He climbed down the ladder, the echo of 2:17 AM’s water hammer finally silent in his mind. Another P2 closed. Another building made safe—one pipe at a time.

Carla checked a log. “Sterilizers in the surgical prep unit. And… the dialysis reverse-osmosis system.”

Getting there required a ladder, a keycard, and squeezing past ductwork wrapped in old asbestos-label tape (still intact, thank God). Leo clicked on his inspection light. The space smelled of bleach, stale air, and something else: ozone . That meant arcing electricity or a pinhole leak spraying onto a motor.

The job ticket flashed on his tablet: