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“I’m still alive”

“Then help me with the safes They’re bolted into the wall fro, but don’t take your eyes off it Fire a shot now and then to remind them we’re still here”

Sam went to the wall, pressed the spot to reveal the hidden corridor, stepped in, and opened the safes He and Pete unbolted the t-eun safes and Sam opened the third one, which held papers Pete removed the bolts from this last one and then he and Sam pushed all three, one at a tie of the stairwell As they pushed the last and biggest one, a deep scratch appeared on the floor Sam said to Remi, “Oops Sorry”

“It’s too late to est, Sae Kalashnikov” They pushed the safes over, one by one, across the stairwell They had sealed the opening completely

Wendy said, “What do we do now?”

Sam said, “We seeht for For thewith them that can make a dent in it, but the second it moves I want to hear you yell your head off and fire down into any space that appears”

“Okay,” she said

He looked around “Selma, are you familiar with the way a Czech Škorpion automatic pistol works?”

Selma said, “I did look up the manual online after Remi’s problem in Russia”

“Good We seeazines and see how much ammunition is left, then consolidate it We need to have a couple with full ht buy us some extra time”

“What about the boiling water?”

“Turn down the burners for now so the pots stay hot but the water isn’t boiling We’ll get it boiling again if they startthe safes”

He turned to Pete “Take ht reach this high”

“Where will you be?”

“Re up to the roof Selma? Are there any matches around?”