Boston

The sub basement smells musty
Scurrying and scratching noises assure me I'm not alone
A rat flits across the light from my light
My companion is quiet behind me
We don't speak as we pick our path through the neatly stacked items

"осторожность излучения"

I see those words and know I'm where I should be
The large container is on a wheeled dolly
My companion and I each take an end
Firmly grasping the handles
Pushing against the 600 pounds at rest
Setting it in motion

Back though the neat stacks of items
Squirreled away for god knows what
Never to be used again
Whether needed or not

The freight elevator's door gapes
The upper cage door looking like a giant set if teeth
We roll our cargo inside it's maw
Pulling the gate down with a mechanical crunch

My companion grasps the brassed handle of the ancient elevator
The old lift mechanism pulling us upwards
The ride is long and slow
My hand reaches out and grasps his
An unconscious need for courage
He grips me back gently
All the way to the fortieth floor
Never saying a word
Both of us with eyes front
Watching the slow passage of each floor

Caged outer door
Then floor structure
Conduits, steel, pipes
Repeated in order
Forty times

The top of the shaft is reached
We drop our hands from one another's
The cage jaws once again opening to release us
Turning to the container
Pushing its bulk out of the elevator
Down a short hall to a room on the north exterior wall
I take a knee in front of the box
Cyrillic writing telling me what to do
I proceed as it advises

Unlatch the eight latches and remove the lid
Insert key
Turn counter clockwise ninety degrees
When lights and screen turn on rotate key clockwise one hundred eighty degrees

Red lights glow
An old computer screen built into the control panel comes to life
Giving everything a green tint in the gloom
Instructions stream down the screen
I ignore most of them

No, this isn't a test
No, I don't want a delay timer
Yes, I do want to detonate

"Пожалуйста, подождите, внутренние тесты, чтобы занять несколько секунд"
(Please wait, internal tests to take a few seconds)

I turn to my stalwart companion
My eyes meeting his
I embrace him with love
Our lips meet in a final kiss

How better to spend these few seconds?

Still holding him tightly
I turn my head to look at the panel
All the lights were glowing warmly
The screen advising its last command
"turn key 90 degrees clockwise"

And with my partner held close
That's what I do