Still, it gave me an opportunity to observe the behavior between Channing and Stella, after Stella’s confession the other night. To my surprise, things didn’t seem too awkward between them. The mission was probably a good way of distracting both of their minds, and their emotions were fairly constant. Channing felt tense and focused, while Stella seemed to be nervous and fired up. A good mix for a mission like this. For the first time since they arrived, I was actually pretty happy that they were with us. Right now, we needed all the muscle we could get, and these two were more military-minded than any of the Rag Team.
“Are you sure you should be coming with us, Harley?” Wade said unexpectedly, breaking the tense silence in the Jeep. Gee, thanks for that—way to call me out in front of everyone. I had as much right to be here as anyone.
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“With your Esprit broken, do you think you’ll be okay in the event of a fight? I know Air and Earth aren’t your forte, but you might need them. You needed Earth when you took on Emily Ryder. Plus, your powers can be a little on the wild side. I don’t want you injuring yourself, or anyone else, because your Esprit is damaged.”
I forced a smile onto my face. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I’m just worried, that’s all.”
“You shouldn’t worry so much. It’ll be fine, honestly. I have enough control to muddle through.” Did he just say he was worried about me? Wade Crowley is worried about me! That still didn’t mean he liked me like that, but I’d take it. I just wished he hadn’t mentioned it in front of a carload of people. Now, everyone was going to think I was some kind of liability. Well, I’ve got news for you, ladies and gents—I’m not! Occasional loose cannon, yes. Liability, no.
A short while later, we pulled up just around the corner from the abandoned factory. With a whispered instruction from Channing, who seemed to have named himself leader of this operation, all of us piled out of the Jeep and headed toward a gap in the fence. The surveillance team had told us where to go, marking the gap out on a map for us. The abandoned factory stood approximately a hundred yards from the outer fence. I could see the rusty machinery within and the peeling paint that Marjorie had mentioned.
“We need to scout out the place,” Channing murmured, as we ducked down behind a stack of old metal crates. “See if there’s anyone inside yet. Surveillance mentioned cars and suspicious pedestrians, but they haven’t seen anyone enter the premises yet. That doesn’t mean there aren’t guards watching the place on Katherine’s behalf. We need to get to them before they can sound any kind of alarm.”
Stella nodded. “The surveillance team has dealt with any civilians who might interfere, so we have a clear run at the building. We should stay in a group—there’s strength in numbers, if they come at us in force. Divide and conquer likely isn’t going to work here.”
“So, which entrance do we take?” Wade asked. “There are gaps in the exterior, or we can use the main doors.”
“Surveillance noted a staircase on the outside of the building,” Channing replied. “We should climb it and observe the interior from above. If we spot anyone, we might be able to use the element of surprise. I doubt they will be watching anything over their heads—not if they’re expecting an arrival via the road. A blitz attack may work in our favor.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dylan chimed in.
“People rarely look up. It is a peculiar trait in humans and magicals alike,” Tatyana agreed.
Garrett shrugged. “I still think divide and conquer is usually the best way to go, but I’m happy to go with everyone else.”
Raffe stood at my side, his eyes shifting strangely from their usual dark gray-blue to a deep shade of scarlet. He was almost pulsating, a surge of mixed emotions pouring off him. I tried to block the sensations out, but something inside him was calling out at the top of its lungs. What is that? I really want to know, because this is confusing as all hell. It didn’t feel like the right time to ask the question aloud, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about it.
Without another word, we set off across the marshland, covering the distance between the fence and the factory in a matter of minutes. We took a curving route toward the building, ducking behind every crate and box and lump of stone that we passed. It probably looked ridiculous to an outside eye, but we hoped there were none glancing in our direction. This was supposed to be stealth at its finest.
Around the back of the factory, a rickety ladder led up to a hatch in the top floor of the building. Channing went first, his bulky weight causing the metal bolts to strain and groan. Fortunately, the sound wasn’t too loud, blending in with the whistle of the sea breeze that whipped up from the ocean beyond. We let him reach the top first, making his way through the hatch, before the next person followed. There were a few hairy moments, where Stella’s foot almost slipped, and Dylan almost lost his grip as he tried to get through the hatch, but everyone managed it in the end.
