SS:TIE 011

The Brewer job is nothing compared to what Rey has lined up with Lora. But Rey didn’t know about Adella Salazar or her money when she set this up, and they’ve done a lot of prep. Brewer is a laboratory, not a fortress. Getting in is easy. Getting in without setting off alarms is a little harder, but still not difficult. The real challenge is dealing with all the cameras and the fact that this part of town is well-lit at all times.

Disabling lights and cameras means more work for Lora, and that means more money spent upfront. Rey has done well enough that she could forget about this entirely and move on to Salazar, but Lili and Elsa aren’t quite as comfortable.

The night watchman is out sick. His replacement won’t arrive for another twenty minutes thanks to a strategically slashed tire. The building is quiet and modern; it might be the nicest place that Rey has ever taken down.

She stands in the corridor, keeping a wary eye out. The suppressor on her Sig pistol makes it heavy.

SS:TIE

Shelby peers intently at the laptop screen in the back of a van that smells of coffee and donuts, then checks her watch. She picks up her radio. “OK, guys. They’ve been in there for twenty minutes. Estimate it takes them about two minutes to crack each container. That’s five kilos that they’ve touched. That should be more than enough.” Two other detectives with major crimes are with her.

SS:TIE

Sally sits low in the front seat of her car, some distance down the block from Brewer. She takes a deep breath, then pushes the button on her radio. “Who do we have eyes on?”

“Tall one’s inside, that’s Rey ****. I saw blonde. The other one’s too tall. We’re missing Flores.”

Sally grimaces. “Nobody moves until we have eyes on Flores.”

Alison is in the passenger seat. She looks over, indignant. “Are you fucking kidding me? You can’t **** now. Your job isn’t the only one on the line right now. Flores is the smart one, right? Maybe she’s sitting it out.”

“No chance. She and **** are joined at the hip,” Sally says with a scowl. “We need to be careful. They’re dangerous.”

“So am I. Captain finds out about your history, you’re dead. Captain finds out we sat on our asses right now, and we all are.” Alison lifts her radio. “Close it up. Set the perimeter. I’ll get the back.”

SS:TIE

Chica’s voice comes clearly through Rey’s earpiece.

“We’re blown. Cops are setting a perimeter, and they just slashed your tires.”

Rey adjusts to this news quickly and glances over her shoulder at Lili and Elsa, still working industriously in the lab. “They're moving in?”

“No. There’s nothing about tactical. They want you coming out.”

“How big’s the perimeter?”

“Big enough. You’ll have to get out on foot.”

“Can you reposition to cover the back?”

“Already have. Go now. No brakes. I’ll pick you up on Third Street.”

“On it.” Rey backs up and thumps the window with her fist, then signals to Lili and Elsa.

SS:TIE

Alison hurries down the alley, twisting the knob on her radio to turn the volume down. She draws her Glock and keeps her finger off the trigger as she checks the corner, then moves into the tiny loading lot. The van that **** and her crew will use to get away is parked right out front, but all the exits have to be covered. The main takeaway from the job they pulled that left that biker dead was how quickly they were in and out. This crew will not be here all night.

Alison keeps an eye on her surroundings and almost doesn’t hear the back door opening. There’s no time to be puzzled. She whirls and brings up the gun.

“Show me hands!” she calls out, moving into the light and advancing.

A masked woman appears, holding a handgun with a silencer. She drops the backpack that she’s carrying and raises her hands, still holding the gun.

“On your knees,” Alison orders, taking one hand off her gun to get her radio. “Need backup around back.”

SS:TIE

Lili and Elsa stay out of sight as Rey complies with the cop’s orders. Rey’s pretty sure she’s faster than this soft-looking redhead, but why take the risk?

“Anytime you’re ready,” she mutters.

“Drop it,” the cop orders, and her hands are steady. Her pistol is trained on Rey’s head. There’s a sharp snapping noise, and blood sprays across the cabinet. The cop is spun around by Chica’s bullet and falls without a sound.

“Let’s go,” Rey says briskly, grabbing her bag. Lili and Elsa hustle out. Rey hops over the bleeding cop and makes for the alley, keeping her gun low. The window to get out with a semblance of cleanliness is closing fast. There’s no time to think about cameras, but everyone’s masks are on. She hasn’t had to run like this in years, but they’ve got all three bags.

A dead cop is a much bigger problem than a dead biker, but there’s no time to think about that either. No time to ask what the police were doing there.

Lili has pulled ahead; she was always the fastest. She throws up a fist to signal a halt, and Rey and Elsa automatically stack up behind her at the end of the alley. They stay in the shadows as a patrol car drives past, sirens blaring. Lily brought an MP7, but Rey and Elsa are only carrying handguns. Anything loud is out of the question.

“Where are you?” Rey asks as the police car rounds the corner. Even as she says it, she spots Chica behind the wheel of a Toyota SUV pulling to a halt on the other side of the street. Chica would’ve pulled up tires squealing, but she spotted those cops, too.

“Black Forerunner. Come on,” Chica says tersely.

Rey looks both ways, then they dash across the street for the car.

SS:TIE

Alison’s blood drips from Sally’s hands as Sally watches her being loaded into the ambulance.

“Scott! What the fuck happened here?” a voice roars behind her.

Sally turns to see Captain Meredith Powers storming toward her. She looks at her hands, then at the bloodstain on the pavement. She turns, scanning the rooftops. A siren wails in the distance, and she can faintly hear uniformed cops fending off the press at the front of the building. Otherwise, the night is quiet.

Sally can tell Powers that Alison pushed the grab forward without Sally’s order.

Or she can take responsibility for this monumental fuckup.

Tell the truth?

Or take the fall?