Julian Vance checked his mechanical Seiko 5 watch.
The luminous second hand swept past the twelve. Two minutes remained before the zero-two-fourteen audit deadline.
“Two minutes on the clock,” Julian announced, his voice cutting through the noise.
“The turbines are vibrating the floor,” Clara said, her fingers glued to her frequency dial. “The acoustic line pressure is spiking to twenty pounds!”
“Stay close to the pillar, Clara,” Elena urged, bracing Clara with an arm. “If one of those high-pressure lines blows, the shrapnel will fly like buckshot.”
“I am right behind Julian,” Clara called back.
“Look at the wall dials!” Mac shouted, pointing his pry-bar at the brass gauges. “The mercury is boiling in the tubes!”
“That is line friction,” Elena said, checking her medical bag. “The turbines are pulling more air than the pipes can carry.”
