Aurablade

04

Just two more breaths. Just two more lives.

That mantra repeats in my head as I walk through the SkyTunnels. Glass and steel suspend me in the air, and when I peer through the floor underfoot, it looks like I'm floating over the streets. Colorful lights glare into the darkness, emanating onto my path. Few people pass by, and those that do are either too busy talking together to notice me. Those walking alone take one glance at my all-black attire, my face shrouded by a dark hood, and scurry past.

People fear the Elyminai. One doesn't have to ask for credentials to shrink from one of us on the street. Most think it's safer to hurry by, pretending they didn't see the cyber assassin.

The tunnel splits in two, and I take the one on the left. My watch projects a 3D map above my wrist with a blinking dot indicating my location. The dot approaches a smaller, off-shoot building atop a larger high-rise. After several more paces, I slip through a side door into a dark corridor, lit only by the holographic light emanating from my watch.

I zoom in on the image and examine the route to Twin Brothers' bank. Around the bend, another door should connect me to the bank's entrance. Lucky for me, I don't have to worry about locks since the bank closes at midnight.

The door opens behind me. I slink into the shadows, turning my back on the person entering. My cape allows me to blend into my background. I steal a glance at a woman striding down the corridor in a short work dress. Her heels click all the way to the door, pause, then continue down the hallway.

Tension eases in my muscles, and I start down the hallway in the same direction. When I round the corridor, I am faced with the bank's transparent door. The woman stands at the counter, talking with a man with a reddish beard. If my research serves me correctly, that would be Max.

Irritation pricks at my skin. Who comes to the bank right before closing, at eleven fifty-four at night? It just belabors this job that I despise.

Perhaps she's sent by Argon. Though a smaller, family-run enterprise, the Twin Brothers' bank holds some of Gang Two's money, which is the entity that owns The CryoFuture Corporation. In that sense, I feel less guilty about doing a job here. It might not dent Argon's funds too much, but every bit helps.

Several minutes pass. I press myself against the wall, melding into the dark corridor.

Fifty-seven. Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine.

She's seriously going to stay in there until closing time. I sigh, resigned to my hiding spot. At this point, it's obvious that this woman was sent by Argon. The bankers wouldn't have the patience for anyone else holding up their closing time.

Seconds start their countdown to midnight, then keep ticking beyond. A click emanates from the door, an automatic time lock that seals the doors from the outside upon closing time. I'm stuck here until the woman leaves.

Max steps away from the counter, disappearing into the vault behind him. The woman looks down at her wrist, then glances around the room. Her eyes land past the door, on something in the hallway.

They land right on the shadows I'm hiding in, lingering several beats too long.

A frown twitches at my brow. She shouldn't be able to see me. No one should be able to see me. That's the point of wearing this cloak.

I grind my teeth together, trying to figure out what to do. I had only planned on making two kills tonight, but I can't leave any witnesses. There's a chance she didn't see me, yet it's a chance I refuse to take.

My eyes flit to the doorknob, the now locked doorknob. Just one more inconvenience to hold me up tonight. I remove the uncharged port from my belt, and as soon as the woman faces Max again, I place it against the door.