The maintenance cage reached Griswald's freight floor without slowing.
Todd watched the iron landing rush up through the grate beneath his boots. Cava had her injured foot hooked behind his ankle and both hands around the remaining sections of his staff. The cage lever stayed buried in its lowest notch.
"That floor appears committed to meeting us at full speed, and I would prefer our first meeting remain professional."
Cava looked past his shoulder. Seven brass speaking bells hung above the landing. Six had black wax packed into their mouths. The bell beneath Griswald's crown carried a copper tongue that bounced without making a sound.
"The captain line died before this cage arrived, but the seventh account still pulled us here."
Todd jammed his shortened staff through the cage bars. The first end struck the left wall. The second missed the right wall by the exact length of the section he had sacrificed upstairs.
