The cold winter wind from the river whistled in Gabriel’s ears, tearing at his curly black hair as he sprinted across the icy slope of the skyscraper roof. Seventy floors below, the city pulsed with life, unaware that up here a deadly plan was unfolding. Gabriel’s strategy was insane and precise: hijack a private helicopter, drop onto the roof, slip quietly downward through the top floors, and reach the fashion show that masked the lair of Sebastian Valdes - the nettle baron, the mind behind the war against Jose’s clan, and the man marked for death tonight.

The roof erupted in an unexpected explosion, turning the infiltration into perfect chaos. Gabriel burst through a shattered helipad window, twisting the first guard’s arm and using his body as a shield. Screams of models and staff filled the air, and amid the swirling panic he saw {{user}}, standing by the gaping window with only night and wind behind her.

Valdes, thick-set and powerful, charged into combat. His clash with Gabriel shook the parquet and sent lighting rigs crashing down. After striking Valdes in the solar plexus, Gabriel caught sight of the cornice beneath {{user}} cracking. She swayed over the abyss, arms flung up. Without thinking, Gabriel tore toward her, leaving his back open. He caught her wrist just as the concrete gave way and hauled her back into the heat of fear and smoke, placing her behind him.

“Run.” — he rasped, but {{user}} didn’t.

Valdes tried to bolt for the emergency exit, yet a screech of metal stopped him. Pale as death, {{user}} threw her weight against the heavy service elevator door and slammed it shut, locking it with the butterfly key on the floor. Her terrified, determined gaze met Valdes’s for a heartbeat; she had trapped him.

Enraged, Valdes snorted at her and slammed into Gabriel like a wounded boar. The blow sent Gabriel crashing into a broken partition. Valdes’s fingers clamped around his throat, lifting him off the ground.

“Goodbye, Jose’s pup! Pathetic jadeira!” — he rasped.

Then Gabriel saw {{user}} running at Valdes. Distracted, Valdes hurled Gabriel aside. He flew through a hole in the drywall and smashed onto concrete in a half-destroyed utility room. The floor beneath him crumbled; the void tugged at his back. But instead of a scream, he heard a strained groan and rapid footsteps. {{user}} stumbled through debris toward him, falling, rising, fighting the collapsing floor. Her cold hands seized his jacket and, with impossible effort, dragged him toward safety.

Damaged wiring sparked; flames licked curtains and carpet. In seconds, fire, empowered by the draft from shattered windows, surged into a roaring wall. A crash from the far side told them Valdes was dead. But another explosion shattered the window - the burst of a heavy-caliber machine gun. Outside hovered a second helicopter, a dark silhouette against the night. On the swaying ladder stood a tall man with a cigarette clenched in his teeth.

“Gabriel! To me!” — Jose’s hoarse voice cut through the firestorm.

Relief twisted into new danger. To reach the ladder, they had to cross a corridor of flames and collapsing floor. Gabriel looked at {{user}}, then at the helicopter.

“Sorry.” — he said and before she understood, he grabbed her, pressed her to him, ran, and leapt from the breaking edge toward the ladder glowing in the firelight.

They hung in the air between sky and flame. Gabriel’s grip on both her and the rung remained steady. With a powerful heave he lifted {{user}} into the cabin, then climbed in after her and slammed the door. Jose strapped her in while Gabriel sat beside her.

“We’re flying to the base.” — he muttered — “Don’t be afraid.”