Pandora's Box (14 page)

Madison
tried to get it first.

Tyler
jerked on her arm.
 
“No time for that.
 
Let’s get the hell out of here!”

He grabbed her hand.
 
Their fingers automatically slid in to place as if they’d been holding hands for years.
 
He pulled her through the door to the empty hallway, passing the elevator in favor of the stairs and practically dragged her behind him up every step.
 
She’d expected him to go down to the street.
 

They traveled five flights to the roof.
 
Only then did he release her hand.
 
He shut the metal door behind them and set a concrete block in front of it.
 
“Well, that won’t keep her out forever, but maybe it will buy us a few seconds.”

The chilled wind whipped at their clothes.

Madison
said, “You realize once she figures out we didn’t go downstairs, she’ll come up here to shoot us, right?
 
I hope you have a plan, because I’m beginning to think you’ve just lost your mind.”

“Patience.”

The solitary word hung in the air, unnerving her.
 
He walked to the edge of the building, glanced over the side.
 
Then he systematically took several steps backwards, counting each one.
 
He stopped before he reached the other side of the roof.
 

“Do you have a plan or not?”
 
She glanced at the closed door.
 
So far she didn’t hear anyone on the other side.
 
“It isn’t too late for us to make a run for it.
 
We’re sitting ducks up here.”

Tyler
pointed at the building next door.
 
“It’s a bank that rents out offices on the top floors to financial institutions.
 
There are security cameras and a state of the art security system everywhere including the rooftop.
 
If we make the jump, we’ll trip the alarm.
 
Police will be here in seconds.”

“That’s your plan?”
 
She gaped at him.
 
He really had lost his mind.
 
“Don’t you think we have enough to deal with without explaining ourselves to the police?
 
They’ll ask too many questions.”

“Don’t worry about them.
 
They’ll do their job, scare the assassin off, and then they’ll leave.
 
No harm.
 
No foul.”

Madison
shook her head.
 
If he hadn’t lost his mind, then he was a total idiot.
 
The last thing they needed to deal with was the police.
 
On the other hand, the assassin was going to figure out where they went eventually, and she would come straight up after them.
 
Both of them had lost their guns downstairs.

Tyler
added, “We can’t trust anyone.
 
You heard Skinner.
 
Whoever has the implants can put them into anyone, use anyone to kill us.
 
They could turn our closest friends against us.”

The facts sank in slowly and
Madison
knew she couldn’t trust a living soul.
 
She hadn’t wanted to trust anyone before.
 
But now, knowing she couldn’t trust anyone, she wanted the option back.
 

Something else occurred to her and she froze.
 
What if she was the one who couldn’t be trusted?
 
She remembered how a couple hours of her life had vanished into a black void.
 
She wondered if she should tell
Tyler
.
 
What if she had an implant already?

Tyler
smiled, no clue what she was thinking.
 
“Don’t worry.
 
With those long legs you’ll make the jump easily.”

He thought she was scared.

She shrugged.
 
“Okay.
 
Let’s jump.”

Tyler
’s arm slid around her waist.
 
He pulled her close and kissed her hard on the mouth.
 
“For good luck.”

Her lips tingled in the frigid air, bereft.

He went to the place on the roof where he’d stopped counting and ran full speed toward the building’s edge.
 
Madison
cringed, not wanting to look but unable to stop herself.
 
She watched
Tyler
launch himself into the
midnight
sky.
 
He hit the other roof hard and rolled.

Her turn.

She’d forgotten to mention how much she hated heights.
 
It wasn’t really a fear.
 
More like a healthy respect.
 

She removed her coat and dropped it on the roof.

Madison
started in the same place he’d been moments before.
 
She bounced up and down three times, trying to build courage.
 
A fierce growl sprang to life somewhere deep inside her.
 
It climbed her throat to tickle her tongue and escape through clenched teeth.
 
And then she was running.

She ran as fast as she could across the flat, cement roof.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the metal door open.
 
The Blonde Assassin burst onto the roof, gun in hand, but she didn’t pull the trigger.
 
Instead she lunged at
Madison
.
 
Her entire body flew through the air, intent on blocking
Madison
’s escape.
 
The assassin hit the cement hard.
 
She reached out with a desperate cry.
 
Her fingers touched
Madison
’s ankle, causing her to lose her balance.

Madison
stumbled.
 
She readjusted quickly.
 
Should she try to jump or should she turn and fight the assassin?
 

It was too late to stop.
 
The edge lay mere inches in front of her.
 
There was no turning back now.
 
She tried to add an extra burst of speed to her flight.
 
She pushed off the edge with one foot and flailed her arms wildly.
 
Her body careened through space.

