when the alarm goes off, maine is on his feet and at the door in a second, unnaturally quick for a man of his size. too early. something's wrong. either they were spotted on the way inside the building — or, more inconveniently, the cetagandans found the unconscious bodies of their men at either gate.
the door has to be pried open after maine more or less destroyed the mechanism that controlled the auto-open. he pulls the door away from the frame like he's shoving aside a curtain and not a hundred-some pound piece of steel, briefly poking his head outside to peer around. vortala isn't anywhere in sight, and to the right, near the north gate, cetagandan soldiers pour out of one of the buildings, shouting directions and orders over the roar of the wind. none of them are headed toward the secondary generator building, for now.
he pulls the scarf ( lakshmi's scarf, incidentally ) wrapped around his neck over his mouth and nose to protect his face from the cold, and gestures lakshmi forward with a wave of his hand. she tosses him his sword in steely silence before she ducks past him; maine catches it and follows behind her, the door snapping shut behind them.
though maine hasn't known lakshmi for long, he's spent enough time with her to notice that she takes naturally to the role of leader, almost as if it's a reflex and not some burdensome habit that was reluctantly developed at some point in her life. he assumes she'll take point, if he lets her, and he would let her ( because he isn't a leader, never has been; he's a 7-foot roadblock, expendable muscle designed to slow his enemies down ) if they weren't surrounded by dozens of men wielding guns. he knows he can take several shots and keep going; he doesn't know if she can.
so, he grabs her arm before she can move too far, and points to himself. let me, and then after a one fingered tug on the scarf to pull it away from his mouth so she can read his lips: please. ]
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when the alarm goes off, maine is on his feet and at the door in a second, unnaturally quick for a man of his size. too early. something's wrong. either they were spotted on the way inside the building — or, more inconveniently, the cetagandans found the unconscious bodies of their men at either gate.
the door has to be pried open after maine more or less destroyed the mechanism that controlled the auto-open. he pulls the door away from the frame like he's shoving aside a curtain and not a hundred-some pound piece of steel, briefly poking his head outside to peer around. vortala isn't anywhere in sight, and to the right, near the north gate, cetagandan soldiers pour out of one of the buildings, shouting directions and orders over the roar of the wind. none of them are headed toward the secondary generator building, for now.
he pulls the scarf ( lakshmi's scarf, incidentally ) wrapped around his neck over his mouth and nose to protect his face from the cold, and gestures lakshmi forward with a wave of his hand. she tosses him his sword in steely silence before she ducks past him; maine catches it and follows behind her, the door snapping shut behind them.
though maine hasn't known lakshmi for long, he's spent enough time with her to notice that she takes naturally to the role of leader, almost as if it's a reflex and not some burdensome habit that was reluctantly developed at some point in her life. he assumes she'll take point, if he lets her, and he would let her ( because he isn't a leader, never has been; he's a 7-foot roadblock, expendable muscle designed to slow his enemies down ) if they weren't surrounded by dozens of men wielding guns. he knows he can take several shots and keep going; he doesn't know if she can.
so, he grabs her arm before she can move too far, and points to himself. let me, and then after a one fingered tug on the scarf to pull it away from his mouth so she can read his lips: please. ]