder.
"Computer," Li said in her ear.
The air left her lungs in one long breath as her muscles relaxed. Of course; the computer was sitting on top of the desk, and the desk was in the center of the room. The blue light was just the light from the power switch indicating that the CPU was still on.
"Right," she said, inwardly cursing herself for being so jumpy, and rushed over to the desk. It was positioned so that anyone sitting at the computer would be facing the door, with their back to the window. Misaki dropped into the cushioned office chair and fumbled in the dark for a painfully-long ten seconds to find the button to turn on the monitor; when the screen finally flickered into life, a dialog box asking for a password popped up.
And her mind went blank.
Shit, what was the password? She struggled with her memory for a long moment, before an image of the scrap of paper finally materialized in her mind, the string of random characters written clear. She typed it out; the borrowed gloves were too large, her fingers clumsy, and it took her two tries to get it right. But then she was in.
The intel from Huang had been correct: this system was exactly the same as the one that Section Four used for their records. She started clicking through the menu; yes, this was what she was used to.
Li was edging around the room. She heard him flip the latch on the window behind her and raise up a few inches before closing it again. Was he looking for an alternative exit? They were two stories up; no way could they leave by the window.
The distinct sound of a door closing out in the hall froze her fingers on the keys. She held her breath, listening.
A black shadow appeared at her side. "How long?" Li whispered sharply.
"I - a few minutes."
"Hurry." Without another word he returned to the office door and cracked it open the tiniest sliver.
Misaki forced herself to ignore what he was doing and focus. Like he had reminded her more than once - her job was to get the files; his job was to watch her back. She returned to the menu, clicking through a convoluted path until - there. The database backup. Reaching under her shirt, she retrieved the flash drive from her already-sweaty bra and plugged it into the CPU's USB port.
The click of the door shutting was as loud as gunshot in her ears - she snapped her gaze up from the screen to see an empty room. He's just gone to investigate the noise, she told herself, her heart in her throat. No sense letting ourselves get ambushed. She entered the command to convert and export the database to her flash drive. He won't get caught; he knows what he's doing.
She hoped he did, anyway. He certainly acted like he was competent enough for this mission; but still, he'd only been armed with a small knife. What if there was a contractor out there? He shouldn't have gone alone - at least Misaki had a firearm.
A progress bar popped up on the screen - it was showing a five-minute transfer time. Shit, that's too long. Misaki had to resist the urge to drum her fingers impatiently on the desk, and settled for tapping her foot on the carpet instead. Five minutes - anything could happen. Li could get caught; someone could walk in and find her here.
You're armed, she reminded herself. You'll be fine.
Would she, though? Yakuza aside, she was the one who was trespassing. They may be criminals and racketeers and human traffickers, but this was their property and she didn't have a warrant to be on it. Could she actually shoot a human being in this position?
Yes. She could. She would, to protect herself, and to protect her partner. She just prayed that she wouldn't have to make that choice.
She checked the progress bar again - three minutes and. How -
Light flooded the room as the door swung open. Misaki jumped up from the desk, her gun halfway out of its holster - when she recognized Li, briefly silhouetted before he pushed the door quickly but gently shut again.
"Two men," he whispered harshly. "Coming this way - is it done?"
"Shit - no," she whispered back. "Three more minutes."
"That's too long - we have to leave."
"Leave? We can't leave - we're so close!"
"If they find us we're dead. Let's go." He grabbed her wrist, but she jerked her arm away.
"No! This might be my only chance at saving those dolls!"
Heavy footfalls in the hallway prevented Li from answering. They both froze in place; then Misaki heard a voice right outside the door say, "Do you have the key?"
Before she could do anything - before her mind had even processed the words - Li jabbed the off switch on the monitor, plunging the room into blackness save for the pulsing blue glow of the power indicator. Then he grabbed her wrist again; this time she didn't resist and he pulled her to the floor behind the desk.
"Hang on - some idiot left it unlocked."
Li's grip slid from her wrist to her hand, and squeezed. She wasn't sure if he was trying to send a specific message, or if it was merely a gesture of giving - or seeking - comfort. She could feel the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, they were pressed so closely together. He was handling the situation much better than her - her pulse was racing so fast her heart was having trouble keeping up.
"Who was the last one in here?" a second voice said in obvious annoyance.
Misaki stared as a strip of light spilled into the room, two shadows outlined on the wall across from her in the widening rectangle. She hardly dared to breathe. As soon as someone hit the light switch, they would be seen; the desk couldn't hide them completely.
Slowly, she reached up with her free hand and gripped her gun. Beside her, she felt Li shifting - reaching for his knife, probably. Their hands remained clasped; it was stupid from a tactical standpoint, but she couldn't bring herself to let go.
"Tanaka, probably," the first man snorted. "We -"
A loud pop echoed in the hall; Misaki barely managed to stifle a gasp of surprise.
"What was that?" the first man exclaimed.
"It sounded like it came from the stairs - come on." The silhouettes disappeared from the wall as footsteps receded in the distance.
Li jumped to his feet, pulling Misaki up with him, and yanked the flash drive out of the computer. "We're going. Now."
"How?" Misaki demanded. "Those men went towards the stairs, and the elevator is right there too, they'll see us."
He didn't answer. Instead, he took two strides to the window and opened it.
Misaki backed up a step and bumped into the desk. "No way," she said.
"I put a remote-detonated popcap in the stairwell - they'll be back here as soon as they figure it out. There's no time to argue."
"But -"
"Let yourself hang from the sill and drop. I'll go first and catch you." Without waiting for her response, he jumped up to crouch on the window sill and looked over his shoulder, his masked face illuminated in the light from the doorway. "Come on, Lan." Then he disappeared from sight.
Misaki froze stock still, that all-too-familiar image burning in her brain. She was supposed to trust - him? He had the flash drive and no reason to risk getting himself caught to help her. Maybe she would be better off risking the stairs.
Her heart pounding, she slowly approached the window and looked down. Li was waiting impatiently below; but still…
"Come on - just let go, I'll catch you!" he called quietly with an anxious look up and down the deserted street.
You can do this, she told herself as she stared down. It's just two floors; Li - or whoever - will catch you. He's kept all his promises so far this weekend.
Her palms were sweating as she clambered up onto the window sill and looked down again. Oh god, she couldn't do this. It was too high up, she'd break her neck and -
"Misaki, trust me!"
She took a deep breath and nodded, then turned around on the sill - just in time to see two men burst into the office. "Hey!" one shouted upon spotting her - but the other was already raising the gun in his hand. Misaki didn't have time to think. She gripped the edge of the sill and kicked her feet back into open air, letting go at the same time the gun cracked.
White-hot pain ripped through her shoulder but she was already falling. For one heart-stopping moment she fell; then strong arms caught her around the waist and together they rolled to the ground with her momentum. Li was under her, and she was staring up at the office window. A head appeared in the window - the waiter from the hotel. He raised his gun again, but Li had already reached across her chest and whipped her gun out of its holster. He fired twice, and the waiter's head jerked back; Misaki couldn't tell if he'd been hit or not.
"Come on." Li hauled her to her feet. Her shoulder was in agony, but she bit back her cry of pain and together they dashed down the street.
