The manual lever resisted Bram’s first pull. He eased off instead of throwing his weight onto it.
“Paint in the joint,” he said.
Kellan checked, scraped the loose edge with a flat tool and told him to try again. This time the lever moved. Eli turned the release wheel while Bram held it down. The outer lock withdrew with a sound too small for the force they had used.
They opened the maintenance entrance a hand’s width and stopped.
Warm air moved through the gap. There was no visible smoke. Sera checked the immediate approach while Kellan directed his light along the floor and lower supports. A service passage ran toward a bend, narrower than the public checkpoint route and streaked with water from a damaged pipe.
Eli could see why it had never appeared on the visitor plan. A person could maintain the machinery here without ever entering the part of the site where uniforms greeted inspectors.
Kellan strapped the outer door back against its stop and placed a wedge as a second restraint. Sera reported the opening to their outside contact. Tessa left the ambulance responders at the receiving point and came forward with the folding carry. They would not all crowd the first bend.
