Chapter 16

The day had finally arrived. The fateful day. The day I had been preparing for almost a month and a half. The one I had risked my life for constantly and almost lost it… too many times to count.

And here I was, once again setting foot on the ground, exposing myself to the risk of not making it to the end of the day. The concept of "safety" had turned into something elusive for me. Just 48 hours ago, feeling invincible at an altitude of 10 kilometers, I was nearly blown out of the sky by a missile strike. So, even with doubled security and Rion by my side, I didn’t feel 100% safe.

After meeting with the last shareholder, we flew across America again and landed back in New York. It was 11 a.m., and we had two hours before the vote—just enough time to make a quick trip to the store. My young, beautiful companion needed a business suit so that she…

Ah, right! What companion, you ask? A funny story that happened the day before the vote. As planned, I went to neighboring Mexico to pick up Rion in his new form. Imagine my surprise when, instead of the familiar sturdy man, bright blue light shone from the eyes of a 20-year-old beauty.

“What the hell is this?” I asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

“I took what I could get,” Rion answered in a pleasant, high-pitched voice. “Couldn’t get out of the morgue. And this one had only been dead for a couple of hours,” he looked himself over, “from a ruptured aneurysm. Had to make do with her.”

A short skirt and a colorful blouse were hardly appropriate for someone who was supposed to accompany me to a business meeting that meant so much for my life. I could just imagine future colleagues thinking I was some kind of pervert—or worse.

After visiting the store, Rion transformed. Now, walking beside me was a young woman in a formal suit, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing “nerdy” glasses, and holding folders under her arm. In this new look, she quite resembled a professional assistant.

Our motorcade stopped almost right in front of the building. We approached the entrance surrounded by an impressive entourage of bodyguards, with enough weapons hidden under their jackets to hold the skyscraper under siege for a whole week. But, as expected, they weren’t allowed inside. The assumption was that the building was already well-guarded and that no one could get in without an invitation. I hoped that was true.

My people spread out, keeping watch at four different entrances. Rion gave everyone their orders and maintained contact with them via an earpiece. They had a simple task: to make sure Ari and his parasites didn’t bother us (with a lot of help from satellite surveillance), and once the meeting was over, to get into the cars and head to the airport—without us.

We had no intention of leaving through the same doors we entered. Ari's resourcefulness was not to be underestimated—if he couldn’t get into the building, he would surely figure out how to set up an ambush on our way back to the airport. Considering his last attempt, we could expect anything this time—from a tank shot to blowing up the skyscraper so it would collapse on our heads. I was certain that if he could get his hands on a nuclear bomb, he’d drop it on the city I was in. Collateral damage mattered little to him… if it ever did at all.

How are we going to get out? Through the roof! After making a couple of calls, I arranged for a helicopter to pick us up from the 62nd floor. Ari probably wouldn’t foresee such a maneuver.

The attendant in the lobby kindly informed us how to get to our destination. The board of directors' meeting was taking place on the 37th floor. Once we reached it, Rion stayed behind to guard the hallway leading to the offices. I went alone to the conference room—the place where, within the next hour, my future would literally be decided.

It felt like the walk from the elevator to the fateful room took at least an hour, even though I had only walked about 20 steps. I was brimming with nervous anticipation about what was coming. In a movie, this moment would definitely be shown in slow motion—with suspenseful music and a close-up of my anxious face filling the screen.

The decision of five people would determine whether I would ever see my wife again and hold my daughter in my arms. A failure would rob me of that opportunity forever. Ari wouldn’t stop trying to kill me, and I could fight him off for the rest of my life, but what would be the point if my beloved women couldn’t be with me? Anyone near me would always be in mortal danger. To protect my family, I would have to cut off all contact with them. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if they suffered because of me.

Finally, I left the hallway behind and found myself in a small lobby, where the offices began. Behind a wide desk sat a proud-looking secretary, continuously hammering away at her keyboard. Along the opposite wall were a couple of sofas, next to which two men were chatting.

“Can you tell me how to get to office 3718?” I asked the secretary.

“Wait with the others, you’ll be called,” she replied with a sharp tone, not bothering to look up and not pausing her typing for even a second.

Not the politest behavior, considering that very soon, I might become one of her bosses. By “the others,” she was surely referring to the two men by the sofas since no one else was around. I turned and headed toward them. One of them was grimacing, clearly sharing some unpleasant news with the other. As I got closer, I caught the final words of his story.

“Nonsense, absolute nonsense!”

“So, you must be my competitors for the board seat?” I greeted them with a smile. We shook hands and introduced ourselves. To avoid the hassle of remembering who was who, I’ll call them Grumpy and Quiet moving forward.

“You’ve heard, haven’t you?” Grumpy asked me.

“Heard about what?”

“That only one of us three will get that seat?”

