Chapter one: Shadows
The ring swung back and forth as he landed soundlessly on the rooftop. The silver chain the held the ring glinted in the pale moonlight, giving the only hint that there was something hiding within the shadows. A flick of the wrist gave a simple command, which was done in a swift accuracy, and silence that was almost suffocating. They moved as one, making sure to make no mistake, for if they did, they knew it could be their last. Again the hand gave a command and one lone shadow moved away from the large one and slowly made its way along the wall towards the door leading inside the building. Fingers grasped the knob and turned it carefully, testing to see if it was unlocked or not. A quick jerk of the knob told the shadow that it was indeed locked. Groaning softly, it made its way back to the others and knelt in front of them.
"It's locked"
"You're sure?"
"Yes"
Eyes narrowed in thought for a moment, studying the gravel on the roof intently.
"Pick the lock, we're going in"
A quick nod of the head and the shadow crept away from them and went to work on unlocking the door.
Moments later the shadows crept along the stairwells slowly, keeping their senses completely aware of everything around them. Nothing could go wrong; no mistakes could be made. A few yards ahead a guard stood outside one of the lab doors, keeping intent eyes locked on the hallway. He turned and faced towards the moving shadows and started to walk towards them. One quick flick of the hand and the shadows were halted, standing still as statues, holding their breath. There they stood and watched, waiting to see where the guard intended to go, hoping they hadn't been seen. Seconds ticked by, which felt like hours, and the guard abruptly stopped, turned around, and started to walk in the direction from before. Four bodies relaxed and backed up around the corner and made a tight huddle.
"Ok, we have one guard in front of that door. Which means there could be several within the room"
"So…what should we do?"
"We can't turn back now"
"No…we can't"
"Two of us will take the guard down"
"Why two? It's a one man job"
"One of us will take the guard down and the other will look inside to see how many guards are in there"
"I still don't get why it takes two"
A frustrated sigh fell between them.
"The body needs to be disposed of"
"Oh"
"Who wants to come with me?"
Silence fell as a pair of eyes locked with three others.
"I will"
"Alright, I'll take the guard and you look inside the door"
"What if there's no window?"
"Then go back with the others and wait for me"
Three heads nodded, then two shadows separated and disappeared around the corner.