By Autumn Ives
Damn. Tahnee hit the floor. This guy is good.
Good thing she was better. However, it was time to end their little dance despite the fun she was having.
“Wait—”
“Sorry, mate.” She clipped her opponent’s legs, driving the guard to the ground. While he fell, she scooted backward and stood, taking a moment to steady herself after the ringing blow he had dealt to her head. He rose and swung again. Blocking his punch, she kneed him in the gut. Twice. When he doubled over, she broke his nose and flipped him onto his back, knocking him out.
Wiping her bloody hands on her pants, she tucked a wisp of her midnight locks behind her ear.
“Tahnee, you okay?” Logan asked through her earpiece.
“I had to check something. I’m heading back to Greg now.”
Her bright blue eyes scanned the grand foyer as she massaged her head, the fancy wood panel gleaming in the single light of the chandelier. Retracing her steps, she surveyed the moonlit hallway. The mansion was tricked out, complete with statues and paintings she’d expect to find in a museum.
“Too bad our clients are only after information,” she said, eyeing a Rembrandt. “The art in this place is impressive. I’ll bet there’s a few jewels around, too.”
“Stay focused, girlie,” Logan chided. “We get a fat little paycheck at the end of this.”
“Next time, negotiate in a statue or two.”
She rounded a corner and headed for the open door to the library. Pausing just inside, she scanned the room but found only Greg by the window.
“Back so soon?” he asked around the flashlight in his mouth.
Tahnee leaned against the doorjamb and grinned at her accomplice. “Guess you got in. Did you find the location of their new headquarters?”
“Still working on it.” Greg rifled through the busted safe, focused on his work.
“Logan, how much time do we have?” she asked.
“Five minutes,” came the answer through her and Greg’s earpieces, “and you need to be out of there by then. Our bogus squad car is on his tail.”
“We know the drill.” Greg opened a manila envelope and flipped through its contents. “I think this is it. Yeah… Little Jimbo is moving his head of operations out of state.”
Tahnee cracked her neck. “Good. Let’s go.”
“Well, lookee what we have here.” He reached farther into the safe.
“We were hired to get in and get out,” she said, checking her six, “and unless we get out, we don’t get paid.”
Greg withdrew a small item which glistened in the moonlight, and her eyes widened.
“Is that the stolen piece we heard about last year?” she asked. “The white jade dragon figurine from the Ming Dynasty?”
“It would appear so. I guess when criminals steal from each other, they don’t put the item on display. Shall we give it a new home?”
Tahnee laughed. “We shall. And the best part is Jimbo will think someone wanted his statue back.”
“I know.” Greg ripped off his beanie and wrapped the dragon before carefully setting it in his backpack. “You ready?”
Tahnee crossed the room and followed him out the window, up the oak tree, and over the wall. When they reached the stakeout van across the street, Greg threw open the back door and plopped down his bag.
“Where’s the informant?” Logan asked from his computer station.
“What do you mean?” Tahnee asked.
“He was supposed to make contact with you inside. You didn’t see him?”
Tahnee and Greg exchanged dark looks, and with a curse, backtracked toward the mansion.
After scaling the wall, she shifted to the tree, stepping from branch to branch. “Well, at least that explains his presence in the house.”
“That makes me feel so much better right now. Watch it!” Greg cried as her foot slipped. She latched onto the nearest twig while Greg’s hand clutched the back of her jacket.
“Thanks,” she muttered, regaining her balance.
“I’d hate to leave our best fighter behind.”
Logan’s voice interrupted them. “Jimbo’s Rolls Royce just drove past, followed by our police car flashing its lights.”
“Damn, but we don’t have time for this,” Greg snarled.
Once their boots hit the ground, they sprinted towards the window, hugging the shadows of the vine covered wall. When they reached the back of the house, a familiar rumble gave Tahnee pause.
“Is that a garage door?” she asked.
Greg drew up next to her. “Our cops were supposed to stop them from getting this far! It’s going to get ugly if we have to fight our way out.”
“Give me a sec.” She peered around the corner and peeked through a rose bush. Police lights nearly blinded her as a megaphone echoed the command to stop.
Three men exited Jimbo’s parked car and turned to face the officers. She caught enough of the conversation to know a gunfight wasn’t eminent.
“They’re going to be reasonable for the moment,” she said. “Let’s get moving.”
Trekking through the mansion, they found the informant in the foyer, right where Tahnee had left him. As they stared down at his groaning form, she shook her head.
“I may be able to beat him senseless, but you’re going to have to carry him.”
“There’s no way he’s going over that wall,” Greg said, pulling his moaning cargo into a fireman’s hold.
“So we won’t go over the wall.” Tahnee shrugged. “That’s what front doors are for.”
Greg puffed under his burden. “Walking out the front just doesn’t feel right.”
“Don’t worry.” She hurried across the foyer. “The security cameras are still rigged. We’ll just lock it behind us.”
“You’re going to lock it?”
“Well,” she said, holding the door open wide, “we’d hate for someone to break in.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Great action! And nice job fitting so many wrinkles into such a short piece—felt like a classic heist story.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I love the tension throughout! Great story!
Thank you for reading it! I had a fun time writing it.
The thing with the guard reminded me of the old Get Smart program where Max constantly beat up the agents sent to protect him. You set up the twist nicely, and the irony is nice, but not laid on too thick.
Thank you! I love writing action/adventure stories, but they can be tricky for me. I’m happy to know there was a nice balance. I appreciate everyone’s comments!
Great job! I love the combination of action and humor. :)