"Yeah." Howard slips in under R's arm and pulls a piece of wire from his pocket. He presses his lips together and stoops over as he starts to work on the lock, sliding the little piece of metal in with gentleness that clears the way for precision. "Watch my back."

And he gestures towards all the empty space behind him, in case R takes him literally.

By this time, Howard's got a hang of how the locks on these doors work, and it only takes thirty seconds for him to open this one. He tucks the wire back into his pocket and opens the door. "Let me go in first. I'll listen for anyone else. It echoes like crazy in there."

He steps into the pitch black of the stairwell. With no windows, there isn't any lighting. He closes his eyes for no reason other than, for some psychological reason he can't explain, it helps him listen. No footsteps, no breathing, no speaking.

"Clear," he says to R. "Come in and close the door behind you. I'll lock it."