Lawyers, the world’s best paid professional liars, I’d need one if I was going to make it out of this one. Now I get why that blind superhero took to literally throwing the book at the bad guys after hours, only so much you can try to prosecute villains when they seem to have the best legal firms money could buy. These were the intrusive thoughts flooding through his mind as he stepped cautiously from corridor to corridor, if he could make it to the fire exit at the far side of the facility he knew he’d have a better chance of making a confrontation free exit.

With the lifts on lockdown, security would have to take the twenty-four flights of stairs to get to him…unless security used their lift keys to get up the building faster.

He flashed a finger at the CCTV, as he ran past, and dove straight through the double fire doors.

“FREEZE, HANDS UP”, that would be the patrolling guards. No chance we’re playing cat and mouse, all that would do is give their backup more time to get that much closer.

Time for flash-bangs, *click..clunk..clunk…clunk….clunk* the unpinned grenade rolls in the corner of the door, and on cue they swing through like old school cowboys looking for a bar fight and… *BOOOM!*

Don’t have time to look back, I suspect the door will have done some damage along with the noise of the explosion.

Do I feel guilty. No. They knew what they signed up to protecting the greatest scum this side of the city.

So glad we hadn’t reached this door, it’s blast proof, but with most internet of things generation or furniture and fittings, it’s hackable. I just hope they were able to deactivate locking mechanisms. He’s convincing himself as he picks up pace and momentum as he readies his left shoulder and thigh to slam into the door. Clutching the belt bag in both hands, his fingers wrapped around the SSD with the evidence he needs to have made this cat burglary a worthwhile endeavour. This wasn’t a cat burglary, there was nothing silent, smooth and undetected about it.

*SMASH CRACK CRASH”*, thats going to hurt in the morning, there’s definitely a rib or two out of place, damn it, it’s going to take weeks to recover from this.

He jogs, leaning his body weight to the right, and skips past another camera flipping it the bird, this never gets old.

*WHOOSH, CRACK* “STOP, STOP NOW, OR WE’LL PUT YOU DOWN”, another patrol unit just made it up a stairwell, too close quarters, going to have to play kamikaze *Click, Click, Clunk, Clunk* if I drop a flash-bang and tear-gas canister, that will keep them distracted enough for me to blow the door off the exit.

*BOOOM, HISSSSS*, final stretch, his mind was convinced he’d made it, but in the back of his head was an increasing build up of doubt he didn’t have time to deal with.

Turning the final corner the window was less than 30 feet from him, he stopped, pulled out the last two of his grenades *Click, Click, Fwoop, Fwoop, Clink, Clink…Clink, Clink*

“HE’S AT THE EAST STAIRWELL EXIT”, ahhhhhhhh, they’re too close for comfort, come on boom, boom, *BOOOM, BOOOOOM, CRASH* Ahhhhhhhhhh, he hobbles a run slightly disorientated straight out whats left of the window diving like he’s about to hit a pool of a board. *SCHHLINK, Whooosh* the military grade parachute worked, well it better have, 200ft didn’t buy me much time to get this wrong.

*VROOoooom* And my ride is here, well I made it out with some cracked ribs, a bout of temporary tinnitus, and about £2,000 of spent gear, not bad for a job that will end up leading to locking up a cabal of criminal lawyers and their paymasters.

*CLINK, Roll* “Helmet and hold on, we’re not out of here yet”, he has a sense of urgency that makes me anxious, in a good way, my impulsive and explosive nature is always moderated with him around, thats what makes us the best criminal disruptors this side of the city.

*VROOOOOooom* “I’ve got it all, comms, clones of their drives and footage” probably not the best time to distract him with my heroics, when he’s trying to break the sound barrier with his bike, or maybe thats just the tinnitus.

“They’re waiting for us at the bridge, we’re early but they’re ready for us”, not often we’re early, but on this occasion I’m glad, the sooner we get to the boats, the sooner I can take that well deserved sigh of relief, for now I need to ride out the adrenaline.