Page 132 of 36 Hours

‘Stop,’ Kim called out. Stacey was now at her shoulder. If they came any closer, they’d be adding more weight to the already compromised beam. ‘You’re about a foot away from the rope, Bryant.’

‘Got it,’ he called back down.

‘Shout once you have hold of it,’ Kim said, moving towards the front door. There was nothing more they could do to guide him. She motioned for Stacey to follow her.

‘You get ready to push the door open, and I’ll run in and move her out of the way, okay?’ she instructed. Even if Bryant and Penn could grab the rope and keep hold of the anvil, they wouldn’t be able to do it for long.

‘Got it, boss,’ Stacey said, standing right by the door.

They remained silent, listening for clues from the noises they could hear on the roof. Neither of them dared speak in case they missed the call.

Kim heard what she thought was the sound of a tile being dislodged.

‘Move the one to the right,’ Penn said.

Another tile moved.

‘I see the rope,’ Bryant said. ‘Penn, move forward a foot and reach down.’

‘Got it,’ they heard.

‘You two ready?’ Bryant called down.

‘Yep,’ Kim called back.

‘Now,’ he cried.

Stacey pushed the door open so forcefully it flew backwards.

Kim charged across the space, avoiding all the obstacles, and reached Nazeera in seconds. She didn’t even look at her before assessing the situation.

‘H…hurry,’ Bryant called from above.

Kim darted behind Nazeera and quickly loosened the rope. She didn’t have time to untie the whole thing. Just a tiny bit of movement was all she needed.

She ran around to Nazeera’s front and took hold of her bound feet.

‘Guv, hurry,’ Bryant called down breathlessly.

Kim used Nazeera’s feet to swivel her ninety degrees around the pillar to take her out of harm’s way.

‘Guv…we can’t…hold…’

Kim arched her body over Nazeera’s as the anvil crashed to the ground. Nazeera cried out through the gag. Dust from the floor covered her back and hair.

‘Guv?’ Bryant called down urgently.

‘We’re all good,’ she cried back as Stacey appeared through the plume of dust.

‘Untie her properly,’ Kim said, reaching down to remove the gag from Nazeera’s mouth. The surgeon’s gaze was still locked in horror on the anvil.

‘Are you okay?’ Kim asked, kneeling in front of her.

Nazeera began to nod slowly.

‘Are you hurt?’

Nazeera hesitated as though mentally checking herself over. She shook her head.