“Why’s that?” I asked in surprise. “As far as I know, there are four candidates and two seats. So two of us should be able to take those spots.”

Hopefully, those two would not be them. And why, I wondered, weren’t they counting the fourth candidate?

“I see you haven’t heard about the fourth candidate,” Grumpy deduced. “Or rather, the fourth female candidate.”

“And what about her?”

“She’s doing just fine!” Grumpy replied, far too agitated. “That…” He followed up with six or seven extremely obscene epithets aimed at the fourth candidate. To keep things simple, I’ll just call her the Bitch. That’s the nicest word Grumpy used to describe her. “…She’s in a much better position than any of us,” he concluded.

“Why are you so harsh on her?” I smiled.

“She’s a terrible person,” Grumpy scowled. “I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with her. And to make matters worse, she once worked closely with the company’s chairman himself. And by the way, he holds 26 votes. So I have no illusions about whose ass is definitely taking one of those seats.”

“Maybe the chairman grew to hate her after working together, and she doesn’t stand a chance?” I suggested.

“Hate her?” he said slyly. “Quite the opposite, from what I’ve heard.”

Great, just what I needed. If he was right, my chances dropped from 50% to a pathetic 33%, at best.

I looked over at Quiet, hoping he would contradict Grumpy or offer something encouraging, but he just raised an eyebrow and gave a slight nod. From this lively monologue, I gathered that he agreed with everything that had been said.

“This vote is a complete farce,” Grumpy continued, still fuming. “Who the hell came up with their bylaws? No other company picks board members this way. The point of cumulative voting is for all the shareholders to have a say, not just the ones with the biggest pieces of the pie. Out of over a thousand shareholders, I know almost three hundred personally. Every one of them would vote for me. But I don’t know a single member of the board. How can there be any talk of fairness when this kind of nonsense is going on? Absolute power in the hands of five people! It’s complete nonsense!”

So that was the real reason for his grumpiness—not the right connections. What infuriated him was exactly what made me happy. In my position, with thousands of people voting, I wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting involved. But with things as they were, my odds of success remained.

“You know what? Screw all this,” Grumpy sighed. “No matter how this circus ends, no matter who gets picked, I say we go somewhere nice afterward and have a proper drink. My treat.”

Quiet smirked, indicating he wasn’t against the idea. I was already preparing to politely decline, citing important matters, when Grumpy turned his gaze to the hallway. A woman in her thirties, looking quite important, appeared. Their eyes met immediately.

“Grumpy,” she greeted him with barely concealed disdain.

“Bitch,” he replied in the same tone.

They stared at each other for a long moment, forcing smiles. An awkward silence hung in the air, mercifully interrupted by the chairman of the board himself. Harvey emerged from the office and glanced around at those present.

“Is everyone here?” he asked, though it was unnecessary. “Please, come in.”

We entered a massive room with a large oval table in the center, surrounded by plush chairs. At the far end of the table sat the familiar group of four people I had recently had the "pleasure" of interacting with. Each of them took a moment to look me over, their gazes betraying a variety of emotions. Vincent, who had a paranoia about gay people, grimaced with deep disgust. Peter, with whom I played soccer, gave me a friendly smile. Celia, the woman with unconventional orientation, cast a cold, indifferent glance at me and everyone else (except, perhaps, for the Bitch). And Ryan, the one I nearly drowned in the bay, still seemed slightly stunned, looking at me with some confusion.

“Please, take your seats,” Harvey gestured to the chairs that had been prepared for us, positioned at the opposite end of the table from the board members. He then made his way back to his colleagues and took the central seat. Once everyone was seated, the chairman continued.

“As you are already aware, according to the bylaws of our company, the voting process for selecting additional members of the board follows a somewhat simplified form. The five largest shareholders are the ones who participate in this vote. Each of us holds a number of ballots corresponding to our portfolio's percentage of the company's shares. There are 58 votes in total. For the sake of full transparency, the count will take place right in front of you.”

Harvey paused, scanning each of the candidates as if expecting questions. Hearing none, he looked back at his colleagues.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

“Full transparency… sure,” Grumpy muttered under his breath, glancing at the Bitch.

The board members rustled their ballots, marking their choices. I felt like I was on trial again, that awful sense of insignificance and powerlessness washing over me. Grumpy, sitting next to me, nervously tapped his finger against his knee. But why should he care? No matter what happened, he’d walk out of this room and continue living his comfortable life. The same couldn’t be said for me.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl again. My butt felt numb, as if I had been sitting in the chair for days. Though most of the board members took only about 20 seconds to cast their votes, the chairman took slightly longer—around a minute—due to having more ballots to handle. After that, it took a couple more minutes for the meticulous counting of the votes to conclude.

