Chapter 2: Special Job for Sleepy Workers
Sway

Riiiiiing.

I pulled my eyelids apart and wondered who would be calling at such an awful hour. Then I knew. Memphis. If he was going to call me at this hour… 5:00… it must be really important. I rolled over and reached for the phone.

Riiiiiing.

I picked it up, "What?"

"Sway." It was Kip. "We have a code yellow. Open your door."

I set down the receiver and rolled out of bed. I forced myself to wake up and opened the door to my suite. Kip stood in front of me, cell phone in hand. He smiled at me. I grimaced and tried to remember what a code yellow was. Kip barely noticed my lack-of clothing.

"Wake up, Sway," he told me. He knew I wasn't a morning person. "We have to move fast."

I tied up my hair and slid a pair of pants over my panties. Kip hardly paid attention to me as I dressed. That was typical of Kip. He was the one guy who saw me as an equal, though I didn't really mind that Memphis saw me as a woman.

"Come on," Kip urged.

"Brief me now," I told him, grabbing a tank top.

"Fine," he returned. "We got a call about ten minutes ago from Otto."

He paused as I pulled the tank top over my bra. I slid on my shoes and went out the door. Kip followed.

"Otto said that there's a guy… Willie Won, who says that he has eight hostages and will kill one every half hour until he gets Penny."

I cringed. Penny was as rare as cars come. No one had ever successfully boosted her. The four upper-boosters hadn't tried though. I guessed I'd get my chance to now. We sprinted down the stairs and right out of the garage.

"You're boosting, I'm lookout, and Memphis is hostage control," Kip said. I nodded and we split. I tore down the block. Penny stayed only two blocks away… in the impoundment. I didn't worry though. Kip had all ready sent in a rookie as a distraction, no doubt about it.

I turned at the edge and went to the back of the impoundment. I prepared myself to climb the chain link fence. There was the signal. That rookie must've been a quick learner. I climbed over the fence as soon as I saw the whit cloth fly. As soon as I hit the ground, I sprinted to Penny. The red metal just drew me closer to her. I slid my hand under the doorframe and found the release. The door popped open.

"Yes!" I crowed quietly. I sat in the leather chair and grabbed the key off the visor. "Quiet now, Penny. We don't want to attract any attention."

She started a little louder than I'd hoped, but the guard was still wrapped up with the rookie. I crept Penny up to the gate and waited. I almost laughed aloud when I realized that Kip had just hired a high school girl to flirt with the guard. I just hoped she'd do the job.

A moment later, the girl "accidentally" hit the gate release button while acting like an airhead. By the time the guard got it shut again, I was on the way to the address Kip had given me. I rode down the streets right at the speed limit all the way to 127 Sycamore Avenue.

I stopped the car and turned it off. I took the keys out of the ignition. Kip had been in the side alley with watch duty. When he heard the car coming, he'd come around to meet me.

"Sway," he addressed me. "Give me the key. When I'm out of sight, honk the horn to get their attention."

I obeyed. The horn blared when I hit it, but it got the job done. A man immediately came to the window. He smiled at the sight of Penny. I slid out of the car and looked up at him. He smiled at me. I put on a fake smile as I began my second job: keep him occupied while Memphis took all the hostages out to safety.

I leaned over the car to give him a better view of me. His face lit up, but he tried to conceal it. I continued to silently flirt with him for a few minutes. He seemed to really enjoy it, like typical man with high status.

Suddenly he turned around. I whistled shrilly. Then man turned to face me, and I began to… you know, show a little more body. He looked at me funny and held up his hands in innocence. A shot rang out from inside.

"Dammit!" I crowed. "Kip!"

Kip was all ready running to the car. He threw me the key and I hopped in. There was much chaos going on inside the building. I tried to block it out as I started the engine. Kip flew into the passenger seat, and we took off, leaving the scene and Memphis behind us.

We didn't speak a word, but we both knew the other was thinking about Memphis.

Finally Kip broke the silence, "How was the boost?"

"Surprisingly easy," I told him. "That girl you hired did a great job. She had the guard wrapped around her finger."

Kip nodded, "I figured she would. What are we going to do with Penny?"

"Well I guess we'll take her back to the garage and ask Otto what he thinks," I replied, bluntly.

A few minutes later, we pulled Penny into the garage and hoped the best for Memphis Raines.

TBC