Eddie barged through the door to the Sky Jump’s reception area before Harhund could take another shot at his back. Outside the tower itself was another attraction, the vertiginous Sky Walk circling the entire floor. If he reached it, he might be able to loop round and find another way in, or at the very least evade his pursuer until the authorities arrived.

Another glass door separated reception from the chamber leading to the exterior platform. He hurried to it—

It didn’t open.

The exit was locked. A warning sign explained why; it was effectively an airlock, preventing the high winds at almost two hundred metres up from gusting into the tower. Before one door could be opened, the other had to be shut – and the entrance door was still swinging closed behind him.

Harhund raced towards it. A nasty smile as he saw his quarry was trapped—

The inner door clunked shut – and Eddie threw open the exit.

Harhund shoved at the entrance, but it remained closed. A snarl as he realised what had happened, then he stepped back and aimed his gun at the glass wall.

Wind blasted Eddie as he entered the next room. A large piece of machinery occupied it: the descender rig and winch for the Sky Jump itself. Cables ran out above the open exit, in turn leading to pulleys over the end of the launch platform. The woman about to take the jump was still standing fearfully at the edge, two attendants trying to convince her to step off—

Harhund fired. Glass exploded, showering the room with glinting debris. He jumped through.

Eddie sprinted into the open, already knowing that his plan to escape on the Sky Walk was doomed. If he ran along it without a safety line, the constantly shifting wind would knock him to his death. But if he went any slower than a sprint, Harhund would shoot him.

There was only one other way: the Sky Jump itself.

He ran towards the jumper. If he held on to her, he could ride the descender rig to ground level—

An attendant saw him coming and shouted to her companion. He spun, seeing the man charging at him and flinching in surprise – catching the hesitant woman with his elbow.

She toppled over the edge with a scream. Eddie had nowhere to go—

Except after her.

He leapt over the platform’s lip. Another bullet seared above his head as he plunged.

One death escaped, but now he faced another.

The wind tore at his face, forcing him to squint, but he couldn’t close his eyes. He had only one chance of survival, and his timing had to be perfect. If he missed it, he would be dead in six seconds.

He saw a flailing blue-and-yellow shape sixty feet below. The woman, still in free fall . . .

She suddenly grew larger.