Deception Game by Will Jordan Page B

thrown himself to his death to avoid being captured?
    Leaning out, he found that the window faced out onto an alleyway running between this building and another residential block right next to it. However, his view of the alleyway below was partially blocked by the steel grating of a fire escape, now covered with broken glass. Fayed must have launched himself out onto it.
    Sure enough, the man was stumbling down the stairs one level below, heading for ground level.
    ‘Unit One. Target heading for the alleyway on the north side,’ Drake spoke into his radio even as he vaulted over the broken window frame. ‘I’m going after him.’
    ‘Negative, One,’ McKnight countered. ‘I’m en route. Wait for backup.’
    ‘No time. He’ll be gone.’ Even as he said this, he was leaping down the first set of steps, taking them two at a time. ‘Two, secure the apartment, grab any intel you can find and evac now!’
    The laptop he'd spotted while making entry, plus any cell phones, electronic storage devices and even printed documents scattered around the apartment could be a potential gold mine of information in the right hands.
    ‘On it,’ Mason replied.
    Drake was hot on Fayed’s heels, but the target had a head start on him. Disengaging the safety latch that held the lowermost fire ladder in place, he waited a moment while it extended to ground level, gripped the rungs and allowed himself to slide down.
    Drake knew right then that he’d never catch the man if he descended in similar fashion. Leaning out over the rail, he surveyed the darkened alley below. A number of steel dumpsters had been pushed up against the walls on both sides, all heavily filled with plastic bags of trash, including one almost directly below.
    With no time to think about other options, Drake took aim, drew a breath and launched himself over the railing.
    What followed was a second or two of tumbling, sickening weightlessness as he plummeted through the air, powerless to do anything about his trajectory now. If he’d misjudged his leap by a mere foot or two, he was going to slam into the pavement or the side of the dumpster. Either way, he was looking at broken bones and a failed mission, neither of which appealed to him.
    His thoughts were cut short by a violent, jarring impact as he made contact. He braced himself, expecting to feel the faint pop as bone snapped followed by the first wave of pain, but none came. Instead he felt himself enveloped by a lumpy, yielding softness, while his nostrils were suddenly filled with the nauseating stench of rotting garbage.
    His aim had proved true. Twisting around, he reached for the edge of the dumpster and used it to heave himself out, leaping down onto firm ground and drawing his weapon once more.
    The narrow space between the two buildings was occupied by half a dozen containers just like the one he’d leapt into, all overflowing with garbage as if nobody bothered to empty them. The smell of it was overpowering despite the rain. More plastic bags were scattered haphazardly around, some ripped open by scavenging animals. Miniature waterfalls cascaded down from the broken guttering above, adding to the ambient noise and making footing treacherous. There were no working lights in the area; what little illumination there was came from the street lights on the nearby road.
    It was into this dark, rain-slicked world that Drake advanced, weapon at the ready. Fayed was here somewhere with him, waiting to make his move.
    ‘Unit One, Overwatch,’ he whispered into his radio unit. ‘I’m in the alley. Any sign of him?’
    ‘I’m looking, One,’ came Frost’s reply. ‘Stand by.’
    He could hear the faint buzz of the drone’s electric motors moving overhead, but the low ambient light made it impossible to see the little aircraft itself. Hopefully Fayed couldn’t see it either.
    ‘Got him, One!’ Frost called out. ‘He’s hiding in an alcove. Twenty yards, on your right.’
    Drake was moving before