Mercedes reacted instinctively, diving under one of the tables as
the intruder fired. A virulent curse, and the intruder ducked down to
fire. A hard kick and a conveniently placed chair knocked his aim off
this time.
Mercedes scrambled out, looking around wildly. One the other side,
the gunman stood and took aim again, but she grabbed for the lab stool
behind her and hurled it at her attacker. The shot went wild as the
figure tried to protect himself against the blow, throwing his arms up.
Mercedes saw her shot. A booted foot went into her attacker's mid
section, crumpling him forward. A sharp chop to the back of his neck
left him out cold on the floor at her feet.
She simply stood there for a minute, trying to catch her breath.
She looked around the largely-destroyed lab, eyes wide, then down at
the unconscious figure at her feet.
"I've got to get out of here," she whispered to herself.
Bending down, she retrieved her attacker's gun, flipping on the
safety and tucking it in her jeans. Next, she examined the box that
now held her uncle's remains. It appeared to have a tight seal, and
would work for transportation. Carefully, she closed it and put it in
her bag. Only one more thing.
She found the bag of personal effects in their storage bag. She
removed the ring, then sealed the bag and put it in her own knapsack.
Searching in a few drawers, she found some soft cotton string. Looping
one end securely around the ring, she knotted the ends together and
slipped it over her head, tucking it down her shirt.
Just then, she noticed the small flashing light above the
doorway. Scheisse. Someone had tripped the security system, lousy as
it was. Time to go.
She slipped out into the hallway, desperately trying to recall the
building's layout. "Dammit, where is it?" she hissed under her breath,
all the time moving to the opposite end of the building.
A glance through a locked office showed her what she'd been
looking for. Outside, a rusty, rickety-looking fire escape made its
way down to an unlit alley. Perfect.
But how to get to it? She looked around, knowing her time was
running out. "Oh well," she sighed, then, pulling her hand inside her
coat sleeve, put her fist through the inner office window.
A quick swipe around the edges cleared it enough for her to climb
through. A few steps to the outside window, and a repeat performance
got her access to the fire escape.
The entire thing looked ready to collapse, but at this point, she
was out of options. Carefully but quickly, she moved out on the escape,
which groaned in protest at her weight. "Three floors," she muttered,
carefully making her way down, "just three floors, that's all I ask."
She almost made it. As she was transferring her weight from the
last landing to the ladder, the entire structure shuddered, then began
to crumble.
With a desperate leap, she managed to clear the falling metal,
instead landing less than softly in a pile of trash. Oh well, any
landing you can walk away from, or in this case, run.
Picking herself up, she sprinted for the far, dark corner of the
alley and began weaving her way through the back streets of
Yekaterinburg. She was a block away when she realized she had a tail.
After a winding, twisting path through the alleys, she looked
behind her once again. She was blessedly alone. Falling against a
wall, she exhaled sharply, relaxing briefly before moving again, this
time darting around another darkened alley corner.
And was immediately grabbed from behind, one arm going around her
waist and another over her mouth, silencing her scream.
TBC.....
the intruder fired. A virulent curse, and the intruder ducked down to
fire. A hard kick and a conveniently placed chair knocked his aim off
this time.
Mercedes scrambled out, looking around wildly. One the other side,
the gunman stood and took aim again, but she grabbed for the lab stool
behind her and hurled it at her attacker. The shot went wild as the
figure tried to protect himself against the blow, throwing his arms up.
Mercedes saw her shot. A booted foot went into her attacker's mid
section, crumpling him forward. A sharp chop to the back of his neck
left him out cold on the floor at her feet.
She simply stood there for a minute, trying to catch her breath.
She looked around the largely-destroyed lab, eyes wide, then down at
the unconscious figure at her feet.
"I've got to get out of here," she whispered to herself.
Bending down, she retrieved her attacker's gun, flipping on the
safety and tucking it in her jeans. Next, she examined the box that
now held her uncle's remains. It appeared to have a tight seal, and
would work for transportation. Carefully, she closed it and put it in
her bag. Only one more thing.
She found the bag of personal effects in their storage bag. She
removed the ring, then sealed the bag and put it in her own knapsack.
Searching in a few drawers, she found some soft cotton string. Looping
one end securely around the ring, she knotted the ends together and
slipped it over her head, tucking it down her shirt.
Just then, she noticed the small flashing light above the
doorway. Scheisse. Someone had tripped the security system, lousy as
it was. Time to go.
She slipped out into the hallway, desperately trying to recall the
building's layout. "Dammit, where is it?" she hissed under her breath,
all the time moving to the opposite end of the building.
A glance through a locked office showed her what she'd been
looking for. Outside, a rusty, rickety-looking fire escape made its
way down to an unlit alley. Perfect.
But how to get to it? She looked around, knowing her time was
running out. "Oh well," she sighed, then, pulling her hand inside her
coat sleeve, put her fist through the inner office window.
A quick swipe around the edges cleared it enough for her to climb
through. A few steps to the outside window, and a repeat performance
got her access to the fire escape.
The entire thing looked ready to collapse, but at this point, she
was out of options. Carefully but quickly, she moved out on the escape,
which groaned in protest at her weight. "Three floors," she muttered,
carefully making her way down, "just three floors, that's all I ask."
She almost made it. As she was transferring her weight from the
last landing to the ladder, the entire structure shuddered, then began
to crumble.
With a desperate leap, she managed to clear the falling metal,
instead landing less than softly in a pile of trash. Oh well, any
landing you can walk away from, or in this case, run.
Picking herself up, she sprinted for the far, dark corner of the
alley and began weaving her way through the back streets of
Yekaterinburg. She was a block away when she realized she had a tail.
After a winding, twisting path through the alleys, she looked
behind her once again. She was blessedly alone. Falling against a
wall, she exhaled sharply, relaxing briefly before moving again, this
time darting around another darkened alley corner.
And was immediately grabbed from behind, one arm going around her
waist and another over her mouth, silencing her scream.
TBC.....