Chapter 9 - The Descent
The concussive wave of the explosion threw me violently against the heavy steel door of the access stairwell.
I struggled to my feet, my ears ringing endlessly as thick black smoke blanketed the entire rooftop.
The mercenaries were either dead or incapacitated, scattered like broken toys across the burning concrete.
I rushed back to the air conditioning unit and found Chloe sheltering Lily, both of them coughing but miraculously unharmed.
I grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her toward the edge of the roof where the Mayor had just fallen.
He was dangling helplessly over the hundred-story drop, his fingers desperately gripping a thin metal rain gutter.
The USB drive had slipped from his pocket and was resting precariously on a crumbling brick just inches from his hand.
He begged me to pull him up, promising that he would confess to everything and clear my name.
I didn't listen to his lies; I only reached down and snatched the USB drive from the ledge.
I looked him straight in the eyes, telling him that justice was finally coming for him, right before the gutter snapped.
He fell into the darkness below, his screams fading into the wailing sirens echoing through the city streets.
I turned away from the edge, leading Chloe and Lily down the dark, twisting emergency stairwell as fast as we could move.
We descended ninety floors, our muscles burning and our lungs aching for clean air.
We finally burst through the ground-floor exit, only to find the main lobby entirely surrounded by flashing red and blue lights.
Dozens of local police officers had their weapons drawn, using their squad cars as barricades against the building.
The corrupt police chief stood at the front of the line, gripping a megaphone with a smug expression on his face.
He ordered us to surrender the drive immediately, threatening to open fire on the count of three.
I realized the Mayor's death hadn't stopped his loyal army from trying to bury the truth.
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The police chief raised his hand, proudly counting to two as his officers cocked their weapons.
Suddenly, a massive armored tactical vehicle smashed right through the glass front doors of the lobby, crushing a squad car beneath its tires.
