It's also short fiction day. I decided to take one of the random pictures I pinned on Pinterest and write a short story for that character. Here is the picture I chose.
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Jenny took a deep breath and peered over the edge of the building, four floors down to the window washing lift or thirty feet over to the neighboring roof. Footsteps pounded behind her and Jenny turned to see four Agency goons burst through the door onto the roof. A glance back over the edge showed the lift moving rapidly away. Damn, they're getting better at this, Jenny thought. She turned and ran at the goons. The surprise had just registered on their faces when Jenny spun on a dime and sprinted towards the edge.
"What's she doing?" One of the goons shouted.
"I think she's going over."
"Is she insane? That's suicide." The goons upped their speed but Jenny knew that they were going to be too slow. The edge was approaching, 50 feet, 20, 10, 5. Jenny coiled her legs and propelled herself into the space between buildings. The seconds she was airborne lengthened into hours and Jenny held her breath and prayed that the other building would appear beneath her feet. The skittering of gravel echoed behind her as the goons stopped shot behind her, none of them were crazy enough to follow.
"I knew they called her Jumper, but I didn't know she was that crazy."
"She'll never make it, this will be an easy clean up."
Jenny heard the voices, but they seemed to come from far away. She was focused on the building ahead of her. She imagined the air thickening around her, keeping her afloat, and a strong wind propelling her towards the roof. Days, or perhaps seconds, later the lip of the building passed beneath her eyes. Jenny instantly compacted into a ball and rolled across the pea gravel. She felt the hilt of her sword dig into her shoulder and knew that she would be covered in scrapes and bruises. Small price to pay for freedom. As soon as she slowed enough she sprang to her feet and spared a quick glance at the roof behind her. The goons were standing in a row on the edge of the roof just staring. Jenny gave a harsh laugh, they were too stupid to realize they should be following. That was their loss. She blew them a kiss and took off across the roof.
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"Jumper, you're all over the net. They've raised your price to 10,000." Globe whipped the screen around as soon as Jenny enters the base. "The Agency refuses to say what you were after, but the price hike suggests something big. What did you do?"
The core members of the PLP were gathered in the basement of the abandoned library. Computer screens glowed along the wall and couches and blankets littered the floor. All the faces except one were turned towards Jenny to see how she would respond. Out of habit Jenny tried to catch Gunner's eye, but she knew he wasn't going to look at her. They hadn't spoken since the Pringles Mission, and she doubted that would change tonight. Still, it didn't hurt to try.
"I hit them where it hurts. I went into the west side headquarters and got this." Jenny holds up a gold key card. Gasps and appreciative whistles fill the crowded room.
"A gold key, holy shit Jumper." Dex snatches the key from Jenny's fingers and plugs it in to the nearest open computer port. "Do you know what we can do with this?"
"Anything." Jenny finally allowed herself to smile. "We can do anything we want."
"Provided that we get to it soon." Arrow pointed out as she looked at the screen over Dex's shoulder. "The countdown started the moment your took that key, and all the codes will be rewritten in just over 5 hours."
"What's the plan?" File asked as she pulled a keyboard onto her lap. "Food? Money? Transport? What do we want?"
"Food should come first," Globe pointed out. "Everyone needs the food, there are a lot of families in the undercity who would benefit."
"Money can get you food though." Dex pointed out.
"Only at an unrealistically steep price, unless The Agency likes you." Globe replied.
"Jamison Myers," Gunner's gravely voice interrupted. "Forget food, forget money, we want Jamison Myers."
"The head of The Agency?" Arrow said. "Are you crazy?"
"No," Jenny replied quietly, "he's right. This is a chance we can't pass up. Jamison Myers is the target. Let's make a plan."
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