Shadows and Shades (#4 Post-Order 66 Series)

Shadows and Shades - Part 3

Crosshair readjusted the bundle of food under his arm as he walked through Raxulon's cool evening air, his breath hanging in the breeze in a puff of mist with each exhale. Today had been the last rotation of their trial period at the factory, and the Gran foreman, who they had come to learn was named Ba-Ran, had hired Crosshair and Iden full-time at the end of their shift. The previous three rotations had weighed heavily on the sniper, the pressure to succeed looming over him constantly, so when Ba-Ran had told them rather unenthusiastically that they would start full-time the following week, he'd felt like celebrating. Since Iden had been complaining of eating nothing but sandwiches for the last few days, he'd gone out to pick up some food from one of the nicer restaurants in the area and a bottle of wine for their meal this evening. It had been a slight splurge, but their funds were about to double, so he felt it was warranted.

Not like we're paying rent where we're staying.

He felt lighter, a feeling he wasn't necessarily familiar with, but one he would gladly grow accustomed to. Hunter had been pleased to hear the positions they'd been hired into, and the preliminary reports that they'd been able to provide the first few days had already proved helpful according to the sergeant. They'd not only been able to glean numbers of weapons going out the door, but Ba-Ran had also briefed them on the most common failures for each type of weapon so that they could be on the lookout for the errors, information they'd been more than happy to pass along to the rebellion. They'd of course allowed no faulty weapons to slip out the door in their trial period to ensure they were hired on full-time, but now, it was time to adjust their strategy and add a little risk to the equation. Crosshair knew that the few rotations they had off before the start of the new work week would be spent planning and strategizing, but if only for tonight, he wanted to relax and let the rebellion slip away for a little while.

As he turned the corner onto the avenue their dwelling was located on, his joy faded quickly as he noted that the front door of their dwelling was cracked open, light leaking out into the street. His pulse accelerated along with his pace. Someone's broken in. Or could it be a raid? Iden wouldn't leave the door open like that. His blood ran cold, and he quickly shifted the food to his other hand, yanking his DH-17 from its place at his hip as he quickly and quietly charged forward. Crosshair crept along until he was even with the front of the dwelling. They'll take her over my dead body. He heard a clatter and slowed, ducking low behind the wall that shielded the bottom half of the front stoop from his view. He set the food and wine down carefully before steadying his breath, listening. He heard a scuffle again, and he swung around, aiming the blaster at the agape front door.

Iden sat straddling the half-open door with her back against its frame, and as he aimed his blaster at her, she threw her hands up. "WHOA WHOA WHOA! What are you doing?"

Crosshair's shoulders slumped in both relief and annoyance, and he swore under his breath as he tucked the gun back into its holster quickly, his eyes scanning the street to see if anyone had noted him sneaking up on his own home. The street was thankfully empty other than a tooka a few dwellings down that sat watching him from the railing of a porch. He scowled at it and clenched his teeth as he stooped to snatch the food and wine.

"I could ask you the same thing. Thought someone had raided the place and left the door ajar," he muttered, striding forward. As he got closer, he took in her appearance. Her shirt, hands, and forearms were streaked with grease, and he could see she was fiddling with the track of the door, her brow furrowed and her tongue poking out between her teeth as she slammed a fist against the bottom of the door.

"Got the track greased, but the damn thing is a little off the rails. That's part of the grinding sound we've been hearing," she grunted. Crosshair set the food down inside the dwelling before coming back and gripping the door.