She had to be shaking over taking directions from a terrorist.
Sam’s phone buzzed. A text from Nitro.Look down.
Nitro and Blade waited.
Not sure how much time Hallene had, Sam texted:Both inside sixth floor. Blade covers me and watches building exit. You pull the ball up to me. I’ll climb on and you swing me into the big window opening.
Nitro read the text and looked at Sam as if he’d snapped.
Sam scowled at him and did a quick thumb jerk toward the window asin hurry the fuck up. They were out of time.
He was not Evil Knievel Angel, but he could do this.
Hewoulddo this.
Blade took up a position behind a large roll-off dumpster where he could cover Sam and watch the bottom floor of the building.
Nitro jumped into the crane operator’s seat and the cable began winding the ball above the hook up to Sam’s level. Being this far from the building with a storm blowing in would hide the cable noise.
He hoped.
Sam dropped down to climb through the widest gap in the boom so he could climb out and scurry back up the outside.
Nitro brought the cable closer to Sam. He held his fist out for Nitro to see as a signal to stop the ball.
Thankful he’d pulled on the gloves, he gripped the cable and climbed on the ball. Easier said than done. He did a dance to gain his balance and glanced at Hallene to see if she was staring his way.
Nope. All good.
Sending Nitro an all-clear sign, the crane boom began to lower until Sam was slightly higher from the ground than the bottom of the window. Sam eyed the cable. Looked to be long enough, but he wouldn’t know until the last moment.
Nitro swung the boom away from the building.
Sam bent his knees and tried not to think of all the ways he could die doing this not even counting W shooting him.
As soon as the ball reached the pinnacle on the backswing, Sam shook off his right-hand glove to fish out his gun and leaned hard forward as Nitro swung him toward the building.
For a slow machine, this cable and ball were flying fast at the window opening.
He was thirty feet out when Hallene turned her head and her mouth opened in an O.
