City of Blood and Iron

The Escape Hatch

The heavy steel front door of our apartment did not just open; it exploded inward in a shower of hot sparks and flying metal chunks.

Smoke filled the hallway, carrying the sharp scent of burning circuits. Through the grey haze, three armed tactical officers pushed into the room. They wore black body armor stamped with the golden seal of the Special Bureau, and their rifles glowed with blue energy rings.

Target sighted! the lead officer shouted, raising his rifle straight at my chest. "Do not let them move. The contract requires live retrieval, but limbs are optional!

I did not wait to hear more. Years of processing dangerous municipal complaints in the city sewers had taught me one hard truth: never argue with a man holding a bigger weapon than yours.

"Hold onto my jacket, El! I yelled, diving sideways behind the overturned kitchen table just as a blast of blue energy smashed into the wall where I had been standing a second ago. Plaster rained down on our heads like white dust.

Elena was right behind me. Her dark wings folded tight against her back, keeping her low to the floor. She did not look panicked. Instead, her eyes flashed with a sharp, calculating light that proved she was already planning our counter-attack. That was her way. When things got bad, she did not cry; she looked for the trap door.

Kyle, she said quickly, pointing toward the kitchen window that led out to the narrow metal fire escape. "They blocked the front hallway. That is our only way out, but look up.

I glanced past the shattered window. Hovering just outside in the rainy night air were two black surveillance drones, their red camera lenses spinning as they locked onto our exact position. If we climbed out that window, the drones would light us up like holiday trees and call in every hit squad within ten blocks.

"Leave the drones to me," Elena said.

Before I could stop her, she stood up from behind the table, let out a sharp breath, and snapped her wings open. A wave of dark kinetic energy blasted from her feathers like a small windstorm. The force hit the window frame, shattering the remaining glass into a million tiny pieces. Before the tactical officers could turn their rifles toward us, Elena raised her hand and threw a heavy cast-iron frying pan straight at the nearest drone.

The pan hit the drone's rotor with a loud CLANG, sending the machine spinning wildly out of control until it crashed down into the alley below.

Move, move, move! I grabbed her hand, pulling her through the broken window frame and out onto the metal grating of the fire escape.

Cold rain hit our faces instantly. Below us, the dark street stretched out like a wet ribbon, empty except for a single parked van with its engine running. But behind us, the tactical officers kicked away the overturned table and poured out onto the metal stairs, shouting orders and firing warning shots that pinged loudly off the iron railing.

"Down the stairs!" I ordered, shoving Elena ahead of me as we raced down the rusted steps.

Every metal step rattled under our boots. Another energy blast clipped the railing right next to my hand, melting the iron like hot butter. I pulled my red wooden stamp from my coat pocket, slapped it against the metal wall of the building, and stamped hard.

THWUMP.

A thick wall of solid golden light shot up behind us, blocking the doorway of the fire escape just as the officers reached it. They slammed into the golden barrier with loud curses, pounding on the light with their rifle butts.

We hit the alley floor running. The rain was coming down harder now, soaking through our clothes, but we did not slow down. We bolted past large green garbage bins and turned the corner toward the main avenue, hoping to lose ourselves in the late-night city crowd.

We made it thirty feet before a sleek black sedan screeched to a halt right in front of us, blocking our path. The tires sprayed dirty water across our legs.

The passenger door swung open instantly. Inside sat Director Thorne, adjusting his silk tie with a calm, unbothered smile. He looked like he was sitting in a comfortable office instead of a dark, rainy alley at midnight.

"Running away from your paperwork, Kyle? Thorne asked smoothly, resting his arm on the open window frame. You should know by now that you cannot quit a job when you are the most valuable asset on the ledger.

I stopped dead in my tracks, raising my iron gun and pointing it right between Thorne's eyes. Elena stood beside me, her wings flaring out again, ready to strike.

Open the road, Thorne, I warned, my finger resting lightly on the trigger. Or I will paint this pavement with your expensive suit.

Thorne did not even blink. He slowly reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a small leather folder, and tossed it out onto the wet asphalt between our feet.

You can shoot me, Kyle, Thorne said, his smile widening into something cold and sharp. "Or you can open that folder and read the real reason your father died. It turns out he did not try to break the contract to save the city. He tried to sell Elena to the highest bidder on the black market, and you were the one who signed the receipt."