Chapter 12 - The Fall of the Titan
The red laser dot immediately found Mark’s torso. He held the hard drive high above his head, visible in the harsh glare of the searchlight.
"You want it?" Mark roared over the rotor wash. "Come and take it!"
The sniper hesitated, waiting for the corporate controller's command inside the cabin. In that split-second hesitation, Mark dropped his arm, leveled the flare gun directly at the helicopter’s turbine intake, and pulled the trigger.
The bright magnesium flare shot like a streak of red lightning straight into the exposed engine cowl. A secondary blast shredded the turbine blades. The helicopter instantly yawed wildly, black smoke pouring from its exhaust as it lost lift and spun away, crashing into the adjacent empty office building across the avenue in a colossal blossom of orange fire.
Mark didn't stop to watch. He ran to the north ledge, where Sterling had already loaded Clara into the steel basket of the window-washing rig. The developer was struggling with the rusted brake release.
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"Help me! It's jammed!" Sterling yelled over the howling wind.
Mark slammed the butt of his halligan tool against the frozen release pin. The pin sheared off with a metallic snap, and the cradle slipped over the ledge into the vertical descent cable. But as it dropped, the main anchor bolt on the roof sheared under the sudden jerk of weight.
