That was closer than I would’ve liked. If he had just shot at me, it would’ve all been over. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ed looked back up at the horizontal rungs that were even further away now. Scanning the horizon, he couldn’t find a place to stop. Maybe there was an area obscured by one of the hills? Or maybe he would have to keep moving for a long time.

His arms needed all the rest they could get if he wanted to do this, so he continued to sit on the ladder as it swayed. With the officer gone, it truly felt like he had all the time in the world. Of course, he knew this wasn’t true. He’d have to find his way back eventually, then he’d have to face his debtor. He hoped that whatever was in the briefcase was valuable enough to make it all okay.

The officer was still hanging by his leg on the ladder, his head having now come to a stop after bashing against the rung several times. His blood dripped down into the sky below.

Ed looked down at the dead man, a few ideas sprouting in his mind. Well, I need all the help I can get... Might as well not let it all go to waste. Carefully climbing down the ladder so as to not move the cop’s body too much, he began looting the corpse.

He could have something that would help me get out of here. And besides, I have far bigger things to worry about than morals right now. Careful not to get the man’s blood on him, Ed rummaged through the cop’s pockets, finding a key chain, among other personal belongings.

Could one of these be for the handcuffs? Climbing down to the very bottom of the ladder, Ed took the handcuffs that had been looped around the man’s fingers. He tested the keys one by one until he found which one worked, then shoved the keys into his inner pocket.

Attaching one end of the handcuffs to his wrist, he looped the other through the briefcase’s handle and locked it in place. Good, now I can move easier. Tugging on it a bit to make sure it was good, he nodded. That should last.

Now I need those boots. If he could get those boots working, he would be able to go back up through the hole he came out of. His own thrusters wouldn’t be able to last long enough, but if he used the boots, he would definitely be able to make it back up there. And since he couldn’t keep them, he would be fine if they fried up after using them.

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Reaching through the gap, he pulled the cop’s other leg over the rung to keep him there. He didn’t want the man to fall off before he was done looting. Gingerly pulling on the boot, he slipped it off the man’s foot. It took a little effort, as it was tightly fitted to the man, but he managed to get it off with little issue. The only problem was that the ladder was rocking more in the wind than before.

Eyeing the area above him to make sure nothing else came undone, Ed kicked his shoe off and slipped the boot on. It was a little loose. The cop was well nourished and larger than him, but it wasn’t a problem. As long as the boot wouldn’t fall off, he would be fine.

Now how does this work? Messing around to figure out how it worked, a blue screen buzzed into his vision. The chip linked up with the boot. The boot pulled in, becoming skin tight. Then nothing happened for several seconds. Well, at least I don’t have to worry about that.

Then the chip finished loading. The boot flared to life, blasting with immense force and rocketing his leg upward. Caught off-guard, his knee slammed into the ladder. Shit fuck! Pain ran through his leg. He unleased a pained scream through gritted teeth.

The thruster stopped after only a second. The chip was simply running a test to see that the thruster was working. But the damage had already been done. Ed’s leg was now completely shot, his knee was throbbing with pain, and he couldn’t even put his weight on it. He had to leave it dangling in the air to lessen the pain he felt.

The ladder rocked from the hit, causing it to swing wildly back and forth. The cop’s leg slipped off, as the body tumbled off the ladder before Ed could do anything. He reached out towards it, scrambling for the man’s boot. But it slipped just past his fingertips.

He slammed his fist into the ladder in frustration, as his eyes followed the cop as he disappeared into the abyss. Soon the man was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Regretting his choice of not grabbing the other boot first, he looked up. There was nothing he could do about it now. With one boot, he definitely wouldn’t be able to make it back up, even if he used his own thrusters to help.

He had no choice but to swing from bar to bar now.

Pushing the pain from his mind, he climbed back up to the top of the ladder. The briefcase hit each and every rung, making itself known. Without the use of his left leg, it took longer for him to get to the top, but thankfully he wouldn’t need to put pressure on it for a while.

Taking a deep breath. He reached for the first rung that was still attached to the ceiling. He tested it with one arm first, still putting most of his weight onto the dangling parts. Seeing that it was fine, he started putting more weight onto it until his entire body was fully hanging from the ceiling.

Reminding him of the broken monkey bars he played on as a child, he looked forward to see the journey ahead. This is gonna take longer than the monkey bars.