Setting off down the tunnel seemed to put everyone on edge. Metaphorically we were stepping into the open jaws of the lion, or whatever the saying was, and we were doing so in disguise. Whether that boded well for us or not I couldn't tell, but I certainly hoped so. We had forced the others between myself, UOPETA and THEROS to carry the bags to free up our hands to carry the rifles. The fourth remained in the bag that COLUS was carrying, at the front of the group, and was easily reassembled and put to use. We hadn't encountered anyone yet, nor any difficulties either, but we hadn't reached the bottom of the tunnel. We had thought it would dip down with a set of stairs leading through to an underwater tunnel almost immediately. Instead we were still heading down the set of stairs, with no end yet in sight, and I was beginning to wonder whether we were already under the sea yet...
"Just out of interest; what if we're stopped? The other guards that pass us are likely to stop and wonder what we're doing and who we are. What do we say? How do we act?"
"You three take control of the situation, explain what is going on and where you're headed with us. Attempt to put them off from coming with us as that would make it difficult on the other end. Maybe make something up about needing reinforcements at the tower and bridge as you'd caught us removing the other guards. Don't let them think you're not in control or aware of what they should be otherwise we're busted. As for the rest of us, we play ball, to a degree. Every now and then we kick up a fuss, but one of you can put us in our place."
As we continued down the stairs, we eventually could see it flatten out towards the bottom, and once we reached it, we stopped immediately.
"Well... This isn't quite what we had planned... We should have expected it though..."
Before us was a large structure that spanned the entire width and height of the tunnel, and had only one way through. It seemed to be a checkpoint that controlled and monitored traffic into and out of the tunnel, and the bridge and HQ respectively. It made sense for this to be place here, as only a single guard post seemed a little sparse, now that I thought about it. So as to not draw attention to ourselves, we continued forward, trying not to stand out from the other guards, however the six between me, UOPETA and THEROS were certainly drawing the eyes of a few. We ignored them and continued on to the checkpoint, where a burly man, in his mid to late forties appeared at the partially covered window. He didn't look up from something hr was carrying in his hand, but still seemed to notice our approach.
"Papers...?"
"Erm, we don't have them..."
"What do you mean you don't ha... Who are these jokers?"
UOPETA took the lead, stepping towards the window; THEROS and me remained where we were, rifles in what we would class as a militaristic pose, with the sternest faces we could muster.
"I'll give you three guesses..."
"I ain't got time for jokes. Who are these guys? And where are your papers? Who are you guys?"
"We're with bridge team theta. They are the Lone 7, and we left out papers back at the surface outpost. We had a run in with these guys and thought it was a little more important than our papers."
"Are you serious...? The Lone 7...? How do you know? How can you tell?"
"We caught them after they crossed underneath the bridge, trying to put down the guards stationed at the outpost. Managed to take the ones there down, but slipped up when we spotted them. That and the armour they have matches the description put out."
"News to me. Why ain't I heard any memos about Lone 7 descriptions...?"
"Just came out. We were lucky to catch them here otherwise they might have got through."
"I doubt that. They'd have had to get through me and the rest of us here. I can't seem them doin' that..."
"They got over the bridge. Well, under it, should I say... They used the plumb lines on the underside to cross when the bridge was down. Sneaking so and so's..."
"Well then... What now? I don't think there are any protocols for captured fugitives at this time... not any new ones about the Lone 7 anyhow..."
"We haven't anything either, but we figured it'd be best to take them up to the HQ where they could be taken of accordingly."
"Good point. 'aight We'll take 'em from here. Good work fella's. I'll send a team back with you to secure the outpost and send you back to your posts."
"Sorry, but they're our catch. We caught them, we take them in."
"Sorry, but things don't work out like that. You hand 'em over to the next highest authority. That' me!"
"With the bounty on these guys, you'll be lucky. They stay with us. We're taking them to the HQ personally, and if you don't like it, we'll just turn right around and head back."
The surly guard narrowed his gaze at UOPETA, who was being incredibly ballsy. I thought he was pushing things a little too far; mentioning things the other guard wasn't aware of or was unsure of, forcing a stand-off... I was surprised I could still keep up the act! But then THEROS joined UOPETA to back him up.
"You heard him. They're ours. If you don't let us through with them, we'll head back... Maybe even release them... Let you deal with them first hand..."
At this point I was put on edge by THEXIS; he jumped to one side and attempted to make a run for it, but despite the shock, the act I was playing seemed to run on auto-pilot. With a single action, I stepped out of line, and used the butt of the rifle to take out the back of his knee as he passed me. THEXIS crumpled to the floor with a sickening thud, and I quickly hauled him back to the others, putting him back in his place. UOPETA, THEROS and the other guard were now looking at me; I looked straight back, and narrowed my eyes in - what I hoped was - a menacing grimace.
"Fair enough, but the rifles and the bags stay here... Firearms ain't allowed up at the HQ. Policies an' all that jazz..."
"Relax, we've checked them thoroughly. The rifles are spring powered, so no explosives or ballistics. The bags are just full of survival stuff; flint, food, water, blah blah. I doubt that's prohibited at the HQ...?"
The guard sighed a heavy, guttural sigh, before reaching down and pressing a button. The checkpoint doors in front of us slowly opened, allowing us passage through. As we moved through the checkpoint, the guard watched us through the side window, his eyes still a narrow slit.
"I'll be checkin' on your details soon enough, ya know... Ya still need ya papers..."
"Fine by me. Remember: bridge team theta. I assume you know how to spell it...?"
As I passed him I could hear him let off a low growl, as the comment spouted by UOPETA got to him. Hearing the doors close behind us, I couldn't help but feel less safe; we had passed through the checkpoint, and were now between a rock and a hard place, although which the guard was I didn't know... let's hope the rest of our plan goes this "smoothly"...
Syeonyx signing off
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