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"I’m serious, Skyler If you leave me to rot alone in this city, I will hunt you down and sit on you"

Skyler shook his head and clapped his friend on the shoulder "A fate worse than SUBS," he rinned, nodded, and did his little jig "Cover your ears," he sang, and danced over to the detonator With a total lack of grace, he performed a spin and then stomped down on the switch

The world shook

Skyler felt,buffeted and a wave of hot wind slammed into him Bits of metal and concrete splashed into the water just ," Pruripped theYou’re a true friend"

"Don’t get all weepy on irl Into the mouth of hell with you"

Two bricks of plastic explosive turned out to be overkill

All six iron grates lay in twisted ruin, skeletons of rust The concrete around the blast area showed cracks, groundwater already dripping through

"Can’t allow shit like this in the city, eh Russell?" Skyler said, aloud, the sound echoing along the tunnel Blackfield wasn’t so paranoid after all

The ay along the side of the sewer tunnel had collapsed in the explosion With no other option, Skyler grimaced and stepped into the strealy cold

Teeth chattering, he nevertheless took his tie of the barricade With all the other injuries he’d incurred, the last thing he figured he needed was a nasty gash froiven Skyler the satchel that contained two additional bricks of explosive, plus the required blasting caps and triggers He held the bag to his chest with one ar his other arht

Safely beyond the barricade, Skyler walked along the side of the sewer for another fiftyto a tiny alcove with an access shaft The circular tunnel led straight up into darkness, an iron ladder along one side Skyler put a foot on the bottoht

Satisfied, he slung the bag of explosives over one shoulder, then slung his rifle over that He tightened his gun strap and arranged the gun so it pointed straight up, allowing him to climb with both hands while still able to see On the second step he paused and triple-checked the safety, wanting to avoid shooting himself in the chin The vision of such a comical end to his journey made him chuckle softly in the darkness and stench

The ladder ended at a manhole cover that had been welded shut Prumble had warned him about this When the neas built, this one had been largely sealed off

Skyler clung to the ladder and listened for a while Through the finger-sized holes in the steel disk, he could hear the faint sounds of Nightcliff’s yard Theas a containersohtcliff’s walls, at surface level, would not go unnoticed With a sigh he cli the sewer tunnel

After another hundred an to curve to the left and slope upward Exhausted, Skyler rested for fiveto hike up the incline A cold, claetting his leg gashed and his rib cracked and his head puest ache he suffered would be froht, would be the death of hian to become curious about his boots The insects crunched under his feet as he stalked up the tunnel He wondered how far the ocean was now

At the top of the slope, Skyler eles and ht could only faintly illuminate the far side The walls were lined with tributary tunnels A junction, Skyler realized Every old sewer tunnel under Nightcliffdown froned hi more than to be out of the stink and darkness

The first two proved sealed, but the thirdhis sense of relief, Skyler pushed the th he could rams Combined with his aard hold on the ladder, he found it alned hiainst a chip in the concrete on the other side of the shaft to free up his second hand

With a grunt he pushed upith both ar the cover a few centiaining purchase again Skyler couldn’t risk holding up the cover and studying the surroundings; he’d fall if he didn’t hurry So he devoted his strength to sliding the cover aside

Pitch darkness looht and let his eyes adjust before cli around

Thethat blocked the sky, in a wide alley that appeared to be devoted to storing broken machinery A few tractors and old trucks were parked at the dead end, covered in years of dirt, dust, and rain Everything that o

At the alley entrance, Skyler could see only the side of another building, one story tall and lined with dark s Out froht sky Store, but he could see the cord of the Elevator, and the tower that protected its base The landhtcliff fortress, near the seaall The old Platz ht

Skyler surveyed the building in front of hih the dirty s just enough to recognize rows of bunk beds He glanced down at his wet, filthy clothing and back at theA Nightcliff uniforuise then at least for the smell

He walked around to the back of the barracks, intent to stay away from the central yard of the fortress He ood to bu about Better to act like he belonged there

The back door to the building didn’t budge when he turned the handle Skyler pressed his ear to it and listened, but no sound came from within Perhaps Blackfield had moved all his men to orbit?

Skyler waited for a thunderclap and kicked the door in He rushed inside, gun held at the ready He flipped the flashlight on and found the room to indeed be empty The bunks were in disarray, vacated in a hurry Without stopping, Skyler jogged to the front of the building and locked the front door

Frohtcliff’s cargo yard A water hauler sat on one of the four landing pads, its engines stirring up an angry mist even at idle speed Workers rushed back and forth underneath the aircraft, detaching a blue water container

The other three pads were e on the far side toward the Elevator, leaning against a pylon with his arilant," Skyler muttered

He turned to look for a spare uniforht his attention back to the yard A bulky craft canized it Kantro’s ship A fat-bellied craft with little range, often used to bring fresh soil from abandoned farms just beyond the Aura Skyler came back to the atch Kantro was a friend, and a friend would be useful

As the craft cauards poured out of the control tower Twenty men and women, at least

Inspection? At least I’m not the only one they pick on The size of the force was excessive for a search, though

Those ere aran to surround it The others streamed out toward the barracks One turned and waved toward the control to, high above the yard

Skyler followed the guard’s wave up to the controller’s perch Nu at Kantro’s vehicle

A guard burst through the door to the barracks, eyes wide as saucers He didn’t even glance at Skyler as he raced to a locker and reers shook as he fu on?" Skyler asked as the er ship," he barked as he sped out the door toward the surrounded pad<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>