The Gadget: The Rondon Chronicles Book One by V. Timlin (speed reading book .TXT) 📕

stolen nothing,” Anouk muttered as she pulled herself onto the flat roof. Lila was nowhere to be seen. Was she heading back to the brothel? Better so. She and Nat would have one thing less to worry about.

Anouk peeked down. The rat-catcher and two other men were running towards the ladder. Nat twisted his torso and shot in front of the rat-catcher. He jumped back. His squeal echoed between the walls as loud as the gunshot. At the same instant, the two other men pulled their guns and aimed at Nat.

“Look out!” Anouk screamed and fired towards the men. Her bullet hit neither of them, but it made them duck out of the way, giving Nat enough time to climb the last few steps.

He rolled onto the roof and jumped up. “Thanks. Let’s go.”

Anouk broke into a run after Nat, who was heading towards the row of attached houses along Roister Street. The silhouette of the rooftops against the streetlights highlighted their narrowness and height. Unlike the flat-roofed side building, in Flower Estate most of the roofs were hipped. Did Lila really go that way? No, there had to be another way down.

Nat was already climbing a ladder, leading up the slope of the next roof. Anouk took hold of the side rails and glanced over her shoulder. She couldn’t see the rat-catcher and the two men, but their clambering echoed from the walls. Shit. There was no time to look for an alternative exit route. She hoped Nat knew these rooftops as well as he knew the sewers under The Pits.

They reached the ridge cap of the attached house as their pursuers came into view. Anouk flicked her eyes towards Roister Street and her knees buckled at the sight of the drop. A gunshot cut the air. A sharp ding came from the rat cage strapped on Nat’s backpack when the bullet hit it. Anouk ducked but in doing so, her foot slipped, throwing her off balance. Her arms flailed in the air as she tried to keep herself upright and on the roof.

“Nat!” she squealed.

She tipped further off balance. Another squeal escaped from her lips as she clawed the thin air between her and Nat. At the last second, he grabbed her as she was about to lose her battle against gravity. She collapsed on the ridge and hugged its rough tiles like a life buoy, her whole body shaking. A pungent smell of smoke oozed from the tiles into her nose. In the back of her mind, a voice said she would be covered with filthy soot.

“Oh, shut up!” she murmured. “Better that than being smashed on the cobblestones.”

Nat returned fire, forcing the men to find cover where there was none. A scream pierced the air, followed by a dull thud. One of their pursuers had fallen off. Anouk shuddered. That would have been her fate if Nat hadn’t caught her.

Then it hit her. She glanced again down to Roister Street. The lights of Madam Valeria’s brothel shone only a hundred yards or so away. Fuck! If they heard the shooting, they might come to check it out… she and Nat weren’t prepared to face Stalo and his men yet.

“We have to get out of here,” Nat growled and fired at the men on the lower roof.

“My thoughts exactly.”

It took a couple of attempts and a litany of curses to get her body to comply. Soon she ran behind Nat along the narrow walkway, keeping hold of one of the straps on his backpack. It would have been useless if she or Nat fell, but it gave her the mental support she needed to stay upright and not look down.

They ran to the end of the building block. Anouk looked over her shoulder. Their pursuers had reached the same roof and were heading their way, their hands beating the air like pedals for they too had trouble maintaining balance. Anouk hoped they soon would deem it too dangerous to continue chasing them and turn back. So far, no such luck.

After a quick scan, Nat said, “No ladder. We’ll have to climb down the drainpipe.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” Anouk blurted.

“Afraid not. Just follow my example.” He walked down the stair-like narrow hip and stopped at the chimney; he waved Anouk to follow.

He made it look easy enough, she bet this wasn’t his first time, though. She took a deep breath and glanced towards their pursuers—they were approaching too fast. No time for second guessing.

“I’m going to die,” she whimpered and set foot on the first cramped, steep step. She concentrated on her descent, placing her feet carefully. If she strayed only a little, she would fall, bouncing from the roof like a ball and plummet to the busy street. By the time she reached the chimney, she was bathed in her own sweat.

Nat took her by the waist. “I have you. Now, take hold of the chimney and shuffle down to the gutter. You get good holds from tiles. It’s easy.” He grinned and showed her what he meant.

“Easy, my arse,” Anouk growled. She glanced again where their pursuers were. They had turned back and were heading towards the side building. A hope fluttered in her stomach. “The rat-catcher and his mate are giving up.”

“No, they know where we’re coming down and are trying to catch us there. We better hurry.” Nat shuffled the rest of the way to the gutter.

Anouk wiped her clammy hands onto her trousers and followed him. Nat was right; the rough and well attached tiles made it a less frightening experience.

When Anouk reached him, he flipped his legs over the gutter. “The drainpipe is sturdy, so it will hold. Just keep your legs vertical and arms straight when climbing down.” He took a hold around the metal drain and lowered himself. Before he vanished under the gutter, he winked. “It’s like climbing a ladder.”

Anouk wiped her hands again and looked down into the darkened alley. She gulped. “You can do this. It’s