Kayde laid on his back on a cold, concrete floor. He was completely still, shrouded in the darkness of the abandoned apartment building. Below his perch, he could hear the steady commotion of the city passing by, unaware of his presence.
“Do you have a shot?”
A man’s voice– gruff, stern– crackled over his radio, disturbing his silence. Moving slowly to avoid disturbing his camouflage, Kayde raised his head and peered through the scope of his sniper. He surveyed the darkened streets below, cursing the lack of light in the deeper districts as he squinted to make out details in the crowd.
“Negative. You’re not in range yet, keep moving.”
Kayde’s muscles were stiff from waiting, but he remained vigilant. They had gone to great lengths to prepare themselves for this moment. He had been waiting in cover for two days, barely moving to eat or relieve himself. He could wait a little longer.
The opportunity to eliminate an Instructor was rare. They were elusive and rarely left the Academy, so for one to be this far off the beaten path was an opportunity he wasn’t willing to miss. Kayde refused to challenge the Academy’s strength directly. The Exiled didn’t have the manpower for all-out war, and the Academy itself was a fortress. Here in the city, however, he was able to put his forces to use. He made use of their limited supplies by engaging in guerilla tactics to inflict as much damage on the Academy– and by extension the Empire– as he could.
“We should be entering your line of sight any minute.”
Kayde removed the safety and slowly slid his finger over the trigger. With steady hands he adjusted his scope, passing it over the mass of faces that moved up and down the causeway. He watched as the Enforcer escort came into view at the far end, flanked by his mark. Their position in the crowd meant that there would be unfortunate collateral damage.
He squeezed the trigger slowly, preparing to release the shot as soon as the Instructor stepped into view. When she did, Kayde realized that the Instructor was a woman and stayed his finger. There was an oddness about her. Her gait was casual, far more casual than any Instructor he had ever seen. Through his scope, Kayde could see her eyes. They were the eyes of someone who knew her lot and was resigned to it. He had seen them before, in the moments before an exile was eviscerated by a pack of Akhari in the wilds.
Kayde’s heart jumped in alarm as he recognized the convenience of this situation.
“Something’s not right. I think we need to hold off.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the decoy scope he had set up in the window above him shattered, followed by the sharp report of a counter-sniper. The streets below erupted into panic, obscuring his view of the target. Kayde rolled away from the wall, throwing the pile of refuse that had covered him into the air and pulling the barrel of his rifle from the hole he had been using in place of the window.
“Abort! Abort!”
He stood and flattened himself against the wall at his back moments before a second shot exploded into the concrete floor, throwing shrapnel into the air. Pinpricks of pain lanced across his unprotected skin.
“They have me made, I’ve got to pull out! Don’t blow your cover. I’ll be fine.”
Kayde spurred himself into action, leaving the apartment and barreling into the hallway outside. The pounding of armored feet echoed up the stairwell at the end of the hall.
He hesitated, mentally running through his escape routes. The Enforcers drew closer with every second. Slinging his sniper over his shoulder, he detached the anchor end of a steel rappelling cable from his belt and held it firmly in his right hand. Taking a few steps back, he braced himself and charged at the door across the hall, knocking it in. He careened through the far window, slapping the anchor against the windowsill as he did. His momentum carried him into open air before the line caught and swung him around back to the building’s exterior. As quickly as the line would allow him, he rappelled the wall.
Above him, the distinct sound of flashbangs detonating caused him to panic. He wasn’t going to make it to the ground before they discovered him. He looked down, gauging the drop. It was manageable, but it was going to hurt. Looking back up as he drew his pistol, he caught sight of an Enforcer leaning out of the ruined window-frame. He smiled grimly, taunting the Enforcer with a raised finger before firing three shots. The first two were aimed at the Enforcer to force them back into cover and the third was aimed at the cable. The bullet snapped the steel wires instantly, releasing him into freefall.
Kayde landed on his back, hard, the rifle bashing his shoulder. The impact drove the breath from his lungs. Knowing that he was a stationary target, he fired two more shots at the window to keep the Enforcer at bay while he struggled to gather himself. He staggered to his feet and into the cover of a nearby alleyway as fast as he could manage.
How had they known? Kayde’s mind raced through the possibilities as he fled. His source inside the Enforcers was solid. Kayde had put him there himself. That meant that either their communication had been exposed or, more alarmingly, there was a leak inside the Exiled.
Nekhra! As soon as everything fell apart, Kayde had lost contact with his man on the inside. His stomach sank as he realized the likelihood of his capture. Losing his informant was a major setback. The Exiled had expended significant resources to acquire the gear and craft the identity they needed to insert him into an active Enforcer squad. If he had been exposed, slipping a second man into the ranks would be nearly impossible. The Enforcers would be certain to establish countermeasures to prevent infiltration again. He resolved to figure out how everything had fallen apart as soon as he made it back to the Exiled compound.
Kayde switched channels on his radio.
“Alora, I need extraction.”
He waited as silence filled the line. A moment later, Alora’s spunky voice rang across the radio.
“You sound like shit, what happened?”
“Not now, Alora, I’m being pursued. Meet me at the Edge, district 172.”
Her response was considerably more urgent.
“Yes sir! Running dark, I’m on my way.”
Kayde gritted his teeth through the pain and took off. He sprinted through the narrow alleys heading to the rendezvous point, the rhythmic echo of the Enforcers’ boots following behind him.
Many thanks to the folks over at @thewritersblock for helping to edit this!
Cheers, Mako