Sam Fisher- Elevator Shaft Leaps

  "You next move is a leap, Sam," Grimsdottir said. "Straight across the shaft to the other ledge."

  It was an eight-foot jump onto a ten-inch ledge. He was good, but not that good. He glanced down the shaft; it was a bottomless pit.

  "I'll be hanging by my fingernails, Grim," he said. "How long?"

  "Twenty-two seconds. After that, climb back onto the ledge, slip around the stanchion, and hang again. The cameras will pan right over your head. At my next mark, you'll stand up and reach above your head. There'll be a maintenance ladder. Climb five rungs, then freeze."

  "Got it," he said.
...

  "Ready," Grimsdottir radioed. "Hold . . . hold . . . Go!"

  He jumped. He hung in midair for what seemed seconds with a thousand feet of nothingness yawning beneath him. His hands slapped the ledge. He clamped down and lifted his knees to minimize his swing, which lasted only a few seconds. He let his legs dangle.

  "Almost there," Grimsdottir said. "Camera's coming around. . . . Okay, go."

  Fisher chinned himself up, then hooked his heel on the ledge and levered his body up. Then, using his right hand, he grabbed the stanchion and pulled until he could twist himself into a sitting position. He slid up the wall to a standing position.

  "In place," he called.

  "Next move in four seconds. Three . . . two . . . Go."

  Fisher turned to face the stanchion, grabbed it with both hands, and leaned out, letting his own body weight and momentum swing him to the other side. He backed up until he felt his heels slip over the edge, then took a breath and stepped backward into space. He dropped straight down. As the ledge swept past his face, he snagged it with both hands.

  "Seventeen seconds," Grimsdottir reported. "Hang in there."

  Fisher thought, Very funny.

  "Sorry, poor choice of words," she said. "Okay, up the ladder and you're home free. Go in five . . . four . . . three . . ."

  Fisher was tensing his arms and shoulders for the movement when alarms began blaring.

  "Go, Sam, move!"

  He chinned himself up onto the ledge, snagged the rung above his head, and started climbing.

- Checkmate, Chapter 20