The roof above him gave out. The tall spire fell forward, tumbling past the demolished windows, pulling apart joists and beams. The off-kilter weight of it started a chain reaction that pulled at the weakened walls. Stones crumbled into the void. Ornate moldings broke free and disappeared into the chasm below.
Adrian was still searching frantically for Nova when the sill he was perched on tipped, and he was falling.
Please oh please let her not be doing something reckless right now, he thought, watching the fast approach of the cathedral rooftop and trying to determine a safe place to jump to. He adjusted his hold on the unconscious villain, muttering to no one in particular, “Hold on…”
They crashed into the roof and it caved from the force. Chunks from the tower hailed around them, beating against Adrian’s suit, and he did his best to shield Cyanide from the deluge.
He tried to twist his body to get his legs beneath them so he could use the springs to absorb the shock of the fall, but there wasn’t time. They crashed onto a stone floor inside the cathedral, landing with a jolt that ricocheted through his body. The rest of the falling tower tore through the weakened roof, smashing into the church’s northern wall. It exploded outward, scattering across the wasteland. The remaining bells landed with such force they cratered the floor and fractured stones.
Adrian lay amid the rubble, every inch of him aching.
“Nova,” he groaned. He checked to make sure Cyanide was okay, before stumbling to his feet. He could barely see for the cloud of dust surrounding him. “Nova!”
“I’m … fine,” came a weak reply. Heart soaring, Adrian stampeded through the debris in the direction of her voice.
He was a few feet away when a bell that had landed upside down rolled off the broken stone wall it had crashed into, striking the floor with a clang.
“Ow,” Nova groaned.
Adrian froze. He stooped to look closer, and there she was. Her body tucked inside the bronze bell, her arms and legs braced against its curved sides.
“Nova,” he whispered, sweeping forward and helping her climb free. He pulled her against his chest, though the embrace wasn’t quite the same now that he was wearing his armor.
“Your suit gave me the idea,” she said, her voice muffled against his breastplate.
“Genius,” he replied. “Are you hurt?” After a moment’s consideration, he amended, “Badly hurt?”
Nova groaned, but followed it with, “Not really. Leroy?”
“He’s alive. We should find a place to put him before the whole place caves in.”
Nova pulled away and shook some of the debris out of her hood, while Adrian scoured the dust from his helmet’s visor. They scanned the wreckage. The collapsing bell tower had torn a hole through this part of the cathedral, demolishing nearly the entire northeastern corner.
Adrian’s body stayed tense, waiting for the next catastrophe to strike. But there was only the ongoing trickle of dust and clattering debris.
“We can put Leroy inside one of the bells,” suggested Nova. “I think he’ll fit, and it will be as safe a place as any.”
Cyanide did fit inside the bell, though he would probably have a terrible crick in his neck when he came to.
“So,” said Adrian, watching as Nova grabbed a few vials off Cyanide’s bandolier and shoved them into a pouch on her belt. “How do we stop Ace?”
A frown flitted over her face. It took him a second to remember that she couldn’t see his face behind the visor. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet, retracting the face shield. “Sorry.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure Ace can be stopped, not while he has the helmet. Unless we can find a way to neutralize him.”
“Is there any more Agent N?”
She considered this. “Do you still have my pen? I have one blow dart with Agent N in the chamber.”
“Yes, I have it. If we can get you to the roof, do you think you can get close enough to use it?”
“Maybe,” said Nova, “but if he figures out what we’re trying to do … he’ll snap that dart like a twig.”
“If anyone can do this, it’s you.”
She shot him a wry look.
“What about Oscar and Danna?” he asked. “Where are they?”
“They were locked up in the treasury when this all started. Come on.” She led him up a short set of steps and down a curved corridor, through a chapel that was only slightly less dreary than the