It only took about a half hour to get to the location and Jacob pulled out an area map as he walked. The area was glowing with the lights of the Shiver APC as men in green spread out to cover the street. There was a plume of sparks as a pair worked to open the manhole cover and orange flares burned in the distance, marking the perimeter where the unstable sections of ground were.
"The Gaff and her people are holed up inside what used to be the Fairland Hotel. Since most of this area has collapsed and the only ways in are either through the sewer here or CS2."
"Oh crap!" Heretic cursed as he turned and stomped around.
"Precisely," The Shaktar interjected with a smirk as he checked his weapons. "This doesn't smell like a storm sewer."
Behind them, the workers pulled the manhole cover aside with a scrape and a cloud of gas escaped. One of the Shivers with a sniffer unit trotted over towards the squad.
"Operatives?" he started. "There's a high methane content in that passage, so you'd best take respirators and keep from firing."
"No problem," the 313 answered, grinning like the idiot Harm knew it was. "We're prepared!"
Harm watched as the 313 dropped in first, followed by the Human who stopped on his climb down to look up at him. Checking his hands off mike, he heard the man's voice clearly.
"We'll get your daughter back, Mr. Harm," he said with a wave. "I promise."
Harm waved back and nodded, watching as he vanished into the manhole with the Brainwaster behind him. The Shaktar took its time strapping on its respirator and stopped just short of the ladder before it turned and glared at him.
"Harm, if this is a misdirection, if this is a false pretense-" the alien began, but he interrupted.
"This isn't any kind of 'pretense'. I just want my daughter back!"
The sharp tone of Harm's voice caught the attention of the nearby Shivers who looked over briefly. The Shaktar was nonplussed and continued.
"The child in the picture bears no resemblance to you in any way except that she is human, but I will grant you the benefit of a doubt."
Harm mentally shrugged because the little girl in the picture was the best he could do in the hour he had to prepare for this. It had only cost him five uni for her Mom to let him take a snapshot when he found them on a corner, so he wasn't about to complain. On the other hand, he had no idea why this lizard was so damn suspicious.
"If however, this is some sort of trap for us," the Shaktar said as it stepped close to tower over him. "I will come for you and there will be no place that you can hide. I will find you as long as you live and breathe. Do we understand each other Mr. Harm?"
"Of course," he answered, feeling his mouth turn into cotton. Somehow, the lizard had seen through him and it was unnerving. Harm watched as the creature climbed into the sewer and swallowed hard, listening to his mike.
"Now operative?" A Shiver asked and he waved him off, wanting to wait until they were further away. The words of the lizard were still in his head and he felt a chill run up his spine. He knew that those lizards don't lie and the squad would figure this out. After three minutes, he waved to the Shiver crew.
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