Elias raised the hacksaw toward the ceiling grate.
His ribs punished him before the blade touched metal. Pain pulled through his side and made his arm shake. The Level 2 construct felt heavier with every inch above his shoulder.
Tidwell caught his wrist.
"Give me the tool before you pass out," Tidwell said.
Elias let him take it and leaned his good shoulder against the wall.
Tidwell stepped under the grate and tested the saw's weight. His cloud Ikona curled around his neck. "The saw will scream through the ducts, and anyone above us hears that."
Elias looked at Faye.
She stood near her pod with one hand at her throat. Her Ikona fluttered beside her ear, pale and nervous after the sound pull from the blast door.
"Faye, put your Ikona on the grate and eat the saw noise," Elias said.
Her mouth tightened. "I have never absorbed something that loud at arm's length."
