Location: Devil's Runners HQ
Time: Few minutes before dawn

---

The rats angrily screeched and ran away from Loki as she made her way through the sewage tunnels with a large tube on her back, clanking with every step. The place still stinked of decay, but at least the sewage itself was nowhere to be found. Piles of trash resided in the deeper parts of the tunnel and the colonies of rats an bugs made their homes in them. Tiny eyes gazed at her every step, as she approached a massive flood gate that stood open like a gaping maw in the darkness of the tunnels. On the other side lied an enormous, dimly lit hole that would channel the excess sewage into treatement facilites hundreds of floors below. But she didn't go beyond the gate and instead stopped a few dozen meters away from it. On the left side of the wall was a hardly noticable round metal door that blended in with the darkness around it. Loki stepped closer and turned the handle on it sideways.

The hinges screamed as the door slowly opened and revealed what lied on it's other side. The light from inside hit Loki's eyes and she had to squint as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. She closed the door behind her, and then took off the gas mask but left the goggles on to filter some of the light. Her implant was still a bit sensitive to light changes, but the eye protection helped slightly. She took a deep breath from the air inside which was only slightly less smelly than that in the sewers, and smiled with pleasure at the scent. It may be sour, but it was the smell of something else that was much sweeter. It was the smell of home.

Most settlers live in the safety of settlements where they live in small shacks that can barely fit a sleeping shack, but Runners rarely have to put up with those conditions. The room was spacious and decoared with furniture and accessories brought down from the topside. It gave a cozy feel to the concrete living space that was only separated by wooden shelves, curtains and the occasional concrete pillar. In the middle of the room stood a large table with papers and empty bottles dotting it's surface, but the worn map could still be seen under all the mess. Looked around to see where the others are at, but she could only see the faint light of reading lamps and hear quiet snoring. She carefully walked to the tabble in the middle and grabbed the large metal tube on her back. She used one hand to make some free space on the table by removing a few stacks of paper and pushing them aside. Then she made sure to make the most possible noise by placing the heavy tube on the metal part of the table.

The sound of steel clashing with steel echoed multiple times throughout the room, relentless assaulting the ears of those inside it. The sweet clanking sound finally quelled as the sound of people waking up canclled it out. Loki smiled in pleasure as she inspected the surprised faces that looked at her with dreamy eyes from behind the curtains and walls. "Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing." To give weight to her words she started the timer on her wristwatch, making sure that everyone can see the motion clearly.

Glassy eyed, rarely blinking, mouth parted slightly, and hands folded across his chest, Flamel lay. His mind, however, flew. It wandered from place to place, attention flitting uncontrollably, as if everything the world had and still offered was unworthy of its attention. It went to the post, and it saw its body begin to smoke, then burst into flame. It saw the first person Konstantin killed, before the world went to hell. It saw the blood pooling around him, never stopping, filling the room and threatening to drown him. It saw Rue, toiling over the chemistry bench. Konstantin walking over, inquiring as to her progress, trying a smile, and not having it come out quite right. His mind barely had time to see Rue’s lips start to form a reply before drifting away. It saw Klaus and Kian, talking weapons again. Two of the three, maybe four people Konstantin could consider close to a friend. It saw Konstantin resting on a couch, sleeve rolled up, easing a syringe close to a vein, eyes locked onto Sidney’s back. Waiting for her to turn around with a harsh glare, or a more vocal form of disapproval. The mind wandered away once again, and found itself staring out of Flamel’s eyes.

A thin trickle of air escaping from his mouth as he sighed, Flamel began to drum his fingers atop his chest, eyes still fixated on the ceiling, wide open. Whirlwind, another specialty of Flamel’s, was nothing like its meeker counterpart, Breeze. While the latter numbed the senses, and one’s mental faculties at higher dosages, Whirlwind was a far more intense experience. Flamel began to massage his eyes gently, shifting into a sitting position. He looked around in mild surprise as a loud clang of steel bounced around the compound, his ears as uncoordinated as the rest of his body.

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing." Flamel sighed once more, and hurriedly donned what little of his gear he wasn’t already wearing. Hood down and mask hanging loosely around the neck, Flamel tumbled out from behind the dividers that blocked his personal space from view.

