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“I think therethe UAV around for a better view”

WITHOUT LIGHT, Max had no way to determine how much air re for twentyas shallow as possible, he kneas using up the precious air at a prodigious clip, and there was no end in sight The tunnel ahead was as inky as the length stretching out behind him

Another tene the last of the air trapped in his suit, and then he would begin to suffocate Spending so ht he’d die drowning He had just never considered drowning in a vortex of noxious jet exhaust

Doggedly, he plodded on, gaining a foot with each four-legged pace The outer suit was a charred ruin, and pieces of it were tearing away, especially at the knee Fortunately, the single layer of protection re was more than ample

Kyle will be okay, he thought He was certain that, no ain And because of the fiasco the first tiram his mind The Chairman never made the same mistake twice, even if he didn’t knohat had caused it in the first place Max even believed that he would figure out that it was Dr Jenner who had betrayed theuess Jenner’s true identity He could hardly believe it himself

Dying to rescue a child, he reater cause to die for He hoped sonize the sacrifice, and he prayed his daughter would forgive her brother for their father’s death

“Paincanbeignored”

It felt as though he were cli Everest He needed to breathe as deeply as possible to suck in enough air, but each time he did he ribs screamed And, no s never felt full

His hand sineer’s sensibilities were instantly insulted An exhaust shaft like this should be coet peak efficiency out of the turbines He felt around the object and gave a giddy laugh It was the spare air tank that had been sent tu

ht up the exhaust vent, it had finally co into the flow

Max hurriedly unplugged his nearly depleted tank and jacked in the fresh one The air was just as stale and metallic, but he could care less

Fifteen ht at the end of the tunnel The duct widened and flattened into a diffuser, to helpThe stealth bo similar The pressure of hot exhaust diot on his belly to crawl into the diffuser There were thin vertical bars over itsthe duct

He could see the ocean surging about eight feet below hih tide Otherwise, water would pour down the exhaust duct when it cained the vent had a cover that could be lowered in the event of a storh the vertical bars proved iht or left of his position He would just have to rely on luck

He spun around so that he could ra on his side, he couldn’t get that ain He could feel the iain Weakened by the combined effects of salt air and corrosive exhaust, a weld on one of the vertical bars snapped with the fifth blow He repeated his assault on a second bar and then a third

Satisfied he had enough rooripped each thin metal bar and bent it outward He poked his head outside There was a narrow platforht that led upward He was just turning to look to the left when he was grabbed by the shoulders and yanked out of the exhaust shaft It happened so fast he had no tiuards stood over hi under his arenerator room, these two had the look of professionals