Free Wanted: A Leopold Blake Thriller by Nick Stephenson Page A

moved fast, kicking the shorter man in the stomach and wrenching the baton from his hand. The guard sailed backward into one of his companions, sending them both tumbling to the ground. The remaining officer froze, clearly unsure of how to react without his partners backing him up. Without waiting for an invitation, Jerome stepped forward and landed a roundhouse punch to the guard’s jaw, knocking him down with an unceremonious grunt.
    “Move, now!” said Jerome, stepping over the pile of incapacitated police officers.
    “Quick, this way.” Sophie waved them forward, holding the door open.
    “We’ve got less than thirty seconds before they figure out what’s happened and sound the alarm. You get the keys?”
    Leopold nodded, unhooking a keychain from one of the guard’s belts. “We’d better hope one of these works.”
    “No time for second thoughts now,” said Jerome, stepping through into the corridor. “Twenty-five seconds. Keep up.”
    The trio bounded down the hallway toward the door at the end and Leopold fumbled at the handle. Locked. He fished out the key ring and stared blankly at the dozen metal keys before giving up and selecting one at random.
    “Fifteen seconds,” said Jerome.
    “Okay, okay, I get it. Just let me try this one.” The key didn’t even fit in the hole. He tried another. “No good. Hang on.”
    “Ten seconds.”
    “Thanks for the reminder.” He rattled a third key without success. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
    “Five.”
    “Hang on…”
    “Four.”
    “This one’s going to work…”
    “Three, two…”
    “Okay, maybe the next –”
    “One.”
    “Oh mon Dieu , just give them to me,” said Sophie. She slipped one of the keys into the lock and twisted. The door opened with a satisfying clunk . “After you, gentlemen.”
    “That was the one I was going for next,” muttered Leopold. As he stepped through, the piercing sound of alarm bells filled the corridor.
    “Looks like the security boys have finally caught up,” said Jerome, breaking into a jog. “Follow me.”
    The bodyguard led them down the hallway, toward the exit doors at the far end. “The doors out to the street will be sealed by now,” he said. “If we can make it to the roof, there’s a chance we can find a way onto the next building. Or maybe a fire escape.”
    “What did he just say?” asked Sophie, quickening her pace. “The roof?”
    “If you’ve got any better ideas, now’s the time.” Jerome reached the exit and burst through without breaking his stride.
    Two police officers rounded the corner ahead and barreled towards them, batons raised. Jerome lowered his shoulders, just as the officer in front drew back his weapon. Grabbing the man’s forearm, he pivoted and threw the policeman over his shoulder, thrusting out his elbow and catching the other officer in the temple, toppling him to the ground. He snatched both officers’ radios and tossed them into a garbage can.
    “Are you done showing off?” said Leopold. “We need to get to the roof before this whole place is swarming.”
    “How do you know where we’re going?” asked Sophie. “What are we looking for?”
    “It’s a combination of brains and luck,” said Leopold. “And the fact that the stairwell is clearly marked probably helps, too.” He pointed to a sign at the end of the hallway. “Keep moving.”
    The next door opened out into a junction, connecting several corridors into a central T-junction. Glancing around, Leopold spotted the stairs that led up to the roof. A metal bar across the front instead of a handle was marked Pousser Pour Ouvrir .
    “Wait,” said Jerome. “If the door’s alarmed, they’ll know where we’re headed.”
    “We don’t have a choice,” said Leopold. “If we spend any more time looking for another way up, they’ll overwhelm us.”
    “I don’t think that’s going to matter much soon,” said Sophie. “Listen.”
    Leopold heard heavy footsteps approaching from somewhere