hit the floor. One commando was knocked over as Six’s shoulder collided with his knee, and the other two were taken out by Six’s whirling arms.
Blunt , Six reflected, but efficient.
He ran past the door they had come through and turned into the room with the shattered closet wall. He hoisted the sledgehammer from the floor onto his shoulder and, with a mighty swing, drove it right through the boarded-up window.
The wood splintered easily, leaving a meterwide hole through which Six could see the dim outlines of the streets and buildings of the City below. Clutching the sledgehammer in one hand and the knife and net in the other, Six dived into the void.
It took him less than a second to establish that the remaining Twin was not on this side of the building. Good , he thought. It’s about time I had some luck.
He began to plummet towards the distant ground, but a meter below the window, he stabbed his knife into the wall. The plaster cracked with the force of the blow, and the knife was driven in almost to the hilt. Six gripped on to the handle firmly, and he stopped falling.
He checked his watch: 12:12:33. Almost three minutes had passed since he’d seen the others—he had to hurry. Taking down the helicopter had ensured that the soldiers were focused on finding him, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last.
Dangling from one hand high above the ground, with the sledgehammer clamped between his knees, Six used his free hand to untangle the net. Except for the slit he had made with the knife, the nylon cords were intact. He attached one corner to the handle of the Feather with a clove hitch and lifted the sledgehammer again.
Six had abseiled many times before, although usually with the proper equipment—a climbing rope, a harness, a carabiner, gloves, and a pickax. Doing it with only a net and a knife while carrying a sledgehammer was like trying to play Beethoven on a piano lacking half its strings.
But there was no time to improvise anything better. He could still hear the chattering of gunfire and the pounding ofhelicopter blades. Resting his feet against the wall to stop his body from swinging in the breeze, he looked around for a first-floor window to climb through.
And he found it. Like most of the windows in the building, it was boarded up, but Six was sure he could break through the barrier with the sledge. He lowered himself until he was holding the bottom of the net. Then he rappelled towards the window, walking horizontally across the wall of the building with the net in one hand.
He could just reach; if he held the bottom of the net at arm’s length in his left hand, and stretched out with his right as far as he could, he could touch the boards sealing the window. He looked back at the knife in the wall with the net wrapped around it. It still looked stable.
Taking a deep breath, he hefted the sledgehammer and swung it.
Crack! The wooden boards splintered on impact, leaving an opening wide enough to climb through. Six put the sledge between his knees and reached for the sill.
Thump! His knee banged against the frame as he fell through the window, and he tumbled to the floor in a cloud of dust.
Immediately he rolled out of the room into the first-floor corridor and ducked behind the wall, out of sight of the window. His instincts proved correct. Like a giant black bird, the helicopter loomed in the window and the opposite wall boiled with bullet holes as the Twin’s gunner opened fire with the GN-860.
But as long as the helicopter was hovering beside the building and peering in the first-floor windows, the Deck agents on the roofless second floor were safe. Six clambered to his feet and began to run towards the hollowed-out stairwell, shaking the dust off his fatigues as he went.
He glanced at his watch. 12:16:21—almost seven minutes had gone by since he had seen the agents. He hoped they were still safe.
The stairwell door had been jammed shut by the explosion, but the hinges seemed
Blunt , Six reflected, but efficient.
He ran past the door they had come through and turned into the room with the shattered closet wall. He hoisted the sledgehammer from the floor onto his shoulder and, with a mighty swing, drove it right through the boarded-up window.
The wood splintered easily, leaving a meterwide hole through which Six could see the dim outlines of the streets and buildings of the City below. Clutching the sledgehammer in one hand and the knife and net in the other, Six dived into the void.
It took him less than a second to establish that the remaining Twin was not on this side of the building. Good , he thought. It’s about time I had some luck.
He began to plummet towards the distant ground, but a meter below the window, he stabbed his knife into the wall. The plaster cracked with the force of the blow, and the knife was driven in almost to the hilt. Six gripped on to the handle firmly, and he stopped falling.
He checked his watch: 12:12:33. Almost three minutes had passed since he’d seen the others—he had to hurry. Taking down the helicopter had ensured that the soldiers were focused on finding him, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last.
Dangling from one hand high above the ground, with the sledgehammer clamped between his knees, Six used his free hand to untangle the net. Except for the slit he had made with the knife, the nylon cords were intact. He attached one corner to the handle of the Feather with a clove hitch and lifted the sledgehammer again.
Six had abseiled many times before, although usually with the proper equipment—a climbing rope, a harness, a carabiner, gloves, and a pickax. Doing it with only a net and a knife while carrying a sledgehammer was like trying to play Beethoven on a piano lacking half its strings.
But there was no time to improvise anything better. He could still hear the chattering of gunfire and the pounding ofhelicopter blades. Resting his feet against the wall to stop his body from swinging in the breeze, he looked around for a first-floor window to climb through.
And he found it. Like most of the windows in the building, it was boarded up, but Six was sure he could break through the barrier with the sledge. He lowered himself until he was holding the bottom of the net. Then he rappelled towards the window, walking horizontally across the wall of the building with the net in one hand.
He could just reach; if he held the bottom of the net at arm’s length in his left hand, and stretched out with his right as far as he could, he could touch the boards sealing the window. He looked back at the knife in the wall with the net wrapped around it. It still looked stable.
Taking a deep breath, he hefted the sledgehammer and swung it.
Crack! The wooden boards splintered on impact, leaving an opening wide enough to climb through. Six put the sledge between his knees and reached for the sill.
Thump! His knee banged against the frame as he fell through the window, and he tumbled to the floor in a cloud of dust.
Immediately he rolled out of the room into the first-floor corridor and ducked behind the wall, out of sight of the window. His instincts proved correct. Like a giant black bird, the helicopter loomed in the window and the opposite wall boiled with bullet holes as the Twin’s gunner opened fire with the GN-860.
But as long as the helicopter was hovering beside the building and peering in the first-floor windows, the Deck agents on the roofless second floor were safe. Six clambered to his feet and began to run towards the hollowed-out stairwell, shaking the dust off his fatigues as he went.
He glanced at his watch. 12:16:21—almost seven minutes had gone by since he had seen the agents. He hoped they were still safe.
The stairwell door had been jammed shut by the explosion, but the hinges seemed
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