The Yorkshireman slid quietly to the edge. A shot to the back was hardly sporting, but survival trumped honour – and Wintz wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to him.

The mercenary passed him. Eddie swung his legs over the edge, finding a narrow foothold on a shelf and easing himself out—

His boot slipped.

He clawed at the shelving’s metal top, but found no purchase – and fell.

He made a hard and painful landing, toppling backwards. Wintz spun at the unexpected noise, his weapon aimed at chest height before he realised his target was sprawled on the floor.

The gun came down at Eddie’s head.

Chapter 21

21

Triumph filled Wintz’s face as his finger tightened on the trigger—

A shot – but much louder than a handgun.

A bloody fist-sized hole exploded in Wintz’s torso, white books nearby suddenly splattered with red. Mouth gaping, he fell against the racks. Nina stood behind him, smoke curling from the M16’s barrel.

A moment of horror at what she had just done, then she dropped the empty rifle and hurried to her husband. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah,’ he said as he got up. ‘He didn’t shoot me – I just fell on my arse. Fuck’s sake. Can’t believe I ballsed up the landing!’

‘You’re fifty, not twenty,’ she reminded him, before adding with a faint smile: ‘You’re lucky you didn’t break your hip!’

‘Ha fucking ha. Let’s find that bloody lift.’

They hurried into the main corridor. The sound of alarms followed as they ran. ‘How much gas does she have?’ Eddie asked in disbelief.

‘Enough to preserve herself and anyone else with her for as long as it took,’ Nina replied. The corridor’s end came into view, a large red-painted door in its wall. ‘Think that’s the way out?’

‘Either that or the world’s most inconveniently placed toilet.’

‘You know, Eleanor was right. You really are a teenage boy at heart—’

She broke off at an echoing shout from behind. It was Eleanor herself, but her cry was not one of anger or threat – it was a desperate plea for help. The matriarch rolled at full speed after them, wheelchair twitching and juddering as she fought to keep it under control.

‘What the hell’s she still doing here?’ said Eddie.

‘I think Donny’s speeding up his inheritance,’ Nina realised. ‘He must have taken the elevator up without her.’

‘Stop, stop!’ Eleanor wailed, frantically waving at them. ‘Please help me! I—’

Her other hand twitched on the joystick as her weight shifted – and the wheelchair veered sharply. The turn threw her against the armrest. The chair tipped, rocking on two wheels . . . then overturned, pitching the old woman onto the concrete. She shrieked in pain—

Then in terror. Gas roiled from a vent not far behind her. ‘Help! Help me! Please!’