Chapter 8 - The Leap of Faith
Julian’s lie spread through the ballroom like wildfire.
The crowd erupted into total chaos, screaming and rushing toward the gilded exit doors.
I looked down and saw heavily armed tactical police officers swarming into the room, their assault rifles raised.
Red laser sights danced across my chest and face through the gaps in the steel catwalk.
A police megaphone crackled to life, ordering me to keep my hands visible and surrender immediately.
If they arrested me now, Julian would bury me in a dark federal cell forever under terrorism charges.
I had to get to a computer linked to the main display, and the projection booth was now swarming with cops.
I looked frantically around the massive room and spotted the VIP balcony directly below the catwalk on the right side.
Sitting inside that private balcony, furiously tapping on a master override console, was Mayor Thomas Sterling.
Thirty years ago, before he went into politics, Thomas Sterling was my first construction boss and the man who taught me how to read blueprints.
The police officers on the opposite side of the catwalk began cutting through the access door.
I backed up against the far railing, taking a deep breath of the dusty air.
I ran full speed toward the edge and leaped over the railing into the empty air above the ballroom.
The crowd screamed as I plummeted downward.
I crashed violently through the decorative silk drapes and slammed onto the carpeted floor of the VIP balcony.
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I rolled to a stop right at the feet of Mayor Sterling and his two massive bodyguards.
The bodyguards drew their weapons and aimed them directly at my head, waiting for the order to fire.