Eyes locked carefully on Loki as he staggered forward, he called out to her. “Morning Ashur, I mean, Loki. Good morning Loki. Is what I mean.” Peering at Loki’s wristwatch, his eyes narrowed. “What time is it? Hard to make out from this distance.” Flamel coughed, once. “I mean, to be fair. Fair to me, that is. To be fair to me, most things are hard to make out right now.”

Kian dreamt of a time before, before everything happened. It was a simpler times, sure Kian had problems like every other person in the world but he didn't know how good he had it. In a heartbeat he would trade his past selves problems to his present self, but what can you say live and learn. He was stuck with the now, and what better way to face it than with a smile? That's what his parents would have wanted of him eitherway. His dream wasn't some grand old fantasy, it was him just conversing with his parents, discussing whether he should move to a dorm or stay with them, how simpler times just seem more mundane but unreachable in this day and age.

In his stupor he was shook awake by an echoing metallic clank, the book 'In Search of Lost Time' fell off his face and onto the stony floor. In panic he grabbed the book but a page was scratched on a loose jagged rock, Ah, well atleast it looks more grizzled and authentic now he thought, trying to hide his pain at damaging what once was a mint condition book. Well it was mostly his fault for choosing to sleep on the rather uncomfortable chair. His eye whizzed to life as he got up, Kian clicked his tongue at the unintentional usage, choosing to wrap the bandages around it tighter before turning it off.

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing."

He patted the floors for his helmet and slung it on his arm before moving towards the briefing table, his scarf draping lazily behind him. He eyed Konstantin and shot him a genuine look of concern. As soon as he arrived he pat Konstantin's back, "You alright buddy?" he said shooting him a warm smile.

Taking a look at Ashur, or Loki, "Hey boss." he expressed, shooting her the same smile, "What's the situation?"

Those words echoed in his mind as his eyes emptily stared at the book that he was suppose to read - it was an old book, a novel about a cyberpunk setting, something about being sucked into a machine or something other, he wasn't paying attention anymore. He was stuck in a trance, stuck with painful memories of the past, it's a wonder that John hasn't exactly drowned himself in a bottle - though he wants to - the kids wouldn't have wanted to see him like that, nor is it the best thing to do in such bleak circumstances around a group of people who are just as broken as he is. No, he keeps it real with himself, a bottle of jack won't do jack shit, reading a book, teaching a few people, perhaps he could still make a difference.

He noticed the others just milling around and glanced down at the book he was just reading, he whispered softly to himself, "I'll be back... Just hope y'all did your home work though" He had a few promises to keep, he still has a few loved ones in his old settlement and though he misses being there he can't just go back even if he wanted to. There were too many people who knew about him and if they find out about his old settlement he'll be putting the people he cares about at risk and he of all people couldn't risk it. They were family but then when John glances around the room he was already around family - a mildly eccentric and dysfunctional family but it was still family.

He heard the creaky door open with a cacophony of sound amplified by the room, John instinctively wrapped his fingers around his holstered 9 mil. He waited for the usual greeting as he glared at the small opening and sure enough...

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing."

He breathes a out a sigh of relief as he saw Loki's voluptuous form slip into the room. He stood up while relieving the grip that he had on his sidearm. Shortly after Loki was greeted by Flamel, another denizen of the Devil's Runners glamorous abode. He couldn't make out what he was saying - he was at the other side of the room - but he seemed shaky and John's immediate reaction is that he must've been doing narcotics again.

Konstantin isn't his favorite Roommate by any stretch and he would rather not get in a mess with someone who could poison you in your sleep with some drug. Being a talented chemist gave you a lot of advantages and for Konstantin that was being able to make drugs that could kill you or worse. John would rather not know how bad things could get, there is a reason why he always has a holstered pistol juuuust in-case, that and maybe one day the person that comes through that creaky metallic door wouldn't be anyone they knew, maybe one day it could be someone out to kill them all. That sort of shit happens all the time in the wastes, things get quiet, people get complacent, and one day they all end up dead because they let their guard down and John wasn't about to let shit like that happen, not to this bunch and he was sure as hell that they'd do the same.

The next moment Kian walked over to the briefing table then gave Konstantin a pat on the back. Kian was always the optimistic one, he always saw the good in most people even in someone like Konstantin. John respected Kian and Kian always gave the same decency to an old man like John unless if it's about his eyes of course.