In that time, I managed to spiral into a whirlwind of anxiety, imagining the worst possible outcomes for my future. I was just a step away from complete despair when Harvey finally stood up and interrupted my dreadful thoughts.

“And so, the counting of the votes is complete. Before I announce the results, I’d like to say a few words. Your applications were thoroughly reviewed, not only based on your business achievements but also on your personal qualities. Surveys were conducted, and preferences were made based on the findings. This is the principle I followed in my selection process, and I am confident that my colleagues did the same.”

“Yeah, sure…” Grumpy whispered skeptically.

“Well then,” Harvey continued, “here are the results. The sixth seat on the board of directors, with 21 votes, goes to…”

Damn it! 21 votes, almost half! There’s no way I could be that lucky. Who is the lucky winner? Or rather, the lucky lady...?

“…the Bitch,” Harvey finished, naming the candidate everyone had expected.

I looked at her, watching as she nodded arrogantly to Harvey in thanks. Then, I glanced over at Grumpy—he raised his eyebrows as if to say, "I told you so."

I still held onto the hope that the majority of her votes came from Harvey’s pocket, and not from the people I was counting on. This would mean his grand claims of fairness were, to put it lightly, a load of nonsense. Everything was subjective, but in Ryan’s case, that worked in my favor. He had to give all his votes to the man who saved his life. And if Peter helped him out with that—I still had a decent chance of snagging second place.

I just had to believe…

***

Rion stood by the elevator, leaning against the wall, his inner radar for detecting Ari working at full capacity, though there was still no sign of him within range. At the same time, through a wireless earpiece, Rion was listening in on everything happening in Leo’s voting session. The chairman of the board, after announcing the new member, got distracted by a colleague—a woman—who made a few comments about the new addition to the team. There were congratulations, compliments, then some kind of joke that had everyone laughing, and they decided to discuss it further.

Rion considered conducting another remote roll call of the bodyguards to ensure everything around the building remained stable. Just as he was about to initiate it, an office clerk appeared from the corridor. The clerk’s gaze fixated on Rion, hungrily scanning his attractive female disguise from head to toe.

“Hey,” the clerk started. “Haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?”

“No, I don’t work here,” Rion replied in a sweet, high-pitched voice. “I’m just waiting for my boss, he’s in a meeting.”

“There’s a lounge with sofas down the corridor.”

“I know. I’m fine right here.”

“If you want, I can keep you company,” the clerk offered, his voice almost dripping with eagerness. “I’m on my lunch break, would love to chat with you. My name’s Joe, by the way. And you are?”

“I’m ‘get lost and go where you were headed,’” Rion shot back harshly. The last thing he needed right now was a creep.

“I see,” the clerk's expression changed instantly. “Enjoy your time, then,” he snarked, walking away down the corridor.

Rion watched him leave, ready to resume the idea of a security check-in, but he couldn’t get a word out. A strong pulse suddenly jolted through his body, making him genuinely alarmed. Had his radar malfunctioned? He wished that were the case, but he knew it was impossible. Malfunctions simply didn’t happen.

He sensed Ari's presence. Too close. He couldn’t quite figure out how, but he was sure—Ari was already inside the building.

“Goddammit!” Rion practically yelled into the mic, addressing the bodyguards. “Explain to me how you managed to miss the person you were supposed to stop from getting in?”

“First,” came the response, “no one’s passed us in the last half hour.”

“Second, everyone who passed through was checked.”

“Third, same here.”

“Fourth, no exceptions.”

“Satellite, what do you have?” Rion asked.

“Everything’s clear, no flagged individuals approached the building.”

“What the hell is this mess…”

***

Harvey and the others took far too long discussing Celia’s joke, which had been aimed, in a congratulatory tone, at the She-Devil. When the digression finally ran its course, the chairman glanced again at the paper with the vote counts. I braced myself to hear the next name, but suddenly, Rion's unexpected yell in my ear made me jump. Until now, our connection had been one-way, designed to avoid distractions unless something important came up. I had hoped with all my heart not to hear from him until the meeting was over. An urgent call meant trouble.

“Leo!” he squeaked in a feminine voice. “Get out of there now!”

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

“Take a wild guess! That bastard got into the building. I don’t know how he bypassed security and the satellite—maybe through some underground tunnel—but he’s here! So, it's time to bail!”

“One minute,” I replied.

It’s not that I was naive enough to think the day would go smoothly without any complications. Still, Ari never ceased to amaze me. Each time, he acted with more skill and cunning. Slipping into the building unnoticed—this did not bode well for us. All I could hope for was that our plan was one step ahead of his.

I desperately wanted this to end already. But, of course, Harvey wasn’t in any rush.

“So, where were we?” Harvey finally resumed. “Let’s continue.”

At last...

