The place had more booby traps than a movie labyrinth. Brad sighed as he carefully stepped over another trip wire. This kind of paranoia seemed to confirm that perhaps their fugitive was hiding out in the subway tunnel. Brad sincerely wished that he could turn on a light, but with all of the traps it would be better to maintain the element of surprise.
There was a tap on his shoulder and Agent James turned to see what Kai wanted to say. The closer they had gotten to the other end, the quieter they needed to be. If the person had this many traps there was a safe bet that they could trigger at least one of them remotely. Brad had no idea what most of the wires triggered, and he had no desire to find out. Kai calmly pointed out another trap that he had spotted and Brad nodded.
The yells from whoever was ranting in the tunnel were starting to become clearer. Clearer meaning louder. The person was decidedly not yelling any language Brad knew, and it possibly seemed that it was entirely gibberish. So far they had only heard the sign of life, not seen any movement. Even rats seemed to avoid this section of the tunnel.
When they reached the end of the debris, there was still no one in sight. The pile of debris blocked the tunnel path and created a little nook. There was a makeshift bed, it looked like the person did not even have a cot or sleeping bag, as well as what looked like a mutant cat made out of old soda cans. The gibberish sounded again and Brad looked over to find Kai picking up an old tape recorder.
“You mean no one’s even here?” Brad demanded.
“Looks like it,” Kai sighed.
“Then I’m turning on a flashlight,” Agent James growled. “I’m starting to get annoyed with the dark.”
Agent James pushed up his night vision goggles, letting his eyes adjust a little bit to the darkness. His hands fumbled for the flashlight and he flipped it in his hands. Then Brad’s thumb froze right above the button. He had spent all of his years as an agent ignoring his impulses and operating on rules and regulations. Now that he had transferred agencies, he had started developing the annoying habit of acknowledging random hesitation.
“Brad, don’t turn around,” Kai said quietly. “And definitely don’t turn on that light or make any sudden movements.”
It was easier said than done. There was something behind him, but Brad resisted the urge to turn around. Not like he could actually see anything without his night vision goggles. According to the report, their target could be unstable and completely incoherent if antagonized. Antagonizing did not seem like a good idea in the dark.
“Hi,” Agent Moto said, talking to whatever was behind Brad. “We’ve been in these tunnels for a little while and can’t find the way out. Can you help us?”
There was no response, but some shifting of weight. Kai tried a few more times to communicate, but there continued to be no response. Then a horrendous yell that sounded like a banshee ripped through the air behind him. Brad could not help jumping and was more surprised when his legs were pulled out from under him.
A rather cartoony trap seemed to have been laid and Agent James found himself on the receiving end. The chain wrapped around his leg and Brad’s had nearly cracked hard against the ground as he was jerked up into the air, feet first. Kai was struggling with the person, but Brad could not see a thing. He could not even tell how high he was hanging in the air.
“Brad!” Kai yelled. “Under!”
Agent James reached his arms down and put a death grip on the first thing he came in contact with. The person flailed, but only succeeded in bruising Brad’s ribs. If his head had been higher he probably would have gotten a broken nose. The target was having a major freak out and it sounded like Agent Moto was having difficultly trying to restrain him enough to safely get a sedative in the target and not in Brad.
“Finally,” Kai sighed as the target stopped squirming.
“Get me down then,” Brad growled. “And don’t mention this.”
Eeeee! Creepy!
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