Origin of Power

Chapter 15

I was the last out of the van. The two men loading the lorry glanced my way as they went about their work. Binder clapped me on the shoulder as I passed.

"You'll be fine," he said.

I looked at him in surprise, then nodded, following the others into the loading bay. Binder was to stay at the van and handle the lorry workers. Security was surprisingly slack. I guessed they had no reason to stop us. We had been allowed through the gates and onto the loading bay site, there was no reason for them to be suspicious.

The loading bay had one of those corrugated metal gates that lifted into the roof. It was already open for the lorry workers, so we just walked straight into the building. I saw our contact right away, shuffling boxes about and into the racks. The man looked to be in his thirties and wore a yellow reflective jacket and a red beanie. He didn't even glance our way as we entered.

I gulped, there were four guards inside the main area, and another two sitting down in a small office in the back. All it would take was for one of them to raise the alarm, and we would be screwed. My heart raced in my ears so loudly that I almost thought they would hear.

I tasted dust. The entire room was caked in it. It had a high roof, with long metal shelves stacked all the way to the top. Cardboard crates and pallets piled on top of those and pushed up against the walls.

I stuck with Lightshow as Mia led the way to the office. We passed two tall double doors with ID readers at the sides. They each had vertical windows with crisscross wires reinforcing the glass. Through them I peeked stacks upon stacks of boxes. Storage rooms.

Mia tapped on the window of the office and the two guards glanced our way. It was the closest one that stood, grunting as he pushed himself to his feet. Chair scraping against the floor.

I glanced back around the room, feeling like someone was watching me. There was nothing. Snapshot was sitting on one of the crates while Shifter leant up against the wall beside the entrance. They each had two guards to take care of themselves. All of which were acting perfectly ordinary. Was it just my nerves?

At the sound of the guard opening the door, I turned back. I noticed the guns racked on the wall furthest from the wall. Four rifles. My hairs stood on end.

Why did they need four? I wondered, eyes wandering over each of the identical rifles. It was an irrational fear. The man wasn't even holding one; all he had for defence was the pistol at his waist.

"How can I help?" the guard asked. He had a deep voice, and a tone that made me think he really didn't want to be there.

"We're here for a pickup," Mia said, handing over a document with a list of information printed on it. She pointed at the top of the page. "The access ID's and references are here if you need them."

His eyes skimmed over the sheet. "Have you got the case ID? I don't see it here."

I froze. Eyes flicking between the guns and the camera in the corner of the office. They had us on film. If the guard was already onto us, Mia wouldn't have a chance to delete the footage. I glanced back at my other teammates, none of which showed any sign of being concerned.

Mia shrugged. "That's all the details the customer gave me."

He frowned, looked Mia up and down, then sighed as he took a seat back at his computer. "I'll check the system, give me a moment."

Mia moved into the doorway, propping the door open with her shoulder and watching the monitor.

My chest tightened. Lightshow was already moving into the room. I gripped the tesla in my pocket. The only reassurance I had was that there would be no permanent damage. Still, I was assaulting an innocent man. These people were nothing like Pocket Rocket; they were just normal people doing their job. Defenceless and vulnerable. We were about to do exactly what made Titans feared.