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Solo pulls open a file drawer. “Either of you ever do any mountain climbing?” He has a big coil of rope in his hands.
“I have,” Aislin says.
I blink at her, sure it’s a joke. But she’s taken a length of webbing and some metal rings from Solo. She weaves the webbing through her crotch, pulls out one loop of the webbing, and clips on the ring.
“What?” she says, in response to our shared amazement. “It’s not all parties. My dad’s taken me top-roping at Tahoe a few times.”
We move out onto the balcony. The Spiker building glitters beneath us, spreading off to our right, a massive ornament of light perched above black water and invisible rocks. Solo ties the rope to the balcony railing and tosses the coil over the side.
He’s chosen his location perfectly. It’s one of the view spots in the complex where there’s a clear drop without ter
races in the way.
The coiled rope falls into darkness. Has it reached the ground? No way to know. I can only hope Solo has planned well.
“Okay, Aislin, you go first,” Solo says. He helps her climb over the railing. “The figure eight may get twisted, so be careful.”
To my amazement, Aislin understands what he’s talking about.
She checks the rope and the carabiner like a pro and winks at me. I lean over to watch her fall, holding my breath. I’m not a big fan of heights.
She’s sort of bouncing down the side of the building, feet hitting balcony rails and plate glass, pushing off, dropping another few feet.
She disappears from sight.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
Solo points to the knot. “The rope is slack. She’s down, she’s unhooked, and she’s fine. Your turn.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” I say. Now that I’m faced with actually climbing over the railing, leaning back with nothing but a rope, I’m having serious doubts about this plan.
“Listen, you just need to—”
“I’m not a wimp,” I interrupt. “I could kick your ass in a 10K, no sweat.”
“I have no doubt of that.”
“But I don’t, you know, like high places. Falling from them, anyway.”
“I’ll carry you down,” Solo says.
“Not happening.”
“We are short on time, Eve. Tommy is on the hunt. Like I said, he’s not stupid. And if it hasn’t happened already, your mother will have security all over this. We have seconds.” He scrunches down a little so he can look me in the eye. “Don’t worry. I won’t drop you.”
“I could beat you in a 5K, too,” I add.
“Climb over the rail.”
I do it, fast, before I lose my nerve. The wind is cold and strong. I’m extremely aware that if my feet slip I’ll have a few seconds to scream before I hit the bottom.
I may be genetically modified, but I doubt my physical repair ability extends to recovering from death.
Solo swings easily over the railing. He loops the rope through his harness. He leans back, confident.
“Climb on,” he says.
“How?”
