Chapter55
OKAY, THAT’S A PROBLEM.
The reception area was on fire, which meant the only way out was blocked.
Decker called 911 and reported the fire and calmly asked for the fire department to get there before he was burned to nothing.
He peered around the edge of the hall to see the reception area filling up with smoke. Next, he looked to the ceiling. There were sprinkler heads mounted there. So why the hell weren’t they going off?
He coughed and fell back from the flames.
Well, this told him that he’d been right. There was something here that someone didn’t want discovered. They had searched the place, but out of an abundance of caution, they’d decided to then burn it down and somehow had disengaged the sprinkler system.
He retreated to Katz’s office and looked desperately around. He was on the fifth floor, so breaking the window and going out that way was not going to cut it.
He put all the items he’d found behind the panel in a cardboard box, ran into the workroom with it, grabbed bubble wrap off the shelf, and taped it all around the box. He rushed back into Katz’s office, ran to the window, and looked out, to make sure no one was walking down below on the sidewalk. He picked up her chair, carried it over to the window, and pounded it against the glass until the window shattered and fell away. He used the chair to scrape the rest of the glass away.
He looked down to make sure it was still clear and dropped the box. It fell to the sidewalk. He could hear the bubble wrap air pouches collectively pop when it hit the pavement. He hadn’t been concerned about anything in the box shattering on impact. Paper didn’t break. But it was very windy outside and if the box had burst open, he would have been running around the city trying to find the contents.
The problem was, his opening the window had let the wind and, with it, enormous amounts of oxygen into the space from the outside.
He turned and saw the flames right at the door of the office.
Okay, this was getting damn tight.
He heard sirens and the screech of brakes from below and saw two fire engines pull up. He leaned out of the window and cried out, “The fire’s coming into this space. I need to get out. Now!”
The fireman signaled to him and four of them rushed to one of the trucks and pulled out an inflatable jump cushion, which they quickly pumped up and positioned under the window.
Decker looked down at it. From up here it seemed about the size of a twin bed.
Shit!
“Jump!” yelled one of the firemen.
“I’m a big guy. Will that hold me, or do you have a larger size?” Decker called back.
“This will hold you, don’t worry,” the fireman yelled back. “Just jump away from the building. Back to the ground. We’ll reposition if need be.”
Reposition if need be. Well that’s comforting.
He wondered when these guys had done their last refresher course on catching huge guys falling from great heights. He hoped it was this morning.
Decker turned to look at the flames.
Do I take my chances there?
Suddenly an explosion racked the office space and a gust of hot air blew embers over him.
Here goes nothing.
He climbed up on the windowsill, looked down to make sure he was lined up as best he could be with the cushion, said a silent prayer, and jumped.
He was looking up at the sky, which was better than looking at where he was going. Were they repositioning right now? Or were they freaking out because they’d totally screwed up? Was he about to slam into the pavement?
Unsettling thoughts, but he needed something to pass the time because it felt like he was falling for about five miles, instead of five floors.
When he hit the cushion instead of the pavement, all the air was still knocked out of him. Hands grabbed at him and hoisted him quickly to his feet.