Mak leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get himself under control.

He didn't know what had led to Nyha and the girls fighting with their guards, but given the warnings Cors had issued, he could just imagine.

That they'd managed to come out the winners in that fight surprised him deeply, but he forced himself to put that aside. He switched back to the team frequency. “The Halatians are exiting the ruins where we went in. One or more of you, meet them there, get them to the base, and let Sinjin know when it's done.”

“You freed them?” Erenn asked.

“They freed themselves. They're on the move now. Be ready.”

He switched back to Nyha, but he didn't say anything, because at last, Cors and Garde were coming back.

He'd been forced to stop following them when the passageway had narrowed to the point where only one person could pass at a time.

He'd been lurking, waiting for them to come back. Which at least meant he'd been able to respond to Nyha, to get things moving for their extraction.

“It's impossible to move it. I don't care what Veld says, there is no way we're getting that thing out of that room.” Cors clumped toward him, sounding frustrated.

“Then we have to take it apart, bring it up piece by piece.” Garde sounded implacable. “Leaving without it is not an option.”

“How can we take it apart when we don't even know how it works? It could blow up on us.” Cors passed Mak at a fast clip, his footsteps projecting his anger.

“Better to be blown up trying to get it out than find ourselves without it. That I can promise you. We're in line for big money, but Veld had to contract with some really nasty people for that kind of pay-off.” Garde didn't sound worried at all.

“Then everyone comes down here to help,” Cors said, tone short and suspicious.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Their voices faded a little as they got ahead of him, and Mak followed behind them. He needed to know how to get back up before he went down the passageway to see what they'd been doing.

“It means you sound pretty relaxed about the dangers of this place blowing up, so my guess is you and Veld have yourselves a little Plan B, one that doesn't include me, or anyone else on the team.”

Garde was quiet for a beat. “You think Veld is going to cheat you?”

“I think Veld, and you, are good at looking after yourselves, and that you'd happily send me and the rest of the team in there to 'dismantle' it and make sure you're high and dry somewhere else in case it does blow.”

Mak realized they'd slowed as their argument heated up, and he was almost on top of them.

“Does anyone else think this?” Garde's voice had taken on an edge now.

“No one here is stupid, except maybe for that idiot Hamand.”

“Who you let in.” Garde lifted the light she'd been using to illuminate the way, and it reflected off Cors's face as he loomed over her, all angles and snarling mouth.

“He never said a thing about being a believer when I vetted him.” Cors gave a shrug in response. “Look. All I'm saying is I'm not risking my neck for the tiny percentage Veld's promised me, while the two of you sit pretty somewhere else.”

Garde seemed to relax. “Fair enough. We'll be down here, helping. I think Veld wants to be personally involved to make sure nothing goes wrong, anyway.”

Cors laughed at that. “Like he'd know, one way or the other.”

Mak saw Garde stiffen for a moment, and then she relaxed and laughed with him, clapping him on the shoulder.

She walked a few steps to one side, lifting her light again, and Mak saw another circle in the floor.

She crouched down, turning it by herself this time, and the ceiling above suddenly had a hole in it.

Which probably meant after he'd gone down, the hole in the chamber above had closed.

Cors stepped into the middle of the circle and disappeared, and Garde followed.

Mak waited, counting it out, until the light spilling down from above was snuffed out.

Two minutes.

“Nyha, are you and the girls out yet? Cors and Garde are coming your way.”

“No.” Her whisper was a hiss in his ear. “There were a few of Veld's crew in the central area, so we had to wait for them to leave.”

“Go as quickly as you can. They're coming up behind you.”

And there was no doubt they'd check in on their hostages on the way past, find Hamand and his friend tied up.

He stood, undecided for a moment, and then crouched down to turn the disk, stepping onto it as a hole opened up above his head.

He blinked and found himself on the edge of the hole in the circular room, and ran as silently as he could out the door.

He could check out whatever was down there later, now he knew where it was. Nyha and the girls, however, needed him right now.

* * *

Nyha pointed down the passage that hopefully led out, and made the girls go ahead of her.

