She could hear Tris’ breathing clearly, and could taste his adrenaline where it reacted with his lattice. He stood sideways-on, in a fighting stance, and his fists were clenched. But he dropped his arms.
And Brice took his hands from his hips. Interesting, Ryann thought, that he hadn’t been in combat pose. With the despair that had been streaming off of him earlier, she didn’t know if that was a good sign or not.
“We all know the chances of Haven sending out a rescue crew any time soon are minimal. We need to be proactive about this. And now, we have something to work with—boosters and relay at the pad, relay and another booster on our roof. It’s not ideal, and there’s a hell of a lot that could go wrong. Tris, you’re right—we don’t know for certain what sol will do to the creatures. But I saw what happened on the roof, and it seems to keep them back. It’s better than nothing.”
Ryann paused, conscious of the way three sets of eyes watched her. That unnerved her, but she reminded herself of her position—not a leader, but one of the crew. This was collective work. All she had to do was guide it.
“Going outside will be dangerous. Keelin, you said it was a quarter-k to the pad, right? So ten minutes, maybe fifteen in the conditions out there. Tris, you able to set stuff up here before on-site installation?”
He looked to the neatly stacked equipment on the floor. “Should be able to rig it totally from here, even set a timer to turn on. Just need someone to put it in the right place. And strap a lantern to it. Could train a monkey for that.”
“A monkey wouldn’t have the guts to go out there with only a couple of torches as defence, “ she said quickly, before Brice riled against the comment. “Tris, set up the systems.”
“Systems?”
“One for the pad, one for the roof.”
Nobody moved.
“We seriously going to do this?”
Ryann suddenly realised that she hadn’t even considered not doing it. And the energy from that decision excited her.
“I don’t want to see Cathal getting any worse. I don’t want us to be stuck here. We do what we have to do.” She paused, letting that sink in. “How long to set up, Tris?”
“Couple of minutes.”
“Good. Then all we need is the brave monkey.”
She expected hesitation, or more arguing. But the response came almost instantly. From both sides of the hold out, from the bunks and the stores, the same words came from two mouths as both Brice and Tris spoke.
“I’ll do it.”
Brice turned to Tris, not sure he’d heard right. “You’d go out there?”
Tris looked him up and down. “My tech. And we need this done right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brice knew that was too strong, and he stepped back. Tris clenched his fist, and his jaw jutted forward. But then he relaxed.
“Nothing,” he said. “Just…just want to make sure it all works. In case there’s a problem.”
Problems like Brice’s lattice screwing up the systems, most likely. But Tris was trying to stay calm. Brice had to meet him on this.
“You willing to go out there with those creatures? You not scared?” He kept his voice level. He didn’t want that to sound like a taunt.
Tris looked around, meeting Keelin’s gaze and then staring at Brice. “You?”
When he’d stepped on to the roof, he’d felt only calm inevitability. He’d accepted what might happen, and—if he were totally honest with himself—he’d been looking forward to it. But now, everything had changed.
“Terrified,” he said, holding Tris’ gaze.
“And you still want to go out there?”
“Not want,” he said after a pause, “but need. No offence—honestly—but it’s what I do. Physical stuff, walking and carrying things. I’m faster and stronger than you. Even with my screwy lattice. But you’re our tech expert. You get those boxes set up, tell me what button to press, and I’ll do the manual stuff. I’m the monkey.” He tried to laugh, but the sound caught in his throat, and he swallowed a cough.
Tris shook his head. “This involves tech, I should see it through. In case there are any problems. Besides,” and here Tris smiled, but it had no warmth, only sadness, “the way your lattice is playing up, you think I’d trust you to even touch any of these boosters?”
Brice knew Tris was right. The way his luck was going, he’d reach the landing pad, turn those things on, and fry the lot of them.
“So you both go,” said Ryann, and she stepped closer, hands outstretched, almost touching both Brice and Tris. “Tris to deal with the tech, and Brice to provide cover and protection. We work as a team, right?”
“And I know how to make you safer,” Keelin said, stepping forward with a handful of torches. She grinned, and must have sussed to Ryann, because they shared a glint in their eyes. Brice was reminded of training, when a couple of the others would get an idea for a prank. They always had that mischievous look about them too.
When Keelin explained her idea, Brice thought it ridiculous, but as she strapped a torch to his back he understood how it would work. She strapped another to his chest, and slid the covers down on both of them. Light shone all around, bathing the hold-out in wonderful artificial daylight. Ryann did the same to Tris, and they both held their arms out, turning like ridiculous tacky baubles.
He didn’t know which of them laughed first, but the sound was infectious.
“Trained for stealth and subtlety, and we’re going out like a couple of beacons,” Brice said, shaking his head.
“At least you’re not dark anymore,” Tris said. “And anything I said about you not being bright—guess I’ll have to take it back now.”
Brice wanted to come back with some other comment, but nothing came to mind, at least nothing
