As his feet touched the rough carpeted floor beside his companions he tried to deny internally how embarrassing it was to be handled like a toddler by a teen girl.

[i]‘Come now Luke, this isn’t really the time to let your chauvinistic tendencies get the better of you.’[/i]

He readjusted his bag over his shoulder and in doing so caught the faint beeping coming from his watch. The little bugger had been getting a bit too snippy so he’d started ignoring it while they traveled the air ducts. He didn’t respond vocally, God knew he didn’t want to come off as some kind of crazy person in the middle of their crisis. Looking around the door, which was primarily used by staff, he took notice of the security panel.  It was with a heavy heart that he noted this was a model he had already been... [i]acquainted[/i] with.

While the others were keeping their eyes and ears open for trouble, he slipped over to the panel, popped off the cover, and casually ripped two of the half dozen wires that connected the silent alarm to the power source. He popped the cover back in place almost as an after thought,

“That should save us the trouble of alerting the entire building... and any cops they have watching the place too.”