Chapter 45

Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, Los Angeles, California, United States

Gen hadn't made it all the way out of the door to the Major Crime Division when a disembodied voice rang out in her head, saying the word she was dreading.

"Cut."

The magic hiding Gen from security had expired, leaving her vulnerable. Even worse, Gen was deep in the bowels of the police department headquarters. And quite possibly even more devastating was that Captain Neal's credentials had been detected by security. That meant that the guards would be tightening up controls and even more on alert.

Maybe this could work in Gen's advantage, she consoled herself hurrying down the hallway, keeping her head low. The guards would be looking for Captain Neal who was a middle-aged, tall, dark man and not a young woman with blonde hair. She was dressed in all black, nothing conspicuous but she also wasn't wearing a uniform like most around the building.

Turning the corner, Gen halted at the sight of three police officers gathered around the elevator. She'd taken that on the way up to the Major Cases Division, wanting to be as fast as possible. But she'd also been pretty much invisible. Now, she was thinking the stairs were a much more practical approach.

All three officers halted, giving her confused expressions. They didn't recognize her and she was in a very restricted area of the headquarters. Backing up, Gen glanced over her shoulder for the door to the stairwell.

"Hey, who are you?" one of the officers asked, his voice hostile. "You don't belong on this floor."

"I'm with the cleaning crew," Gen said, over her shoulder, speeding back the way she'd come and bursting through the metal door to the stairwell.

She heard the men behind her spring after her, running to catch her, apparently not believing that she was with the custodial staff. That had been one of the plausible excuses that Captain Neal had given her to say if caught. But by the sounds of the racing footsteps at her back, these officers weren't buying that.

And also, Gen remembered that the building was full of only two types of police officers—those who were corrupt and those who would look the other way. If Gen was caught, she was in a world of trouble, meaning they'd probably hang her without a trial.

Moving as fast as her feet could take her, Gen took the stairs two and three at a time. The chi of the dragon made her much faster than the officers chasing her, but still, she had to find a plausible escape plan. Gen knew that she couldn't chance racing through the lobby. There were simply too many security guards and they'd be stopping everyone, looking for Captain Neal. Actually, based on what she was hearing on the radio behind her, the officers chasing Gen were reporting her appearance. Of all the places for Gen to be on the run, it had to be in a place full of armed and corrupt officers.

Bursting through a door to the second floor, Gen looked frantically both ways. There was a group of police officers on the far side, engaged in a conversation. Whipping around, Gen moved quickly in the opposite direction, deciding that running would make her look suspicious. When she came to a corner, she was grateful to see that both hallways were empty.

It appeared that they were doing construction in this area. There were plastic tarps covering the floors and walls and she felt a breeze, like a window was open. The noise from the streets was also loud. Gen took off at a run again just as she heard the police officers burst through the door of the stairwell, yelling.

Suddenly the running footsteps were coming for her again. She pushed ahead faster, harder. Gen felt trapped as she ran, none of the doors opening on this floor. There was nowhere to hide.

Gen's heart pounded hard as she sprinted down the unfamiliar corridors of the police headquarters, the sound of her pursuers' heavy footsteps echoing behind her. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting eerie shadows on the walls as she turned a corner and found herself in a maze of plastic tarps and construction equipment.

The air was thick with the pungent odor of fresh paint and sawdust. The floor beneath Gen's feet was slick with a film of dust and debris. Her boots slipped and slid on the treacherous surface, but she maintained her balance, Thankfully her reflexes were honed by years of navigating the treacherous streets of medieval London.

Suddenly, a flash of bright yellow caught her eye amidst the chaos of the construction zone. It was a large, winding tube, snaking its way from a window and down to the ground below.

Jump through that,Emperor urged in her head, panic in his voice. It's for throwing out rubbish.

Gen looked over her shoulder, seeing as the throng of angry police officers raced after her. They were yelling, many with their weapons out and malice heavy in their gazes.

Turning back around, Gen's mind raced as she realized what Emperor was talking about. The yellow tunnel was a trash chute, a potential escape route away from her pursuers.

It empties in a dumpster,Emperor continued quickly. There will be sharp debris, so arm yourself with a protective spell, but be prepared to take some damage. And fall fast.

Implicitly trusting her dragon, Gen didn't hesitate. She leapt over a pile of paint cans and ducked under a low-hanging tarp and raced towards the chute.

The sound of the officers' shouts grew louder, their voices filled with anger and frustration as they navigated the treacherous obstacle course of the construction zone.

Gen reached the chute just as the first of her pursuers neared her. His weapon was drawn and his face twisted in a snarl as he halted, taking aim.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Gen summoned her magic, feeling the familiar prickle of energy coursing through her veins. She whispered a hasty incantation, her words lost in the noise of the pursuit. Thankfully she was focused enough to complete the spell and felt the magic envelop her body like a protective cocoon.

Without a moment's hesitation, she leaped into the trash chute, her body hurtling down the winding tube at breakneck speed. The air rushed past her face, stinging her eyes and whipping her hair into a frenzy as she careened around each twist and turn.

After what felt like an eternity, Gen burst from the end of the chute. She landed with a jarring thud in a dumpster filled with a pungent mixture of trash and debris. The impact knocked the wind from her lungs, but her magic had done its job, cushioning her fall and protecting her from the worst of the impact and sharp objects.

Not granting herself a moment of respite, Gen tried to get to her feet, finding it difficult to stand or move in the unstable dumpster. Being spit back out into the streets was more than confusing, but Gen did her best to focus and move with purpose.

Gasping for breath, Gen clambered out of the dumpster, her boots slipping on the slimy surface of the alleyway. As soon as she was stable, Gen glanced up, fearful that a police officer was about to follow her from the second story trash chute.

No one would attempt what you did,Emperor advised in her head. You have magic to protect you. They don't. Being impaled on a nail is a very real fear for them.

Above her, the faces of her pursuers peered out from the windows, their expressions a mix of shock and anger as they realized the intruder had slipped through their grasp.

With a triumphant grin, Gen turned on her heels and sprinted away from the police headquarters, disappearing into the city streets of downtown Los Angeles. The thrill of the escape coursed through her veins. It was a reminder that no matter how much this strange new world tried to bring her down, she would always find a way to rise above it, one daring escape at a time.