�Sir, I�ve detected some kind of cave on the side of that rock formation�, announced Roxtren. His voice seemed to lift slightly with relief as he said this, indicating that he, too, was getting tired of the ride.
�Very well Roxtren, lead the way.� David seemed relieved, too, but he was insistent they still watch themselves. As they rounded another of the seemingly endless hills, the green of the fields seemed to stop abruptly, shifting almost spontaneously into what seemed like an entrance into a canyon, There was a very steep hill to descend first, one which even their brakes wouldn�t do much good on.
They made good time though, and were well within the formation shortly. The deeper into the crevice they went the dimmer the surroundings got, and eventually they had to dismount and start walking their bikes, as it quickly became too dark to ride. David was thinking of ordering the team back, when suddenly he hit a rock, and tripped. A bullet zinged a mere inch over his head.
�What the hell is going on?� shouted Hisheena. N�tn�see dropped to one knee and concentrated on the shadows in the darkness. He was firing blind, but there was really nothing any of them could do. One by one, tranquilizer darts entered their necks. Before Jean could start running toward the crevice entrance, a dart placed her in slumber too.
David stood, breathing heavily, waiting. Suddenly, lights flashed bright. He saw shapes of some dozen Clan Soldiers, and heard a familiar voice. It was Sam.
�I�m sorry I never really got much of a chance to tell you that I wasn�t exactly on your side. But I�m sure that once they get the brain surgery finished you and the remnants of your squad will make for some high-performance slaves. Perhaps letting me take those restroom breaks while still carrying the burden of comms equipment wasn�t too bright?�
Sam placed his Tranq semi-automatic onto David�s chest, and fired. For David, life just played slowly in front of him as he saw himself falling sluggishly to the ground, and then the darkness consumed him.
�COM central sends their compliments for your information on the squad�s location�, reported one of the clan soldiers to Sam. He could only hope that he had done the right thing, that his plan would work.
* * *
David slowly began to see shadows and lights again, though none of them made sense. Focusing, the shapes began to resolve. Looking around himself, he saw William Roxtren, Jean Carter and N�tn�see Hoj�nbek. Apparently, they were in some kind of holding cell. He wasn�t the first one awake.
�Finally�� began William. �I guess that backstabbing bastard plugged you with a couple of extra rounds than us. Those creeps took Jean an hour ago, and all we�ve heard since is screams. They stopped five minutes ago��
�Then we must save as many lives as possible and get out of here. Any leads on our escape?�
�Sir� responded N�tn�see. �This door was designed to be simple, as its flaw is. A force of merely 30 kilos to the spot 5 cm below its lock should render the bolt ineffective.�
�Well then,� David sighed, �Let�s get out of here. If Jean is dead they�ll be lining up their next victim any minute now. Hisheena? If you would be so kind as to do the door detail�� At this, Hisheena busted open the door with a swift, sharp kick to the section that N�tn�see suggested. Once the door opened, voices were heard down the hall in front of them, with shadows dancing madly against the dim lit corridor walls. �Let�s move!�
In silence, they all retreated into an adjacent hallway. Though they could seem to hear enemies around every corner due to the alloy used to make the infrastructure, they encountered no one. Eventually, however, they stumbled upon a well-lit room with several medical tables with precision grade instruments on unnaturally shiny trays accompanying each of the tables. All of them had a clean, blue sheet except one.
Upon it was a figure; it was 8 feet long due to some kind of stretching device as David had once seen at the Amsterdam Torture Museum. The body was covered with well over a thousand razor cuts, several knives inserted into the legs and arms, the ears and nose were missing, the eyes boiled with microwaves, and the skull sliced open. It was Jean.
As his team gasped and gagged in horror and depression, David walked to the tray of bloody instruments and picked up a notebook with notes hastily scribbled onto it. One line caught his eye. �Filthy bandit would not surrender information!� He read this to his teammates, admiring the courage of his fallen comrade. They would have grieved there forever if it hadn�t been for the sound of footsteps behind them. �Let�s move; we need to get out of this facility now!�
�Okay, look, I don�t know how they got out, they just did!� reported the guard to his officer. A slight tremble could be heard in his voice. �What should we do, sir?�
�What the hell do you think you should do? Find them, you inscillent moron!�
�Yes, sir!� The guard and some security troops began to leave.
�Wait�, said the officer to the guard, whose sudden relief had just been swiped.
�Y-y-yes, sir?�
�That bandit we tortured� what did our doctors find?�
�It�s strange sir. They used every method available and the bit-�
�DIDN�T TALK?� Assumed the officer, furiously. �How? Did those damn doctors try out one of the newer methods again?�
�No sir, they just messed u-�
�No one screws up under my command. Here�s my authorization signal; I want both of them executed. However the chef likes. It�s been a while since we�ve had fresh meat around here.� The officer began to laugh, as did the guard nervously, simply glad he was keeping his head.
Their search was not very much of a difficult task; the bunker base, which was well over a square kilometer, didn�t have that many places to hide. Most of its doors were locked, meaning the bandits would have to go straight for an exit- they would be trapped in the corridors. If they managed to get out of the building before they were found, the motion detectors outside would pinpoint their location within seconds.
�Sir� would you like us to capture them alive or shall we shoot on sight?� The commander pondered at this. Should he keep them alive and attempt to attain information, or prohibit any possibility of their escape? The latter seemed more promising, since the doctors couldn�t get any information out of them anyway.
�I want them dead. If they escape, you will cover for them.� The Guard recognized this order as business as usual, and death threats were common speech.
�Yes sir!�
