The inspection room door opened three inches before it struck Leth’s boot.
“Stop,” the voice inside said. “That’s the bad one.”
Kellan stopped pushing. He crouched, angling Eli’s lamp through the gap, and asked Leth to tell him what was holding the leg. The answer came in pieces: a fallen shelf, the end bracket, a tool chest that had slid against the door. Not machinery. Nothing moving except when they moved it.
Bram and the guard worked the door back a fraction. Kellan passed a small wedge through, explaining where Leth should place it if he could reach without shifting the trapped leg. The first position was too far. They changed the plan, using a thin strap to draw the tool chest sideways enough for the door to open.
Tessa went in before the rest of them. She got a folded coat beneath Leth’s head and checked the trapped foot. Eli held the door while Kellan and Bram raised the shelf only far enough to seat two blocks beneath its sound crosspiece. With the weight supported, Leth could draw his leg clear. He hissed through his teeth and then began apologizing for the noise.
“Nobody asked you for quiet,” Tessa said.
