Page 82 of Shrapnel

A figure was standing at the back entrance of the alley. Frozen mid-stride, his black ball cap was pulled too low to see his features, but judging by the stiffness of his shoulders he wasn’t expecting company.

“Owen,” Elijah hissed as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket, blindly tossing them back. “Get into my car and lock the doors.”

Focused on the figure, he heard the plastic crinkling as Owen stuffed the candy back into his pocket and then the jingle of his keys. Just as his sneaker scuffed against the asphalt, the man turned and began running.

Elijah took off after him. The guy had a head start, and he was fast. He cleared the alley and made a right-hand turn. Elijah lost sight but didn’t stop running. The alleys were all wide and open, not many places to hide.

Rounding the corner, Elijah’s lungs were already burning. Skin tingling with adrenalin, he pushed himself. He knew he was making a lot of noise—shoes slapping against the road, jacket flapping, and ragged breathing. But he was only focused on that slim black back. The distance between them was getting smaller.

Attempting a fake out, the man went left and then swerved right to duck down a smaller alley. Elijah was too experienced to fall for it. The man had gone left but was looking right. He gained in the process, making the turn just after the guy.

The alley was too narrow to run flat out. Elijah had to turn sideways and do a weird galloping hop. But the man did, too. They both burst out of the alley, hitting the main street and gaining speed. Being out in the open made Elijah nervous. He didn’t want to be seen, or get a civilian caught up in their fight.

With the same train of thought, he turned back into a smaller road behind some apartment complexes. Rusted-out fire escapes clung to the brick walls like big ugly spiders with thousands of limbs. Cars were parked along the street and Elijah was dodging around one when a trash can lid came flying at him. He had to throw himself to the ground to avoid taking it to the face.

Landing in a roll, his knife still gripped tight in his palm, he regained his feet. Whatever lead he gained was gone. The mystery guy had climbed up a fire escape, ascending to the first level of scaffolding before beginning to lift the ladder.

Elijah leaped for the hood of a sedan, crashing across its roof before jumping for the ladder. Sailing through the air, he only had a split second to reach for the lowest rung. Right hand holding his knife, his left grabbed the rung. His weight ripped it out of the guy’s hand, sending the ladder plummeting toward the ground.

The ladderthunkedand Elijah almost lost his grip. Body jerking, he tightened his abs to keep from swinging too wildly. Biting the knife between his teeth, he used both arms to pull himself up the ladder until he could get his feet on it. By the time he finished with the ladder, the guy was almost to the roof.

Elijah chased, forgetting all attempts at stealth as he clattered up the metal stairs after him. Several people screamed as he sprinted past their open windows, but he didn’t notice. His attention was fully on his target.

He had to jump onto the railing to make it over the cement wall of the rooftop. Getting to his feet, he looked around to see the man in black halfway across the roof. Thick tar and grease stains coated the cracked roof. Eyes narrowed against the sun Elijah saw where the man was running.

There was a narrow gap between the two buildings. Ten stories up, he was going to leap to the next roof. If he did that, Elijah wouldn’t be able to follow.

Exhaustion beating back his adrenalin, Elijah took off again. Legs pumping, he ripped the knife from his lips. The corners of his mouth were sliced from holding the stiletto blade between his teeth and he tasted blood.

Wind whipping his face, he watched as the man sprinted for the small half wall. As tired as he was, Elijah doubted he could make the jump.

The man didn’t seem to have the same reservations. Without hesitation, he leaped the half wall. Using it as a springboard he jumped across the open air.

In a last-ditch effort, in mid-stride, Elijah let his knife fly. It was too far, and the wind sent the knife a little wider than Elijah wanted. But the blade found its mark. Losing a lot of its power, it still manages to slice across the man’s bicep. Jerking from the blade made him lose his balance. He landed in a big heap, hat skittering across the second rooftop.

Elijah got a glimpse of dark hair before the guy limped around a corner, ripping open an emergency door and disappearing into the building.

He doubled over, hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back. Elijah’s lungs were screaming, and his throat was so dry he thought it might rip. He kicked at the wall, ripping at his hair as he watched his prey escape. This might have been his chance. He could have ended this and saved Noah. And he had just let the guy escape.

“Fuck!”

16

God is a Bit of a Freak

Jamie cranedhis head up as he took in the church. Our Lady of Perpetual Peace was a clean-looking building. Its red brick looked rich against the green landscape. Someone had planted a nice rose garden around a white statue of a woman. The Lady, Jamie presumed.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he waited for Elijah to finish his phone call. He was using his, ‘I’m not mad at you specifically’ voice with whoever he was talking with. Probably some poor lab tech that was trying to explain there is a waiting list for DNA. Elijah didn’t want to hear that. Especially not after he spent the last day raking himself over the coals for losing the guy on the rooftop. Elijah wasn’t going to let this go and Noah’s money would ease the sting of overtime for all the little lab rats.

Jamie liked the look of the church. There was a steeple and everything. It was no Notre Dame, but it seemed peaceful. Like it was the kind of place someone could be comforted. He had to hand it to the Catholics, they knew how to represent. Of all the services he had been dragged to, he remembered the pageantry the most. Kneeling, singing, Latin. It all put on a good show.

Maybe that was to hide all the hypocrisy.

Elijah joined him. “They said they’ll test it right away.”

“Do you think we’ll be smited the second we walk in?” Jamie paused. “Smote? Smitten? No that’s something else…”

Elijah didn’t quite roll his eyes. He was too keyed up for that. He kept glancing up at the statue in front as if she was reading all the sins inked upon his soul. Maybe she would weep for them both. Big fat tears of blood as red as the roses at her feet. They would call it a miracle and thousands would flock to see it.