Thatadrenaline is kicking into high gear.
“Thegood news is,”Kellasays, “the airport is further away from theCitadelthan the train station is, so they’ve got a longer drive than you.Anineteen-minute longer drive, specifically.Butthey have a ten-minute head start on you.Weare trying to contact the curator at theCitadel, the manager, or anyone who can meet you there and open the castle for you.”
“Youcan’t let theBarnoBrotherssee you, though,”Packstonadds. “Ifthey find out that you are trying to getthe same thing they are, they’ll suspect sabotage and will for sure search all the pieces for a tracker.Thenall this will be for naught.”
“Whichmeans we can’t call in the cavalry,”Kellasays. “Orthe local police.”
“Gotit,”Isay.Iwas quicker at grabbing the keys from the counter thanLedgerwas, soIslide into the driver’s seat, start the car, and take off asLedgeris closing his door.
Ledgerimmediately brings up navigation and directs me along the tree-lined freeway, through narrow roads with too many cars parked on the sides, and then onto hilly and winding cobblestone streets lined with flower pots.Thevendor shops all along the street are closed up, their goods taken inside, and no one is out walking, which is good, because the rain is coming down so hard that it’s making it difficult to see.It’srunning down the streets, too, and a couple of times, our car loses traction.
“Theyare drivingwaytoo fast for the conditions,”Kellasays in our ears. “Ihope they bought the extra insurance on their rental car.Ifthey keep going at their same pace and don’t wreck, they’ll arrive six minutes or so after you.”
“Thecharcoal drawing is in the private museum just southwest of theOttomanbuilding,”Packstonadds. “Wefinally got hold of someone at the museum, but they are twenty minutes away.Ifyou can’t place the tracker on it in time, you’ll have to remove theTrustpiece from the collection before theBarnoBrothersarrive.Procuringthis piece will get them too close, and we can’t risk them choosing not to steal the two pieces you already placed trackers on.”
“We’llget it,”Ledgersays, looking down atthe navigation on his phone. “Wecan’t pull right up to the building, or they’ll see us go inside.Turnonto this next street.Therewill only be one row of buildings between us and the museum. ”
Imake the turn.Thesebuildings look residential— this street is not one that tourists travel on, and its width shows it.It’sbarely wide enough for our car, and there is nowhere to park.Istop right in the street since that’s the only place to go and pull my hood over my head, cinching it tight.
“Ack!”Kellasays.Theyare pulling onto the street you just turned off!Don’thead out that way or they’ll see you in about ninety seconds.”
Weget out of the car and both scan the area.Thehouses here— white, with terra cotta roofs and trim to match, with rivulets of water pouring off them and onto the streets— are mostly connected, even though everything is in layers of differing heights.Theroad we turned on winds in the opposite direction we are headed.
Ledgernods at a ridge on one house about four feet off the ground. “Howdo you feel about scaling some walls and taking to the roofs?”
Igrin at him. “Letthe adventure begin.”
Ledgerlocks his fingers together and holds his hands down low.Istep onto his hands, and he gives me a boost.Igrab hold of the roof and pull myself up, then lay flat on it to giveLedgera hand.Oncehe’s up, we take off across the roofs.Foras much as the roofs all have the same look, they are at vastly different heights.Ifit wasn’t raining,Iwould be racing across these rooftops as quickly as running on the road.I’dbe having more fun up here, of course.
Butthe curved roof tiles aren’t the easiest to get traction on with this much rain pouring down, and it is slowing our progress a bit.Everyonce in a while, we come across one that doesn’t quite connect to the others and have to jump across the small space.
Fromup here, we can see theBarnoBrotherscar pass by.Wecan also see the building containing the charcoal drawing, but they don’t stop in front of it.Maybethey are looking for a place to park that won’t block the narrow road and possibly get unwanted attention on them.Whatevertheir reason,I’mgrateful for the extra few moments it gives us to reach the building and get out of sight.Maybeeven make a plan of how to break in before they reach it.
There’sa gap of a couple of feet between this building and the next, and then we can climb down from this house, scale the stone wall, cross the narrow street, and then jump the wrought iron fence that leads to the back of the museum.
We’regoing to get there.We’regoing to find a way inside that building and either place the tracker or stop theBarnoBrothersfrom entering and taking the piece.AsIdo for motivation with every mission,IpictureSully’sproud expression whenIwalk back into theCIA.
Ledgerjumps across the gap, then his eyes flit to the museum, too, probably imagining how we are going to get inside.Heturns back to me, sets his feet, and holds out a hand.Iam moving as quickly asIcan across the roof, set my foot, and leap towardLedger.
Exceptinstead of my foot staying set in place,it slips on the rain pouring across the surface of the tiles, taking my leg out from under me just as my body’s trajectory propels me towardLedger.
Thesecond my foot leaves the roof,Iknow things are bad.Very, very bad.Iknow it even beforeIsee the look of horror onLedger’sface as he reaches for me, andIfall between the two buildings.
CHAPTER 22
OPERATION: SAVE ZOE
LEDGER
Ireach forZoe.Herslipping foot changes her trajectory so quickly and drastically, though, that my hand only catches air asIwatch her fall into the small space between the buildings, hitting the coupling of an exposed pipe on the way.Andthen, as she hits the ground,Ihear a crunchIknow can only come from a broken bone.Therain is coming down hard onto the roofs all around me, yetIcan still hear my heart hammering in my ears and panic flooding my vision.
Islide from the roof into the small alley, trying to fit my body in the narrow space between the two buildings and maneuver my feet so thatIcan get toZoe.Thehood of her jacket has fallen off her head, and her eyes squint open enough to see me.Shesays the words, “Finishthe mission,” before she passes out.
I’msure from the way she fell and landed that she doesn’t have a spinal cord injury.Andshe didn’t hit herhead, soIknow she isn’t passing out from a concussion.Itmust be from the pain.Imanage to get a foot on one side of her and a knee on the other.
JustasI’mbending over to pick her up,Isee something shine in the water pooling beside her.It’sher necklace.Itmust’ve caught on the coupling and broke.Iknow how important it is to her, soIgrab it and shove it into my pocket, then work to pick her up.
Thespace is so small thatIcan’t turn my shoulders fully, so lifting her body whenI’mnot sure what, exactly, is injured and when every part of mine seems to be an obstacle isn’t easy.
