54
Departure
Peyton stared at the rooftop but could see nothing. She ran around the side and called up, half whispering. “Brock? Brock?”
But she received no reply. She heard the sound of shuffling feet against the grit of roofing tar. Then heard a muffled yell. “Brock?” she called, much louder this time. The silhouette of two men at the roof’s edge appeared, each gripping the other. It was so dark, the only thing Peyton could see were their outlines. One man reared his hand back, and Peyton saw a glimmer of steel, a knife. “Brock!” she screamed. But the man plunged the knife into the other. He pushed the wounded man until he flipped over the edge of the building, then slammed into the ground, head-first.
Peyton froze, looking at the darkened figure on the ground. She ran to him. “No, n
