Sean started to say something but decided not to break his friend's concentration.
Tommy's legs were spread out in an upside down V as he clung to the wall. He eyed the chicken head, knowing what he had to do next but unsure if he could pull it off. There was only one way to find out.
He stretched out his left hand and took his right foot off the ledge. Grabbing the chicken head — first with his left — he swung his weight directly underneath the hold. His right hand shot up quickly, his fingers wrapping around the rock like a vise grip. The muscles in his arms and back strained against gravity, pulling his body up as he stabilized the movement by walking up the wall with his feet.
Tommy felt his shoes touch the next ledge and dug them in hard to keep his balance as he reached up to the lip where the loose rocks were stacked in a semicircle.
"I'm impressed," Sean said. "That was a tough move."
Tommy didn't look down. He was intensely focused on the target just above his head. "Part of my new workout regimen is doing more functional exercises, like rock climbing and pull-ups. I go down to the climbing gym once a week now."
"Well, it's paid off."
The stack of rocks was only a few feet away from Tommy's face. He reached over and pulled away one of the stones from the top, then another, and another, until he'd removed half of the rocks from their resting place.
"I see something," he said. "Looks like a metal box."
He stretched his hand out and grasped the object, pulling it away from the makeshift shelf.
"What is it?" Sean asked, looking up at the thing.
"Um… it's a metal box, like I said."
"Right, but what is it?"
"Not sure." Tommy said. "I'm going to drop it down to you. Don't miss it, okay?"
"I won't," Sean answered, putting his hands out to signal he was ready.
"Seriously. If you let it hit the ground, it could break whatever is in here."
"How do you know it's breakable?"
"Are you ready or not?" Tommy said, an irritated scowl crossing his face. "I can't hold this grip much longer."
"Yeah. I'm ready. Go ahead."
He held out the box directly over Sean and let go. The object fell straight into Sean's hands. He cushioned the fall and cradled the box carefully to make sure the sudden stop wouldn't harm anything inside.
Tommy lowered himself down the wall, and when he was about six feet up, let go and dropped to the ground. His shoes hit the floor with a thud, and he grunted. He dusted himself off and clenched his fingers. The muscles in his forearms still burned from the workout.
Sean knelt down near one of the lights and rotated the box a few times to get a better look at it. The metal appeared to be tin, dented and worn out by the ravages of time and weather. Being down in the cave had protected it from some of the elements, but the damp conditions could have ruined anything inside. Sean wasn't about to open the box in there. They'd need to do that in a contained environment.
Tommy stood close, inspecting the thing with his friend as he turned it over in his hands.
"What do you say we get out of here and get this thing to a nice, dry lab?" Tommy asked.
"Good call. Here," Sean handed Tommy the box. "I'll get the lights and gear."
A loud boom rocked the entire cave. Pieces of ceiling broke loose and dropped to the ground, shattering at Sean's and Tommy's feet. They looked up at the same time and saw another large, flat piece breaking free.
Sean grabbed his friend and ducked to the side just in time as the huge piece of rock crashed to the ground. The room dimmed suddenly, one of the heavy sections of ceiling crushing a light in the mayhem.
Chapter 12
Adriana sprinted down the hotel corridor, bumping into people and weaving past them as she gave chase. Her heart pounded with every step. Someone had tried to kill the president. Her money was on the guy in the suit running thirty feet ahead.
Amid the chaos, no one had seen her or the man she was chasing as they ran out of the grand ballroom and into the hall. Most of the security teams were flooding into where the president was making his speech. Members of a SWAT team charged forward into the ballroom while other cops started setting up a perimeter just outside the doors.
The guy Adriana was following avoided all that, which told her whoever he was, he had a good sense of procedure.
He ducked to the right, down a side hall, and slowed down as she rounded the corner. His attempt to look casual was a smart move, since a guy running from an assassination attempt on the president would seem a tad on the suspicious side.
She slowed as well after rounding the corner and realizing her target was no longer running. His head swiveled around, and he gave her a short look over his shoulder. Adriana played it cool and flashed her best flirty yet slightly nervous grin.
The corner of his lip stretched for a moment, a feeble effort to return the smile. Then, like a frightened deer, he bolted through the door on the left.
Adriana's instinct was to rush in after him, but that would put her at a disadvantage. The guy could easily be waiting on the other side of the door, ready to pounce or shoot, or anything. Then again, if she didn't pursue, he would get away.
She reached the door and waited a moment. Unarmed, she was still dangerous. That didn't mean she wasn't wishing for a pistol. She looked down the hallway as two more police officers ran by. Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, and she twisted. The door opened with a faint creak, and she spun around the edge to get a peek inside. Staying on the balls of her feet, she twisted one more step beyond the doorway's threshold and over to the other side.
The quick look revealed an empty maintenance corridor lined with painted cinder block walls and illuminated by sterile fluorescent lights down the ceiling's center.
She poked her head back through the door frame and looked again. She heard footsteps on the thin carpet. He was on the run again.
Adriana hurried into the hallway and turned right at an intersection with another corridor. Her quarry was nearly at the other end. She pumped her legs as fast as she could, but there was no way to catch him before he slammed through the door and out into the street.
Seconds later, Adriana ran into the door, barging the lever to undo the latch. Her body shuddered against the metal, only able to open the thing a few inches. Dull pain radiated through her shoulder from the impact. She looked down through the crack in the door and saw a trash can propped up against the handle.
She stepped back and kicked the door lever. The sudden jarring blow freed the door from the makeshift brace. It flew open and slammed against the wall.
Adriana poked her head around the corner. She was in an alley just off one of the main streets. To the right, the street ended in a brick wall. To the left, cops swarmed into the area, running to the scene of the attempted assassination. Various sirens screamed from ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars.
Something metal clanked from the other side of the brick wall to the right. Adriana frowned. He went over the wall?
She didn't stop long enough to debate the possibility in her head. If the guy had gone left, he'd have run headlong into the police. Considering what just happened, they'd be questioning everyone.
"You! Stop right there!" a voice yelled from the left.
Adriana saw a cop stalking toward her with gun drawn. He was still a good fifty to sixty feet away, much too far for him to be accurate with the weapon.
Her feet shifted toward the right. Her muscles tensed, and she took off.