The second door did not open into the archive wing.
That, Fang realised, was almost a relief. The sound had been close enough to sharpen every nerve in the room, but close was not the same as present. Whatever had breached the outer hall remained beyond the archive threshold for the moment, which meant they still had a small span of time in which to choose their next move.
Pax was already working.
His tablet lit the archive table in pale blue as he traced the route of the copied designation through the branch index, the upper log, and the formal response record Dr Sane had just entered. His expression had taken on the concentrated intensity Fang had come to associate with all things technical and dangerous. On the far side of the room Wolf had shifted to a position that gave him both the door and the archive shelves in one line of sight. Ren stood close enough to Fang that their shoulders nearly touched.
