Coughing from the exhaust fumes, Savage felt the white-coated roofing give way and pinch the blade of his saw. Tensing, he tugged, pulling it loose. With a careful foot he pressed down, feeling the roof sag.
“Through,” he said in a choking voice. He could feel Karla Raven trembling as her exhausted muscles began to flag. Even a woman of steel like Raven had her limits, and she’d been supporting her weight as well as the equipment she carried.
Savage stomped harder, the roofing falling away to expose layers of sealant, tar, and wooden decking. Below it, a fluff of pink insulation glowed in his flashlight beam.
Savage dropped down and slid the saw off to one side atop acoustical panels in a hung ceiling. He heard Raven coughing as he clawed the pink insulation apart.
He lowered himself farther, put a foot on the ceiling panel, and pushed. The fiberboard cracked and let loose, cascading to the floor below.
“Bit closer to the wall than we’d hoped,” Savage admitted as he flashed his light about. “Be careful you don’t land on the mop bucket when you drop.”
He shucked out of his backpack, ensured his equipment belt wasn’t about to snag, and swung out as he dropped to the floor. Landing, he lost his balance, toppled into the stack of mops and brooms, and winced as they clattered and banged.
“Fuck!” he heard Karla grit through her teeth.
Feeling like an asshole, he hurried to the door and placed an ear to it. With his left hand he flicked on the lights so Karla could see when she dropped in. To his chagrin she barely made a sound as she landed.
Squinting in the light, he made hand signs for “All is quiet.”
She nodded, fingering her voice mic to say, “We’re in.”
“Nothing moving on the roof,” Winny reported. “I’m going to set down now.”
“Roger that.”
Savage slung his pack, checked his equipment belt, and froze as steps sounded in the hall beyond.
He signed Karla to warn her, then shut off the lights.
To his disgust, the steps slowed, hesitated. The handle rattled, turned, and the door swung open.