O'Flannery shook his head at the idea and configured the bags so he could carry them. "I'm
going to go down first. You three wait for me to shout the all clear before coming down each set of
stairs, okay?"
They nodded in response.
Ulysses and his Australian friend strained carrying the comatose cop down the flights of stairs,
yet they dared not stop for a rest under the circumstances. The pauses waiting for the all clear were
impossibly long. Such was the trip down the first few floors.
"Wait. Go back." O'Flannery said, motioning for them to fall back. Ulysses and Giles started
moving the unconscious cop back up the stairs. Nera followed them silently, carrying officer Jones.
They could hear O'Flannery talking to whoever was down below. Ulysses heard him say, "Could you
stay there? I'll go check for you. Ulysses?" O'Flannery was calling from the landing a floor below, out of
sight.
"Yeah? What's up?" Said the young man, trying to sound casual. Sweat ran down his back.
"You order some pizzas?"
"I did. Are they here?"
"Mm-hmm. Could you come down and pay for them?
"Sure, just give me a second." He nodded to Giles and the two of them ascended the rest of the
way to the next landing. They gently deposited officer Washington there. "I'll be back in a second. He
can carry the pizzas too," Ulysses whispered, referring to O'Flannery. He smiled at Nera as he hurried
past her, making his way down to the next floor.
"Hey." Said the pizza delivery guy looking annoyed yet resigned. "Thirty-eight, seventy-four."
He was a middle-aged man in a t-shirt and cargo shorts. O'Flannery smiled and nodded to Ulysses,
stepping out of the way of the stairs.