Where was Spada headed? How long would I be able to hold on to the line? As I rolled in the gunky water, gulping it in, spitting it out, holding my death grip on the line, the marina and the cop lights got smaller and the jagged tops of the city’s skyline melted into the night sky. The boat gunned it past the breakwater, then past the Shedd Aquarium. The skyline was now just one big blob of white light. We had to be miles out now. If I let go of the line now, I was as good as dead.

My legs and arms were going numb and I felt as if I’d already swallowed half the lake. I needed to get out of the water fast. Then, through walls of rushing waves, I caught sight of something shiny along the side of the boat. It looked like some kind of handle, or grab bar. If I could get to it, I’d have something sturdier to cling to than the line.

Just then, the boat hit a rough patch and I went under and rolled, sputtering back to the surface seconds later, not quite sure if I was upside down or right side up. Chastened, but not deterred by the cruel dunking, I pulled myself up a little higher on the line. My arms were weakening, the lights from shore now the size of dancing fairies. It took everything I had to focus on the shiny thing. I squeezed my eyes shut, opened them again, blinking through the wake. It wasn’t a handle; it was the rung of a ladder. A swim ladder.

Another ladder? What the hell?

I’d have to let go of the line first. I couldn’t grab for it without my hands. And if I missed the grab, I’d lose the line, too. I took a moment to visualize the intricate release-grab move I’d have to make. Risky didn’t begin to cover it, and I’d only get one shot at it. If I missed, I’d have to drink the lake dry to come out even. I tried banking a lungful of air, but drew in a mouthful of water instead. I coughed, sputtered. When I could see straight again, I went for it, swinging myself along the side of the boat, letting go of the line. My hands, nearly frozen now from the cold, clawed through air, clutching for metal before finally smashing hard against the bottom rung. I snatched at it, got it, and held tight, wrapping my arms around so completely that it would have taken the Jaws of Life to pry me loose.