Survive The Fall | Book 4 | Total Collapse

the landing and moved to the next flight.
Cathy grimaced and gnashed her teeth, pushing herself faster and harder than she should. “Damn stairs.”
“I got you.” Russell held her tight as they climbed the next flight.
“How far are we going up?” Clyde asked, watching the entrance to the stairwell from the landing.
“The second floor,” Russell said, grunting. “It’ll have to do.”
Max groaned, then barked.
Clyde waved his hand at Max, shushing him.
Russell peered over the side of the railing at the landing near the entrance to the stairwell. Shouting loomed from beyond the door.
The door swung open.
A shadowy figure lurked inside.
Clyde fired a single round at the wall next to the jamb. The bullet punched the surface, sending the man back peddling out of the stairwell.
The report echoed inside the enclosed space, hammering Russell’s ears. He cringed from the loud noise, but kept moving up the stairs.
“Get up there. I’ll buy you some time.” Clyde climbed the steps with Max galloping past him.
The door swung open again, slamming the wall. Multiple gunshots sounded from the bottom floor. The rounds pinged off the steps. Russell caught brief flashes of muzzle fire in the darkness from below.
Max barked and growled from the steps between Russell and Clyde. He inched closer to the railing, and poked his head under the bottom steel bar.
Clyde returned fire, popping off two more rounds.
Russell and Cathy hit the landing and rushed to the exit. He grabbed the handle, jerked it down, then tossed the door open. The blinding darkness gave way to the ambient light shining from one of the spaces offset to the entrance of the stairwell.
The flashlight washed over the wall across from them, then down either side of the long stretches of hallway. Russell leaned against the door with his shoulder, keeping it open.
Cathy limped out into the hallway with Max slipping past her.
The gunfire ebbed.
Clyde stormed the stairs, flanking Russell. “I drove them out of the stairwell, for now. Not sure what they’re doing or how much time we have.”
Russell moved inside the hallway and took Cathy by the waist. She draped her arm back over his shoulder. They searched the corridor, hunting for a place to lay low.
Cathy pointed in the direction of the natural light. “What’s over there?”
“Not sure. Let’s check it out and see.” Russell turned and moved toward the light shining through the glass of the office space down the hall.
The stairwell door clicked closed, sounding louder in the dull silence. The flashlight bounced up and down along the carpet, then along each side of the wall.
They moved down the corridor, heading away from the stairwell entrance. The grunting and panted breaths sounding from Cathy’s parted lips and scrunched face grew louder and more frequent.
Russell craned his neck and peered at the glass entrance. Sunlight shone through the bay windows that lined the far wall.
McComb and Associates, LLC was engraved on the front of the glass door.
Clyde grabbed the black handle and pulled.
The door opened without resistance.
Russell thumbed the flashlight off and lugged Cathy inside the office space. Max rushed in after them with Clyde covering their backs. They walked past the receptionist’s desk and out into the bullpen of the office.
A number of cubicles filled the floor, with desks nestled within each section. Printers, tables, and other furnishings spanned the open layout.
“There,” Russell said, pointing to an office at the far side of the floor. The windows had blinds covering the glass, concealing the inside. “That should be good to lay low in.”
Clyde stayed near the entrance of the business and watched the hallway. He flinched, ducked, then moved away from the glass in a hurry. “They’re in the hallway.”
Damn it.
Russell dragged Cathy through the maze of furniture and cubicles to the office. “I’m sorry.”
Cathy groaned. “It’s… all right.”
Max trailed behind them, staying silent and following along.
Russell looked at the glass door heading into the dim office, dipped his shoulder, and nudged it open. “This will have to do.”
Cathy pressed her hand to the glass, pushed, and limped inside.
“You and Max get back behind that desk and stay low,” Russell said, pointing at the large, cherrywood desk positioned close to the wall and under the large window.
“What about you and Clyde?” Cathy asked, her face scrunched in pain.
“We’re going to handle them.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
 
 
RUSSELL
Cathy snapped her fingers at Max and moved across the office toward the desk to hide. The German shepherd followed his handler, staying close at her side.
Russell pocketed the small flashlight, grabbed the door, and watched as Cathy struggled to get on the ground and out of sight.
Max vanished around the corner with only the tip of his tail wagging above the desk. Cathy scooted down the wall, pursing her lips in discomfort. She gave one last look before dipping below the tabletop.
Clyde whistled.
Russell turned, closed the door, then looked out over the bullpen. He couldn’t spot Clyde at first within the meld of stark-white cubicles and other furnishings. Russell finally caught sight of him waving from across the office, hidden within the darkness of the room he stood in.
Clyde pointed at the glass front, then trained his .38 Special at the entrance.
Russell nodded, ducked, then moved away from the office Cathy and Max hid in. He stayed low and ran for one of the cubicles. The rucksack shifted on his back. His fingers grabbed the grip of the Ruger a hair tighter. He slipped between the narrow opening of the wall and the outside of the cubicle.
The rucksack scraped along the brick surface. He peeked over the top of the cubicle wall at the glass entrance.
Two of the gang bangers stood on either side of the door, peering through the