Chapter 5 - The Roof at Dawn
The wind on the roof of the Vance Neonatal Research Center was deafening. The blades of the twin-engine Bell 429 helicopter chopped through the gray morning air, creating a cyclonic swirl of dust and rain.
Daniel burst through the heavy fire doors onto the concrete pad, followed closely by Detective Miller and three uniformed officers.
Thirty feet away, standing near the open door of the aircraft, was Julian Vance. He was an elegant man in his late fifties, his silver hair perfectly styled despite the wind, his tailored coat flapping against his legs. In his right hand, he gripped the silver handle of the large medical transport cooler.
"Julian Vance!" Detective Miller shouted through a megaphone. "Step away from the helicopter! The airspace is locked down! Put the container on the ground!"
Vance turned slowly. He didn't look afraid; he looked annoyed, like a man whose morning coffee had been delayed by an incompetent assistant. He looked at the police, then his eyes landed on Daniel, who was advancing toward him across the wet concrete.
"Mr. Hayes, I presume," Vance said, his voice amplified by a small microphone clip on his collar that linked to the helicopter’s external PA system. "You are making a profound professional mistake. Whatever Marianne Carter told you, it has nothing to do with me. I am simply transporting a medical specimen under a pre-arranged corporate contract."
"That 'specimen' is my sister-in-law's child!" Daniel roared, his voice cutting through the roar of the rotors. "And you used my wife's delivery to cover up your disgusting fraud! Step away from the cooler, Vance!"
"The child inside this container belongs to Aegis Holdings by virtue of a legal surrogacy agreement signed in the state of Delaware," Vance replied coldly. "The biological mother breached her contract. The asset is deceased. I am taking it to an independent facility for an autopsy to ensure no foul play was involved by your family."
"You're lying!" Daniel yelled, lunging forward.
One of the helicopter’s security guards stepped into Daniel’s path, drawing a heavy baton. But Daniel didn't hesitate; the rage of a father whose family had been targeted by predators turned him into something unstoppable. He dodged the baton, grabbed the guard's jacket, and threw him against the metal frame of the landing gear.
"Daniel, no!" Detective Miller screamed as Vance turned to climb into the cockpit.
Vance pulled the cabin door shut, signaling the pilot to lift off. The helicopter began to rise, its skids clearing the concrete pad by two feet, then three.
In a desperate, final effort, Daniel lunged across the gap, his fingers catching the handle of the silver cooler just as the aircraft tilted backward into the wind. The weight of the container pulled him off his feet, dangling him over the edge of the roof as the helicopter strained against the sudden counterweight.
"Drop it, Vance!" Daniel screamed, his face turning purple as he held onto the silver handle with both hands.
Inside the cabin, Julian Vance looked down through the glass door, his face twisting into an expression of pure malice. He reached down and began to pry the cooler handle loose from the inside latch, intending to drop both the container and Daniel into the street twelve stories below.
Suddenly, a massive flash of blue light illuminated the roof.
The main power lines connected to the hospital’s backup generators—located directly beneath the helipad in the basement where Morgan had been hidden—short-circuited with a deafening explosion. The sudden surge of electromagnetic interference hit the helicopter’s tail rotor control system, causing the warning lights in the cockpit to explode in a shower of sparks.
The pilot lost control. The aircraft lurched violently to the left, its main rotor blade striking the concrete corner of the elevator housing with a terrifying screech of tearing metal.
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The helicopter slammed back onto the pad, its tail section snapping completely off. The cabin rolled onto its side, sliding across the wet concrete until it wedged against the safety netting at the edge of the roof.
The silver cooler flew from Vance’s hand, skidding across the pad right into Daniel's waiting arms.
