Burt's pratfall gave them enough of a lead to make it to the ground floor. 
They ran straight across the lobby and into the street. It was the wee hours of 
the morning, and there was almost no one out here, which was slightly unusual; 
normally there would have been decoys and lookouts for drug sellers. But 
tonight there was only one person on the whole block: a bulky Chinese man with 
a short beard and close-cropped hair, wearing traditional indigo pajamas and a 
black leather skullcap, standing in the middle of the street with his hands 
stuck in his sleeves. He gave Nell and Harv an appraising look as they ran 
past. Nell did not pay him much attention. She just ran as fast as she 
could.