Chapter 14 - Descent into the Inferno
Sterling understood. Using one arm to pin Clara and the baby securely to the floor of the metal basket, he grabbed the hydraulic manual lever with the other and began pumping with frantic speed.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
With each stroke of the pump, the cradle crept six inches down toward the safety of the wide catwalk running along the 78th floor. But on the roof, the anchor post was pulling completely out of the cracked concrete slab. Mark felt his boots sliding inch by inch across the crumbling gravel.
"Faster, Sterling! Faster!" Mark roared, his voice tearing in his throat.
The final strand of the roof cable sheared.
With a deafening snap, the cable whipped free. Mark lunged forward over the abyss, catching the edge of the cradle’s suspension arm with his fingertips. The violent jolt slammed the metal basket against the skyscraper’s glass facade, shattering three huge window panes.
May you like
The cradle swung inside the shattered opening of the 78th floor, landing with a bone-jarring crash onto the carpeted floor of an unoccupied conference room.
Mark fell with it, crashing through the jagged glass, tumbling across the carpet, and slamming into a heavy mahogany conference table. The room was hot and thick with gray smoke, but it was structurally intact.
