The Gender Experiment: (A Thriller) by L.J. Sellers Page B

sprinted as hard as he could for the automatic door. He had excelled at track in high school and prayed that he was faster than the man coming after him. An older couple coming out the entrance saw him barreling toward them and stepped aside. The woman cursed at him to “Slow the hell down!”
    Inside the store, he ran through an empty checkout lane and bolted for the back. He considered hiding in their storage area, then spotted the stairs. Offices on a second floor loft overlooked the store. Jake climbed the wooden steps two at a time and ducked into an alcove at the top. From his position, he could see the man in black jogging down the same aisle he’d taken. Or was that a woman? The assassin’s face was angular, but hairless, and the mouth was oddly feminine. The bulky black jacket hid the shape of the killer’s body. It probably concealed the weapon he’d seen as well. No, not a woman. The killer moved like a man.
    The assassin glanced up in his direction, and Jake’s already overworked heart kicked up a notch. But the killer quickly looked back down and focused on the swinging rubber doors near the produce section.
    Thank God.
    “What are you doing?” A middle-aged woman stared at Jake from the landing at the top of the stairs.
    “Uh.” He scrambled to come up with something. “I have an interview, and I’m spending a moment preparing for it.”
    She blinked, her skepticism obvious.
    Jake forced a smile. “Wish me luck. I really want to work here.”
    “You should have dressed better.” She shook her head and moved down the catwalk.
    Jake leaned over the railing for a better view and spotted the assassin pushing through the rubber doors into the back part of the store. Now what? Would the killer assume he’d left out the back? Then search for him behind the store? Or would he come back inside and head straight for the stairs? Jake felt trapped and regretted his decision to come up here.
    He pounded down the steps and jogged to the opposite rear corner of the store where he could smell bread baking. He slid through an opening between the glass-front counter and a wall lined with wheeled trays. A heavy woman in a hairnet looked up from a table where she packaged cookies. He smiled and jogged past a row of industrial ovens toward a back exit. He felt the woman following him so he stepped outside, keeping flat against the building. He glanced to his right.
Shit!
The man in black was looking in dumpsters lined up against the back wall.
    Jake hurried back into the bakery. He spotted a large recycling bin and climbed inside, sitting cross-legged on a pile of cardboard. The darkness, small space, and greasy smell creeped him out, but after some of the places he’d slept recently, it wasn’t that bad. Being homeless had taught him to be grateful for every little thing. At the moment, he was just glad to be alive—and not in jail. He might still get arrested, depending on what Taylor told the police, but no one had seen him access the computer. They probably wouldn’t find the flash drive and without it, could never prove data theft.
    He wondered how long the killer would look for him around the store. Maybe the assassin had moved on to search the alley and businesses on the next block. Or he could be circling the building, just watching for Jake to exit. If the armed man was a trained military person, he might wait for him all day and shoot the minute he walked out. Jake decided to stay inside the bin until someone discovered him, then hide somewhere else in the store until dark. Or maybe he could figure out a way to sneak out of the store without being seen. Maybe attach himself to a large family and try to blend in. No, he was tall and obvious in his Broncos sweatshirt. He needed to hide inside something that was leaving the store.
    Like a delivery truck. Those rigs usually backed right up to the giant overhead doors, then after unloading, they drove away. If he could sneak inside, he could get away. But