Galilee Rising(36)

As bullets bounce off Liberty's force field, and she zaps the offenders with energy blasts, Nightingale touches down between two men. With a few swift moves he disables them with strategic kicks and blows worthy of a kung fu master. Upper cut, roundhouse kick, yet he's so graceful, like a killer ballet dancer, I can't help but be impressed. When another man lunges at him from behind, I shout, "Night, six," and he immediately kicks behind, hitting the man in the stomach. The man crumbles.

"Thank you," he mutters.

"Guardian, hallway?" Tempest asks.

I was so engrossed in the fight I forgot about him. I check the monitor. "Three, with one inside the office."

Before I utter the last word, the door at the end of the hallway falls from its hinges, and Tempest appears on the other side with his leg raised. The two henchmen down the hall open fire, but Tempest spins out of sight to take cover outside. Guns raised, a second later the men advance with caution. Just as they reach the door, there's more crashing sounds over my comms as Tempest busts through the roof fist first behind the men. His feet don't even touch the ground as mid-air he turns at a right angle, flying at the goons, arms outstretched in a straight line. He smashes into the men before banging them into either side of the wall, knocking them out. I think I can hear bones break. Tempest lands beside the prostrate henchmen. "Team, status?" he asks.

I glance at the dance floor feed. Nightingale stands over a bleeding man, giving him a swift punch to the face. "Last bogie down," Liberty says.

"Hallway," Tempest orders. The others sprint toward the back as Tempest saunters down the hall. The last guard by the basement door visibly shakes. I would too. The Triumvirate congregate on either side of the stairwell. "Hey, you with the gun," Tempest calls. The guard trembles even harder. "You have a choice to make, sir. Throw us your gun then follow it up here, or we'll break all your fingers prying it from your hand. You have five seconds to decide." Without a moment's hesitation, the man tosses the gun then runs up the stairs fleeing to the open door down the hall. Smart minion.

Tempest is the first down the stairs with Liberty at his heels and Nightingale close behind. The surveillance camera begins to quake, then I hear rumbling over the comms. It starts out light as if the wind were blowing, but by the time they reach the door, the entire building is swaying and crackling, including the narrow passage the team's in. Earthquake. Boneshaker, you bastard. The security cameras and plaster from the roof and walls shed to the ground. I've lost the feed from five, no six cameras. The one in the passage jerks so much I can barely make out Tempest kicking the basement door in. Immediately gunfire and shouting begin, but I can't make out the words. The last image I get before the camera dies is Nightingale's body jerking as multiple bullets burrow into the chest from what sounds like an Uzi, then a high-pitch shriek as a bullet hits his comms unit.

"No!" I scream as I leap out of my seat.

"Night is down," Tempest shouts over the gunfire.

"They're getting away," Liberty says. "I'm going--"

"Lib, wait--"

Then nothing but static.

Oh, shit.

Oh, shit.

What the hell am I supposed to do? What should I do?

I stand trembling as the adrenaline overloads my system for the second time in twelve hours. Bile rises into my throat, but I choke it down. I can barely breathe. I can't think. Should I call the police? They're on their way already because of the alarm. Should I get into my car and drive over there? That's what I want to do. Bad. But it'd take fifteen minutes and by then the police, fire, and EMTs will be there, and I'd be in their way. Fuck. Fuck! There's nothing I can do. Nothing. I'm useless. "Useless!" I shout while kicking the chair. It skids until it hits the wall and topples. Useless.

I pace around the room, breathing heavily but not getting any air in for a few seconds. I shake my hands to expel some of the energy, which helps for whatever reason before grabbing the other chair to sit. I press the comms button, and the static stops. "Team, come in." Static. "Team, this is Guardian. Please respond." Nothing. I pull up the CCTV footage from the nearest camera down the street from Noir. Shit. Not helpful to my peace of mind. I'm watching a damn disaster movie.

The club is a wreck with parts of the brick walls and roof crumbling into bread crumbs while firemen and police brave entering the toppling structure. Another truck and ambulance stop in front, with two more police cruisers behind. I watch on one of the few remaining security cameras inside as the firemen search the debris and police tend to the still unconscious and cuffed henchmen. "Team, come in."