Matilda steps forward, but Taciturn puts out his hand.
“Look, Sean, my name is James. I’m getting real tired of all these hoops I need to jump through. When did Tor get so paranoid?”
Sean shrugs, even as his smile grows.
“Aye, aye, sorry for that. Cagey business, innit? We’ve been hit pretty badly, the last couple of days. It’s got everybody on edge.”
Sean waves to one of the servers.
“So how about another drink, eh? Show you there’s no hard feelings.”
James shakes his head.
“No, we’ve had enough to drink and wasted enough time. It’s time for us to go.”
Sean’s smile fades slightly.
“No worries. Got to head out that way anyway.”
He stands up and points to the service entrance. James motions for Sean to take the lead.
“And you said Tor was paranoid. Right, then.”
Sean grabs a backpack from under the booth and slings it over his shoulder. Readied, he gives Matilda a gentlemanly tip of his black beanie.
“Morning, Miss. It’d be my pleasure if you’d follow me.”
The Scry nods. “I’m Matilda, by the way.”
Sean nods, walking backwards.
“Good to know, luv. Looks like we’re all off on an adventure.”
James rolls his eyes as Sean does an about-face and leads them through the kitchen. Stopping suddenly, their guide turns to again face the Taciturn and the Scry, his hand in his jacket pocket.
“Almost forgot. You’ll both be needing these. Good thing I knew there was going to be two of you, huh?” He pulls out a pair of silver rings intricately etched with four leaf clovers.
James cautiously leans in to examine them.
“These look like Jammers.”
Sean’s head bobs in agreement.
“Right. With these on, it should help get the sniffers off our backs. At least for a while. Also, you can turn off those camo modules. No sense draining your batteries.”
Matilda puts her ring on, looking at Sean.
“How did you know there would be two of us?”
Sean raises his empty hands and shrugs.
“Lucky guess, is all. Everyone’s been talking about two travelers that brought down Hank and set the Spire ablaze. Tor had a hunch you two were going to make your way out here.”
James frowns at this information.
“That was very astute of him.”
“What do you mean, ‘set ablaze’?” Matilda asks, searching his face. His smile falters under her scrutiny.
“Well, I mean – it is to say, the Spire is in chaos now, innit? What with their king dead and no one to replace him, the whole place’s devolved into civil war. They’re tearing each other apart, aren’t they?”
Matilda’s shoulders sag at this news. James points to the exit.
“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s get moving.”
Sean’s eyes dart back and forth between the Scry and Taciturn, as if trying to understand what he might have said wrong.
“Anyway. Stick close to me.”
Chapter 20: “Underground”
Sean leads them through the back alleys and side streets of the Metropolis subsection known as Dutch City. The group avoids the densely populated areas, the growing numbers of citizens waking up for the day. Matilda pushes herself to keep up but stops when she notices a gang of mercenaries loading a truck with several human-sized bags – that appear to be moving. She reaches for a blade, but Sean interrupts her.
“It’s good manners around here not to stare, kiddo. Best leave that one alone.”
It takes James’ disapproving expression to stop her.
“Come on, Matilda – we have a bigger fight ahead of us.”
Reluctantly, she motions for them to continue walking. Falling in step close behind them, Matilda listens in on their conversation.
James asks, “You mentioned Enclave security cracking down recently. Have you guys been stepping up your attacks?”
Sean’s laugh echoes in the alley.
“You could say that. Tor’s been targeting Simmons’ personal holdings recently. So those Enclave Spec Ops bastards have been hitting us pretty hard. Bloody tossers, they are.”
Matilda watches James produce a pack of cigarettes and offer one to Sean.
“Cheers,” Sean mutters, lighting up. “Yeah, lost a couple of friends in their raids.” He exhales a cloud of smoke while James lights his own cigarette. “Still though, the damage to Simmons’ stuff was worth it.”
James exhales, looking at him. “Oh yeah?”
Sean laughs again. “Yeah. Blew up some of his data vaults pretty nicely. Drained a fair share of resources before doing it, too.”
James nods. “Yeah, that would piss Simmons off pretty good. With a strike like that, I bet it’s also attracted more boots to your cause.”
James sounds casual enough, but Matilda can tell he’s probing for more information. For anything useful before they get to Tor.
“Aye, we had a bunch of lads beating down the door to get in. Granted, we took a few of the better choices, but Tor wants to lie low for a while. Kids require training. They all think they can handle themselves in the field. They play too many games. Even then, most wouldn’t have the stomach to walk around in the Dark.”
Matilda chimes in from behind them.
“Also, Simmons’ guys.”
Sean looks back as if he forgot Matilda was there.
“What’s that, luv?”
Matilda sighs.
“You said Tor wanted to lay low after all the raids, and people showed up looking to join. He probably assumed that Simmons was trying to plant someone in your group.”
Sean looks at her, perplexed, but James grins and nods.
Matilda rolls her eyes. “Forget it, never mind.”
They follow Sean for a few more blocks. Matilda is about to ask “Are we there yet?” – but their guide finally stops.
“Here we are,” Sean says, approaching a maintenance hatch. Bending down, he turns the rusty wheel but struggles to open it. James steps in to help and the wheel eventually yields with a groan. Sean bows and makes a courtly gesture to the dark tunnel.
“Ladies first.”
Before James can interject, Matilda pushes forward to the entrance. Grinning, she makes her way down the ladder. She focuses on taking one step at a time, hoping the bottom will arrive soon. Her focus is broken when Sean closes the hatch behind them, snuffing out the last of the illumination from the world above. Blind in the new darkness, Matilda halts her descent.
“Uh… a little help, here.”
Sean’s voice reverberates off the walls above and around her.
“Sure thing, watch your head.”
Matilda hears the crack of a glow stick above her. “Look out below,” Sean exclaims.
The impact of the stick glancing off her head doesn’t actually hurt, but Matilda lets out a cry anyway. The lighted stick tumbles down the remainder of the shaft.
“Hey, watch it!”
Looking down, she sees the bottom of the service tunnel and the floor, now bathed in a neon-green light. Continuing her descent, Matilda reaches the bottom of the shaft, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. James arrives at the bottom shortly after her, followed by Sean, who scoops up the glow stick and hands it to Matilda.
“Here you go, darling. A souvenir.”
Matilda knows that neither of them can really see her face, but she rolls her eyes anyway. Taking the glow stick, she watches as Sean cracks a fresh one and shakes it into luminescence. When he speaks, it is in a whisper.
“Not far, now. Just stay close.”
In the darkness, it’s hard for Matilda to judge how far they’ve walked, but they eventually emerge into an open room illuminated by two torches. Standing next to each torch are two guards holding exotic-looking rifles, high-end hardware that looks strangely out of place in these subterranean chambers.