As I pulled myself out of the hatch. The water dripped from me like a waterfall, spluttering on the ground. I pushed myself up against the wall, hugging it tightly and switched to Echo-Sight.

I braced myself for my SMB to clutch my brain, but the tightening sensation didn’t send a wave of pain down my back. Right, Nova’s mitigating the feedback, I thought happily.

As the sound waves rippled beneath my feet, I slowly shifted to my left and press my back up against the wall as I passed the open hatch.

Once I reached the corner, I peeped around the corner and was happy to see no one was there. I headed towards the other side, checking that corner as well and no one was there. “Clear,” I said softly. “Now I just need to find a way to get rid of this water.”

“There’s no need to worry Sir, Salent Coolant evaporates after contacting oxygen after two minutes.”

“So I don’t have to worry about my Furtiven Suit dripping water then?”

“That is correct.”

“Good.”

I went back to the hatch and closed it as quietly as I possibly could. I wasn’t sure how close the quarters of Lieutenant Ranton’s men were, but I didn’t want to risk it, especially when I didn’t know where the fuck I was.

After seven minutes, my Furtiven Suit was dry enough for me to make my way through the camp. The only problem was I realised the lights within the bunker were beaming as bright as the sun, making it hard for me to stick to the shadows.

As I made my way through the narrow corridor, light beaming brightly. I kept my Echo-Sight activated, ensuring I could see any movement in the distance.

I made it through a few consecutive corners and found nothing but the concrete wall and the strong scent of mould as if the place I’d infiltrated was closed off for a long time. “I’m starting to feel as though I’m heading in a circle” I whispered.

“You aren’t Sir, I’ve been mapping your steps. You are six hundred and eight meters from the hatch.”

“Right.”

“Nova, do you have access to Sceleratus blueprints before it was turned into a black site?”

“I do Sir, but the bunker has changed significantly ever since the installation of the Eliqris Generator.”

“I see, so there are no similarities in the pathways?”

“None Sir. The only similarity that I saw is the vents.”

“What about them?”

“The four vents you’ve come across match up to the old schematics I have in my database. The problem I have is, originally you were supposed to pass at least nine of them.”

“That’s no good to me, if I don’t know where they're heading I could land myself in a room full of bullets with my name on it.”

“The possibility of that is high.”

“But we don’t have a choice.”

“Another variable Sir has to be taken into account.”

“What variable?”

“The vents might not be able to hold your weight.”

“Fuck you’re right.”

I finally found the wheel lock. As I stood in front of it. I switched to X-Ray Vision. Five men appeared in front of me. Three sat on a staircase whilst two were standing. I watched as their skeletal jaws moved and chattered away as they placed something in their moves and knocked their heads back. People are dying outside, I mused bitterly. And these assholes are here drinking and smoking.

The anger within me boiled watching their skeletal frames enjoy myself Until it hit me. The security in the bunker might lapse. I thought for a few seconds, then reminisced about my shenanigans within the A.F.A.

The stress of being under siege would push any man to drink or smoke, but if I had the leisure of a bunker such as this, especially in a situation where Doasians were breathing down my neck. I would certainly kick back and relax, to this level. “Did you ever have a headcount on how many men Ranton had under him?”

“Eighty-Five men Sir.”

“He might also have regular check-ins, dumping them into the Salent Coolant pool would be a waste of time.”

“Damn it.” I said, “I have no choice but to wait.”

I Forced myself to the ground. I sat down and watched as the men talked for twenty minutes before they finally left. The second I pushed myself up to roll the wheel lock, three more men arrived. Bullshit, I huffed. I can’t afford to waste any more time waiting!

“Nova, show me the vent, I can’t wait any longer.”

“Aye Aye Sir, Calculating route that would provide this safest way into the bunker based on previous schematics.”

I grunted for a response, pushing myself up and following the white line that Nova pulsed into my cybernetic eye and contact lens.

The vent was a few feet of food off the ground, but not too far from my reach. I yanked it free with my cybernetic arm as gently as I could but still ended up bending it slightly.

I forced it back in place, pulling myself up, feeling the struts attached to my body groan out as I made my way into the dust and grime vent and switched to Night Vision. So much for that luck, I wished I had. I grunted.

The vent was narrow, making me feel claustrophobic the moment I pulled myself up. I huffed a sigh and then swallowed deeply. Keep straight, then make a left follow the path down forty meters, then make a right. After you make the right there’s a left to take ten meters down. That should lead you to one of the quarters. I’m not sure if it’s in use or not. Nova sent to my cybernetic eye.

I nodded feeling as though I was about to walk into a trap but knew that better. All I needed was to hope, that the room was not being used by whatever number of men Ranton had here.

I began crawling through the vent, just like I practised all those years ago when I was in training. Thankfully, I had the Furtiven Suit or people would’ve been able to hear me a mile away.

After twenty minutes of crawling, I finally made it to my destination. I looked vent, which made me feel like a voyeur, but thankfully no one was there. The room was filled with broken beds with springs busting through the cotton.

The amount of dust that was here would waft the moment I stepped inside, something I was OK with, but at least, I officially made it into the bunker without being noticed.

I pushed the vent open and climbed down. Puffs of dust waft into my nose, forcing me to wave it away. A broken chair sat to my right missing three legs. Next to that was a bed with two legs. “I’m starting to think is where they toss old furniture”

I grunted then walked up to the door, pulsing my X-Ray Vision into existence. I scanned the surrounding area and saw three men walking through the hallway.

The moment they left my vicinity another two appeared, but from the other side of the corridor. I’m starting to think over five hundred people are in this place, I mused bitterly.

People kept coming and going and I simply stood there, soaking up all the dust and grime being completely useless. If only I had access to the entire layout of the bunker, moving through would be a breeze.

The urge to walk outside and act as though I was part of Ranton’s Unit was there, but with my Furtiven suit sticking to my ass like glue, everyone would talk. Hell, they’d even call me a weirdo, whilst some would know what type of suit it was. So, in essence, that plan was out through the window, the moment it came to mind.

An ominous feeling began to resonate within my stomach. I tried to force it out by swallowing deeply, but the feeling that I’d been nurturing ever since I left Bridge City finally settled.

I wasn’t one to be unprepared, especially with an infiltration mission such as this. I knew full well that without Nova’s help, I’d still be pulling my ass on getting into the bunker because if one of the entrances to the bunker was blown sky high, more than likely the other entrances were also set to detonate.

“Your blood pressure is spiking Sir.” Nova chimed in.

“It would, I feel like I’m wasting away.”

“It’s a skeleton crew, Sir.”

“I know, but it still doesn’t feel right.”

“I understand your concern.”

“Concern?”

“Yes Sir, I know you’re concerned about what I said and how your family fits into all this.”

“Right…”

I don’t like this Nova, I mused bitterly, but as of right now, she’s all I’ve got to get this shit done and save my family.