“The second seat, with 16 votes, goes to…”

And once again, time slowed down for me. Sixteen votes—that could very well be me. Ryan and Peter had 19 votes between them. Sure, they wouldn’t give me all their votes, but they were bound to give me most of them! Plus, Harvey, and possibly even Celia, based on the way she sounded, might’ve thrown in their support.

It had to be me. Otherwise, I’d be running from Ari for the rest of my life. My heart pounded wildly, my hands clenched into fists. The pressure and ringing in my ears nearly deafened me. I stared at the chairman’s lips, trying to read whose name he would start to pronounce. The first letter came, then the second, then the third...

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

…and none of them were in my name.

He didn’t say my name.

“The Quiet One,” Harvey announced the final member of the board.

It took me a while to realize that I was sitting there, mouth open, staring blankly into space.

This was the end.

The end of everything good in my life. The end of seeing my wife and child. The end of my damned soul. There was no other way to get into the company. This was my only chance, and I had blown it.

“Leo!” Rion was getting agitated, growling into my ear. “Get moving!”

What was the point in staying even a second longer when it was all over for me? I glanced at the Unhappy One, whose face reflected similar thoughts. His eyes were alight with the readiness to jump up and leave at any moment, but the next words from Harvey changed everything.

“However,” the chairman continued after a brief pause, “at the same time, with the same 16 votes, Leo Rutis also gets a seat.”

It took me a moment to believe I had actually heard my name. But, apparently, I had…

A ray of light suddenly pierced the darkness surrounding my future. I was still in the game, not out! Ryan and Peter hadn’t forgotten about me!

The Unhappy One lingered in his seat for a moment longer, briefly hoping his name might still be called. But when that hope finally died, his face grew even more discontented.

“This is a goddamned circus!” he yelled, jumping from his chair, sending it tumbling backward, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. It was unlikely he planned to wait outside for everyone and then “have a proper sit-down on his tab at a decent place.” Not that anyone cared.

Harvey looked around, puzzled by the outburst.

“I doubt anyone’s interested to know that Mr. Unhappy garnered five votes. Well, this outcome was unpredictable, and we’ll need to print additional ballots for a second round.”

This delay was far from ideal for me. I couldn’t stay here much longer, but running off wasn’t an option either. I was stuck. To my amazement, help came from an unexpected source.

The chairman had already picked up the phone to instruct the secretary to handle the extra ballots when Vincent raised his hand and spoke up.

“I don’t think we should waste time on such nonsense. We’ve got a lot of unresolved issues to address today, and it’s not worth spending time on more paperwork. I’m giving all my votes to the Quiet One. We don’t need another gay on the team.”

He shot a disdainful look at Celia. She responded with a smile.

“If you believe the papers, there are already two gays on the team.”

“He’s my illegitimate son, you idiot!” Vincent roared.

“Naturally,” she purred mockingly.

“That’s against company policy,” Harvey chimed in, trying to mediate.

“Where do you get off calling me gay?” I turned to the old man. “I have a wife and daughter, for God’s sake.”

“Gays will do anything to hide their gayness,” Vincent muttered, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

I decided it wasn’t worth continuing this pointless argument.

“I’m voting for Leo,” Peter spoke up.

“Of course,” Vincent scoffed, “why not vote for someone dumber than you?”

“I’ll be smart and stay quiet, so I don’t end up telling you to go to hell,” Peter grinned in response.

I used to worry that during casual conversations between board members, someone might accidentally mention something about me. For example, Ryan could tell the story of how I once saved his life, or Vince might share how I hit on him at a club. Then the others would pick up on it, and it would become clear that my acquaintance with each of them wasn’t by chance. Until I heard that I had received 16 votes, I thought that might have already happened.

But no! Fortunately for me, they hated each other so much that they probably didn’t talk about anything except work. It seemed like I (or the one they planned to replace me with at the White Archive) was supposed to be the glue keeping the company from falling apart. Otherwise, with such infighting, its collapse was inevitable.

“It's a shame I have to side with the so-called person sitting across from me,” Celia remarked, throwing a sharp look at Vincent, “but I’m giving my votes to the Quiet One as well. Nothing personal,” she added, glancing at me.

“Colleagues,” Harvey interrupted. “I suggest we maintain professionalism. According to the bylaws, voting should be conducted anonymously and in written form, using special ballots that are then archived.”

“With all due respect,” Ryan began, “those bylaws should’ve been rewritten ages ago, especially to allow us to get rid of certain unnecessary members.”

He first looked at Vince, then at Peter. The latter responded by rubbing his forehead with his middle finger while maintaining eye contact with Ryan, who ignored him.

“My votes are for Leo Rutis,” Ryan finished, casting a brief glance my way before quickly looking away and staring at the table. In his eyes, I clearly read, We’re even.

Harvey sighed in irritation, finally putting down the phone he’d been holding all this time.

