Page 55 of Static/Cling

Leif turned to fix him with a serious look. “You have to stay alert, yeah? Like a guard dog. If you see anyone looking like they might be after us, you let us know.”

“Yeah.” Roger grinned. “I’m pretty much always the look-out. I got this.”

Leif nodded. “Okay.” He pulled in a breath and turned to Bjorn. “Lose the shirt, yeah?”

Bjorn frowned. “How did you know?”

“I know you, babe.” He tugged at a strap of the backpack he wore. “I got your sweats in here, so if you have to, you can ditch the jeans, too. It’s a good idea to have them, but not if they’re damping your ability too much.”

Bjorn nodded. “We’ll go with just the shirt for now.” He peeled it off and stuffed it into Leif’s backpack. It wasn’t cold enough out for him to need more than the T-shirt he had on underneath, so the three of them crept off towards the small door, leaving Roger whispering to the dog, ball in hand and ready to throw.

CHAPTER 7

EXECUTION

Kassian did not like leaving Roger behind alone. Or fine, with just the dog at his feet and Sal in his ear.

He didn’t like having both newbies following him past even one gate, as simple as it would be for them to hop the stone wall and run if they had to.

He didn’t like relying on Bjorn’s sketchy power to get him inside.

If he was being honest, he didn’t like much about this entire mission. He would have preferred to do it from his desk where no one would see his face or be able to track him.

“Trying to do it from your desk is what got us here,” he whispered.

“What?” Bjorn asked.

When Kassian glanced back at him, it was to see Leif smacking his arm and shaking his head.

“What?”

“He’ll let us know when he’s talking to us.”

Bjorn rolled his eyes, but Kassian switched his focus back to the road in front of them. He was about to dash across when Bjorn grabbed his arm.

“Wait.”

The zap of power that accompanied the word startled them both enough that Bjorn jerked his hand away.

Kassian belated tamped down on wishing he hadn’t. “Why?” he asked, instead of dwelling on how big Bjorn’s hands were, and how nice the contact was.

Bjorn pointed down the road and sure enough, a black, nondescript car rolled into sight.

“This is good,” Leif said. “Roger, when the main gate opens, throw your ball. Make sure the dog goes inside that gate. If we can get the guards to follow him?—”

“Yeah, I get it. Good luck, guys.”

“Be careful,” Kassian warned.

“Always.”

Kassian drew in a deep breath as he watched the guard approach the car and lean down to talk to the driver. He nodded, waved at the guard house, and the small gate opened.

Slowly, the car rolled forward, then the larger gate opened, and Kassian held his breath.

He almost didn’t see the ball sail over the roof of the car and past it into the compound.

He did see the dog, running full out, around the back bumper, between the guard and the car, and through the main gate. He sailed over the steel wall that hadn’t yet lowered into the ground and ran on.

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