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All around the the walls like the floor had been shoved out a couple centimeters and pushed back in place There was a sound of water running through pipes frohts were on, but here and there a few had failed, leaving pools of darkness Even if the elevators were running, he wouldn’t have wanted to take theive hi based on a few local indicators And if the Pit had been above orbit, he’d have been sleeping in an environment suit, just so as not to be unpleasantly surprised by waking up airless

“Stop fucking whistling,” Konecheck said

“Was I whistling?” Amos asked

“You were,” Clarissa said, still cradling her swollen hand

“Huh,” Aain, consciously this time

“I said stop it,” Konecheck growled

“Yeah,” Areed with a friendly nod “You did say that”

“Prisoners will maintain silence,” Rona snapped behind them “And the civilian will kindly shut the fuck up too”

Amos considered Konecheck out of the corner of his eyes Still too early to be sure, butto have to kill the other Not now, but before it was over He could hope for the forty

A shudder passed through the floor like a badly tuned thruster firing Concrete dust sifted down fro obscene

“Aftershock,” Rona said “Just an aftershock”

“Might be,” Clarissa said “Might be the shock wave from Africa I don’t reh the mantle”

“Not fucking North Africa,” Konecheck said “No e’d feel that”

“When the Galveston plant went up, the shock as still measurable on its third time around the planet,” Clarissa said

“Oh, the bitch is a history professor now?”