Norman laughed to see the line of suitcases struggling to catch them up as they raced into the alley, but his laughter died when he saw Welis in hot pursuit.
His yellow bag led the charge and bumped against the backs of his legs like a joyful puppy finding its rightful owner. Norman barely noticed. His attention was fixed on the jawless augment now stopped at the entrance to the alley, blocking off their line of retreat.
‘Oh-oh,’ Tim said aloud as he reached the far end.
‘What do you mean, “oh-oh”?’
The others staggered into the open space behind him.
‘Looks like a dead end.’
‘What?’
Welis evidently heard what Tim said. He turned his body sideways and charged in after them, pushing with his powerful legs, keeping his head turned in their direction and one arm outstretched. It was a tight fit. His back and chest brushed the sides of the alley, scraping against the plastered walls, reducing his rasping breath to a continuous series of short pants.
‘We’re trapped,’ Tim said loudly.
Welis might have been better taking off his jacket first. It was already shredding on the rough walls, and when he heard Tim’s announcement, he pushed harder and moved faster, leaving a trail of torn fabric behind him.
Then his progress slowed. The alley narrowed partway down. Only a centimetre or so. But it was enough.
Norman brought up a floor plan on his heads-up display and zoomed in on their location. ‘Hey, this isn’t a dead––’
Tim elbowed him, keeping his eyes on the augment. ‘Don’t worry, he can't get us. He’s too puny to push his way down here. They’ll have to get some builder-bots to come and chip him out. We can use one of these long planks as a ramp,’ he gestured behind him, ‘and drop it on his big thick head. Walk up one side and jump down the other.’
The words infuriated Welis and he drove on with all his might, shredding the last of his jacket and leaving only the sleeves. His outstretched hand made clawing movements and his breath was a continuous growl. His feet kept slipping on the alley floor, but he pushed on, millimetre by millimetre.
‘He does look pretty stupid.’ Coral said, guessing what Tim was up to. ‘By the time he gets here, he’ll have worn himself away. There’ll just be a skinny little frame trying to support a big dumb head.’
Welis growled again.
‘I think augments’ brains must be in their jaws,’ Tim said. ‘How else do you explain this guy?’
They laughed. Welis snarled, thrusting a clawed hand at them, but he was still two metres from the end of the alley.
‘I know what he needs,’ Tim said, looking around. ‘A bit of lubrication, and I’ve found just the stuff.’
Barrels of cooking oil stood in a service area behind the restaurant, big twenty litre containers. He dragged one over and positioned it at the top of the alley, pulled off the lid, put his weight behind it and pushed it over.
The oil sloshed across the ground, running beneath Welis’s shoes and making his feet slip and slide. Without proper purchase, he was now well and truly stuck.
Tim turned to the others. ‘Shall we go out through the back of the restaurant or the back of the clothing store?’
‘Clothing, I think,’ Coral grinned. ‘We’ve already eaten, so maybe we can order bozo here a new jacket. Size: stupid.’
* * *
Wilis led the way out of the safe, followed by Alkemy, the casket and Ludokrus, while Walis brought up the rear.
‘Where do you take us?’ Alkemy asked.
‘Somewhere a bit more comfortable,’ Wilis said. ‘You might even get to see your uncle.’
‘But he is in quarantine.’
‘That’s one word for the place we’ve got him.’ He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at her.
They returned the way they’d come, back down the service corridor to the reception area and past a line of abandoned offices. As they neared a junction at the end, Ludokrus sped up slightly. ‘You hear that? The trolley-bot wheel is squeak.’
‘I don’t hear anything,’ Walis said.
‘Very annoy. Listen.’
He swung his foot and kicked the trolley-bot. The wheel he’d loosened wobbled and came off, causing the machine to tilt sharply. Albert’s casket fell sideways, into the junction of the two corridors, and as it did so, Ludokrus snagged the alarm-seal and tore it off.
The screeching began immediately, a continuous loop of three ear-piercing tones followed by a high-pitched message: ‘Danger, danger, ionising radiation. Exclusion zone: thirty metres.’
Walis, behind them, leapt back instinctively, racing for the shelter of the safe while Wilis sprinted ahead seeking cover for himself.
Ludokrus flipped open the lid of the casket. Alkemy threw in the disassembly disc. The volume of the alarm increased, its sensors aware of their proximity and that the casket was now open.
‘Extreme danger! Evacuate immediately!’
The safe door slammed shut as Walis locked himself in. Wilis raced off down the corridor to the right and ducked behind a line of filing cabinets bellowing, ‘This way! Quick!’
Ludokrus and Alkemy ignored him, turning left and heading for the foyer.
‘No, no, no!’ Wilis’s face appeared behind the metal cabinets. ‘This way!’ He edged out as if to follow them but was driven back by the increasingly shrill alarm. ‘Alert, alert! Extreme danger! Exclusion zone now fifty metres.’
He didn’t see Alkemy wave as they rounded a corner and disappeared.