“The floor is yours, Chairman,” Vince turned to him. “Let’s wrap this up.”

The score was shaping up in my favor—19 to 13, which was undeniably good news. If anything Harvey said about impartiality had even a grain of truth... But I chose not to make any assumptions and focused on nothing, simply watching him, waiting for his verdict, much like I once did when a judge sentenced me to five years behind bars.

“Damn it!” Rion almost yelled in my ear. “Ari’s coming up in the elevator! You’ve got 30 seconds to avoid running into him!”

“Wait,” I whispered without moving my lips.

Come on, Harvey, don’t drag this out.

It took him several long seconds to accept his colleagues' wishes. Finally, he turned his gaze to me and the Quiet One.

“I found it difficult from the start to determine which of you two was more suitable for the board seat. And after much deliberation, I decided to split the votes evenly. I will do the same now.”

All five board members stared at me—some with approval, others (Vince) with disdain.

“By my modest calculations,” Peter said, “that’s 32 to 26 in favor of Leo Rutis.”

The impenetrable darkness around me instantly dissolved, replaced by the glow of sunlight. A massive weight lifted from my shoulders. I did it. I was in the company! The sweet taste of victory, especially on this scale, was intoxicating.

The Quiet One stood, shook my hand with dignity, nodded in acknowledgment of my victory, and left the office.

“Leo!” Rion shouted again.

I was abruptly brought back to reality. The victory was mine, but if I wanted to enjoy it fully, I needed to get out of there—fast.

“I propose we welcome the new members of our company’s board of directors,” Harvey said. “Congratulations and welcome.”

He began to clap, and the others reluctantly joined in. An absolutely unnecessary waste of my time. When the applause died down, the chairman continued.

“All contracts and necessary documents will be prepared within a week…”

“Leo, he’s almost here! Get out now!” Rion’s frantic voice echoed.

“…we will contact you beforehand, sending copies for your review via email, and inform you of the meeting time.”

“LEO!” Rion shouted so loudly from the hallway that everyone could hear him.

“I’m grateful for the trust you’ve placed in me,” I hurriedly stammered, “I will do everything I can to justify it. If you’ll excuse me, some urgent matters require my attention.”

“We wouldn’t dream of holding you back,” Harvey smiled.

I nearly sprinted across the room and bolted out the door without saying goodbye. Just then, Rion appeared from the hallway, furious.

“What the hell?”

“I couldn’t just jump up and run out,” I lowered my voice.

Rion dashed to the secretary’s desk and grabbed a pair of scissors from the stand.

“I’ll borrow these for a bit,” he announced more than asked. The secretary didn’t even look his way, continuing to type.

“Come on, come on!” he yelled as he dashed down the hallway. I followed closely behind. We quickly exited the floor and bolted for the staircase.

“He’s heading up!” Rion squeaked over his shoulder. “Faster!”

We raced up, skipping two steps at a time. Twenty-five floors to the roof was no small task.

“Is the helicopter ready?” I shouted.

“It’s still in the air!”

“What!?”

“There were problems! Run!”

We were sprinting with all our might. Two floors, three, five. Problems, of course—what else could there be? I had almost forgotten what it was like to live without issues.

Seven floors, nine, eleven. It had been a while since I’d done any physical training. All I had done lately was fly. My lungs were already protesting. Rion didn’t slow down, and to keep up, I had to push myself harder.

“Where’s Ari?” I yelled.

“Above us! Move!”

Why was he going up? What was his plan? Did he catch on to our rooftop scheme? Or were they also hurrying from the first floor to come after us, surrounding us from all sides?

Twelve floors, fifteen. My legs were aching, and a stitch had settled in my side. But even a second of rest was out of the question. Most of the climb was behind me, both in terms of steps and the overall mission. I had accomplished the most crucial part—I got into the company. After this, landing the CEO position should be a piece of cake. It would be so frustrating, even ridiculous, if on such a lucky day, Ari finally got his way.

No, that wouldn’t happen! We would get in that helicopter and get out of here. We would make it; we could run!

Barely had I thought this when the worst possible thing occurred. After running up sixteen floors, the door on the seventeenth suddenly swung open, and a man in his sixties, with fiery red eyes, burst onto the landing. Rion skidded to a stop so abruptly that I nearly collided with him.

“Back! Down!” he shouted.

We turned and bolted in the opposite direction, but there, two more men appeared on the staircase. One of them held a letter opener.

We were trapped between the landings. Rion gripped the scissors tightly, shooting angry glances at each of them in turn. The only weapon I had was my heavy breathing. How unlucky could we be to fall into such a trap? Still, there were only four of them, and I had noticed a weapon only in the hands of one. Perhaps they had been in such a hurry that they hadn’t managed to grab anything else besides the knife. So things weren’t as bad as they seemed at first. I was just as determined as Rion to fight until the end.

