[11: I get away Quickly without Harm, and Quietly without drawing attention]

This isn't the first time this has happened to Lucien. Well, not [i]specifically[/i] this. But if you shimmy up enough pipes, eventually one's going to detach from the fifth floor while you're along for the ride. The trick, he repeats now, is to let yourself fall and catch yourself. 

Simple physics. You're climbing up, you hold the chain above you and you grip it below you between shin and calf. You flip - your hands are reaching over you. If you hold the chain loosely with your hands and let go with your legs, then your bottom half falls faster than your top half. You flip, and catch the chain with your legs again. 

Well. Not exactly the same way. This time he loops it so it coils over his right thigh, catching it with his ankle so he slides down like a zipper. Last time he did this was a long red silk curtain, which had much less of a problem with friction, but that would be more of an issue if he needed to apply more brakes. Right now he's trying to outpace a falling elevator and only slow himself just enough not to break both his legs when he lands. 

Now, was the burlesque kick with the other leg strictly necessary? For practical purposes it means he's converted some of his downward motion into horizontal, so he can swing for a landing. The other part of it is muscle memory. [i]Where, exactly, do you think one learns to do flips on long poles and twirl down curtains? [/i]

Lucien gets to comparative safety, and he does it [i]fabulously[/i].

When the elevator hits the bottom-top, Lucien bows for the crash of the cymbals. 

What fresh hell awaits him now, then? His heart's pounding, and damned if he can't stop smiling. 

What a day!