Kian pretty much greeted Ashur and Konstantin like a bright light his smile was almost infectious - so much so John almost smirked. John grabbed his gear and walked over to the meeting without a peep until he arrived at the table, "What's the job boss?" straight to the point, short and sweet as always. John rarely talked and when he did it was when it was absolutely needed or if you pissed him off for the Devil's Runners he was starting to loosen up but he was still trying to keep it shut, he didn't want to get close to people who might die and he doesn't want people getting close to him cause he might 'buy the farm' later on too.

Liam looked up from his drink, his eyes glancing over the pub he was in. This placed seemed so familiar, yet for some reason, he couldn't remember why. With a shrug Liam grabbed his drink and downed it, we bring as he placed the glass on the table. Something told him that this place wasn't right. It felt too comfortable, he was too relaxed. As he got up to leave almost out of nowhere a woman appeared in front of him. Liam took a step back as he stared at the woman. It makes sense now he thought to himself. This is was her place. Her home. Liam reached out his hand and was inches away from touching her face when she spoke. He stared at her in confusion as no sound came out of her mouth. Taking a step towards her, Liam leaned forward to hear what she said. The woman smiled before speaking again.

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing."

Confused Liam pulled away and looked at her. That's funny, for a second there that sounded like Ashurs voice. As Liam was about to ask her why and how she spoke like Loki, a sudden loud bang brought him to consciousness...

Liam jerked awake as he sat upright. "Fucking hell" he groaned as he clutched his head, his hangover now starting to hit him. He remembers having drunk a bottle or two of alcohol last night, but this hangover made him feel like he drank all the booze on the face of the earth. With another groan Liam got out of his bed and grabbed his gear and headed out. As he pulled back the curtains the light from the room blinded him, causing him to shield his eyes as he stumbled towards the table.

"Good morning." He mumbled as he placed his sabre and pistols on the table. As he did so he noticed a half empty bottle of whiskey on the floor. He grabbed it and took a swig from it. "Also the loud banging? Great way to start the day off, truly." He said as he begun stretching. "Soo," He said his body now beginning to wake up. "What do we have?".

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing."

Newt's bed was slightly dusty, neatly made, and empty - as usual. It was near impossible to guess where she'd tucked herself into for the night, as she never seemed to settle into the same place more than twice a week. In the past, her peers had jokingly used Newt's odd sleeping behaviour as a means of predicting the weather. Shortly after the god-awful clanging of metal, however, Newt made her presence known.

The doors to one of the rusting, overhead cupboards burst open, forced outwards by a sharp kick of Newt's foot. After a few moments, various items began to fall from the doorway, including a light trenchcoat, a pair of boots, and an old stapler. And then came the little creature herself, tumbling from her make-shift bed and landing gracefully on both feet in a seemingly perfect soft landing, her arms extending outwards to keep her cat-like balance.

Seemingly perfect - until she failed to keep straight. In a silent and slightly awkward manner, she fell chin-first, flopping like a wet towel onto the floor and planting her face in the crumpled coat. Too soon. A mess of orange, partially pulled back hair shaded her expression, which lay at an angle into the worn leather beneath her.

"Five... Five more minutes..." A meek murmur escaped her lips, muffled by her hair. Newt's head was still stuck deep within the clouds. For some, this dreamy morning mood was a positive sign of Newt's healing. Her fairly recent and only instance of capture and imprisonment had left her not only battered and bruised, but paranoid and quiet, and it seemed for a while that her personality had almost entirely died off. However, this had been a change which some of her peers might have welcomed; a lesson well learned, in their vision.

The incident had left the little blight with a plethora of odd ticks and habits; each of which are slowly fading with time. Perhaps the most memorable and irritating habits she had fallen into was her tendency to sleep on the floor beneath other people's beds. Her peers in question might have never seemed to know unless they saw her slipping under there in the first place.

Following a few seconds of lifelessness, the creature began to shift again, and a single eye peered up towards the source of the cacophony as Newt writhed to lift her head. She hummed grimly at the sight of Loki, and lifted her elbows to prop herself up, stretching widely as she seated herself onto her knees.

"Morninffh."

Klaus was... at a party. Huh... that couldn't be right... Klaus hates parties. Too loud, too many people, and they're most likely not very interesting... No, it's right. He is at a party.

Klaus maneuvers around a dancing couple, gently moving women out of the way and politely requesting some of the men move. And it wasn't until he was out of the crowd that he realized he was wearing a tie. He hates ties.

