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"Left," BB said "He went left Right’s a dead end, anyway Look, Mal, let Naomi take point, wil you? I need her sensors out front"

Mal stopped and turned slowly around, cradling his rifle "Right away, sir Any other orders?"

"You know IVaz on tail Vaz was now starting to worry whether he’d actual y hear anyone coes sed sound He aiting for the outraged faithful to jule patrol minus the trees He turned around every few meters and walked backward for a few paces

"Ick," BB said "You don’t need sensors to detect that"

Vaz faced forward and inhaled He couldn’t pick up anything through his filters, so he lifted his helain It was a very familiar odor "Smel s like the heads"

"Oh dear, the Prof’s let the side down," Mal said "Peeing in a te to The Times about this You stil on the trail, BB?"

"Yes He went down there--ahhhh Look at that" It was another panel of carvings "That’s like the one in the Dyson sphere The storehouse- garage-sarcophagus syht have to send this back to the Adok to take a look at it"

"What makes you think they’d know?"

"Why leave a janitor with instructions he can’t read?"

"But ouldn’t they volunteer that information?" Naomi asked "Were they ordered not to, or is it a case of just having to ask theht a quick burst of static on his radio, as if soet a stable signal It had to be Devereaux

Mal turned around He’d heard it, too

"I’’s wrong Because it usual y is"

"Skip the survey, BB" Nao "Just fol ow Phil ips" She speeded up, sounding like a trip-haes "Phillips! Come on, Phil ips, answer me"

Al Vaz could do was run after her Mal broke into a sprint Vaz found hie-head to cover three klicks, based on the length of stride, and the worrying ansas that it would be a lot sooner than he thought He was pretty certain now that at the end of the trail of Phil ips’s unique cocktail of odors, he’d trip over a body

"You realize that wherever we are, we’re going to co way from the dropship even if we find a way out," Mal panted

"So we retrace our steps"

"Hey, what happened to the lighting?"

"It’s stil --oh Yeah" Vaz noticed there were no , but soht "How do they do that?"

"I think we’re entering Weirdvil e now"

Vaz couldn’t see Naoe curved around to the left and then there was a sharp corner, but BB’s voice caot there

"I’ve lost the trail," BB said "It’s just stopped dead"

Mal let out a long breath and kept going Vaz was right on his heels, stil checking over his shoulder for enraged hinge-heads When they caught up with Naoe Vaz felt that buzz in his earpiece again, like radio interference or a failing loop- suppressor, and stopped to look in both directions

"No scent?" Vaz asked "It doesn’t necessarily o?"

Naomi prodded the stonework "This isn’t like Onyx This is solid He’s gone one way or the other"

"Okay" Mal pointed left "Naoe and we’l take this one Keep broadcasting and turn back if you lose the signal I don’t want to ine cuffing Phil ips around the ear when he found hi him on the back with relief Once they found him, they stil had to exfil Vaz hoped that whatever Phil ips had found orth al this crap

"Door, " Nao here until you coestured at Vaz to go back "I’ to kick his arse into the middle of next week"

"I hope you realize how many panels I’ve not been able to find and record," BB said irritably

"That’s al right Adj can fil in the gaps"

It was a door al right, like a smal er version of the one at the front of the teher finger around the frame while she checked the TACPAD on her wrist

"It’s just a door," she said "Better open it"

"Live dangerously" Mal raised his rifle and aimed into the doorway Vaz stood to the other side "One, two…"

Nao outward For a second, al Vaz could see was a patch of light and absolute black shadow until his visor adjusted He could hear crowd noises but they sounded distant, and-- whine of a dropship’s idling drive But there was no sign of Phil ips

"Now I’ real y pissed off with hi?"

"Evidently not" Naoe "Perrab him and cart him off, Staff?"

"By the nuts if you want to," Mal said "Dev, can you hearWhere are you?"

"Where are you?"

"Right behind the tes"

BB was stil griping "I can’t pick up any odor Opening the door ht have diffused it, but I doubt it"

Naoe and stepped outside Then she held her hand up to stop "I think we’ve come in a circle," she said "I can see the wal in the plaza And no Phil ips"

"Oh, for Chrissakes--Dev, has he come out near you?"