At the last second she realized she wasn’t going to make it.

She swung her arms harder like a windmill, hoping to catch the concrete and brick ledge.
 

One hand struck the side and pain shot down her left arm.
 
She clawed at it, desperate for a good grip.
 
A startled cry escaped her dry mouth.
 
The concrete cut in to the flesh of her palm.
 
She made a grab for the roof with her other hand.

A bullet hit the wall near
Madison
’s face.

The Blonde Assassin cackled like a witch, safe on the other roof.

The next bullet struck the part of the edge that
Madison
was about to grab onto.
 
Reflex caused her to jerk her hand away.
 
She swung from one arm.
 
It wasn’t strong enough to hold her.
 
Her fingers slid off.

She fell.
 

******

Chapter Seven

Madison
fell.
 

Tyler
’s hand shot out.
 
His fingers looped her wrist like a steel manacle and he shouted, “Give me your other hand!”

She tried to reach him with the other arm, but she couldn’t get it high enough because of the angle.
 
Her shoulder felt like it was being wrenched from the socket.
 
Pain pulled at her, taunting her to just give up and let go.

“I can’t hold onto you!” he shouted.
 
“You’re slipping.”

Her hand slid through his grasp and she fell another inch.
 
He tightened his grip on her fingers.
 
He couldn’t hold her very long like that.
 
If one of them didn’t think of something quick, she’d be a broken rag doll on the pavement in a matter of seconds.
 

Straining,
Madison
reached up again.
 
Her bruised fingertips searched for a crack in the brick wall and she kicked at the side of the building with the toe of her stylish boots, praying for a little divine intervention.
 
She made a mental note to wear sneakers next time she running for her life.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, drawing closer with every breath.

The Blonde assassin yelled, “I’ll get you next time.”

Madison
’s foot found a small hole the size of a quarter. She pushed hard with her toes and swung her free arm up at the same time.
 
Her fingers landed on
Tyler
’s forearm.
 
She held on tight.
 
A spark of relief added to her strength.
 
She wasn’t going to die.
 
Not today.

Tyler
grunted as he labored to pull her up the rest of the way.
 
Soon her eyes peeked over the ledge at him.
 
His muscles bunched together under the snug sweatshirt, and his teeth clenched with the effort it took to lift her; she did her part.
 
As soon as she could she swung a leg over the top and used the great strength in her upper thigh to take her higher.
 

Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer by the second.
 
Tyler
had been right about the alarm.
 
It must have gone off.
 

Madison
scraped her stomach on the rough concrete edge.
 
The pain felt good.
 
It reminded her she was still alive.
 
A moment ago surviving hadn’t seemed possible.
 
Now
Tyler
collapsed on the hard roof, arm slung over his eyes, chest heaving.
 
She rolled onto her back and settled next to him while she tried to catch her breath.
 
The stars above had never looked so sweet.

“That…was…close,” she said between puffs.

“You’re telling me.”
 
He turned his head sideways and grinned at her.
 
“That was so bad I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

Tyler
’s cell began to play the rock song that
Madison
used to like but now found annoying to the extreme.
 
She turned her head and gave him a look meant to convey irritation.
 
He missed it because he was already in the process of answering the thing.
 

“Brett, I know I told you to call me later, but this is a really bad time.”
 
He closed his eyes and groaned.
 
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
 
Obviously Brett told
Tyler
that he wanted to hear it anyway, because
Tyler
began to explain.
 
“We just jumped from one very high building to another, and there are police downstairs looking for us right now.”

Tyler
winked at her and grinned.
 
“Well if you must know, she has the face of a horse and she’s built like a man.”

She smiled, reluctantly amused as he continued to describe her to his friend in the most unflattering way possible.

“I’m sure I saw hair growing out of her knuckles.
 
Yeah, I got stuck with a real gorilla this time…okay…call me tomorrow.”

He put his cell away.
 
“Sorry about that.”

“Shouldn’t we get off this roof?”
 
She struggled into a sitting position.
 
The surface of her stomach burned.
 
She lifted her shirt, exposing her flat abdomen.
 
The top few layers of skin had been scraped off in places and dots of fresh blood glistened along the shredded lines.
 
She asked, “What are we going to tell the police?
 
How are we going to explain our presence?”

Tyler
grimaced when he saw her stomach.
 
“Did I do that to you?”

“You saved my life.
 
Don’t worry about it.
 
I’ve suffered worse at the claws of my aunt’s cat.”
 

Red lights flashed from down below them, and
Madison
knew it was too late to run.
 
There was nowhere to go, unless
Tyler
wanted to try the next building, but she had no intention to jump again.
 
She’d rather face the police.