Decker's eardrums had burst from the sheer sound blast and hot congealed blood oozed out of his ears. He sat up slowly from the doorway of the apartment, choking on the smoke. He watched totally disorientated as the bright-oxygenated blood dripped from his nose covering the carpet in several dark circular spots in between his legs. Young, face bright red, had rose shakily to his feet and leaned over checking the foyer floor. The MJ12 troopers were in a pile at the bottom of the narrow stairs that lead upstairs to the second floor, scrambling for their weapons. Young seized the opportunity and fired wildly at the heap of moving bodies.

Suddenly the second floor landing was pelted and peppered from underneath with bullets that bit and splintered through the thin floor. Three Majestic Twelve commandos stood next to the smoking crater left in the tiled floor by the explosive Man In Black firing upwards from their gauntlet mounted machine guns. Part of the balcony was disintegrated with the ferocity of the firepower.

Erin scrambled past Decker to aid Young, who was curled in a ball on the landing, hands over his ears protecting himself from the loud fiery chattering of the guns. She was screaming with anger, firing down at the approaching group of MJ12 troops who had managed to creep up to the brink of the second floor stairs. Decker still sitting in shock looked at his bloodied hands shaking rapidly. He heard a mumble and looked up, Erin was screaming and beckoning Decker with her hand, face red and mouth snarling. Decker picked himself up and staggered over. Young was back on his feet shooting at the MJ12 troopers, who were retreating back down the stairs awaiting the heavily armoured MJ12 commandos arrival. Young ran down the landing and started to run up to the third floor. Decker did not follow he fiddled with his bag and pulled out a LAM, he activated it and hid it on the small wooden skirting board next to their door. Young ran back and pulled him away and they both went up a level. The other tenants were scattering back into their rooms, slamming and locking the doors tight, hysterically shrieking.

"IT'S CLEAR! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" the commandos shouted as they reached the second floor landing. "Proceed to the third floor." They instructed. A searing flash followed by a rippling boom shook the second floor rooms as the LAM was triggered. The door of room twenty-eight disintegrated firing out a lethal ball of splintering shards of shrapnel, a small ball of flame and smoke scorched the surroundings. The blast wave threw the oncoming MJ12 troops backwards and some were catapulted sideways through the posted balcony rail scattering their burnt carcasses across the lower floor. The shaking explosion overpowered the screams of the troopers. Young, Decker, and Erin ran up the tight cornering stairs and then across the upper floor.

Young stopped, stopping the other two as the third floor landing ended with an abrupt stop and was replaced by a elevator door. Young kicked in the door of the closest room, it was empty. They wedged the door with the portable television cabinet and entered the small bathroom. Young shot out the window, Decker and Erin looked at him. "GO!" Young screamed. Erin looked with fear and Decker with bewilderment.

"Climb out of a third storey window! You fucking mad?" Erin said.

"D'ya wanna get shot? Get out the window!" Young said seriously.

Decker looked out of the broken window, down the five-storey drop, below was the back alleyway with the hotel dumpster directly underneath. Decker's legs shook intensely; he felt all the blood drain from his face and his brain kept reminding him about the rule of acceleration. Nine point eight, one, two, seven, four metres per second, the speed that Decker would accelerate to the floor. He kicked out the remaining glass from the frame and clambered out the window trying to find the top of the third floor window as a foothold.

He clambered down each floor stopping every time a sudden breeze whistled passed. His hands were getting sweaty and slippery and the strength was leaving his arms. Before his knew it the rules of acceleration were put into action. His breath left his body as he fell, landing backside first, crumpling into the overflowing garbage bags and cardboard boxes. It was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his back, which was dotted with blood from the shards of broken bottle. Young cursed as he picked out his semi conscious body and flopped him over the edge of the bin; there was no time for sympathy. With one arm over Young's shoulder they hobbled down the alleyway and out onto the street.