And it wasn't until he took another really good look around his surroundings and at the people that he realized exactly where he was.

“... Fuck.” He could faintly hear himself curse, his light british accent sounded vaguely monstrous and deeper in his mind.

Then, walking slow as if it would somehow make the confirmation less daunting, he started walking over to the bar. And, as if made out of smoke, she appeared. Sitting at the bar with a nervous expression, just as beautiful as he remembered all those years ago.

But, before he could open his mouth and hopefully say something that hopefully wasn't a dumb, 'Pretty', he was interrupted. He didn't know whether to be annoyed or thankful.

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing."

Then, all of the colors grew saturated and bright before everything went dark all at once.

Klaus slowly opened his eyes, wincing slightly as he felt a light pang in his skull. Sure, it wasn't as bad as it could be but it still sucked. He could hear talking around him and decided that he couldn't just roll over and go back to sleep... no matter how much he wanted to.

Sitting up, the large man let his head fall into his left hand as he massaged his temples. He could mentally make a promise that he would never drink again but he'd only be lying to himself. And that was just depressing.

Somewhat more awake, he glanced towards the others waking up and being all... talkative.

Kian's being as nice as usual... Ashur's.... Ashur... Loki's... being Loki... Flamel's familiar... John's to the point as usual... and Liam... huh... guess he's hungover too... I'm just gonna blame him for the headache... oh... and Newt's up... does she need my...? Eh, she's fine...

Klaus was thinking all this as he got up, stretching his stiff limbs. After doing so, he wandered over in the direction of the others as he rubbed at his eyes trying to wake himself up to become a more functional member of the world around him.

“Mornin'.” He greeted everyone simply, a small smile on his face. That was all they were pretty much gonna get as far as greetings went for the time being.

Vadri Al

Glancing up from her work, Vadri smiled a little before quickly replacing the bullets she had been checking back into their mag, grabbing her helmet and rifle before heading out to the main table. She had always been an early riser, likely a habit from her 6 AM wakeup calls in the military, so she was already fully geared up and ready to go. It was also helpful that she rarely needed more that 3 hours sleep to be fully rested. As she came out, she gave a quick mental rundown of their group so far, the fact that they might not be there to see tomorrow a sad reality on this world.

Loki, crazy and aggressive, likely was before this mess started and now it seems to have just gotten worse, she always going into fights smiling. As the rest of the crew gathered up, Vadri stayed in the back for now, watching. She was still rather new to the group, having only joined up recently, so she was still figuring out most of the people in the group. As the others began questioning about the job, she merely leaned back and gave a friendly nod to anyone that happened to glance over to her. She didn't see any reason to toss her voice into the mix, knowing that Loki would be explaining it anyway.

Chaos. That would be the one way to describe Sidney's dreams. Unfortunately, it wasn't the type of chaos she reveled in. No, her dreams were that of abstraction; pure chaos with no pattern. Each second would bring forth a new image, only to be forgotten when the next had appeared. All of it lead to one thing: feeling like you had to puke every time you woke up. It would be a good thing that Sidney could sleep through her brain's bedlam and preferably wake up when her mind settled on less sickening flashes.

Or so she thought.

"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing," the words had rang out, breaking her nauseating trance.

"Eat my ass," Sidney had managed to instantly rattle out. After a brief moment of nothing, Sidney quickly popped up from her pile of old clothing - which had acted as both mattress and blanket - and grabbed a small metal bucket. She quickly sank her head into the cold pit and waited for whatever would spill out.

Thankfully, last night's dinner had been seated firmly inside the depths of her innards. Nothing would be coming out on this auspicious day. Rather quickly, Sidney tossed the bucket aside, letting its clanging bounces add to the noise of everyone waking up.

By the time Sidney began to process what was going on, it became apparent that she would be one of the last ones to get up.

"Fuck all, I didn't even drink and I feel like the worst one here," she said as she ascended from her sleeping pile. She began to slowly shuffle to the briefing table as she tried her hardest not to spew on the floor.

"Explain what this is about before last night's dinner makes a surprise comeback. Please."

Greetings would have to be later. Right now, Sidney was trying her hardest to not to ruin everyone's morning.

