"It'll do. Set us up."
3
Kenn set the mouse trap in the corner, hitching up jeans, as he stood, aware that they were no longer too tight. He watched Doug and Neil move toward the steps leading to the basement, about to do a second sweep. The limping redhead in the green army jacket was shaking long, wild hair in response to the tall, thin Trooper, and Kenn caught Zack's eye.
Reading him easily (the career trucker now wore the clothes of a rookie Eagle trying to make Level One status) Zack trotted quickly across the wide, dusty room. "Hey, Neil, wait up. I got a question about yesterday's lesson."
Satisfied there would be no unauthorized plotting done with the rookie's nosey eyes on them, Kenn ran a hand over his neck-length black hair. "Next?"
It took the camp nearly an hour to get everything inside and set up. Dozens of lanterns gave the spacious room a dim, flickering light and a harsh odor that Adrian knew wouldn't mix well with the other smells they would create. He hung smoke detectors, air-fresheners, and signs requesting that the bathroom doors be kept closed, then headed to the basement while the camp ate lunch and picked out their sleeping areas - women and kids away from the doors and windows.
Adrian waved a hand at Kyle, and the stocky Eagle fell in step. The two men kept their eyes open as they moved down the long, dark hall, flashlights on their belts casting eerie shadows.
"You been back out since we got here?"
"Few minutes ago. Looks like snow moving in from the South. Temperature's dropping fast," Kyle wasn't exactly gunning for the Marine, but he'd never trust him, never be one of his many supporters. He liked it that Kenn had been behind the 8 ball, even if only for a few hours. "Don't think it'll hold till dark."
"It won't matter, if Kenn can get the lights and heat on."
Adrian's words were still hanging in the chilly air when a deep rumble started under their feet, rattling the whole building. It grew steadily louder, drawing yells as dust began to fly from vents, and then changed to a long, loud hiss that died out gradually. There were a few seconds of tense silence and Adrian waited in the darkness with his hand on his holster as he listened to the unease of his herd.
The rumbling came again, much quieter this time, and the two males got moving, grinning when the dusty bulbs overhead flickered halfheartedly, then began to glow, bright and beautiful. They now had electricity.