Ascension by Sophia Sharp Read Free Book Online

We risk getting caught, or at least noticed, by Logan’s watchers.  I don’t think any of us are eager to find out who they are.  Two, we stay until nightfall and try again.  Logan’s first time here was at night, and he didn’t notice the watchers then.  Three, we go back, and look for the repository elsewhere.  There’s a chance it’s not even in the building.  But I fear that isn’t much of an option for us.”
    “No,” Laura agreed.  “We can’t go back empty-handed.  Logan, you said you found a way into the tower?  Where?”
    “There’s a window on the third storey that I noticed wasn’t secured as tightly as the others,” Logan answered.  “If we could scale the building without being seen, I think that could be our ticket in.”
    “But we can’t do it in broad daylight, can we?” Laura asked.
    “No,” Logan answered.  “We have to get up there, but in the day somebody is bound to notice.  Even if there are no watchers.”
    “Wait a minute,” Laura said, suddenly coming up with an idea.  “You said the watchers were on the roofs, right?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Well, what if we go on the roofs, too?  We’ll be on the same playing field as them, and I have to think that three Vassiz would have an advantage.  Moreover, nobody would notice us from the ground.  And Logan, the window – does it face one of the buildings on a different block?”
    “It does,” Logan said, starting to understand what Laura wanted to do.  “You mean to try jumping to the window, don’t you?”
    “That’s right,” Laura replied.  “We don’t have to worry about how we’re going to scale the side of the building, and we’ll be safe from prying eyes on the ground.  And the watchers – whoever or whatever they are – won’t be able to hide there any longer.”
    “A brilliant idea,” Alexander said enthusiastically.  “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it!”
    “There’s just one problem,” Logan said.  “And that has to do with the noise.  If we do this at night, the sound of us crashing through the boarded window will alert everybody within fifty miles to our presence.”
    “I don’t mean to do it at night,” Laura said.  “I mean to do it right now, during the day.  It’ll make it easy for us to spot the watchers, too, if they’re really there.”
    Logan grimaced.  “I’m telling you, there was something… unnatural… about what I felt.”
    “Realistically, what’s the worse it can be?” Laura asked.  “Another Vassiz or two?  We’ll be careful.”
    “What about the noise?” Logan asked.  “That’s still a very real problem.  Even if we manage to avoid anybody who might be up there, the sound of us crashing through the window will echo through the whole neighborhood.”
    “Firecrackers,” Laura answered.
    “Firecrackers?”
    “You said this is gang territory, right?  I say we light a bunch of firecrackers just before we jump.  To distract anybody paying attention.  If we get enough, it might even sound like gunfire.  Amid the confusion, nobody should see us.”
    “I have to admit, that does make sense,” Alexander said.  “But where are we going to get firecrackers on such short notice?”
    Laura smiled.  “You leave that to me.”

Chapter Six
    ~The Repository~
     
    Laura stood on the roof of an old three-storey building.  She could see the city spread all around her.  It stretched out far into the distance, and the tower before her was the only structure standing out amongst the uniformity. 
    The tops of nearly all the buildings around her were flat.  Here and there, a few balconies had been built, but it looked like they had not been used for generations.  Laura wondered absently how many people still lived in this region.  It could be a lot, or it could be very little, and she couldn’t tell the difference.  People gathered on the large streets during the day, some selling wares and others idling, but she knew the