Sadie turned to him. “This is Ella, my friend who I told you about. She’s the one who has been helping us. Ella, this is Saul.” I could hear the warmth in her voice as she said his name.

“Hello,” I ventured. Saul did not answer or smile. To him, I was the enemy who was endangering their safety, not to be trusted. His gentle eyes hardened as he took in the situation.

“You can’t seriously expect us to do this,” he said to Krys, his voice low but steely. “This sewer is everything to us, the only shelter we have.”

“I know,” Krys replied. “And I wouldn’t ask if there were any other option. But it’s only for the night.”

Krys pulled the sewer cover back and pushed the edge of the first crate toward it. “Stand back,” Saul instructed Sadie as he tried to help Krys from below. The crate slipped and fell into the sewer with a crashing sound that reverberated loudly on the street above. I braced, praying that the munitions were stable and would not detonate or explode from the impact. Then I looked around nervously. Anyone who was within a block’s radius would surely have heard the sound. Krys put his hand on my shoulder and we listened in silence for footsteps. But the street remained still. A few seconds later, Krys eased the second crate down to Saul, who placed it gently in the tunnel.

“You don’t have to take them all the way in,” Krys said. “Just inside the tunnel out of sight.”

“Should we stand watch and guard them?” Saul asked.

“That isn’t necessary. No one knows that we’ve got them—or that we would ever hide them here.” It was impossible for most people to imagine hiding things in the sewer, I thought, much less people. Krys threw down a tarp. “You can cover the crates with this and leave them where they are for the night. Someone will be here to collect them before sunrise.”

“Someone?” I demanded of Krys, turning to him. “Not you?”

“Me, if I can. If not, one of my men who can be trusted.” He took both of my hands in his. “I would never do anything to endanger Sadie—or you.” He looked deep into my eyes, willing me to believe him.

How could I possibly, after what he was doing now? “You already have,” I said, pulling away. I walked over to the grate. I could barely see Sadie around the two bulky crates that filled most of the entranceway to the sewer. “Sadie?”

“I’m here.” Her voice sounded muffled and, despite the fact that she had insisted on helping, more than a little afraid.

“You don’t have to do this. You can still change your mind,” I said, though in truth I didn’t know how. The crates would be nearly impossible to lift from the sewer and I wondered how Krys was planning to manage it in the morning.

“I’ll be fine, Ella. I can do this.” In the distance, a police siren wailed. “You should go home now. It’s dangerous for you to stay so long on the street.” Even now, Sadie was worried about me.