Urban Outlaws by Peter Jay Black Read Free Book Online Page A

‘Charlie?’
    ‘Yeah?’
    ‘Be careful.’ That bad feeling wouldn’t go away.
    There was a short pause. ‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘They must be inside.’ She peered around the edge of the van. Ahead was the roller door. Light spilled across the tarmac and shadows moved. ‘I still can’t see inside,’ Charlie whispered. ‘I’m gonna have to get closer.’
    ‘Charlie,’ Jack warned. Suddenly, the CCTV of the alleyway went dark and the monitor displayed static. ‘Charlie?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Get out of there, they’re on to you.’
    Charlie’s camera view moved from side to side. ‘There’s no one here,’ she whispered.
    ‘I’m telling you,’ Jack said urgently. ‘Get out.’
    Charlie let out an annoyed breath. ‘Fine.’ Keeping low, she edged around the van, and froze. Walking towards her was the female agent. Charlie spun round and went to make a break for it but another agent had stepped behind her. He looked gigantic from Charlie’s point of view – over six foot five and built like a tank. Charlie tried to slip past his hulking frame but the agent grabbed hold of her. Charlie struggled in the man’s arms.
    A third agent stood in front of them and peered over the top of his sunglasses with cold eyes. He frowned at the camera, then his hand reached out and tore it from Charlie’s shoulder.
    The screen went blank.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Jack stared at the display and cursed his complacency. It was his fault. He should’ve stopped Charlie from going. She was only there to have a look and wasn’t supposed to be doing anything too risky.
    He broke his gaze from the display in time to see Slink snatch his coat from the back of a chair and march to the door. Jack hurried after him and grabbed his arm. ‘What are you doing?’
    ‘What do you think I’m doing?’ Slink tried to break free but Jack wouldn’t let go. ‘Get off me.’
    ‘We have to think this through.’
    ‘Think what?’ Slink said, his face reddening. ‘We don’t have time for you to plan this out, Jack. Who knows what they’re doing to her.’
    ‘They won’t do anything.’
    Slink frowned. ‘Why not?’
    ‘If I let go of you, will you let me explain?’
    Slink continued to stare for a moment, then relaxed. ‘You’ve got five minutes, then I’m going after her.’
    Jack released him and turned around. Wren and Obi were watching and they both looked pale.
    Jack began to pace. ‘A few years ago, Charlie and I made a pact,’ he said. ‘We promised each other that if either one of us got caught doing this kind of stuff, we’d grass the other one up.’
    Slink frowned. ‘How does that make any sense?’
    ‘It’s a way to spread the blame,’ Obi said.
    Jack nodded. ‘Exactly.’
    ‘I don’t get it,’ Wren said.
    ‘Charlie’s been caught red-handed, right? They’ve seen the shoulder camera. They’ll know she’s not acting alone. She’ll tell them about me. Say we were trying to break in together.’
    ‘Do you think she’ll say anything about Proteus?’ Obi asked.
    ‘That’d make her seem stupid,’ Slink muttered.
    Obi shot him a nasty look.
    Jack continued to pace, trying to put himself in Charlie’s shoes. ‘She’ll come up with some other reason why we were looking at the place. Perhaps, to see if there was anything we could nick.’
    Slink huffed. ‘We’re wasting time, Jack.’
    Jack held up a hand and followed his thoughts. ‘She’ll tell them she wasn’t working alone. That means they’ll be waiting, expecting me to come rescue her.’
    ‘And they don’t know about the rest of us,’ Wren said.
    Jack stopped pacing. He had to hand it to her – she was bright. He smiled. ‘Which means we have the edge.’
    Slink looked at Obi and Wren, and huffed again. ‘Some edge.’
    ‘We can’t just burst in,’ Jack said. ‘We need a plan. Do you still have those drawings from the last mission?’
    Slink walked to a filing cabinet in the games area, and opened the lower drawer. He rummaged inside