SHADOWS IN THE SNOW
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The following day passed in a blur as they gathered information on the Cardinal. Becca managed to track down some online apartment listings for the place, from which Remy pieced together a floor plan. It wasn’t by any means comprehensive, but it gave them a basic idea of what to expect inside. Yet the pivotal question remained – how to get inside the building?
"It's impossible," Becca fumed.
"It's not impossible," Remy muttered, not really believing his own words.
Will sighed and leaned back against a dusty shelving unit in the school storage room. It was a quiet place to discuss things since the academy was still in its offseason. Only senior students like them bothered visiting the academy for their final year projects.
"It is," Becca insisted. "There's no way this can be completely covert."
"It has to be," Will interjected.
"Then it's impossible," said Becca, pointing at the map. "The ground floor is a dead end. It has a 24/7 manned entrance, and the back exit is shut tight with reinforced doors. There's no midway access up the complex. No nearby highways or connecting structures that give access to the building. And to top it all off, no railings or shuttle taxi lines running up the building."
"It's because it's a residential building," Remy sighed. "They usually don’t have those."
"Are you sure we can’t use the normal entrance?" asked Will.
"We'll be seen," said Becca. "It’s a gated community for a reason."
Will rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing at the map. With enough time, they could probably find a way to sneak in. They could steal maintenance uniforms, clone some IDs, maybe even stage a distraction. But that would leave traces—footage, suspicious guards—and that wasn’t ideal when dealing with the police.
He glanced at the heavily guarded entrances, then up at the top of the map. “If we can’t go in from below, then maybe we should come in from above.”
"I told you, no highways—" began Becca, but Will shook his head.
“No…not there,” he said slowly. “Look higher, all the way up.”
"But that's..." said Becca.
"Oh..." Remy grinned. "That's good."
"No," Becca protested, her eyes wide. “What about the panels... the temperatures?”
"We'll do it when they're off," said Will.
After another round of intense arguing, Becca relented. “Honestly, Will, you're getting as bad as Remy.”
"That's settled, then," Will said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get to work.”
▼.▼.▼
Time flew by as they rushed to finalize their plans. Becca scouted out observation posts around the Cardinal, identifying the best vantage points where she could keep watch. Meanwhile, Remy and Will were busy procuring materials on the black market. There was a sudden influx of auto parts from shuttle taxis, which the duo took full advantage of.
After acquiring the necessary supplies, Will got to work. He was in the school storage room, bending a sheet metal panel over a small metal frame. The exterior resembled a typical bot, but it was merely a disguise. The interior of the fake bot was hollow.
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"What do you think?" asked Will when he finished bolting the sheet in place.
"The angle is a little off here," Remy pointed out, "but it's fine. We just have to pass a cursory glance."
Will nodded. "After the paint job, we're done."
There was a lull after that statement. Will sensed Remy was here for something else and waited expectantly. After about a minute, Remy finally spoke.
"I read the court order," he said simply.
Will glanced at Remy and knew that the brunet wasn’t talking about Crowley’s arrest warrant.
"What do you reckon?" asked Will, worried. "Did we leave anything incriminating back in the tunnel?"
Remy looked pensive. "The temple is fierce about its independence. No Towerite, much less a spook, would be allowed to set foot on the mountain for an investigation. They won't allow it, no matter what happens."
Will stewed in silence for a long while before replying. “But there’s nothing stopping the priests themselves from conducting an investigation, is there?”
Remy sighed, unwilling to lie. “No…”
"Great!" Will said bitterly. "Any more bad news?"
Remy gave a dry chuckle. “Well, since you’re asking…”
Will sighed, and Remy continued, “We’re really tight on time. Any way you look at it, this is a rush job—”
“—There’s no way to automate this, is there?” Will guessed.
“Nope. We’ve barely enough time to get a crawler operational, and someone has to control it in person. There’s too much delay doing it remotely,” said Remy.
“Someone has to…” Will repeated slowly.
“Yes,” Remy nodded.
Will sighed. “I’ll do it.”
Remy nodded again and rubbed his forehead. “Now with that done, we just might make the deadline.”
The door of the storeroom opened, and Will turned toward the rapidly approaching footsteps.
Becca burst in. “Is the bot finished?” She inspected the newly assembled frame and nodded. “Good. I have the patrol schedule.”
Will took her slate and began going through her notes. “Is this right?”
“Yeah,” Becca breathed. “They’ve stuck to that every day.”
“Finally, some good news,” Will muttered and handed the slate to Remy.
“Great,” muttered Remy. “I also have a few questions.” He dragged Becca away, and the two rapidly began discussing the notes.
Will rubbed his tired eyes as he considered his options. There was nothing he could do about the temple, and by how things were going, it would be the Bishop that got to him first before anyone from the Tower.
Will shuddered at the parting words of the spider promising retribution, and his right leg twitched. As though invoking a demon from the abyss, the mere mention of its name brought the creature to the surface. The yellow signature stirred in his system, and Will waited with bated breath for a flare-up, which never came. The signature went back to being dormant, as if it had never moved in the first place.
Will let out a shuddering breath and grabbed another metal sheet. The temple would have to wait. The Bishop took priority over everything else.
He began bolting the sheet to the bot’s undercarriage, deep in thought. He just hoped he was making the right call.
▼.▼.▼
The wind howled through the narrow, snow-covered streets. The visibility was near zero, and a man, wrapped in a heavy coat, stumbled forward, his breath fogging in the air. Each step was a struggle, the deep snow pulling at his legs, threatening to drag him down with every move.
Panting, he glanced over his shoulder, his wide, terrified eyes searching the swirling white void behind him. Shadows darted behind the curtain of snow, rushing toward him.
A terrified yelp escaped his mouth as he broke into a blind sprint. A heavy crash followed as he ran headlong into something, sending him sprawling into the snow. The sound of footsteps slowed to a stop, and six long shadows fell upon him.
"No… no, please!" His voice broke as he scrambled away. "I said nothing!" he cried out, his voice barely audible over the storm. "I said nothing!"
The six figures were clad in thick cloaks that concealed their faces, their forms barely discernible in the storm.
Panic surged through the downed man as he crawled backward, his hands sinking deep into the snow. His breath came in short gasps, his eyes wild with fear.
"No, wait! I can be of service! I’m useful!" he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. The cloaked figures remained silent, standing over him, their faces hidden beneath their hoods. They watched his struggle without a word.
The man’s voice turned into a scream. "Crowley!" he shrieked, grasping at his last chance. "I know where he is! I can lead you to him!"
One of the hooded figures made a subtle gesture, and three of them stepped forward, their movements bringing with them a smell of blood and metal. Two of them grabbed the man roughly, yanking him to his feet and pinning his arms behind his back, while the third figure approached slowly with a black bag in hand.
"No! Wait!" The man struggled, his words tumbling out in a frenzied plea. "I can get you Crowley! I can—"
His voice was drowned out by the bag pulled over his head. Muffled screams came from him as his legs kicked desperately in the air. Wet gurgling soon followed, and the man went still.
The snow fell harder as the wind picked up, burying the body in a sea of white. A pair of vacant eyes stared up at the stormy sky, a silent witness to the violence to come. The hunt for Crowley had begun.