1:7 Verraden
#7 of The Underground: The Mercenary
The Mercenary is the first arc of The Underground series
Chapter 7 of 32
_ Verraden _
Ventilation ducts were always the worst part about infiltration. They were, by far, the weakest link in any security system. Small, dark, and hazardous, the tiny metallic catacombs could house little security. However, Alias always felt nasty after crawling through the grime and filth of buildup of a place that hadn't been cleaned in years. Not to mention they were in a perpetual state of soggy wetness.
So far this operation had been a breeze. There were only about three guards on duty outside the high-rise tower keeping watch. The roof was completely deserted, and there was a taller building next to it from which Alias swung on a cable to his destination. Working quickly, he found a vent shaft that had access through most of the building. He had literally been able to step out onto the floor he needed, and crawl into another vent shaft, which was the best way to avoid cameras. It was the easiest job he had ever had...
...which was what concerned him so much.
Alias had half a mind to abort, as he felt an ominous presence about him, even as he crawled through the muck of the duct. He just had a feeling that something was off, like too much had been given to him to accomplish this.
Stopping his crawl, Alias worked his paws around the grates of one of the screens. After a little convincing, the screen finally opened into a hole where Alias could climb down. He peaked down and around the hole, giving him an upside down view of the outer hallway.
All clear.
Alias pulled his head back in and crawled past the open hole so his feet were over top of it. Then moving backwards, he fed himself through the hole quickly, dropping to the ground on his feet in a quiet thud, his overcoat catching the air and floating down around the black fox slowly. Clutching both Berettas, Alias's eyes did a quick scan of everything around him. To his back was the lobby, with the elevators; in front of him was Verraden's office, guarded by a huge frosted glass door.
Wasting no time, Alias moved the wall and quickly ran up to the door. Pulling out his PDA he glanced through all the access codes Hets had gifted Alias with. He went through folders until he found the correct one to the office door. Punching in the corresponding numbers, the keypad lit up green, and made a friendly beep.
Then something caught Alias's eye.
Alias's heart stopped as he walked over to the glass case containing information about the building he was in. It gave the CEO, VPs, and board members. Alias's green eyes scanned the board. At first he wasn't sure he had seen anything, but then he found it. Stated in block white letters; Chairman of the Board of Directors: Xen Hets.
The same Xen Hets that had contracted him to do this job.
Why would Hets have him hit one of his own men? He would just take care of it himself, it made no sense whatsoever to hire Alias to do this-
Alias backed away from the glass door. His heart started to beat faster as he came to the realization of what was going on here. His first feelings were that of disbelief, but the logical side of him took hold of what was happening. Clutching his guns even tighter now, Alias broke into a run down the hall to the elevators.
As he rounded the corner to the lobby, the elevator's light lit up and dinged. Alias jumped for cover as the door slid open releasing a barrage of bullets at Alias. The small lead objects buried themselves in the marble walls, making chunks of marble and steel fly everywhere. Thinking fast, Alias ran in the opposite direction, as what seemed like some kind of special ops tried to make mincemeat out of him. Running back to the office, Alias noticed the light was still green on the keypad. Using his momentum from running, Alias slammed into the glass door and forced it open.
Alias slid to an abrupt stop. The only thoughts that ran through his head were: Oh shit, as he realized what was in front of him. Not taking time to go over specifics, Alias turned and ran back down the hall as what only looked like a large explosive device armed itself. By that time, the special ops had rounded the corner and taken up sites on the black fox running back towards them. Alias knew he didn't have time to engage the special ops because of the bomb, so being as precise as possible, he jumped and caught the edge of the hole in the vent duct where he had entered the hall. Using this inertia and strength, Alias launched himself into the vent, sending his feet in first.
Alias's hands snapped closed on his hears, as a deafening explosion erupted from the office. Heat, smoke, and flames burst from the office door, filling the hallway. Covering his head, Alias could only hope he'd be safe here. The whole vents shook, slamming Alias from wall to wall, before there was a sense of falling for about half a second, then the feeling of slamming into a hard surface; pain erupting through Alias's body. Then all was quite.
Coughing because of the smoke, Alias slowly crawled out of the vent. He didn't have to use the hole any longer. He simply made his way to the end where the vent had broken and fallen down to the floor. Alias stood up, slightly dazed. The office was burning, and several smaller fires had started in the hall. The smell of burning fur hit him. Looking down towards the lobby, Alias noticed about five burning bodies. Hobbling down the burning hallway, choking on the dust and smoke, Alias made it to the elevator.
Gaining access to the top of the elevator, Alias rested for a moment. He knew now it was true. He had been set up. Hets knew that Alias would try this tactic if bated enough into it. The bomb was there for when Alias went in to kill this Verraden, and the backup team on the elevator was there in case Alias got spooked, which he had. He wasn't hurt by what had happened. He wasn't sad that Hets had just tried to kill him. He was insanely pissed off!