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"Cover ing station while Vanessa tried to open it

"It’s locked," she said after a short pause

"Shoot it open?" Tania asked She wondered if they’d brought any explosives, but then thought that ht be a key in that office," Pablo said

Vanessa stood and looked toward the ss "We’ll try that first You okay, Tania?"

"Yes," she said despite a growing anxiety She didn’t want to voice it, afraid she’d sound weak Who cares? she told herself You are weak You’re stuck inside here, isolated and helpless "Actually, no Wait"

"What’s wrong?"

"I …" She sed "I’d feel better if you stayed with the aircraft, Vanessa God forbid anything happens out there, but if it does, you’re the only way any of us are getting home"

The pair walked back to Tania’sso they could see her "If anything happens out there," Vanessa said patiently, "we’re better off handling it as a tea"

"Okay," Vanessa said "I explained this to Pablo already but you should know, too If soet to the cockpit There’s an autopilot unit just above your head when seated in the pilot’s chair, and before we left I set it to record our departure position Tap the option to execute, then confirm, then power up The Helios will fly back to Belem, no further action required Justpad, because it will set down exactly where we took off from"

Tania balked initially, but when the words sank in she found a surprising amount of comfort there Her anxiety melted away "Thanks, Vanessa I understand"

"Good Stay put, we’ll be back in a fewTania of Special Forces teams she’d seen in dozens of action-thriller sensories She noted how Vanessa always took point, her focus on the goal unwavering, while Pablo ca in a circle around theo they’d been a lawyer and a farmer, respectively Skyler had trained the and the endless hours of Krav Maga sparring, Tania realized then she still had no idea what she was doing Worse, she doubted she’d ever have thought to look in the office building for a key to the charging unit, yet Pablo had suggested the idea aler’s instincts, as if he’d been at it all his life

She watched as they took positions on each side of a first-floor doorway They were almost two hundred meters away now, but even from this distance she could see Vanessa count to three on her fingers Then Pablo kicked in the door, causing a sudden distorted burst of sound in Tania’s ear He took a step back and Vanessa stor the door, listening to her headset Other than breathing and the occasional footstep she heard nothing, as the two iood They’re really good Skyler would know this already, but she made a nition

"Clear," Vanessa said a short tireed

Tania let out a relieved sigh She listened in silence to the sounds of the In her h desk drawers and coat closets, perhaps knocking aside things that in any other circumstance would have been collected and returned to the colony

A subtlethe edge of the landing pad A cat? It was just a shadow in the darkness, bobbing along the lip of the circular raised platform Then it stopped, and Tania went still

An ar a rifle The weapon was set down on the pad, and then she saw another ar pad and thrust up on to it, one leg swinging over the side and then the other The person picked up the gun and stayed crouched at the edge of the pad, studying the Helios A man, Tania numbly realized He had a catlike litheness to the way he ht at her

Tania tried to speak and couldn’t She didn’t move, unsure if she’d been spotted She wanted to duck away, to find a gun and wait in the corner A sudden panic filled her when she realized she wasn’t suited If this intruder opened the cabin door from the outside, she’d be exposed Her pulse pounded in her ears and her hands were shaking Tania sed, made two fists, and squeezed She took a deep breath and exhaled it

"There’s soed to say Her voice cracked, and sounded childlike

"Repeat that?" Pablo said

"So pad"

"A sub?"

"No," Tania said "An i?" Vanessa asked, urgency in her voice

"Just crouching there, looking at the aircraft"

"Okay We’re co pad stood and began to walk--no, creep--around the aircraft It took all the willpower Tania had to rehts in the cabin upon landing, which meant her ould be dark She ht fell upon her, and she leapt backward A flashlight, she realized with dread She moved away froround, and alht slid away, then swept across the , then fixed on theagain Tania willed herself to cal out," Vanessa said quietly in Tania’s ear "What’s happening now? Where is he?"

Tania gathered her wits and pressed herself against the wall by the aircraft door The light becaan to dart around the inside of the cabin "He’s right at the door Has a flashlight I think he saw me"

"Relax, Tania," Vanessa said "Don’t assume he means harm He’s just a survivor, probably saw us land and caht be the first people he’s encountered since the virus swept through here"

The words made perfect and complete sense, or at least would if she hadn’t seen the way the ht hi to find an open

"We see hiht shifted away fro soft and e door lever starting to turn

"Oh God!" she exclairabbed it with both hands She pushed it back with more force than she’d intended Thefrom his side Tania strained, squeezed her eyes shut as she leaned into the lever arht between two positions

Then, one horrid centian to ave up a few centi, then shoved with every bit of strength she had Still the lever arm ratcheted toward open

Vanessa spoke in her ear "What is it?"