Chapter 28: Cleaning

The docks were quiet as Shade landed on the edge of the harbour basin. The waters were dark and the rain had begun falling from the thickened clouds, breaking the water surface in soft ripples. He scanned the area and withdrew his wings to stay anonymous to his surroundings. The little note in his hand had the address scribbled down in hasty letters. Zacharias' writing was almost unreadable.

He turned and looked around to eye out the shut-down warehouse. As he approached, he saw the helicopter behind the building and slowly unsheathed the beretta m92 from its holster under the jacket. The black eyes ran along the empty containers, piercing the dark. His instincts worked well and he distinguished between cold and warm sources. There was nobody within sight as of present. But as he got closer, he smelled the presence of somebody. This person or whatever it was, was inside the building.

He went to the door and checked the hidden side panel. With a small device he cracked the code in matter of seconds and the door opened. Everything was pitch black in there and he stepped in cautiously. There was someone but he couldn't see any heat sources.

He stopped at the sound of shuffling nearby. He concentrated. Feet shuffled by some boxes along the right wall. He backed up against the wall, the gun held firmly in front of him as he closed the door behind him with a light touch of his heel.

A figure emerged out of the dark shadows. He was luckily able to see the person better than mortals, but as he rightly guessed, this person was not mortal either. They stood like this for some time. The rain drummed on the roof, and the sound was booming in the great hall.

"Identify yourself," he demanded, the monotone, steely voice broke the sound of the drumming rain drops.

"I should ask you the same, but I have a fair guess who you are," the figure said with a sleek hissing voice.

"Who do you think then?" Shade asked suspiciously and tried to make out the contours more clearly of the figure. A tall man.

"A Darklighter Agent, if not even the infamous Shade Darklighter himself," the man replied.

"Good one," Shade mused before firing the gun at the figure's foot. A scream pierced the silence and the man fell to the floor. Shade was over him in a few strides from the front door and hammered his head into the floor before cuffing him. "Let's see if you're good at other trivias."