Tanya decided it was time to act

The shave-head who'd been talking fell over backward. Obviously, to Rick at least, Tanya had been a little over-anxious. On the other hand, the fallen man had recognized Rick, so the mission had been compromised.

Rather than give the remaining shave-heads a chance to think, Rick took control. "Okay, get him out of here. I'll search the house for the source of the gas leak. Call in that we've already had a gas explosion and that we need more company personnel to evacuate the area."

One of the shave-heads raised his hand. "But--"

"Look, the situation is out of control because you guys refused to evacuate properly. I don't have time for more procrastination. Andy, see to that guy on the floor. He must have been hit by some debris flying from the explosion."

In times of emergency, someone who sounds confident can get others to follow his lead even when what he said didn't make much sense. Rick was devastated that Tanya might have killed the guy, creep though he was, because that meant Rick was responsible for a murder. But right now, he was intent on making sure Kat and Usha were okay. Once he'd done what he needed to do, he'd decide how to handle his responsibilities.

He did remember Kat's warning about booby traps and stepped carefully as he walked through the entryway and into the living room.

Sure enough, one of the tiles had a seam around it and there was a raised spot in the living room carpet that looked like it had been avoided by any footsteps.

He went around those, hoping that they weren't some kind of double-cross, and headed for what he hoped would be the bedroom area.

The first bedroom had two sets of bunkbeds but no people.

The second had the same bunkbeds but it wasn't empty. Another shavehead stood there, weapon in hand, and Kat and Usha were both tied, spread-eagled, to the two lower bunks.

"What the hell?" the shavehead demanded.

"Gas company. There's been a serious leak. We've evacuated the entire block. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't think--"

Actually, the reverse was the problem. The asshole had been thinking. Which slowed down his reactions.

Rick kept talking, babbling something about gas main leakage, the effect of a weapon discharge and--

And he punched the shave-head in the throat.