Hailey’s hand tore free of the pack and Nick saw the dark metal of her flask between her fingers. The man in the suit lunged, but Hailey was faster; she ducked down low as one of her fingers flicked the flask open, her hand swinging in a wild arc. The battery acid sprayed out toward the dome next to her, the noxious liquid hitting the gold plate covering the dome, splashing across the spots where it was scuffed down to the copper beneath.

There was a sudden hiss as the toxic gas billowed upward; Hailey was low enough that most of it missed her, but the man in the blue suit caught it full in the face. He staggered back, coughing violently, grabbing at his burning eyes.

Nick seized the moment and hurled himself forward past Hailey, then lowered his good shoulder and hit the man straight in the chest. The man teetered backward, his shoes sliding against the slanted tiles, and then he was right at the edge of the roof—but somehow caught his balance. One hand still covered his eyes, but the other hand was now reaching into his jacket, and Nick saw the grip of a handgun.

But Nick was on autopilot, now. He reached into his own belt and his fingers touched cold ivory. In one motion, he yanked the retractable walking stick from Adrian’s display case free, whipped it open with a flick of his wrist—and then swung at the delicate man with all his strength. The stick hit the man full force in the jaw, sending him toppling backward—and then he was over the edge of the roof, plunging downward. Inertia almost sent Nick after him—but Hailey grabbed the back of his shirt, catching him before he, too, went over the edge.

Nick peered down. Where the man had gone over, the drop was sheer brick for at least fifteen feet, ending in another slanted roof, and then a longer drop to the stone steps below. Nick could see dark marks on the lower roof that was almost certainly blood, but no body. It was still too dark to see all the way down, but as far as Nick could tell, the man had hit the first ledge and probably rolled off and gone the rest of the way.

“Is he?” Hailey started, but she didn’t seem to want to finish the thought.

Nick shrugged. He didn’t know if a man could survive such a fall, but if there was a body down there, it was only a matter of time before one of the patrolling state troopers noticed it. Which meant he and Hailey had to hurry if they were going to finish what they’d come for.