He lowered himself through the opening and vanished.
Brad was committed. His glance ordered the others to follow Drummer. Hodak passed his light to Brad and dropped through first, then Zolan followed Myra, Adari and Kumiko. Brad dropped through and pushed the cover up until it snapped. Closed. He felt vibrations above him, then, after several seconds, silence.
"Must be spreading the dust of our tracks and the outline of the cover," Zolan murmured, looking up from immediately below.
The ladder was rickety, and the shaft narrow and long. When Brad reached bottom, he was in a low gallery, about two meters square, hacked out of the rock. They were in the hub of a dozen passageways that led off in as many directions from low entries.
Drummer bent and disappeared through one of the entries. One after the other, they followed.
The entry led into a utility service tunnel, the walls lined with scores of braided cables and banks of wall switches and junctions. Neutro-lighted sconces glowed at intervals, providing dim direction to their flight.
Scuttling in single file and dodging cables slung between supporting columns, they covered distance swiftly. Brad moved up behind Drummer, replacing Hodak who dropped back to rear guard immediately behind Zolan.
"Scarf knows about these utility passages, and that we would head for them," Drummer gasped over his shoulder. "What he doesn't know is which access and branches we took and where we'll surface. A slight advantage, if we act quickly."
They scampered and slithered for more than half an hour. "Looks like we're the only ones down here," said Brad.
Drummer halted to recover breath. The line closed up.