Chapter 7 – You Can’t Hide

William

The only sound that could be heard was the featherlight footsteps of my team. We were on a mission to capture the only man that had gotten away from Gala. He had been on a different floor, trying to break into Mr. Pearson’s office. Turned out the jewelry heist was merely a distraction. Unfortunately for them, it had been for nothing since the man we now know was Baron Morgan didn’t even manage to get into the office and had chosen instead to flee.

Once his accomplices were given the details of his cowardly and traitorous act, it was only a matter of time before one of them turned on him. Once we were given his name, Mia had worked her magic to find us an accurate location of the criminal.

I could always trust Mia to get us the information we needed; anyone knew that she was ruthless with a computer. She was the perfect fit into our team; she was extremely talented when it came to hacking and technology in general, which, let’s be honest, none of the guys, me included, were experts in that area. She was our tech girl, and we would be damned if we let anyone try to mess with her.

When she first joined our team after coming out of the SWAT academy, she had been teased and slightly bullied by other men who thought she didn’t belong here and didn’t have the physical capacities to achieve the job. Yet, we knew just how valuable she was both on the field and off the field.

Believe me when I say we gave those guys one hell of a talk. She was in our team, and all the guys would agree with me when I say we would always protect her. Although none of us would ever admit this in front of her, otherwise we would never hear the end of her ‘I don’t need protecting’ speech.

I signaled the team to keep advancing towards the abandoned factory where our target was.

There were eight people in the building, while only five of us on the field with Mia informing us of the different heat signatures through our earpieces.

Once we were in position, I waited for everyone to voice out that they were ready.

We burst through the door, creating panic all around as we screamed ‘SWAT! Put your hands where I can see them!’

Cayden and Frederic had gone after a runner, while I quickly counted the number of people in the room. Most of them were already on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Yet, after counting and considering the runner, we only had seven people, with the main target missing.

“Where’s Morg—” I didn’t have time to finish this sentence when I was assaulted from behind with a large rock, making my gun fall out of my hand. I felt dizzy, but I turned around ready for a fight. Unsurprisingly, I was face to face with none other than Morgan.

I felt a drip coming down my neck and wouldn’t be surprised if it was crimson red. Seth and Jonathan were busy keeping the other six men under control and wouldn’t be able to come to help me anytime soon. Yet, it didn’t bother me; even with my head injury, I knew I could handle him.

Or so I thought.

Our fight was turning out to be rather even, both landing a few hard blows to the other. My dizziness was giving me a clear disadvantage. He had managed to get on top of me while we rolled on the floor. Yet, before he could throw a single punch, he cried out in pain at the sharp object which penetrated his shoulder. His hand reached up to the designated area, and I easily pushed him off.

“If I thought you could handle it, I would have let you have your fun, but I honestly don’t have the patience to wait. So let’s get a move on, shall we?” Seth said nonchalantly. I didn’t blame him; looking up, I could see my team all waiting on me. I stood up and grabbed Morgan by his elbow, pulling him up before cuffing him. I left the knife inside for the doctors to take care of. Although knowing Seth, he hadn’t hit any major arteries.

Sometimes I forget just how strong Seth is with his weapons. Seth could maneuver any kind of weapon with precision and accuracy. His in-depth knowledge of the human body was incredible, and his aim was off the chart. That knife he had thrown to Morgan had passed only a few centimeters from me, yet not in a million years would I doubt his abilities. If Mia was our tech girl, then Seth was definitely our weapon wizard.

“What an idiot, I don’t get the point of fighting back when you already know there is no way you’re going to get away,” Jonathan said while shaking his head.

“Desperate people don’t always think straight,” I contributed.

Harmoni

“I’m glad you’re okay!” Emily said as she choked me in a hug.

“Can’t...Breath,” I manage to get out, making her loosen her grip on me. “Yeah, I’m glad we’re all fine. It just sucks that they had to attack that event, you know?” I sighed. I mean attacking other events isn’t something I would want either but a charity event was the big no-no in my book.

“Yeah, I know.” We stayed silent for a bit before she started asking me about Cindy’s party.

When the bell rang, we went our separate ways. I had English while she had Math. Walking to a different part of the school where my class was, I couldn’t help the feeling of being watched. I shivered at the thought and turned around to check. The corridors were empty. I guess it was just in my head. Right?

The rest of the week went by quickly. William had been absent for the past two days, and I was starting to get worried. I had asked my father about it and he had vaguely told me that there had been a slight hiccup during one of their raids and that he was taking a few days to recover.

I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I truly hoped he was alright. Just thinking about something happening to him sent goosebumps down my back. I wasn’t fond of him at the beginning and wanted him to leave but I was starting to realize that having him by my side might not be as bad as I had initially thought. I guess this was me moving on to Step 4: Giving up.

Since the day after the gala, I sometimes felt like someone was following me or watching me, but every time I would turn around or look for the source of it, I wouldn’t see anything. Emily said that maybe the events of the fundraiser had gone to my head, and I was becoming paranoid. I guess she could be right. Yet, I couldn’t shake that awful feeling.