Breaching the Brass Ring

Slid down the leather boot shaft and hit the floorboards running. Right next to the boot rack lay an ambush hazard: a giant bunch of jagged brass keys tossed carelessly into a ceramic tray. I didn't bypass it. Head-on breach. I lunged onto the ceramic rim and grabbed the heaviest notched key. Cold, stamped brass. I braced both feet against a fat metal car fob and hauled upward. The whole ring clattered with a sharp metallic echo, heavy links shifting across the glazed bowl. One key stood jammed in an interlocking split-ring spiral. I wedged my fist into the gap, torqued hard, and pried the ring open two millimeters. Solid mechanical tension, zero detonation risk. Perimeter arsenal disarmed. @ultraprime87