*(Due to a character count restriction, this chapter is in two pieces. If you haven't read Part One already, take a look for it :) )*

A low murmur of head-shakes and other glances moved through the group. She seized her chance.

“He was taken.”

“What?” The group bristled. As all eyes went to Tuomin, she realized how her words sounded.

“Not by the military,” she said, her words quick and loud, cutting through the menace. “By those Shadow things. I was attacked, too. Tuomin protected me.”

Not a complete lie, and they’d been focused on Tuomin, not her. A small silence followed, and she sensed a slight ease in the tension.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the leader said. “He’s a good man.”

“Thanks. So,” she indicated the red and blue fabric hanging out of his pocket. “You guys want any info on those Shadow-things, or you got it covered?”

The leader gave her a sharp look for a few moments, his eyes hard and unyielding, but then his shoulders eased down and he swayed back, easing off. “What you got?”

“There’s a shitload of them. Hundreds at least. Able to dodge quick enough to avoid blasterfire.”

“They go down to knives easy enough,” he said.

“—and they can also turn off lights. I haven’t figured out how, yet.”

He frowned. “And how would you know?”

“I’m an electrical engineer.”

Another small silence went through the group as they exchanged glances.

“Kapil didn’t mention that,” Gravball Guy admitted.

They probably didn’t ask. More concerned with my tits and ass. “I work for a firm two levels up,” she said, then went on quickly: “The Shadows have a way of turning off lights without turning off their source, and I need to go run tests and figure out how to stop that.”

“They turn off all lights?” the leader asked.

“Turned off all of Harbin level.” She repressed a shiver. “And the sublevel. And I need to go figure out how.”

“Okay, okay, we heard you.” The leader waved his hand. “Go, then. We won’t give you any more trouble.”

She doubted that. She doubted that very much. But she did not squander the opportunity. Instead, she gave a curt nod to the leader, and then to Gravball Guy. “Thanks.”

And, without wasting another second, she pressed the doorpanel to lock, and left. Tuomin fell in behind her, his presence blocking the stares she’d felt tagging against her back from the group. As they left, none of the men moved or spoke.

It wasn’t until they had passed through the end of the hall and Tuomin had turned the corner behind her that she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fucking gods. What have I got myself into?