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“There’s supposed to be a maintenance hatch we can open”

Corin held up a fist in assent, and while still drifting up the elevator shaft began ru She pulled out a handheld plasma torch

Holden rotated his body to hit the bottonets He walked over to the hatch and tried to open it, but as they suspected it was locked fro to be asked Corin started cutting it open with her torch

“Bull, you there?” Holden asked, switching to the agreed-upon channel

“Trouble?”

“Just cutting the elevator right noanted to check in”

“Well,” Bull said, drawing the word out “We’re hitting either hoot the laser down, and we’re working on killing the reactor”

“What are we ?” Holden asked Corin’s torch sputtered and went out, and she began a quiet profanity-laced conversation with herself as she replaced the power pack with another froe systeot her totally locked out, which as for the entry”

Whichtheir way past at least fifteen of Ashford’s people, and possiblycorridor with no cover It wouldlook like a walk in the park

“We can’t do that with two people,” Holden said “There’s no chance”

Corin, who’d been listening in on her radio, looked up She hit the elevator hatch with one gauntleted fist and the cut piece fell inside, edges glowing dull red Shefor the outcome of his conversation with Bull Her expression was blank; it could have ht at the command deck entry hatch and wait for—” He stopped, and Holden could hear soh the words were too low to make out It sounded like Naomi

“What’s up?” Holden asked, but Bull didn’t answer An increasingly animated conversation happened on Bull’s end for severalto Holden He waited ier than the ‘we can’t get into the bridge without dying’ problem?”

“Yeah,” Bull said Holden felt his sto on a security cae Four people in power armor just left the command deck It’s the armor we took frouess where they’re headed”

There was only one place Ashford would be sending that

“Get out,” Holden said, more panic in his voice than he’d hoped to hear “Get out now”

Bull chuckled It was not a reassuring sound “Oh, my friend, this will be a probleed with her hands and climbed inside the elevator to open the upper hatch No need to cut it The locks were on the inside