Eli raised his empty hands to the security chief’s eye level.
The gesture felt worse because it was sensible. Three guards behind the man had their weapons down but ready. Tessa stood beside the worker with the injured ankle; Kellan had a tool in his hand; the passage behind them contained people who could not retreat quickly. A misunderstanding had too many places to land.
“We came for the staff,” Eli said.
“You entered a restricted facility with a revoked officer and an unauthorized key.”
“The key is recorded,” Bram said.
“I can see whose hand it’s in.”
The chief wore a small steel rank bar at his collar. Dust had gathered beneath it where he had wiped his coat and missed a strip. Eli found himself staring at the clean metal, at the effort somebody had made to remain a chief while the building came apart around him.
“Who is directing evacuation below us?” Tessa asked.
