He glanced up at the tangle of arms and legs that was the pair of thugs who had threatened to shoot them. One appeared unconscious, trapping the other beneath him.
Maurice wasn’t sure how long the two would remain incapacitated. He had to get to Amelie and get her down from the tower before they came after them.
And where the hell were Luis and Xavier? They were supposed to have their six. Communications were nil after he’d lost his earbuds in the fall. He suspected Amelie’s had been dislodged as well.
Moving further down the beam, away from where Amelie lay, he found a cross piece that was only four feet down, versus the eight feet he’d dropped the first time.
Maurice channeled his inner BUD/S trainee, the one conditioned to embrace cold and pain, and focused, steadied and dropped onto the post below. He ran to where one beam crossed the one Amelie was on.
This time, he lay on the post, swung his legs over the side and eased himself down until his feet touched a hard surface.
As soon as he was steady, he hurried to Amelie and dropped down in front of her. “Hey. No sleeping on the job.”
“Not sleeping,” she muttered. “Contemplating.”
“Contemplating what?” he asked, glancing around, worried he was taking too long.
“Contemplating my life choices,” she said.
“Sweetheart, we need to get you up and out of here before Tweedle Dee and Dumber manage to untangle themselves from the staircase. Let me help you up.”
She waved her hand. “I’ve got this.”
He waited.
“Okay, I don’t have this. I could use a hand.”
He slid a hand beneath her arm and rose, pulling her up with him and bracing himself in case she passed out.
Once she was upright, she swayed, and her eyes rolled back.
Maurice shifted for a better grip.
Then her head came up, she blinked and smiled at him. “Thought I was going to go down, didn’t you?” She laughed and coughed, pressing a hand to her chest. “Psych.”
“Out of all the starving comedians, I get stuck with you.” He slipped the map case off her arm and slung it over his head and across his chest. Then he turned her to face the staircase. “I need you to walk the plank.”
“Aye, aye, matey.” She placed one foot in front of the other.
He walked her forward, holding her by the hips to correct her balance along the way. They made better progress than he’d expected, crossing over to the spiral staircase without falling to their deaths.
Groans and curses sounded from above.
“I believe Dee and Dumber are on the move. Let me go down first.” He stepped in front of Amelie.
Amelie laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m feeling a little steadier,” she said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Moving as fast as he could without leaving her behind, Maurice hurried down the spiral stairs until they arrived on the floor with the clock.
Maurice glanced around. The gun had fallen to this level. The last thing he wanted was for the two miscreants, now pounding their way down the stairs, to retrieve the gun and come after them. The pounding sounds increased, even louder than he thought two men could possibly create.
He almost gave up looking for the gun when something shiny caught his attention. “Hold on.”
Maurice sprinted across the floor and grabbed the gun.
“Maurice!” Amelie yelled.
On instinct, Maurice spun and dropped low, his heart sinking to the pit of his belly.
