“Because I’ll need Delroinn’s team to find them all. I don’t speak dog, cat, or weasel, so I’ll need your talent to ask them to help. I have explosives training and my suit has good scanners, but if some of those packets are custom, I’ll be out of my depth. If I screw up, we could get hurt. If I really screw up, there won’t be enough of any of us to even make into memory diamonds.”
Jhidelle’s head tilted with a puzzled air. “You could’ve chosen for both of us. I’m just a Kinder.”
“Yeah, but you’re a smart kid, and whatever we choose will be a lot easier if you’re on board.” Taz smiled wryly. “Besides, I’ve always hated being treated like I’m not in the room when important decisions are made about me.”
Jhidelle put her hand on the crate that held most of the animals. “Then I vote Option C. I want to help. Your team wants to help. Shen especially. She worries about you.”
Taz snorted with laughter. “That dog worries about everyone.” She rose to her feet, glad to get off the cold floor. “Let’s release the team, and I’ll tell you what I need.”
GSAR would bust her to first ranker if they ever found out what she was about to do, or that she involved a child to help. But she was more worried about the explosives than her career. Neither Rylando or Jhidelle’s father would make it out in time if Po and Pelvannor got away and started the countdown.
Rylando held his temper on a tight rein. He abhorred violence, except when it came to threats to his animals. Hatya had stopped him from beating to a pulp the sick twist who had hurt Moyo. The stunner could have killed Otak. As it was, the rat seemed as groggy as Rylando. While still bent over, he reached a surreptitious hand into the pouch to give Otak a reassuring stroke.
He supposed it was lucky that the stunner was low power and that the flexin-armor layer of his uniform deflected some of the energy. He’d been stunned before and knew what to expect. The involuntary muscle twitches would subside in about fifteen minutes, and his talent would start to return soon after.
“Call your partner.” The look on Po’s face said he enjoyed seeing others in pain.
Rylando sat back on his heels. He pointed to the earwire and turned his face to the side to show the burn mark seared into his skin. “Can’t. You just fried the earwire.” Speaking tickled his throat and made him cough.
Po snarled and aimed the stunner again.
“Stop,” said Pelvannor. Her tone and expression held a hint of thunder.
Po glanced at her. After a long moment, he made an inarticulate growl and shoved the stunner back under his multi-layered tunic. “Fine. Get the farking shovels out. We’ll dig.”
That turned out to mean that Po sat and held the beamer while Pelvannor, Stramlo, and Rylando did the digging. At least Po took Rylando’s advice and let him use the materials scanner to determine that the wider side would be easier to dig through. Stramlo only gave Rylando his messenger bag to store on the floor of the airsled because Po threatened to shoot him, too.
While at the airsled, Rylando managed to surreptitiously let Otak out of the chest pocket. If Pelvannor noticed the giant rat scuttling into the back, she said nothing.
Unfortunately, digging stirred up more dust, causing them all to cough and sneeze. Every muscle hurt as he cleared debris from around a larger chunk of denscrete, but it helped get his circulation going after the stunner jolt.
Pelvannor’s prodigious strength made her fast and effective, but she paid a price by inhaling more of the dust. A nasty coughing fit caused her to stumble as she levered out a large hunk. It narrowly missed Stramlo’s foot, causing him to drop his shovel and lurch away.
Rylando turned to Po. “We’re using up oxygen. If it drops below twenty percent, none of us will be digging for long. The airsled has oxy meters and filter masks that’ll keep the pulverized denscrete out of our lungs. If the pipe excavator survived, we can use it to drill through the rubble and get some fresh air in here.”
Po drew breath to speak but coughed instead. After recovering, he waved loose fingers. “Fine. Pelvannor, go with him. Don’t let him touch anything. Make him show you what to do.”
Inside the cramped airsled, Rylando pointed to an oval case attached to the bottom back wall. “That’s the excavator. Lock needs my biometrics.”
Pelvannor nodded.
He sank carefully to his bruised knees, then put his palms on the handles and turned them. The door sprang up, revealing the long, rifle-like rock cutter with the pipe printer attached.
“Give it to me,” ordered Pelvannor.
He released it from the holdfasts and did as she asked. “The controls are power, speed, and pipe diameter.” Nodding toward the tank at the bottom, he added, “That’s the substrate. Don’t make the pipe diameter too wide or you won’t have enough to make it to the other side of the cave-in.”
She coughed as she examined the controls. “Show me the masks.”
He closed the case, then shifted his position so he could move the two bins of parts and open the slim cabinet built into the wall of the airsled. “The ones on top are oxy concentrators with a simple eye shield. The middle ones have concentrators and better filters, but cover most of your face, so without earwires, we’ll have to shout.” He pointed his chin to the bottom set. “Those are for the animals.”
A frown flitted across her face as she eyed the masks.
Rylando wished he could read people as well as Taz could. He couldn’t guess what Pelvannor was thinking.
He dropped his head and turned it side to side to crack his neck and ease some of the soreness. A familiar shape in one of the parts bins caught his eye. He slid himself back farther, then pulled the parts bins back, ostensibly so she’d have room.
As she set the cutter down, he pulled the bin even closer and palmed an earwire, then rubbed his hand down his thigh to help slide the earwire up his sleeve. The magic trick he’d learned as a child had turned out to be surprisingly useful in his adult life.
Pelvannor grabbed four of the filtered masks and handed one to him.
After he took it, he held it up by the bottom. “It seals better if you tilt it up from your chin, then pull the web over your head.” He flexed his wrist to demonstrate the motion. “Lift it up if you’re going to sneeze. It’s hard to get snot off the faceplate.”
She put hers on as instructed, then turned to pick up the cutter.
He used both hands to place his mask so he could slip the earwire onto his face and tap it for always-on, then covered it with the mask and stretched the web up and over. The burned spot on his face stung like crazy.
When she gestured for him to follow, he rose to his feet and meekly complied.
Interestingly, Pelvannor didn’t provide wearing instructions when she handed the mask to Po and said nothing when he put it on wrong. Equally interestingly, Stramlo pulled his mask on with professional ease, barely disarranging his perfect wavy hair.
A tone sounded in his earwire. “Silver Team, report now, or I’m dumping my passengers and coming after you.” Hatya’s welcome voice sounded professionally calm but held a thread of worry.
Rylando bent over slowly to pick up a shovel and subvocalized as fast as he could. “Protocol TX Delta. Lift lobby, both exits blocked. Four lifesigns including me. Two hostages, including me. Taz last seen headed toward the deep basement with another lifesign and most of my team. Building unstable.”