Chapter 96 fourth quarter

He expected to land on the jagged roof slabs and get stabbed by them, but in fact when he jumped, he crushed the table and rolled to the side, hitting a sofa chair.The chair tilted and he fell to the debris-strewn floor.Or rather, he thought he had bumped into these things—the curtains in the room were drawn, and it was almost pitch black. Up above, through the hole in the roof, he heard McKittrick yell, "Don't think you can escape me, Decker!" Decker struggled to his feet and groped forward in the dark room, trying to find an exit.The fire alarm rang loudly.He felt for a light switch, but dared not turn it on—if the light suddenly shone through the hole in the roof, it would give him away.His heart was pounding.He found a doorknob, turned it, and pulled the door open.But when he fumbled to the back of the door, he bumped into clothes with a pungent smell, only to realize that he opened a closet.

"Decker?" McKittrick yelled from above, "if you're behind that vent—" The explosion shook the apartment, sending the skin falling down.In desperation, Decker found another door.He opened the door, saw the faint light coming in from the window, and felt a thrill.He is at the end of an aisle.He looked down from the rain-washed window and saw the clutter of fire trucks, police cars and emergency personnel in front of the building.Lights flashing, motors roaring, sirens screaming.Residents in pajamas were running out of other buildings whose exits had not yet been engulfed in flames.

There was smoke around him.He couldn't stop and rest.He turned and rushed down the hall to the back of the apartment.He ran out an open door leading to stairs.He knew that the people who lived here had gone out. This possible escape route was of no use to him.It doesn't matter if he can save himself, he has to save Beth and Esperanza.He bumped into a paint bucket, a roll of heavy rope, and a ladder before he sniffed the smell of fresh paint alarmingly.Stumbling on, he came to the back of the building and found that the window leading to the fire escape was not in the guest room, but at the end of the corridor.

He pushed up the window and climbed out onto a smooth metal platform.The fire escape was clearly reflected in the windows of the building to his right.Praying that Renata wouldn't see him down there, he squinted at the fire escape of the surviving brownstone to his left.He had hoped that the two safety ladders would be closer together, allowing him to jump from one to the other, but now, he had to accept this reality in despair: his plan was impossible.That fire escape was at least 20 feet away.Even under the best conditions, in broad daylight, when he was at his best, it was impossible for him to jump.

Beth was going to die on it, he said to himself. He crawled back into the apartment, screaming, there had to be a way.The smoke thickened, and he bent over, coughing.He went into a bedroom off the hall, opened the window, and leaned out.He was much closer to the building's fire escape now, less than ten feet, it seemed, but he still couldn't imagine jumping from this window to that platform. There must be a way! He shuddered, knowing what the solution was.He ran back down the aisle.Flames began to burn through the wall.He dodges the paint bucket, grabs the ladder that nearly tripped him up, and carries it into the bedroom.God, please, make it long enough.With all his might, he stretched it through the open window and pushed it toward the fire escape of that building.

It must be long enough! The sound of wood scraping against metal made him flinch.The end of the ladder rattled as it scraped the railing of the escape landing.Did McKittrick hear you? There was a loud bang.Exploded again?Are Beth and Esperanza dead? Time is running out!Decker climbed out the window and lay flat on the steps.The rain made the ladder slippery.Due to his weight, the ladder buckled and began to shake.He seemed to have seen the ladder fall, and he fell on the concrete floor in the yard, with blood and flesh splashing.He dismissed this nightmarish thought and focused on the approaching fire escape.His hands shook, the rain made him blink, and the wind made the ladder twist.No.He stretched his left arm as far as he could, straining his muscles to catch the railing, when a stronger gust of wind blew through and the whole ladder twisted.

