Ethan Hawthorne grew agitated, his voice rising. Coupled with an animal's naturally sharp hearing, the macaque perched on the safety railing twisted its head to stare at them, its two tawny eyes filled with wariness.
As their eyes met the macaque's, everyone felt their scalps prickle, their nerves stretched taut.
The macaque suddenly bared its teeth in a snarl and held up the small infant in its arms.
Seeing this, the new parents downstairs burst into desperate sobs.
"Didn't you say the animal consultant was already up there? Why is it still holding my baby up like that! Is it going to throw my baby down?"
"Are you people going to save my child or not?"
"I understand how you feel..." Kyle Morgan, who didn't know the specifics of the situation, was also sweating bullets as he steeled himself and tried to comfort them.
On the ninth-floor rooftop, cold wind howled past. The baby's cries came in fits and starts.
