Ashe waited and listened. Nothing, not a sound. Had his shadow left? Given up? Then a small bump. Barely anything, but maybe Shadow Guy leaned against something. Ashe almost missed it. Shadow Guy was standing still and listening himself.

They stayed there like that for a full five minutes, Ashe lying on the low roof, gun out toward the alley. Shadow Guy stopped moving, possibly directly beneath him. He was desperately trying to out wait and outwit him. Not daring to make a sound. He assumed Shadow Guy was doing the same thing.

Crap, he’s good. I was hoping for clumsy. This is not great for me.

When Ashe was afraid he’d have to move, he heard it. A tiny, almost imperceptible crunch. Like a pebble ground beneath a shoe. In a few seconds, he appeared from beneath him. He moved like a cat toward the alley entrance. But every few steps, despite his slow and calculated motions, a piece of concrete or trash or something crunched under his shoes.

Ashe put his sights on the guy’s back.

The guy froze, as if he could feel Ashe’s front sight between his shoulder blades. Slowly, silently, he pivoted and raised his gun smoothly upward. He must have sensed something, or realized he needed to clear the roof only a dozen feet over his head.

Ashe placed his finger on the trigger.

~The Elite Watch. Available for Kindle pre-order now, in print first week of May.

Buy it here when available on my Books page