Chapter 14 - The Fall of the Hawk
The blinding glare of the spotlight trapped Julian against the steel staircase. The downdraft tore at his clothes, the sound of the twin turbine engines deafening as the pilot aligned the craft for a final, lethal sweep. Julian curled his spine over Maya, using his own flesh as a human shield, bracing for the barrage of lead that was about to shred through him.
Suddenly, a blinding flash erupted from the maintenance tower behind the helicopter.
Dr. Rao stood on the platform of the industrial air conditioning unit, wielding an emergency marine flare gun taken from the roof's distress locker. He pulled the trigger. The burning magnesium flare shot across the dark sky like a miniature sun, striking the helicopter's open intake turbine with pinpoint accuracy.
A deafening pop echoed over the rooftop as the turbine choked on the blazing chemical mass. Black smoke and brilliant sparks belched from the housing, throwing the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin. The pilot fought the cyclic control, but the tail rotor clipped the edge of the parapet with an ear-splitting screech of tearing aluminum. The helicopter veered wildly off the side of the building, plummeting into the empty river channel behind the hospital, detonating into a muffled fireball that illuminated the clouds far below.
Silence reclaimed the rain-swept roof, broken only by the steady, miraculous crying of the newborn child.
Dr. Rao rushed over, his face streaked with soot and rain, kneeling beside Julian. "Are you hit?"
"Just my shoulder," Julian gasped, clutching Maya with his good arm, tears finally spilling freely from his eyes. "She’s alive. She’s okay."
The woman in red slowly pulled herself up against the railing. She looked at Julian, then at the child, and finally at Dr. Rao. Without a word, she reached into her coat, pulled out a second key card and a passport, dropping them onto the wet deck at Julian’s feet.
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"Get them out of the country before sunrise," she said, her voice hollow as she turned toward the fire escape stairs. "Because the board never stops hunting."
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