The chopper descended abruptly, then came to a stop and hovered above the tall, narrow building.
“Yeah,” DeSantos said, consulting LOWIS’s console. “Vdara’s the ticket. Directly below us. How’d you know?”
“This is where Villarreal’s condo is,” Clar said. “Fifty-seventh floor, number 5711.”
“That roof,” DeSantos said. “It’s so freaking narrow.”
“I can’t stay this low,” Clar said as he struggled with the control stick. “Too much wind. Can’t risk hitting the antennas down there. I’m taking us up.”
As the Huey rose, Vail looked down at the CityCenter complex and saw a concentration of oddly shaped, stylish buildings, architecturally angled, twisted, and curved, dramatically lit from above and below. Colors and landscape like nothing she had seen before. “Impressive,” she said.
“Actually,” Clar said, “the impressive part is gonna come from you people.”
“Us?” Vail asked.
“There’s no place to set down,” DeSantos’s voice said in her ears.
“Robby’s in that building directly below us. But the roof’s not large enough for us to land on, and there’s no flat ground that can accommodate us, unless we’re far off the property.”
“No, no. There’s no time. Robby’s down there,” Vail said, thrusting a finger toward the floor. “Get us down there.”
“Only way is to drop one of you in,” Clar said. “Onto the roof.”
Vail looked out the window. Robby was somewhere directly below her. “I’ll go.”
“Have you ever rappelled before?” Clar asked.
Vail pulled her eyes from the airscape and looked at the pilot. “Rappelled? Yeah, from a training tower, lots of times. From a moving helicopter? Twice. But it’s been about six or seven years.”
“It’s like riding a bicycle,” Mann said. “Comes right back to you.” He rapped DeSantos on the shoulder with his artificial hand. “I think she should go Aussie.”
Vail pressed her headset against her ear. “Aussie?”
“Head first,” Mann said. He gave her a thumbs-up. “Big freaking rush.”
Dixon grabbed Vail’s shoulder. “You sure you want to do this?”
“I’ll go,” DeSantos said. “I used to be a jump master with SRT. Last time was a couple months ago in the Ukraine.”
Vail looked at him. The Ukraine? Is he serious? But she knew by now not to ask such questions of Hector DeSantos. “No. I’m the team leader. I’m going.” Did I just say that aloud?
Clar peered ahead, at the brilliantly lit landscape. “I can drop the rest of you by rope onto the boulevard, about 100, 150 yards from Vdara’s entrance.”
“Think about this, Karen,” DeSantos said.
I don’t want to think about this, thank you very much.
DeSantos looked down at Vdara. “Rappelling onto a narrow roof isn’t easy. It’d be a first for me, too.”
“I can’t stay here,” Clar said. “Not with this wind. Now or never.”
Vail thought of Jonathan, of Robby. She glanced at LOWIS, which was nestled in DeSantos’s hand. “All right, let’s do it.” She reached forward and snatched the electronic device. “And none of that macho Aussie shit. I’m going down feet first.”
Dixon looked at Vail and their eyes met. Dixon understood that she needed to do this.
Clar tightened his grip on the control stick as another wind gust slapped the chopper. “Behind the seat you’ll find a harness, gloves, and carabiner. Someone help her get that shit on, will you?”
“You got a tactical helmet?” Vail asked.
Dixon located the equipment and held up a black shell. “Affirmative on the helmet.”
“Okay,” Clar said. “There’s a donut in the floor of the Huey.” He kept his eyes ahead while he spoke into his headset mike. “Attach that thick wire to the donut ring. Karen, you’ll step into the harness and clip the carabiner on the front. The rope goes through the carabiner.”
Mann slid open the side door. A rush of air blew into the cabin. “Got it,” DeSantos said as he helped prepare her harness and then rigged the carabiner to the clasp. “You’re going back first, butt first.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Good. I’m still gonna tell you. I don’t want to overlook anything.” He wrapped the rope around to her front. “You’re gonna lower your feet onto the skids outside the chopper. Form an L-shape with your torso—”
“With my ass hanging out the window, I know.”
“Right. And the rope that’s wrapped around you—that’s your brake.”
Vail, still wearing her headset, nodded. With DeSantos guiding her, she moved onto the skids. The downdraft from the rotors rhythmically slapped her back. As she positioned her feet, she caught a glimpse of the buildings and lights below. I’ve got the best view in Las Vegas.
She felt a surge of adrenaline as the wind rippled through her clothing.
“The brake is wrapped around you,” DeSantos said. “When you’re ready, move your right arm out to the side, a couple inches at a time, and that’ll release the brake.”
“Got it. Then I kick off, away from the Huey.”
“Yes, and then you’ll be in freefall. If you do it right, you’ll only brake once, about ten feet before you hit the ground. At about ten feet, pull the rope back toward you, into the top of your ass—the small of your back. That’ll bring you to a stop.”
Vail looked at the rope, at her hand, and then at DeSantos. “Check.” She glanced down again. Robby’s down there. Okay, let’s do it. I’m ready. She nodded.
“Remember, it’ll be a pretty fast descent. “We’re about seventy-five feet above the high-rise now.” He looked her square in the eyes. “You still with me?”
“I’m with you,” she said.
“What are you going to do once you’re down?” DeSantos asked.
“Unclip the carabiner from the rope.”
“Good. Expect some sway from the wind.” He set a hand on her shoulder. “Last chance to back out. No one will think any less of you.”
Vail narrowed her eyes. “Am I the kind of person who backs out of anything?”
DeSantos smiled. “Hell no. But in case all goes to shit, I had to know I tried.” He wiggled his fingers and Vail removed the headset and slipped on the helmet.
The pounding bleat of the rotors was intense without the noise-suppressing effect of the headphones. Vail gave him a thumbs-up. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she could’ve sworn his lips mouthed, “Bombs away.”
He smiled and gave her a playful thump on the top of her helmet. Vail took a deep breath, flexed her gloved hands on the rope, then squatted into an L-shape. The downdraft was strong, slamming against the back of her neck like a persistent drumbeat.
With a gloved hand, Vail pushed down on top of the helmet to seat it, shifted her feet on the skids, then kicked away.
She slid down the rope—feeling the burn in her palms, despite the gloves—then moved her right hand back to slow her fall. But the cable swayed more than she’d thought it would, and she was concentrating on the trajectory of the windblown arc.
She started to brake but not fast enough.
The wind blew her past the edge of the roof, and she missed the building’s edge. Fuck! She yanked her arm behind her and braked, hard, now hanging in midair.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. She was now below the top of the tower, which shielded her from the wind. She swung back hard, and the last thing she saw as she hurtled through the air was the thick, black panes of the Vdara’s penthouse glass windows.
ROBBY KNELT ON THE FLOOR beside Diego Ortega’s body. His friend’s cell phone was open, to the left of his ankle. Robby was reaching out to snag it when suddenly something slammed into the living room window.