---

Loki waited until everybody hussled their asses out of bed and amde their way around the table. Some of them looked anxious, but most of them looked rather terrible. Loki sniffed into the air, and the faint smell of alcohol hit her nostrils like a hammer. She went through a few dozen swears in her head to vent the frustration in herself. If her Runners can't keep themselves from drinking before mission day, how can she expect them to be ready if things go sour in the tunnels. This must not go unanswered, but there were more important things to talk about right now.

Loki nod at the crew and replied with a short "Morning" as she unscrewed the top of the metal container. From inside she pulled out a large roll of paper, carefully housed inside a plastic bag. She used her free hand to place the container on the concrete floor, and close it back for safe measures.

With the massive view blocking object out of the way, Loki took the paper out of the bag and unrolled it along the lenght of the table, revealing a large map of the local community. It looked brand new with no signs of damaged or wear, and showed hints of preservating mixtures as the light bounced off of it with a strong shine. The faint smell of chemicals surrounded the table as the fumes rose up from the map. It perfectly overlapped the existing map, and finally brought colors and defined lines to the table.

"It has finally arrived. I was out all night to get this map for your sorry asses. And before any of you say we didn't need it, I refuse to navigate the wasteland with a piece of paper drenched in alcohol and littered with coffe stains." Loki pat the map with her hand and smiled for a brief second with please as she observed the it. But her expression changed back quickly as she turned towards the alcoholics of the group. "I especially asked them to apply a special mixture to it so you will have a harder job ruining yet another piece of our equipment. I paid for that special request with our monthly budget for alcohol. That should teach you not to mess with my shit.This is by far our most expensive equipment after the guns, and I dare you to make as much as a single scratch on this map. If I find it damaged, I willstring ALL of you up above the Pit for a night." She smiled at the thought of such a delightful torture, and tucked the plastic bag away in the metal container.

She expected the group to be upset about this new rule and the disappearance of the booze money, so she opened up one of her waist bags and pulled out a metal clipboard with hunderds of ragged papers attached to it. It was a list of all the weekly tasks that the settlements offered them and other runners, and listed neatly by risk and reward. As the beginning of the week, she only picked these up eralier today, and didn't have time to read through them. So she took the oppurtinity as an easy way to ignore the others and shut them up simultaneously. She looked up from the papers every few pages, calculating the capabilities of the party for said quest. She stopped about halfway through the papers so she could still remember what she read, and then proceeded to pull out a second clipboard from her bag and hold it up in front of her meaningfully.

"This was last week's list of tasks." She put in down on the table, careful not to damage the map below it. The stack of papaers was notably smaller than the one Loki was holding, and missed a few papers which have been clearly ripped from below the clipper. "And the one I am holding is the list of new tasks for this week." She put the second clipboard down next to the other, showing the significant difference in numbers. "We have a lot of requests to choose from, some of which are harder than the others. I don't expect you dumbasses to read all of these, since you clearly can't even be bothered to keep your quarters clean or take care of our shit, so I took the liberty of sorting out the ones that your expertise can handle." Her burning gaze focused on Sidney, Klaus and Liam for a few seconds, befor elooknig back down at the clipboard. She ripped out three papaers from it that contained requests she thought to be doable by the team, and then laid them out in a neat order in the middle of the table. She packed away the two clipboards, and then crossed her arms in front of her chest and began to detail each missions. "For the first request, we need to source a problem for a settlement way up north. They use cables above ground to get electricity, but they are having constant failures in the supply. Appereantly they don't have any rad-suits avaible for them, so they cannot go out an check it, and the Mafia being the Mafia won't help them. I expect that Teach could fix their issues and help us negotiate a good price with his understanding of electronics." She glanced over at Teach before continuing. "Then we have a request straight from the Operators at Lornfell. They want us to locate and retreive a large cache of fuel in the form of an old tanker truck somewhere in the waste. They gave us basic locations but nothing more." Loki looked around the party with expectations in her eyes. "I hope someone here can drive. This is an old wheeled truck, so it should still work with some love. They will give us a whole load of money for it, but getting it to the settlement will not be an easy task." He then turned his attention to Grim, and adressed him directly. "You may want to skip the next option Liam. We have to move food cargo between two settlments after one of their usual trading tunnels collapsed. They don't know how to get the cargo over there, and they cannot transport it on the surface due to the nature of the cargo. It may be just as easy as finding a new tunnel, but there is a good chance they called us because they cannot find a route themselves. They agreed to pay us according to the freshness of the products we deliver, but it could take a day to get this cargo moved without trains." Loki took a deep breath after she finished her sentence, out of breath from all the talking. With that off her chest she observed the rest of the group and opened her arms as to encompass the whole group. "We vote as usual, and you have plenty of time to think this over. You can choose not to do any, but theseoffer the best reward for the lowest risk. Unless you want to start the week as mutant food."

