Meanwhile, Rain burst out through the heavy metal doors of the mall's rear service exit, stepping into the cool, sharp evening air.

She didn't run straight down the open pavement. Her dark eyes darted around, mapping the immediate area in less than two seconds. Main entrances were for fools—that’s where guards would look first. She quickly reached up, pulling the elastic hairband out of her hair, letting her dark, wavy locks cascade down around her face to obscure her profile. She unzipped her top slightly, changing her silhouette, before diving straight into the thick crowd of pedestrians moving along the secondary street.