Poised For Flight

Poised For Flight (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1 - Dyl

It was cold that morning, not that I was surprised by that. It’s always cold in Moscow. I crouched behind the oil drum, holding my breath, for two reasons; one, because I was scared and two, because if they saw the white clouds that my warm breath made when in contact with the freezing air, I was very very dead. I grinned at this thought.  

Suddenly I jumped, ripped out of my reverie by a loud banging noise. Bang, bang, bang, bang. BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! Four knocks, over and over, getting louder every time. They had found me. I peeked out around the side of my hiding spot tentatively. Still holding my breath, I crawled out slowly, aiming towards the large warehouse on the other side of the compound. I made it to a second oil drum and sat back on my heels slightly. Peering out again, I could see four men, heavily built and tall, all wearing long black coats, and balaclavas. I had a horrible feeling the balaclavas weren’t for the cold. Dropping to my hands and knees, I moved closer to the warehouse. The loud banging noise came again, and this time I could see how they were doing it. One of the men had picked up a long stick, more of a tree branch really, and was repeatedly whacking the side of an empty oil drum. The vibrations rolled across the ground and I started to shake. I tried to tell myself it was not out of fear, but I had never been any good at lying to myself. Ironic really, considering how I occupied my time.

I made it to the warehouse, and out of relief I stood up against the wall for a moment, allowing myself a couple of breaths. However my rest was all too short. A large pair of meaty, clammy hands grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me off my feet. Dangling in the air I came face to face with one of the men in black. All I could see of his features were his eyes, but this was enough to paralyze me. They were full of hatred, void of pity or mercy, and the growling noise he was making in the back of his throat only confirmed my fears. I couldn’t see the other men, and when this thought registered my training kicked in. I began to swing, backwards and forwards, pushing my feet against the chest of the man restraining me. In his surprise, his reflexes slowed down, and I was able to twist out of his grip and land about 2 metres away from him. I landed running, not wasting a second of my advantage. I flew around the corner of the warehouse and briefly considered stopping to pick the lock, but at this point the contents was redundant. I knew they had something to hide, it didn’t really matter what it was. Still running, I shot a glance behind me. The other three men had joined my original attacker, and they were gaining on me. I lifted my eyes to the heavens and muttered a quick apology for what I was about to do. Then I pointed my right hand at my shoes and whispered “Svenata Flish”. Immediately my speed increased and I tore away from my pursuers. My hair whipped into my mouth as I ran and I spat it out with disgust. Not one of my favourite spells, but arguably useful especially in the current situation. I just prayed I wasn’t in too much trouble.

Throwing the briefest of glances back over my shoulder, the four men had halted on the horizon standing in a line, their silhouettes belying their bewildered thoughts. I looked forwards again, a grin on my face. Phase one of my improvised plan was complete. Still running at lightning speeds I circled around, behind a second warehouse. Slowing down to a stop, I caught my breath. Then creeping to the door of the abandoned building, I bent down to pick the lock. I considered doing it with magic, but I was already going to be in trouble, better not make it worse for myself. After about a minute and a half, my numb fingers felt the lock give. Smiling in triumph I pushed the door gently open and stepped inside. I stopped just inside the door and allowed my eyes to adjust to the darkened room. Once I could make out shapes in front of me, I began creeping forwards, feeling my way across the dank space. I was right to be wary. About halfway, I tripped on something and came crashing down onto the stone floor. My head reeling I sat up and looked behind me at the thing I had fallen over. I blinked twice before realising that I wasn’t seeing things. I had tripped on a sack, which had ripped and had spilled gold coins everywhere. I let out a whoop of joy, and then immediately clapped a hand over my mouth and darted my eyes around to see if my sudden noise had disturbed anything. When nothing happened, I leaped to my feet and began shoving the gold back into the sack. When the sack was again full, I held out my hand over the tear and whispered “Ifingo”. The rip closed up and I smiled in satisfaction. Hoisting the sack over my shoulder I lumbered to the edge of the room. Setting it down next to the identical sacks I set about opening some of the others. Sure enough all of the burlap bags were filled with gold coins. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had found the storage facility of the Oro Cerchio! I whooped with joy. I now had the opportunity to bring down the biggest gold smuggling ring in history, single handed!

Half an hour later, I was crouched in the shadows behind a large wooden crate. The trap was ready, the bait was set, and all I had to do was wait. I grinned into the blackness. I really loved my job.