I brought up the rear, clambering up the rusting rungs until I reached the upper floor of the factory. As I glanced back down at the ground, my stomach churned. If anything gave way beneath me, it was a long way down. After seven other people, I was beginning to doubt the structural integrity of this ladder. It creaked and juddered beneath my feet as I took each step upward. One at a time, Harley. One at a time. Focus on the top rung. Heights had never been my thing.
A few moments later, I dragged myself through the hatch and dusted myself off. The others were crouched at the edge of a platform, staring down at something below. Edging across the rotting boards below my feet, I crept toward them. My gaze followed theirs as I joined the team, discovering two individuals in the center of the abandoned factory floor below us. They were just standing around, their eyes fixed on one particular spot in the middle of the room. Glancing down, I wondered where Micah was. I couldn’t see him anywhere.
“There aren’t any ladders leading down, except that one,” Channing muttered, pointing to a ladder nearby. “They’ll see us if we try and climb down, and it’s too high for us to drop to the ground. I’d hoped these floors might lead down to further floors that we could sneak down. Seems like that’s no longer the case. Which of you have Air abilities?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t want to risk it.”
“Leave this to me,” Raffe said suddenly. “Take my lead. I’ll apprehend them, if you follow as fast as you can. I won’t be able to hold them for long without something bad happening, so you’ll have to get to them quickly. After that, I suggest you tie them up so we can take them away for interrogation.”
“No offense, but I don’t think this is a job for you,” Channing protested.
Raffe shot him a scarlet stare. “Trust me.”
Before Channing could say another word, Raffe leapt through the air, clearing the heady drop down to the ground with ease. He landed effortlessly, a smoldering fog of black smoke billowing from his shoulders. From here, it almost looked like his skin had changed color, moving from a warm olive to a bright, devilish red. He jumped up and tore toward the two individuals—one male, one female. Now, I understood what he meant when he’d said we wouldn’t have long. Something had taken over Raffe. I just didn’t know what. He barreled into the two guards, knocking them to the ground in one fell swoop.
“Go!” I urged, running for the ladder. Within minutes, we were beside Raffe, launching ourselves at the two cronies with two sets of Atomic Cuffs. His skin began to change color again, shifting from bright red to his ordinary shade of olive. The smoke faded, his eyes returning to their usual blue-gray.
Dylan and Tatyana managed to get the guards under control, fastening their wrists together and binding their mouths with a gag similar to the Atomic Cuffs. They glared furiously at us, but we had them in our grasp.
“Micah!” Wade cried, his gaze fixed on a spot in the corner. The young boy sat on the ground, half hidden by the shadows of an old conveyor belt, a terrified expression on his face. Our presence didn’t seem to have made him feel any calmer. Then again, he didn’t know all of us.
I rushed toward him, ducking down to get to his level. “Micah? Are you okay? It’s Harley—do you remember me?”
He nodded slowly, tears streaming down his face. “Yes.”
“Are you hurt?”
He shook his head, prompting more tears to fall. “My cat… my cat is gone. I had my cat, but I don’t now.”
“Did you have him with you?”
The boy nodded. “He was here. Now he’s not.”
“We’ll look for him soon, okay? I’m sure he’ll turn up.”
“He’s gone,” Micah murmured miserably.
“We’re going to look for him later, okay?” I had no clue why Micah might have had his cat with him—maybe it was a stuffed animal or something—but he’d been through enough already. The least we could do was come back and look for it, after we’d gotten Micah to safety.
“We can’t look for a cat, Harley,” Wade barked. “We need to leave here, pronto!”
“I know, that’s what I just told him!” I snapped back.
Wade and the others spread out to check that there was nobody else hiding in the warehouse. Feeling bad for Micah, but worried for our safety, I turned back to him.
“Where did you last see the cat?”
He pointed to the shadows up ahead.
Two birds with one stone, right?
I left Micah where he was for a moment, moving behind the conveyor belt to see if I could find anything that resembled a cat, as well as hidden guards or any sign of danger. Discovering a fallen tower of heavy metal boxes, I skirted around them, ducking beneath to see if something had been trapped when the tower collapsed. My stomach sank at the sight of orange fur. Micah’s cat, which had clearly once been an actual living thing, was stuck beneath the first box, crushed to death under the weight. I realized the tower must have fallen when Raffe landed, the shockwave toppling them like dominoes.