The end of the ladder slipped from the railing.The moment Decker felt the dizzying force of gravity and began to fall with the ladder, he jumped up in the dark and grabbed the railing with his left hand.But the metal railing was wet and slippery, and he almost lost his hand.He swung his other arm up, quickly grasped the railing with the fingers of his right hand, and hung in the air, out of breath. Below him, the ladder crashed to the ground.Someone yelled from below.Did McKittrick hear you?Did he know what those voices meant?Will he come over and find out? Decker hung there, tensing the muscles in his arms, and pushing himself up slowly.The rain beat against his face.He arched his body and raised himself a little higher.The railing grazed his chest.He bent over and rolled onto the platform.

The metallic vibrating sound he made made him wince.Trembling, he stood up and drew the gun from his trousers pocket.His gun was always there.Staring up at the roof, ready to shoot, he climbed the last flight of stairs.He had never felt so tired before, but his determination would not allow him to give up. He got up there and scanned the roof.McKittrick is on the left.Three-quarters of the way down the wall, above the wall was the roof where Beth and Esperanza were trapped.McKittrick was standing in the middle of the fixed wall ladder, looking over the top of the wall.He can use a remote detonator to detonate the bomb without worrying about hurting himself.

Decker tiptoed toward him through the rain. "Where the hell are you?" McKittrick yelled toward the roof over there. "Answer me or I'll blow your bitch across Manhattan! She's lying in a bag of C —4 next to the dynamite! All I have to do is press this button!" Decker wanted so badly to shoot, to pull the trigger, but he didn't dare, because he was afraid that McKittrick would still have the strength to press the detonator, killing him in the seconds before he could save Beth. she. There was the sound of heavy footsteps on the safety ladder, and he hurriedly lay down and hid behind a ventilation pipe.Indistinct figures appeared on the top of the metal stairs, and they didn't care about the noise they made.It was easy to see now that it was three firefighters.In the firelight; their protective hats were dripping with water, and their thick rubber suits and boots were slick with the rain.McKittrick turned hastily, hooked his left arm around a step of the ladder, and drew his pistol from his belt with his right hand; he shot all three.Two of them fell down on the spot, and the other staggered back a few steps and fell over the edge of the roof.The roar of the fire drowned out the gunshots and the screams of the firefighter as he fell.

With his left arm still hooked to the ladder, McKittrick fumbled for the gun in his belt.His left hand still held the detonator.Taking advantage of McKittrick's distraction, Decker darted out from behind the vent, rushed under the ladder, jumped up and reached for the detonator.He grabbed the detonator and snatched it from McKittrick as he fell, nearly pulling McKittrick off the ladder as well.McKittrick cursed and tried to raise the pistol again, only to find it hooked to his belt.It was too late when Decker fired - McKittrick gave up trying to draw his gun and threw himself off the ladder.Decker's bullet slammed into the wall, and McKittrick slammed into Decker, falling with him to the roof of the building, the two of them rolling in puddles.

Decker had something in both hands, the detonator in his left hand and the pistol in his right, making aiming a gun difficult in his position.McKittrick landed on top of Decker, punched hard, and grabbed the detonator again.Decker kneed him, rolling to gain distance and aim, but the blow he landed on McKittrick's stomach wasn't hard enough.McKittrick caught up to Decker and punched him again, slashing his right wrist and knocking his gun out of his hand.The pistol fell into a puddle of water, and McKittrick lunged to grab it. Decker kicked his leg up, throwing McKittrick far away from the pistol. Decker staggered back.He hit the parapet and almost fell over.McKittrick reached for the pistol in his own belt again.Decker wondered where his gun had fallen.Holding the detonator tightly, he turned and hid on the fire escape.His shoe slipped on something dropped by the fireman.He suddenly understood what it was, and hastily grabbed the fire ax with his free right hand.McKittrick had just drawn his gun from his belt when he threw the ax at it. Decker heard McKittrick laugh, and then he heard the ax hit McKittrick in the face.At first he thought it was the blunt end that hit McKittrick, but the ax stayed.It's still there, bristling on McKittrick's forehead.McKittrick staggered like a drunk and collapsed. But Decker wasn't sure.He staggered forward and picked up McKittrick's pistol.He hoped the roar of the fire would drown out the gunshots.He shot McKittrick three times in the head.