As soon as they steeped through the revolving doors and into the apartment, the battle began. Men on both sides took cover behind desks and tables that were scattered throughout the lobby. Men stuck their hands up for a second to fire a shot before they pulled them down.

When the spray of bullets stopped coming for a minute, the police men got up and ran forward. Clay's men shot at the charging police men. One officer was hit in the leg. He fell to the floor.

Alex saw blood squirt out of one of Clay's men's head. The body fell to the floor and lay still.

Clay's men got up and ran down the hallways and up a staircase. An officer shot the last one to get into the staircase dead.

The police opened the door a little bit and bullets pounded it.

"Alex, I think you should stay out of this," said one officer.

"No sir, I'm going in with you," was Alex's reply.

"Men, we have always tried to protect the people of this city. Now is the chance that he must do that. Let us get this guy and go home," said the officer. The other officers cheered.

One officer opened the door and shot one man off the staircase, sending him over the ledge and falling onto the floor.

One officer was shot and he lay on the floor. Alex wanted to grab a gun a blast a round into every one of those men.

Some more of Clay's men were killed, and one other officer was killed in the crossfire.

Clay's men retreated further up the stair case. One lone officer killed every one of them.

"We need to go to the top floor," said Alex.

"Alright, let's go."

Alex and the seven police men ran up the stairs and opened the door at the top floor.

More guards came to the door and shot the police officer who opened the door. Six left.

The police officers opened the door and shot two of the guards who had come down the hall. Another officer was shot. Five left.

Alex and the five officers ran down the hall and found Clay in one of his rooms watching a football game on a massive plasma screen TV. He was shocked when he saw Alex and the officers.

"So, Alex Rider, you could have lived a few more precious hours, but you force me to kill you and your police friends right now," said Clay.

The biggest gun Alex had ever seen came out of a drawer. Clay picked it up. The barrel began to spin.

"Down!" Alex screamed.

Three officers and Alex were able to get below the table in time. The gun spat out bullet after bullet at a terrifying speed. A chain gun. The other two officers were hit by what must have been hundreds on bullets.

Alex and the other three police officers made their way across the floor. Clay saw them but didn't mind. He dropped his gun and ran out a door and onto a helicopter pad.

"He's got away!" screamed one police officer.

"Not yet," said Alex. He ran to the door and went onto the helipad.

The helicopter was lifting off. Alex sprinted toward it. Right before it was about to go away from the building, Alex leaped and grabbed onto the landing gear. Alex hung below the helicopter and held on for his life.

MEANWHILE

Daniel Amarken awoke with a head ache. He looked around. The ground was covered in blood, his own blood. He was surprised he wasn't dead. He wasn't on the ground; he was on a roof.

Amarken looked up and saw that he had only fallen thirty feet out of the window. He was hurt, but it wasn't bad. He pulled out a walki-talkie.

"Mr. Clay, this is Amarken," he said.

Clay got on his radio. "Your alive! We thought that the Rider boy had killed you."

Amarken stared at the blood covered cement. "Not quite."

"I'm in the chopper, I'll come pick you up," said Clay.

Daniel Amarken looked up and saw a helicopter approaching. He also saw Alex Rider dangling from the landing gear.

Amarken got into the helicopter. "We have a bit of a problem out there," he said.

"What?"

"It's Rider."

"Then go get him!" shouted Clay.

"Yes sir," said Amarken.

Alex continued to hang from the helicopters landing gear. He prayed that Amarken hadn't seen him. He was very disappointed.

A man that he identified as Daniel Amarken climbed out of the helicopter and stepped onto the landing gear. He was clinging onto the side of the helicopter. His hair was blown flat against his face from the wind.

"Looks like your second maneuver failed as well!" Amarken shouted against the sound of the spinning rotors.

"Too bad it didn't!" shouted Alex.

Amarken smiled. "It's a long way down, and this time, there won't be a man with a mattress to save you."

"And there won't be a roof jutting out of the sky to save you!" shouted Alex.

Amarken made his move then. He dropped down to the landing gear and started to swing himself back and forth. Amarken let go of the landing gear and propelled toward Alex's head feet first.

Alex moved his head and Amarken grabbed onto Alex landing gear.

Alex shimmied toward the front of the helicopter. He looked behind him and saw Amarken shortly behind him. He had a knife clenched in his teeth.

Alex went closer to Amarken and kicked him in the leg. Amarken hardly felt it. He fought back with a kick up to Alex's face. Alex almost let go.

Alex moved away from Amarken, closer to the front of the helicopter. Amarken was moving faster than Alex. He would catch up soon.

Alex just got to the front of the helicopter before Amarken could. He climbed up onto the roof. Clay didn't notice him.

Alex rested for moment on the roof of the helicopter. He had to stay very low. He was inches from the spinning rotors.

A hand appeared on the edged of the helicopter. Amarken climbed up onto the roof. He grasped the knife in his hand.

"This is the end of you Alex Rider!" Amarken shouted.

Alex believed him. He didn't know how he would get out of this.

Amarken lunged with the knife. Alex kicked out at the knife. Amarken cut his ankle. Alex cried out in pain.

"Now, to finish you!" Amarken shouted. Amarken hovered over Alex with the knife. Alex rolled against the rotating pole of the rotors.

Amarken screamed. He threw the knife at Alex. It missed and went right into the rotors. A shower of metal descended onto the roof of the helicopters.

Amarken punched Alex right in the nose. His hand was bloody when he pulled away.

Motivated by anger, Alex charged at Amarken. He gave Amarken a full punch right in the cheek.

Amarken's faced turned red. He pulled out a gun from his belt.

"Now Alex Rider, you will die!" he shouted. Amarken fired the gun, but Alex rolled into Amarken's legs, knocking him down. The gun was picked up by Alex.

Alex pointed the gun at Amarken.

"Please don't kill me," pleaded Amarken.

Alex had one more maneuver. "I won't kill you," said Alex calmly. "Here's your gun back."

Alex threw the gun up. Amarken jumped up. He saw the gun go up, and then down, but he kept going up, up into the rotors.

Alex covered his face. He heard a high pitched scream, and then a grinding noise. Some liquid splashed onto his hand. He opened uncovered his face.

Daniel Amarken had jumped right into the rudder and had his head sawed in two. Blood covered the helicopter roof. Amarken's half-headed corpse fell off the roof, and fell onto the streets of Boston.