The old man stepped forward, raising his hand.

“Before you start swinging that dull piece of metal around, I have something to discuss,” he addressed Rion.

“Really?” Rion scoffed.

What was going on? Did Ari prefer to negotiate rather than resort to violence? I probably shouldn’t be too happy about that. His lackeys had initially stopped dead in their tracks, meaning they had been informed beforehand that there would be a conversation first. Maybe he was just buying time?

“This foolish chase has gone on too long,” Ari continued. “I suggest you step aside, and in return…”

“In return for what?” Rion laughed. “You’ve got nothing to offer me, you bastard!”

“Are you sure?”

The door behind Ari opened, and another man appeared on the landing, pushing a frightened woman with lilac eyes, holding a knife to her throat.

Rion’s expression changed dramatically. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the woman, mouth agape. He had never looked so stunned before. Clearly, he recognized the captive.

Suddenly, muffled sounds echoed from the lower floors. I glanced down and saw numerous hands flickering over the railings. Without a doubt, more guests were hurrying to us, promising to reach us in about forty floors. Ari confirmed my suspicion with a single word.

“Backup.”

Our inaction had stretched out for an intolerably long time, and it was time to intervene.

“We need to move,” I hissed at Rion.

But he stood frozen, unable to tear his gaze from the woman. Ari grinned, relishing in his confusion.

“Who is she?” I asked, alternating my glance between Rion and the reason for his paralysis.

“This woman is from our past,” Ari replied, savoring every word. “The love of his life. But it so happens that I got her instead. Those were wonderful times—when the rich and powerful chose their brides without consulting anyone. However, she refused to accept my peculiar courtship and took her own life. Women!” Ari smiled, spreading his arms. “The devil himself couldn’t figure out what’s going on in their heads. Who better than I to know?”

Rion continued to stand in shock. Ari's henchmen, in turn, were watching us closely. I was plagued by vague doubts—what was the price of my life in the eyes of my only ally?

“We both know you couldn’t care less about his pathetic life,” Ari said, as if reading my thoughts while looking at Rion. “This is a personal vendetta, just between us. So… I’m offering you her.”

New emotions flickered across my guardian's face, leaving much to be desired for me. He seemed genuinely surprised by the enemy’s offer, as if he had been dreaming of it for a thousand years.

“I agree to the exchange. You take her, and you don’t interfere anymore,” Ari pressed on. “Never. Everyone gets what they want.”

The last thing I wanted to see at that moment was Rion hesitating. But that’s exactly what I was witnessing. He lowered his eyes thoughtfully, seriously considering the proposal. I felt like a worthless piece of meat, livestock before slaughter, carefully tended to before being hung up on a hook and skinned.

Rion cast a pleading glance at me, his doe-like, tear-filled eyes, and I noticed how tightly he gripped the scissors with his slender fingers. Did I really have to forcibly wrest the scissors from him to defend myself when he treacherously agreed with Ari?

I needed to act immediately, before backup arrived. While there were still not too many of them, there was a chance I could break through and escape this trap. Rion’s attention returned to the woman, and I was readying myself to take advantage of his distraction and strike. Suddenly, his face shifted again, becoming serious, and his eyes filled with rage.

“Let them burn me alive again before I trust you ever again!” he growled at Ari.

“Too bad,” the old man replied calmly, and in that instant, his accomplice slashed the woman’s throat. Her lilac eyes widened in terror and then faded instantly, turning to the brown of her captor.

Rion boiled with rage, watching his beloved's "departure," baring his teeth as he forcefully pressed the scissors to my chest.

“Yours are below, mine are above!”

I didn’t need a second explanation. I snatched the scissors and bolted down to the lower floor. Two of the red-eyed henchmen were charging toward me. Thinking quickly, I kicked straight out, sending the first one tumbling down the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rion narrowly evade a knife strike and push the woman’s executioner off the staircase. Ari lunged at him immediately, and they grappled like wild dogs.

Meanwhile, I had to deal with another guy who also had a knife. He swung it wildly, scratching the paper cutter blade across my leg. He swung again, but I managed to dodge and then charged at him with my whole body. The scissors pierced his neck as we both fell to the ground.

When I got back up, I was met with a terrifying sight—not only was the first guy ready to keep fighting, but reinforcements were arriving from the lower floors. A dozen creatures surged toward me all at once as I flung open the doors and rushed onto the next floor.

In that situation, even a hundred-meter sprint champion would envy me. I dashed down the hallway like a rabbit escaping a pack of hungry foxes.

Not for nothing! I had thoroughly studied all the exits in this building before stepping in. I had a feeling it would come in handy. The skyscraper had four staircases, and I was separated from the nearest one by two long corridors.

