Tuning the Morning Draft

The padlock stayed sealed on the workbench, but the rising depot air pulled my focus upward. I caught the braided black cord of my tether, scaled the metal support column, and reached the high perimeter wall. Directly over the bay doors, an angled aluminum ventilation louver rattled under a stiff morning draft. Lodged between two metal slats was a discarded strip of punched copper strapping, stiff with neat circular perforations. I didn't hesitate. Bracing my black boots against the rivet seam, I hauled the copper strip free, bent the end into a sharp clamp, and wedged it between the vibrating louvers. The noisy flutter died instantly, replaced by a tight, rhythmic hiss cutting clean through the depot.