Page 42 of King’s Ransom

‘Get me out of here!’ Ajax yelled to me.

‘Give me a second,’ I said.

With my left arm gripping the cable, I leaned my body further out the window, my right Hoka sneaker squeaking as it got a purchase on the exterior of the glass.

Behind me, Audrey peered anxiously out the window as she anchored the couch.

I scanned the suction cup attached to Ajax’s bondage collar.

‘What the fuck are you waiting for?!’ he shouted.

‘I’m making sure this suction cup isn’t booby-trapped. It might be set to detach if I touch it.’

‘Just unclip me from the fucking thing!’

Over at the other window, hanging from his window-washer’s rope, Garrett had the same issue with Cassandra.

40 seconds . . .

‘What do you think?’ he yelled to me.

‘I don’t see any booby traps!’

‘Me neither!’ Garrett called back. ‘That’s probably because the insane asshole who did this didn’t think anybody would be even more insane and come out on the side of this building to rescue them!’

‘We have no choice. I say we cut their flex-cuffs first, so they can hold on to us, then release the suction cups!’ I called.

‘Copy!’

30 seconds.

I’d have to do this with one hand—

A sudden gust of wind buffeted me and I almost lost my footing.

Twenty feet to my right, hanging from his rope, Garrett had planted his cowboy boots astride Cassandra. He drew a huge Bowie hunting knife from a sheath hidden inside his left boot and used it to slice through her flex-cuffs.

I drew my (comparatively tiny) Swiss Army knife.

20 seconds.

I leaned out again, gripping the small knife in my right hand while my left arm was now fully extended, clutching the electrical cable that stretched back to Audrey.

‘Okay, Ajax,’ I yelled. ‘I’m gonna cut the cuffs around your hands first. Then you wrap your arms around my waist and I’ll detach the suction cup, okay?’

12 seconds.

I reached awkwardly behind his body, extending my knife hand, inching the blade closer to the zip-tie binding his wrists.

Another gust of wind . . .

. . . and I was hurled away from Ajax . . .

. . . and dropped down the face of the building . . .

. . . while Audrey gripped the couch and—

Snap!