Building One became louder when the soldiers returned with three civilians in the middle of the formation. Kenji opened the entrance and stared at the unfamiliar faces before looking at Dmitri.
"These are...?"
"Survivors. We found them in Building Two," Dmitri replied. "Where's the Commander?"
"Upstairs. He said knock three times if you need him. Don't ask me why."
"Okay."
Dmitri let the others settle first. Caleb and Walter were in no shape to stand around for another report, so Connor and Marek helped them toward the sixth floor while Evan stayed behind with Alexei and Selene.
"Rex, stay here. I'll be back."
Rex barked and started nosing around the first floor as though several hours outside had done nothing to satisfy his curiosity.
Hans was still working through his notes when three knocks sounded from the door.
"Who is it?"
"Dmitri, reporting to the Commander."
Oh? They're already back? Hans closed his blue notebook. "Come in."
Dmitri entered with Alexei, Selene, and a thin young man in a dirty maintenance uniform. The stranger looked nervous enough that Hans stopped looking at the bags in Alexei's hands and focused on him instead.
"This is Evan, Commander. We found three maintenance workers alive in Building Two."
"Three?" Hans looked at Evan again. "I remember seeing some of the maintenance guys around before, but I don't think I ever learned all your names."
Evan swallowed as Hans pointed toward the empty chair near the table. "Sit if you want. Just tell me who you are and what happened over there."
The young man sat and started from the day the meteorites fell. Hans wrote while he listened, stopping him only when something sounded useful enough to clarify: why they were on the ninth floor, how they barricaded the stairwell, whether they had keys, and what they had seen before the lower floors became too dangerous.
By the time Evan finished, Hans's notebook had gained another page of circles, arrows, and half-finished reminders.
"So you were maintenance for the whole complex?"
"Mostly, sir. Old Walter knows more than me. Caleb too, depending on what needs fixing."
That caught Hans's attention. The electrical panels downstairs were still mostly gibberish to him, and three people who actually knew the buildings might be worth more than another bag of jewelry.
"Get some rest first. You're shaking like crazy, and the other two sound worse than you. We'll talk about work later."
Evan blinked. "You... you're taking us in?"
"You're already inside, aren't you?"
For a moment Evan looked like he did not know whether that was a joke.
Hans waved it off. "Go find the others on the sixth floor and eat something. Dmitri can tell you where."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
Evan hurried out before Hans could change the instruction into anything more complicated.
Once the door closed, Hans looked back at Dmitri. "All right. What did you find besides three starving maintenance workers?"
Dmitri gave him the shorter version of the clearing and rooftop check. Building Two was secured enough for a temporary guard, the manager's office had several infected security guards around it, and Building Three still looked wrong even before considering the meteorite fragments.
"Security guards, huh?" Hans leaned over his notebook. "Did they still have their equipment on?"
"Most of the ones I saw had vests and helmets. I couldn't see everything from the roof."
Hans started writing again. If the manager's office had a working security room, they might get cameras, keys, building layouts, or at least something useful for the rest of the complex. The possibility of a hidden stash was there too, and that part was difficult to ignore after remembering the manager's rings.
"Can you clear the office today?" Hans asked. "Or is that pushing it?"
Dmitri thought for a moment. "It can be done, Commander, but I'd keep the group small at first. Rex and I can check the inside while the others stay close enough to support us."
"If it starts looking stupid, pull out. I want whatever's inside, but not enough to lose people over it."
"Understood."
Hans tapped the notebook with his pen. "And if you can avoid wrecking the security equipment, do that. The vests and helmets might be useful too, assuming they're not ruined."
"We'll preserve what we can."
"Ethan still has that axe, right?"
"He does."
"Might be useful against helmets if you want to bring him. That's your call, though. You know how to clear that place better than I do."
Dmitri's mouth twitched. "I was already considering him."
"See? Saves me from pretending I know everything."
Alexei made a noise that might have been a cough, and Hans turned to him. "Something funny?"
"No, Commander."
"Uh-huh."
He turned back to Dmitri. "What about Building Two? Four people are there right now, yes?"
"Four Conscripts at the entrance. They can hold it temporarily, but I'd send more before night."
"Send four more from here, then. Conscripts or Army Soldiers, whatever makes sense. I don't want eight people standing around forever, but until we know what Building Three does after dark, I'd rather not leave four guys by themselves next to it."
"Understood."
Dmitri gestured toward the two large recovery bags Alexei and Selene had carried upstairs. "These came from Building Two, Commander."
The clink inside was enough to pull Hans's eyes away from the notebook.
"You already sorted the valuables?"
"The obvious ones. Food is still there. We didn't want the same people handling infected bodies and then digging through refrigerators without cleaning up first."
Hans considered that for a moment. "Yeah, fair. I didn't think of that either. Get the food later after everyone washes up properly."
"We will."
Dmitri, Alexei, and Selene prepared to leave, but Hans was already looking at the bags with the same expression Kenji had seen the day before.
"I'll take care of these. You guys go eat."
"Understood, Commander."
The three left him alone with the loot, and Hans rubbed his hands together as he pulled the first bag closer. "Now, let's see how much trouble was worth."
...
Dmitri walked downstairs with Alexei and Selene while the sounds from the first floor grew louder as people settled back into the building.
"Give everyone about an hour to eat and rest," he told them. "After that, gather the group downstairs. We still have the manager's office. Connor and Marek can stay with the survivors for now."
"Understood, sir."
Alexei waited until they were a few steps ahead of Dmitri before looking at Selene.
"Pretty girl, once this is over, how about a nice date at the cafeteria?"
Selene did not even slow down. "Thank you, but I still have duties to follow."
"Ah. Right."
She continued downstairs while Alexei scratched his head and followed a little more slowly.
Dmitri watched the exchange with a grin but kept his comment to himself. The manager's office was waiting, and whatever was inside it mattered more than Alexei's terrible timing.