The Pathless on Paths---------Chapter VI part 1(2)

“Why is this thing so slow?” Karrson asked. He noticed the lift’s differences to a conventional one as soon as he entered. The lift was a steel cage without a roof, larger than one would expect of a normal lift, and the floor felt much firmer. There were yellow and black tapes of caution at the edges of the floor. He could see the walls of the lift-well, covered with pipes and wires. There was a red ladder to one side of the lift-well, and a door in the cage-walls faced it.
“Because this is one of the few lifts that reaches the surface. It was used for transporting cargo as much as it was used for transporting people. No more questions for the moment. We must go now.” He went to the side door and pulled it open. Now they could gain direct access to the slowly rising ladder. “Get on this ladder. Though cameras are absent in this lift, Giavoni will know we have used it. We will certainly face an ambush should we ride it to the bottom. We must find another way around, while much of the security force id attracted there. We must also find a way to busy the security in sector V when we get there. For now, we climb to negative five and I will lead us to our destination. I while answer your questions while we climb down.”