Page 64 (2/2)

The thud of footsteps rattled the catwalk and a man yelled, a woman shouted

"Do it, Michael!" Sarah yelled "Weber will Lift us out!"

Vwoomp

His hand slipped on the ladder behind hi into the hot cluster of Kaine’shis skin The Lance was right in front of hiertips

Vwoomp

Sarah screamed, followed by a heavy thuled yell Another thu Shouts More footsteps

Michael entered the first nu voice that overpowered everything else

"Stop what you’re doing! Now!"

Michael ignored him, pushed the next number The next The next

Vwoo down the ladder His fingers slipped, found the next number, pushed The next The next

Vwooain, closer, louder

"Do not move another inch or I will shoot!"

Michael pressed the last nu out, the bullet pinging against soht next to Michael’s ear

"Okay, okay!" Michael shouted He held his hands up to show he’d stopped It didn’t ht, alent Weber Please, now Lift us now

"Untangle yourself and slowly back away from the device," the man said much more calmly "Get yourself back on this ladder Now"

"Okay," Michael said, but his eyes stayed focused on the Lance, waiting to see what it would do As he maneuvered out of the nest of wires, he watched Waited Hoped So far, nothing

His feet finally found the ladder, and he planted the He crouched on top of wires and ducts and pushed hi the ladder, the ht above hio Don’t try anything I proave one last glance over his shoulder at the Lance, planning to obey the et them out of all the …

Suddenly his chest went cold He’d just started to turn away froain Riveted, he stared, not sure exactly what he was seeing The whole thing was … er sharp The wires drooped off the sides as the oopy soup of h the wires it edged into and then transformed into droplets that fell like rain to the circuits below

Michael stared as some of the droplets fell sideways Some fell up In a matter of seconds, the entire Lance had melted into tiny drops of silver that flew in all directions, defying physics Michael could only think that sonetism had occurred