Spy School: The Rise of Gama

Chapter 35: Game Over

Earlier

"Alright, you have orders to carry out. Don't let me keep you have any longer."

Nico and Razor nod to Matias before turning and heading into the dark tunnel. They switch the safety on their guns off, ready to fire at a moment's notice now.

At first the journey is simple. Amazonian agents cleared the path ahead of them, sticking the portable signal boosters to the walls as they went. There's no sign of conflict, but the silence puts both Nico and Razor on edge.

"Where should we look for the others?" Razor asks as they approach an intersection in the tunnels.

The path forward slants downwards, the one to the right appears to stay level, and the path on the left curves away into darkness before it's clear what direction it leads. The cave flooring is starting to smoothen out, worn down by the wear of people walking over it, no longer the rough cut stone it was in the entrance chamber.

Nico examines each of the paths for a moment, his brow furrowed as his mind races through the options. "We'll move down. The children were kept below ground, odds are the others will be even deeper in the cave."

Razor starts forward before Nico pulls him back. "What? You said that we should search down, didn't you?"

"I need to know that you're going into this thinking clearly. This isn't a paintball match back at the school. You can't just charge forward or else you're bound to be shot before you get anywhere near Adela."

Razor lets out an exasperated sigh. "Enough with the goddamn lectures. I know what I'm doing. I also know every second we waste here is a second longer that Gama has to prepare. Let's go." This time Nico doesn't stop him as he starts walking down the path.

The two walk in silence, even their footsteps fall softly enough to make no noise on the stone floor. Above, hastily strung lighting flickers every few feet, illuminating the path just enough to see what's directly in front of them. Alternating patches of light and darkness make up the dizzying, seemingly endless tunnel. Whenever they come to an intersection, they choose whichever slants down. If none of the paths do, they choose at random.

Nico suddenly stops, holding up his hand to signal Razor to stop as well. Razor gives him a questioning look until realizing what it is that made Nico stop. Gunshots. Nico points forward before crouching low and quickly moving in that direction, both his hands on his gun. They follow the sounds of gunfire until it becomes deafeningly loud, the sounds echoing around the tunnels.

Nico peeks around the corner of the intersection before quickly pulling back. "Shit," he breathes out.

"How bad is it?"

"It's a bloodbath, and we're losing."

"Then there's no point in us getting involved," Razor says. He nods toward the other tunnel opposite their position in the intersection, the floor in the tunnel slants downward. "We have to find the others."

Nico looks like he wants to argue, but he knows there's no point arguing with Razor now. Not when they're this close to finding the others. "Fine, you go first, I'll cover you. On my count. Three, two, one." Nico peeks around the corner, ready to fire if necessary as Razor hurries across the intersection.

Once he's on the other side, Razor does the same for Nico. Luckily, neither of them have to fire their guns. They make it across the intersection without incident and are able to continue their journey deep into the caves.

Twisting and turning, following the tunnels, the pair heads deeper into the base. Strangely enough, they don't run into any one else. Their headsets crackle with static as the signal grows weaker until finally they become completely silent.