She'd told them someone would be meeting them, getting them to safety, and they hadn't asked questions, they'd simply followed her lead.

She was proud of them.

They ran one at a time, keeping close to the wall. Ju was last, and as she started off, Nyha heard a shout behind her.

“Go,” she mouthed when Ju turned back, eyes wide. “Go!”

She waited a beat until she was sure Ju had obeyed her, and then she turned and ran toward the central spiral, out into the open.

Distract, that was all she could think of. Distract, and they would waste time getting her while the girls got away.

She heard another shout, more purposeful, and looked to her right.

Cors stood on the other side of the central space. Their gazes clashed, and the rage in his eyes spurred her toward the spiral a little faster.

Two men ran in at the sound of Cors's shout, and Nyha wasted a moment looking in their direction.

She jumped for the spiral, hand out to catch hold of a handle, and was hauled back by a thick-set arm curled around her waist and then swung away from her escape route.

Cors could really move, was all she could think as he shoved her in front of him, and she stumbled in an attempt to keep her balance.

“No.” Garde's voice was sharp, a crack of sound that echoed in the atrium, and when Nyha looked back, she saw Cors lowering his arm.

“What's wrong with you?” Garde walked forward, boots ringing with every step. “She's our insurance policy. No touching.” Her hand gripped Nyha's arm and pulled her away from Cors. “Have you lost your mind?”

Cors seethed for a moment, and then gave a shrug, the effort of getting his rage under control clearly visible. “Adrenalin.”

“Right.” Garde eyed him suspiciously. “Go free those idiots you left to guard the Halatians. I'll go after the girls, they can't have gotten far without their leader.” She pointed to the two men who'd come to help. “You take this one to Veld, and don't let her out of your sight.”

She shoved Nyha at them, then stalked off toward the exit the girls had taken.

Cors gave Nyha a last, vicious look, and strode off himself.

Doesn't like taking orders, Nyha thought.

“Move,” one of the men Garde had left her with barked at her, pushing her in the direction of the canteen.

Nyha moved, following the first guard, with the second falling in behind her.

“Nyha, don't react, just keep walking.” Mak's whisper in her comm unit made her stumble.

“I'm walking right next to you, but you can't see me. I'm going to grab you by your waist, and I want you to stand on my boots, and I'll press you up against the wall, so I block you with my body. Stay absolutely still, and they won't be able to see either of us. Nod if you've got that.”

She nodded, felt the soft brush of a glove on her arm.

Suddenly, the guard behind her cried out in alarm, and two strong hands clamped her waist.

She was lifted up and swung around, pushed up, as he said, against the wall.

She leaned in to him, against an invisible chest, settled her feet on invisible boots, and tried not to breathe.

“Where the fuck is she? What the fuck happened?” the guard at the front shouted.

“Someone hit me on the head from behind, I spun to look and when I turned back she was gone. How did she get past you?”

“She didn't get past me. She must have gotten past you.”

She couldn't see them through Mak's bulk, but it sounded like they were standing in place, turning around and around as if she would somehow reappear.

“Shit. How are we going to explain this?”

“Let's search a little longer. How far could she get? You go forward, I'll go back.”

They split up, running in the agreed directions.

“Good trick,” Nyha whispered.

“Not bad, I'll admit.” The answer rumbled down her comm set, even though he was right in front of her, so she guessed he was wearing a helmet. She lifted her hands and patted his face to find out, discovered she was right.

The arms around her tightened for a moment. “My team has your girls. They got them just before Garde came running out. They're safe.”

She tipped her head forward, rested it against his chest. “Thank you.”

“We can't go out the same way they did, not yet. And my bet is Garde will be coming back any minute.”

He sounded like he was sorting through his options.

“What would you be doing if I wasn't with you?” she asked.

“I'd be looking into a strange hole in the ground.”

“Want some company?”

He hesitated. “I don't think I have much choice. I can't leave you, and you don't have the equipment to walk out of here unnoticed.”

“Then let's go.” She straightened away from him.

He sighed, sounding like he had a lot of doubts. “Follow me.”