Nightingale | An Avengers Tale

Chapter 12 ~ buckaroo

The sound of a whirling siren made me bolt awake. I groaned as I sat up. Man. I really needed to start falling asleep in more comfortable locations. "Unauthorized entry detected." J's voice rang out as all the lights turned on.

Snickerdoodle. I didn't think anyone would find me this quickly; I bolted to my feet, grabbing my knife off the bathroom counter.  I began searching for my backpack, only to remember that I had left it downstairs.

I bit my lip. If my designs fell into the wrong hands, it would be bad. Very bad. It's not that my designs were bad; I tended to make stuff just to see if it would actually work. It always did, but that created a very undesirable scenario in the case of a psycho getting ahold of my designs. "Begin lockdown initiatives." I calmly said. "Grant no access without my authority."

"Understood." J replied over the sound of the still whirling siren. I would have to adjust that after this was over. It was suppose to alert me of unwanted guests; not make me want to throw myself out the nearest window.

The blaring siren stopped as all the lights went out. Fantastic. Someone cut the power. While I appreciated the silence, I was not looking forward to what was coming. I still had to last five minutes until the battery operated generator kicked in. I bolted towards the stairs hoping I would be able to get my backpack before the fight began.

Unfortunately, no amount of training can make a klutz less klutzy. It was all going great for a few seconds, and then my foot hit the step wrong. I tumbled down the rest of the steps, turning my ankle as I went. I winced as I jumped to my feet. I chose to ignore the pain as I raced blindly into the kitchen where I grabbed my backpack off the table.

I repositioned my grip on the knife's handle as I slowly crept into a defensive position. I quickly pulled my hood up over my hair; if they didn't know my identity, I would rather keep it that way as long as possible. The sound of footsteps alerted me that at least two people were nearby. Two against one were not the best odds given the fact that my ankle still hurt from my recent fall. I winced as I silently adjusted my weight off my right foot. If I could sneak out it would be better than a full fledged fight. My odds on the streets of New York would be much better than in a vacant building. I took a deep breath and pressed the button on the knife's handle, allowing the sharp blade to release.

Seconds later, the door splintered open and I heard my two assailants entering the building. The sound of breaking glass, alerted me to the fact that someone had come in through an upstairs window. Three against one. My chances just kept on getting better. Front door and living room exits were out as escape options. Upstairs was now also out.

"Check the rooms." A voice barked out.

The footsteps to my hiding place grew louder and louder. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the fight that I knew was coming. I opened my eyes and catapulted myself out the doorway. I held out the knife and made direct contact with my assailants leg. He howled in pain as I dragged the knife across his leg. I pulled my the knife out of his leg as he thudded to the floor. "One down." I whispered as a smile began to spread across my face.

I held the knife out again as my next attacker approached me. He swung his arm back; the moonlight drifting through the nearby window glistened across a large metal object. I instinctively ducked seconds before he sent a giant metal frisbee towards me. The object lodged itself securely in the wall. "Seriously" I shouted at him. "I'm never gonna get my security deposit back." 

Stunned by my response he hesitated, giving me the perfect opportunity to strike. I slid across the wooden floor and slammed my knife into his thigh. Attacker #2 was down, but unfortunately he took my knife with him.