This one is seriously the most disturbing death of the entire series. Hands down.

~~ #2 Neil Marshall ~~

My boots skidded on the slippery tile, and I hit the floor. "No!" I yelled furiously. He had dashed around the corner, and as I pushed myself frantically up, I saw him hit the elevator button.

Any other day that elevator would have taken five minutes. Now it opened instantly, and he worked the "close door" button furiously.

I was so close: I made it within inches, but the doors closed and the elevator went up without me. "No!" I screamed, desperately now.

There was a stairwell nearby: I dashed into it and started taking the stairs two at a time. How many floors would Darke go up? I could only guess… there had been no one in the elevator, would he have gotten off on the next floor or gone as high as he could?

There was no time to think. I simply kept leaping up the stairs, my breathing hot and fast.

From behind me I could hear voices: it sounded like the Dynamic Duo, Gant and Skye, telling me to stop. I thought I heard her yell, "…Marshall, wait for us!" I ignored her.

Skidding to a halt on the sixth floor, I looked around the doorway. Nothing. Whirling, I continued up.

My breath started coming short, a spasm spiking into my side. I was slowing. But I couldn't! Darke was getting away!

There was a bright DING from somewhere above: the elevator stopping. I roared in fury, pumping my legs even faster. It had come from the next floor, and my mind was racing in panic as I thrust myself forward, through the doorway and down the hall. There he was! His slim form dipped around a corner.

What floor was I on? I couldn't even tell. Thunder blared outside, alarmingly close, and I swore aloud, praying that the power wouldn't go out just as I was about to catch Darke. The door numbers flashed by, and I realized exactly where I was headed: the end of this hallway was the Vice-Chief's office, the very detective who had been questioning Darke with me!

The door was still open, and I heard a girl scream from inside. I burst into the room, feeling like a fool and a hero all at once as I brandished the King of Prosecutors trophy. Darke's grey eyes met mine, filled with an empty panic, and he fumbled with his knife, clutching the girl by one arm. It was Lana Skye's younger sister.

My momentum was entirely too much, and I tackled him awkwardly at the shoulders, landing with the trophy between us. That was it! The halberd in the trophy! It was still sharp!

I scrambled away momentarily, the girl's cries still ringing around us, groping for the halberd's handle. Darke had managed to engage the switchblade of his knife, but was still curled on the floor, stunned.

Then, with a mighty effort, I flung myself at him again, just as he was rising from the floor. As I grabbed his shoulder and raised the broken-tipped halberd, lightning and thunder struck together in a deafening crash and the power went out. The girl screamed.

The next moment, I felt her little hands hit me, knocking me away from Darke. Something crashed on the floor.

Then the back of my skull hit something hard: a light flashed in front of my eyes and then went out, along with the confusion.

A spear through my back awoke me. I gasped, fruitlessly trying to inhale. Something was wrong. I felt blood seeping from my mouth, and coughed agonizingly, spewing more gore down my chest.

What had happened?

I raised my arms, trying to feel behind me, to remove the source of agony: but it was useless. Flailing for just a moment, I tried to scream and produced a mere splutter of blood. I couldn't reach the floor, I was pinioned, crucified.

Then I looked up. Someone was in front of me, but it was too dark to see.

Lightning flashed again, illuminating calm eyes behind tinted lenses. Gant.

I gasped, one last time, feeling the blood rattle down my throat. "Jake-" I managed to gasp out—then the world faded.