Secrets Collide (Bluegrass Brothers)

his suit coat and fired a shot down the stairwell before sprinting through the door and into the late afternoon sunlight.
    His eyes adjusted quickly as he ran across the graveled rooftop. The crack of a gunshot made him duck his head and dive behind the air conditioning unit before returning fire. He looked around the rooftop and saw the tall buildings of downtown L.A. surrounding him on all sides but one. There was his escape—the shorter bank building across the alley from the business center. He had to make the jump.
    He stuck his arm around the side of the air conditioner and fired blindly before shoving the gun back into his holster and sprinting toward the edge of the building. He breathed in deep through his nose to control his heart rate and the adrenaline surging through his body.
    He slid to a stop as he looked over the edge of the building. Cy was twenty-six floors up and it looked as if the bank building was two or three stories below. What worried him was the distance across. Below him, cars were so small and people looked like ants. Having heard the gunfire, people were standing at the far end of the street with their heads leaning back. He couldn’t worry about them. He looked across the wide alley and took another deep breath. It was now or never.
    He turned around, jogged back a good way, and then turned back toward the edge of the building. He pushed off in a full sprint. His arms sliced through the air as they pumped, urging his body to go faster and faster. If he didn’t have enough speed, he wouldn’t make it over the alley.
    He kept his eyes on the building behind the one he intended to land on in order to gauge where he needed to aim his jump, since he wouldn’t be able to see the shorter building until he hit the edge. He stretched his stride and released the adrenaline he had been trying to control. The extra burst prevented him from hesitating when his foot landed on the lip of the building.
    Cy reached for the sky and then swung his arms downward as he leapt off the building without a second thought. It was if he were in slow motion. He felt his feet leave the solid rooftop below him as he soared into the air. It was both somehow freeing and oppressive at the same time, as the adrenaline pounded through his body.
    By bringing his knees up and propelling his arms, Cy was able to keep the momentum going a little longer. He didn’t chance a look down, knowing it would throw him off balance. Instead he kept his eyes on his landing spot. His body pushed through the hot summer air as he angled through the sky. He felt his body starting to lose momentum just as he cleared the building from above and knew the first part was over. He had made the distance and now he needed to land without breaking anything.
    Cy raised his arms above his head as he fell the rest of the way through the air. Exhaling as his feet connected with a solid surface once again, he bent his knees and dipped his left shoulder, causing the momentum from the jump to be shifted forward. He felt the rooftop connect with his shoulder as he rolled over and leapt back up onto his feet. Looking down he dusted off the dirt from his navy blue suit and smiled. He had done it.
    “Cut,” the voice boomed over the bullhorn. Cy walked over the thick blue foam pads he had just landed on and peered over the edge of the building at the director. “Great job, Cy. Now get down here.”
    “As you wish, boss,“ Cy yelled through cupped hands.
    “Don’t do it, Cy,” Jarrod warned.
    “What are you going to do, fire me?” Cy laughed at the head stunt coordinator in charge of the safety of all the stunts.
    “You’re crazy, you know that?” Jarrod complained, knowing today was the last day of shooting for the movie.
    “Aren’t we all?” Cy asked with a grin as he fell backward with his arms outstretched off the building.
    Cy hit the large rectangular inflatable sitting between the building just four seconds later. The air whooshed out at his impact and he laughed as crewmen started deflating the safety measure.
    “You son of a bitch, you scared me half to death,” his director shouted as he offered his hand to Cy. Cy grabbed his boss’s hand and pulled himself free of the inflatable.
    “I had to get my retirement party started,” Cy laughed as he patted Douglas’s back. “What better way? I would've hated to waste that jump.”
    “Are you sure you want to retire?” Doug asked. “I have a great end-of-the-world movie that