Xyra Pash's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

The canyon jump had left her shoulders burning, but she'd cleared it clean. Now the drop point sat three blocks ahead — a warehouse loading dock she'd scouted twice before. Xyra slowed at the corner and scanned the approaches. Four men blocked the main entrance. Two more stood near the side alley. She pulled back and circled the block. The bar with the purple snake glowing on its door — The Slip's Haven — sat at the center of a perimeter marked in red tactical paint. X's and arrows sprayed across the concrete, claiming the space. Blue force field walls hummed at both ends of the street, boxing in the building. They'd locked it down fast. Too fast. GiganCorp knew she'd taken the direct route. Xyra counted the muscle again. Six outside, maybe more inside. She could slip through the rooftops, drop down through the bar's second-floor window if it opened. But that put her inside their box with one exit. The package sat heavy in her bag. Delivering it meant walking into a trap. Walking away meant breaking her first contract and proving she could be pushed off a job. She turned toward the fire escape on the adjacent building and started climbing. The Slip's client was inside that bar, waiting. If GiganCorp wanted to block every ground exit, she'd go through the ceiling. The hired muscle could watch the doors all night. She'd already decided the only freedom that mattered was finishing what she started, and that meant going over them.