I glanced back over my shoulder, but the pursuers weren’t slowing down, despite having to run up to the 54th floor. To make matters worse, people were bustling around in the hallways, caught up in their own trivial concerns.

“Move aside!” I shouted. “Out of the way!”

Those I didn’t knock over myself were being pushed aside by the crowd, nearly stepping on my heels. Damn them all, what a truly lousy day it had turned out to be!

***

Rion, driven mad by rage, was tearing into his opponents. Professional fighters would applaud if they saw how a fragile young girl was landing blows on two sturdy men at once—even if one of them looked near retirement age.

The only knife among the three of them had long flown somewhere down, and the fight was now being fought with bare fists. One of the participants was clearly unnecessary and was significantly hindering Rion's movements. Just as he managed to land a solid hit on Ari's face, his henchman would appear and ruin everything. The problem was resolved after half a minute.

Rion ducked under the assistant’s arm, twisted it behind his back, tripped him, and smashed his skull against the corner of the stairs with a headbutt. Ari seized the moment, lunged at his opponent, grabbed the woman’s shirt, and violently threw her against the wall. The shirt tore, Rion saw stars, but he quickly reacted when he noticed a leg flying toward him. He blocked it, managed to hit Ari in the groin, then sprinted at him with his full weight. He wrapped his legs around the old man, beginning to pound his head with his fists and elbows. The momentum of the attack pinned Ari against the wall. He tried to shake Rion off, but he held on tightly and continued to deliver blows.

Suddenly, the door to the floor opened with a loud sound. An office worker appeared in the doorway, phone in hand. The fight came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had pressed pause. Two sworn enemies stared in shock at the uninvited guest. The worker stood frozen, observing them in return.

To his eyes, the curious scene was anything but ordinary—a disheveled young girl, with her bra exposed, sat astride an elderly man, passionately wrapping her legs around him. It all looked more than a little suggestive, and the worker clearly thought he had interrupted something beautiful. Disturbing, given the age difference, but beautiful in its nature.

“Well, I think I’ll take the elevator,” the guest said awkwardly and disappeared through the door.

The fight resumed with the same fervor it had been interrupted. Rion swung his elbows again, breaking his enemy’s nose and leaving gashes on his brow. Ari gathered his strength, pushed off the wall, and slammed the woman back against it—once, twice, three times. Rion lost coordination, momentarily loosened his grip, and his opponent seized the opportunity. Ari tore the woman from him, wrapped one hand around her neck, and with the other grabbed her trousers, lifting her above his head like a feather and slamming her head-first down onto the stairs.

A horrific crunch of vertebrae echoed through the air. Like a puppet with its strings cut, Rion counted all the steps with his bones and lay twisted at the bottom. The body was once again without its owner—this time, forever.

Ari took a few seconds to catch his breath. Then a few more to focus on his main target. Leo was still alive, stubbornly refusing to die. The army of henchmen was driving him to the roof, where everything was supposed to come to an end. But Ari couldn’t understand why Leo was running up— the way down was blocked. Why hadn’t he gone down to his bodyguards initially? Was the roof really his escape route?

With all his might, Ari charged in that direction. He regretted not having shot him along with the entire guard on his very first day. What had his foolish concern for that pointless rating led to? And how he would make Leo regret that his stubbornness had ruined that rating. Very soon…

***

I ran, knowing no fatigue. Perhaps all my blood had completely turned into pure adrenaline. Two long corridors ended quickly, and I dashed to the coveted door, finding myself back on the staircase. Not only did a dozen pursuers burst through that same door just as I had made it halfway up, but they also merged with a new wave of runners pouring in from below. In total, at least twenty red-eyed creatures were hunting for my adrenaline-filled blood. This time, Ari had brought a lot of people with him, sending groups to every staircase to block all the escape routes. That diligent son of a bitch.

There were nine floors left to the roof. I flew through the first three in one breath. By the fourth, my heart was pounding in my chest. I managed to slip on some spilled muck and almost fell, but fortunately, the railing helped me keep my balance. At one point, I even thought I heard the whistling of a knife slicing through the air toward my back—indicating that the slippery floor had allowed the horde of monsters to catch up to me. But then I saw them appearing one flight down; my blunder had merely helped them close the gap by a couple of meters.

Quickly regaining my footing, I continued moving upward. My breath was ragged, but the new surge of adrenaline made me forget about it. The steps merged into an endless blur. I could barely feel my legs and was surprised they hadn't fallen off yet—they had never been subjected to such a trial before.

Sixth floor, eighth, ninth! The last! But wait, where was the tenth floor?… Where did the eleventh come from? What the hell, why didn’t it end? What a nightmare! Remembering the existence of additional service floors, I finally saw the door. Bright sunlight hit my eyes, and a pleasant breeze wafted over me as I stepped through it. The coveted roof!

