Chapter 28 - The Race Against the Clock
The floor beneath our feet trembled as secondary charges detonated in the lower levels, sending a cascade of dust and falling concrete debris raining down from the high ceiling. Sterling laughed maniacally, turning and bolting toward an emergency staircase at the far end of the mezzanine. "Enjoy the fallout, Director Ellison!" he shouted over the rising roar of collapsing structures. I didn't hesitate for a second. Pushing my tactical training to its absolute limit, I sprinted across the ruined floor, vaulted over a barricade of fallen drywall, and pursued him up the stairs with relentless speed.
The smoke was thickening rapidly, stinging my eyes and burning my lungs as I burst through the fire exit onto the building's flat rooftop just as Sterling was scrambling toward a waiting extraction helicopter hovering precariously above the ledge. The rotor wash whipped my hair and trench coat wildly around my body, making it nearly impossible to maintain my balance. Sterling reached for the helicopter's swinging ladder, a triumphant grin plastered across his face as he prepared to escape justice once and for all.
"Not today, Sterling!" I yelled over the deafening roar of the jet turbine. Taking a deep breath, I closed the distance, lunged forward with all my might, and tackled him hard against the gravel rooftop just as his fingers brushed the lowest rung of the ladder. We tumbled violently across the rough surface, sending his detonation remote flying out of his hand and over the edge of the roof. Sterling swung a desperate punch at my jaw, but I ducked swiftly, countered with a precise strike to his solar plexus that knocked the wind out of him, and slammed him face-down onto the gravel, snapping heavy tactical cuffs onto his wrists with lightning speed.
