Page 44 of Sky Song
“I think there are spare access cards for the supply room and such.”
“This room?” He pointed at the steel door.
As if on cue, a muffled sound came from behind it. Cricket’s eyes widened and her heart jumped to her throat.
In one fluid move, Lyle backed into an alcove where a fridge-sized digital incubator was wedged. Placing a shoulder against it, he pushed the beast of an appliance away from the wall as if it weighed no more than a chair, freeing precious inches for a body to hide behind. Without a sound, he encircled Cricket’s waist with both hands and stuffed her in there with him. It took three seconds, maybe four.
“Quiet, my hearts. Be quiet now.”
Like she needed to be told.
The muffled sound became more pronounced as the door opened, revealing Yanet. Yanet’s eyes darted right and left checking for presence. She clearly expected no one to be there. For a short unguarded moment, Yanet left the steel door open behind her, and Cricket was able to see glowing blue lights illuminating a narrow corridor.
Then the door closed with a soft hiss, pulled by hydraulic hinges that sounded as tight and unyielding as a bear trap. Reaching for the metal cabinet on the wall, Yanet gained access to it with a small card she pulled from her pocket. Also pulled from her pocket was… a small electric stunner. She deposited the weapon inside the cabinet, and used the electronic panel hidden there to punch in some code.
Satisfied, Yanet closed and locked the cabinet, smoothed her hair, and, after giving the lab one more sweeping glance, left.
Cricket unglued herself from Lyle’s front.
“Do you have access to this supply room?” he asked.
“No.” She was staring at the door like she was seeing it for the first time. Which she sort of was.
“Does anyone else at the lab?”
“I don’t think so.” She finally turned to Lyle. He also came out from behind the incubator and was looking at the door. She thought so, at least. He could be looking at the metal cabinet. Or at a sauce stain Salty had left on the counter andnever cleaned up. “I recall Salty mentioning a long time ago that Igor used to be in charge of the supply room and had access to it.”
“Did Kim ever go in there?”
“I’ve never seen her to. Which, apparently, means nothing.”
Lyle approached the door and scrutinized its solid surface devoid of a handle. Putting his hand against it, he let it rest there for a few seconds.
“There’s an electric field behind it.”
“Like an electric fence?” She also placed her hand on the door but felt nothing beyond the smooth cool surface.
“Yes. It’s strong enough for me to detect it.” He removed his hand and nodded at the cabinet. “That’s the controls for it, I’m guessing.”
Cricket looked around the familiar lab, struggling to recognize it. A nervous laughter bubbled from her throat. “Lyle, don’t you think we’re overreacting? Yanet startled us, that’s all. It’s only a supply room.”
He switched his attention to her, she felt the weight of it on her face. “Did you see inside the door?”
“Yes, there’s a corridor.”
“There were stairs.”
Were there? “I haven’t noticed the stairs, but I’m not surprised. There’s more than one emergency exit from this place.”
“What’s below the lab?”
“Nothing is below. We’re on the lowest floor.”
“The stairs were going down.”
A new noise sounded, and this time, it came from the entrance to the lab, signaling the arrival of her co-workers.
Cricket rounded on Lyle. “We’ve run out of time!”
