Go to Brennan's Place

Date: Friday, July 25th

Status: ~1h 15m since CLAIM DAY Transmission

Time: 19:35 - 19:45

Location: Residential District, outside Brennan's Apartment Building

Subchapter 14.6: The **** Dash

Alex kept his head low, his movements frantic but controlled as he led Jen away from the mouth of the alley. Every nerve in his body was screaming, a high-voltage surge of panic that made the fine hair on his arms stand on end. He didn't look back; his entire world had narrowed down to the eighty-foot stretch of pavement between their current cover and the dark brick facade of Brennan's building.

Jen stuck to him like a shadow, her hand gripping the back of his white t-shirt with such intensity that he could feel the fabric straining against his spine. She followed his lead without a single question, her instinct for survival clearly overriding her earlier hope for the uniform.

They moved with a hushed, rapid intensity, abandoning the center of the sidewalk to skirt the edge of the residential properties. The overgrown hibiscus and boxwood hedges provided a jagged, dark screen between them and the streetlamp's glare. Every few steps, Alex paused, his eyes scanning the windows above and the dark alleyway that cut behind the building.

The air was thick with the scent of sun-baked brick and the sharp, briny tang of the ocean breeze. As they closed the final thirty feet, the details of Brennan's building became clear. It was a well-maintained, pre-war structure with thick walls and heavy windows. Brennan's unit was on the first floor, positioned behind a small, gated patio that was shrouded in the deep shadows of a massive oak tree.

Alex led the way through the low iron gate, the hinge letting out a faint, metallic groan that made both of them flinch. They hurried across the small concrete patio to the front door. It was a heavy, reinforced slab of dark wood with a high-end electronic deadbolt - a feature Brennan had installed himself after a string of local burglaries the previous year.

'Please be home, Brennan,' Alex thought, his heart thudding a steady, rhythmic count against his ribs. 'Please just be behind this door.'