A dull clang rang out as Lana makeshift candlestick crowbar slid out of where she'd wedged it under the handle.  The sound was shockingly loud, and in its wake, low laughter rolled in.  Damn.  There was someone standing in the shadows, and if that laugh was any indication, he was more apt to be the cause of the smell than the source of it.  

Lana looked at the lock one last time, and jiggled the handle -- the tumblers were no looser.  Brute force had never been Lana's strong suit.  Ilia might have better luck with the door, but there was an easier solution.    

"The other door is already open -- this one's jammed and Landel neglected to supply us with the appropriate tools for forcible entry."  Lana spoke quickly and quietly, but in the same tone she'd have exchanged nonsense about the weather with a colleague.  No sense tipping off whoever -- whatever was out there.  She slipped past Ilia and strode across the room, hoping Ilia'd be right behind her.