Chapter 41 - The Freefall
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The wind roared in my ears as we plummeted through the humid Miami night. The neon lights of the city blurred into a chaotic streak of pink and blue. For two agonizing seconds, we were entirely weightless, suspended between the shattered penthouse and the neon-lit rooftop below.
We hit the water of the neighboring hotel pool with a massive, bone-jarring splash.
The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. I sank into the chlorinated depths, the crimson fabric of Irene's dress swirling around us like blood in the water. I grabbed her waist and kicked hard for the surface.
We broke the water, gasping for air as panicked hotel guests screamed and scattered around the pool deck.
"Move! Move!" I shouted, dragging Irene out of the water.
We scrambled across the slick tiles, bolting through the rooftop bar and shoving past the bewildered staff. We hit the fire exit stairwell, our wet shoes squeaking wildly against the concrete as we bounded down flight after flight.
"Julian! We are in the adjacent tower! We need extraction!" I barked into my comms, which were miraculously still working.
"I'm tracking your GPS. Head to the service alley behind the kitchens. I’m pulling up in an armored transport in ninety seconds," Julian replied, the roar of a high-performance engine bleeding through the mic.
We reached the ground floor, bursting through the heavy metal exit doors into a dark, rain-slicked alleyway lined with dumpsters. Sirens were already echoing through the city streets. Miami Police cruisers were converging on the Ocean Pearl.
I leaned against the brick wall, coughing up pool water, while Irene ripped the torn fabric of her dress to wrap around a deep cut on her arm.
"He needed my fingerprint," Irene panted, her eyes wide with adrenaline. "If Elias Thorne can't access the master ledger without me, what happens next?"
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"He can't liquidate his American assets," I said, catching my breath. "But he knows we're closing in. He's going to run. He's going to try and access the physical vault where the hard-copy of the ledger is kept."
Tires screeched at the end of the alley. Julian’s black armored van slid to a halt, the side door sliding open. "Get in!"
