Chapter 6 - The Fall
The air whipped past my face as I plunged toward the tarmac.
I stretched my right arm out with everything I had, my fingers reaching into the darkness below the stairs. I caught a glimpse of the blue vial falling alongside a stream of rainwater.
My fingers brushed the cold glass. I cupped my hand around it, pulling it tightly against my chest an instant before my body slammed violently onto the metal roof of the ambulance parked below.
The impact tore the air from my lungs. Pain exploded through my left shoulder and ribs as the sheet metal buckled beneath my weight. I rolled off the roof, hitting the wet concrete floor of the tarmac on my side, skidding three feet through the rainwater.
"Mason!" Knox yelled, sprinting toward me.
I lay on my back, coughing, gasping for air, unable to move my left arm. The sky above me spun in violent circles of black and gray.
Slowly, terrifyingly, I opened my right hand.
The blue vial sat intact in my palm, its dark blue liquid glowing under the floodlights. The heavy tempered glass hadn't broken.
"I have it," I croaked, my voice a broken rasp. "I have it..."
Above me, gunfire erupted.
Knox and his team fired warning shots into the tires of the Gulfstream as the pilot tried to increase engine power. The police cruisers skidded to a halt, officers spilling out with shields and assault rifles drawn, surrounding the plane.
Detective Reyes ran up to where I lay on the tarmac, dropping to her knees beside me. "Don't move, Mason! Paramedics are right behind us!"
"Take... take the vial," I gasped, shoving the glass bottle into her hands. "Get it to Dr. Bennett at St. Catherine's... now! Tell him... tell him it's the neutralizing agent!"
Reyes looked at the blue liquid, then at my blood-soaked coat. "What about you?"
"I don't matter!" I screamed, grabbing her jacket with my good hand. "Get it to Claire! NOW!"
Reyes didn't hesitate. She stood up, sprinted to her cruiser, jumped into the driver's seat, and tore out of the airport with sirens screaming, leaving a trail of white spray behind her.
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As the paramedics rushed over to stabilize my dislocated shoulder and broken ribs, I watched the police lead Evelyn and Vanessa Vale down the air-stairs in handcuffs. Vanessa was sobbing hysterically, while Evelyn stared at me with hollow, defeated eyes.
"It's over, Evelyn," I whispered into the rain as the stretcher lifted me toward the ambulance. "You lost."
