Everyone in the apartment filtered into the hall and walked quickly but carefully to the stairs. We weren’t the only ones evacuating, and the chaos made visibility difficult. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. People gave us a relatively wide berth when they saw we were armed, minimizing the immediate crowding.
We proceeded around in circles down ten flights of stairs before reaching the ground level, where everything would get more complicated. I paused at the stairwell exit and scanned the landing. Not spotting anyone loitering with guns, I led our group away from the crowd and to the small coffee shop in the lobby. The place had its own separate back exit leading to the side alley where it received deliveries and had dumpster access. All we had to do was go through the shop to wher