Only there was no helicopter on the helipad…

I turned back, rushed again to the door, slammed it shut, and braced it with my entire body. Just a second later, my shoulder felt a series of terrible blows. I grabbed the long handrail conveniently placed beside the door. Fortifying my position, I yelled with all my might into the hidden microphone under my shirt.

“Where’s the chopper?!”

“It’s already here,” came the reply in my earpiece.

As if by magic, the sounds of helicopter blades reached my ears, and then the helicopter itself appeared. The pilot began descending onto the helipad with haste.

“No, don’t land!” I shouted. “Drop the ladder!”

If he landed, I was definitely finished. I wouldn’t have time to take off before the monsters reached us—the distance was just too small. Every half-second, someone slammed against the door with terrifying force, trying to break through. I held it with all my strength, watching as my lifeline, the ladder, unfurled.

It was time for one last push. I prepared to leap, timing my move perfectly between the door's blows to dart to the side. The pounding had created a specific rhythm, and all I needed was to catch the moment of silence just right.

Bang. Bang-bang. Bang-bang-bang.

Between the bang and the bang-bang, damn it, I had to run! Gathering my courage, I exhaled, gritted my teeth, and then I saw Ari. He burst out from a side exit onto the roof, quickly assessing the situation. He glanced at me, then at the helicopter… and to my horror, he charged toward it.

To hell with the moments, the silence, and everything else! I immediately jumped away from the door, darting toward the aircraft.

“FLY!” I yelled at the pilot. “STRAIGHT!”

Straight, based on his position, meant closer to me and farther from Ari. I tried not to focus on the animalistic growls of the creatures pursuing me. I forced myself not to think about Ari, who was charging at me with a furious grimace. I concentrated solely on the violently swaying ladder.

“Take off!” I shouted a second before I latched onto it with a death grip. “Up, up, up!”

The helicopter soared into the sky. With my eyes watering from the wind, I watched Ari sprinting after us. He overtook his henchmen, closing the distance to just a couple of meters. The end of the ladder still thrashed against the roof, but he had no chance of making it.

The helicopter left the perimeter of the skyscraper, and the ladder swung over the 200-meter abyss. I had escaped; I was safe!

Such a wonderful, yet fleeting moment of relief.

The joy was far too premature. Right before my eyes, the unbelievable happened—Ari pushed off the parapet at full speed, extended his arms, and flew several meters, grabbing hold of the last rung of the ladder.

We were jerked violently. I could hardly believe what was happening; that relentless bastard was worse than a leech.

His fiery gaze was fixed on me.

“What a fucking bastard you are!” I shouted down.

As if offended by my words, he grinned, pulled himself up, and clung to the top rung. It was time for me to think about doing the same. But damn the person who constructed this stupid ladder! It was so awkward to climb!

The wind whipped it in different directions, but apparently, Ari was not at all bothered by that. With some kind of special ease, he was pulling himself up, quickly closing the gap. It took him half the time it took me to cover the same distance.

I was almost to the cockpit when suddenly a bony old hand clamped down hard on my ankle. Ari yanked me down, and I almost fell. Then he pulled again and again. I flailed my legs, trying to shake him off, but it wasn’t working well. He clung like a leech, continuing to tug at me.

A crazy idea struck me, and without thinking, I put it into action. Dropping down one rung, my second leg reached Ari's head and delivered a solid kick. He had to use both hands to avoid falling. My ankle was free, and I immediately resumed my ascent.

I had three rungs to go, two. The last one! Someone's hand helped me finally climb into the cockpit.

“Detach!” I commanded. “Now!”

The assistant obeyed instantly; the ladder clicked and vanished into the void. I leaned out, hoping to fully enjoy the sight of the bastard falling, but disappointment awaited me again! He managed to grab onto a thick strut of the landing gear with one hand and somehow didn’t slip off.

My reaction was instantaneous. Grabbing the side handle, I climbed onto the landing gear and pinned his fingers down with my foot. I had never felt so much pleasure as I did in that moment. With a triumphant look, I watched the old man dangling, his face filled with the bitterness of defeat. His eyes burned with fury and hatred—as if telling me, “I will get you yet.”

“Fuck you!” was my worthy reply. My foot shifted his fingers, and he swung with his other hand, trying to grab the landing gear, but this time he was out of luck. Reverently, I watched him tumble down, hit his head against the roof of a building, and roll over, spraying blood until he hit the ground.

It was all over; I had survived! In the most monstrous situation, I had managed to live again. I climbed back into the cockpit, collapsed on the floor, and only then did I realize how much I ached and how utterly exhausted I was. Just the thought of having to return to that building again to sign papers made me feel nauseous. But I didn’t want to think about that now. I only wanted to clarify the destination with the pilot, which, however, he should have already known perfectly well.

“To the airport!”