# Chapter 8: The Stairwell Stand-off
The emergency backup lights flickered on a moment later.
They cast a sickly yellow glow over the penthouse.
Adrian pulled his phone from his pocket.
“No signal,” he said grimly.
He walked to the window and looked down.
“The rest of the city has power.”
“Someone cut the lines to this building,” Evelyn said.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
“They know we have the ledger.”
Adrian grabbed her coat from the chair.
“We need to move,” he ordered.
“The security team in the lobby should have radioed up by now.”
He helped her into the coat.
“The fact that they haven’t means they are compromised.”
He guided her out of the penthouse and toward the emergency stairwell.
“We have to walk down fifty flights of stairs?” Evelyn asked.
She clutched her stomach.
“No,” Adrian said.
He pushed open the heavy fire door.
“We only need to get to the helipad on the roof.”
They began to climb the concrete stairs.
The silence in the stairwell was oppressive.
Every scuff of their shoes echoed loudly.
When they reached the roof access door, Adrian pushed the handle.
It was locked from the outside.
“Damn it,” he cursed softly.
He slammed his shoulder against the metal.
It did not budge.
Suddenly, a metallic scrape echoed from the floor below them.
Someone was coming up the stairs.
Adrian pulled Evelyn behind the thick concrete pillar near the door.
He reached under his jacket and withdrew a small, dark handgun.
Evelyn stared at the weapon in shock.
“You carry a gun?” she mouthed silently.
He nodded once.
The footsteps grew louder.
They were heavy and deliberate.
A shadow stretched across the concrete wall.
“Mr. Cross,” a voice called out.
It belonged to Martin Keene.
“Please put the weapon down,” Martin said calmly.
May you like
He stepped into view.
Martin was holding Tessa Monroe at gunpoint.
