Basement Pipeline

Took the service stairs all the way down until the air tasted like damp concrete and rust. Real territory down here. Right across the corridor, a heavy cast-iron valve wheel was jutting out from a row of overhead steam pipes like an invitation. Didn't waste time looking for a ladder. I caught the rim with both hands, kicked off the cinderblock wall, and hauled myself up onto the canvas-wrapped pipe. Below me, an open drainage trench hummed with running water. Solid footing, zero rattle. Got the high ground on the whole subterranean sector.