Newt blinked hard several times, wiping away the sleep and blurriness from her morning vision. A small hand pushed her hair away from her face, and she wiped her lower face with her outer sleeve, lest she had drooled during her slumber. Looking around at her dishevelled peers, a small smirk pulled at her drooped expression, twitching at the corners of her lips. Her eyes drifted to Vadri, and then down to the belongings she had been meticulously organising. Indeed, she had always seemed so dutiful with her personal workings, and it almost intrigued Newt. Then, she noticed Flamel, and stared towards him with her trademark, wide-eyed glare. Shaking? Something clicked in her mind, and her head turned sharply to the glass vials which had been carefully collected beneath her unused bed. They were each full of various liquids and decorated with crude labels, and for the most part, they seemed completely untouched. She exhaled gently in relief, and turned back towards the madman. "You're an animal." She mumbled, her tired voice barely audible and cracking slightly in her throat.

With creaky movements, the little creature dragged her feet from beneath her, pulling on the boots which had fallen from the cupboard with her. She tightened the wraps around her calves, and made the effort to stand, wobbling briefly as she found herself still feeling half-asleep. The mention of the map triggered a guilty lump in her throat, and she recalled an instance where she had spilt a sulphide mixture on the old one - fairly recently. She also remembered blaming Flamel. Ah. The smell of chemicals filled her nose, and her head tilted slightly as she approached the table to join Loki. "Is that map... flame retardant?" she recognised the oily scent almost instantly, and a cough of laughter almost fell from her mouth.

Wringing his hands tightly, form swaying as if a light gust stirred him, Flamel looked rapidly around the group. Finally his eyes settled on Loki’s, goggled and indiscernible up against amber, nervous and probing. “I think, well, yes. I think, that perhaps, the third option… is the best choice.” He glanced at Deadeye, then at Newt, then at Speed, where his gaze lingered a second longer before turning back to Loki. There was a subtle slur to his voice, but it did nothing to hide the nervous ring that accompanied it. “Assuming, assuming, uhm. Assuming that the, uh, that the settlement, that we’re going to be aiding. I mean, the one that we would be aiding, in a hypothetical sense. Assuming the third option wins the vote. So, this settlement, uh, if they cannot pay well, we can just… take the supplies. For ourselves. It’s a, well, it would be, I should say. It would be a win-win. As in, we win. Either way.” Stopping momentarily, he looked at Deadeye, then at Newt, and then at Speed once again. “Also, not to mention, I feel as if the tunnels are, well, safer. Not that I just feel that way. They are… safer. Less, uhm, less radiation. Cleaner air. And, uhm, yes. I vote for the third option. The one with the tunnels, and, and, the uh, supplies. Most likely food. Yes, option three.”

Newt's vision swung to face Flamel as he piped up his opinion on the scenarios, and she felt her brows furrow at that flakey, influenced stutter. Don't make me stick you with a neutralizer. She threatened him silently, and leaned her elbows on the table. But, her frown soon twisted to an irritably plotting grin as the tunnels were re-mentioned, and she found herself looking towards Liam in a blatantly taunting manner. "I'm all for the tunnels - I can try and find a way through. The underground is sickly dark and unstable nowadays though, so we'll need to put our big-boy pants on." Her tone was quiet and snide, and was accompanied by that stupid conniving smirk of hers.

Kian considered the options, running his hand through his white hair. He cracked his neck at his first words "I feel sorry for Liam but I have to agree the final option does seem to be in relatively our favour. Though I also wouldn't mind the escort truck either." He hoped that if they did the first option they wouldn't have to shake them down for supplies, Kian hoped for their sake that they don't cross some of the people in this room. It really wouldn't bode well if they did anything of the sort.

Flamel cleared his throat, looking carefully at Deadeye. “Uhm, yes, well, Deadeye, Kian. Uhm, you can only vote for one. One of the options, that is. One. So, maybe, vote for the, uh, best option. You’ll, uh, make the right choice.” There was clear pleading in his eyes.

Kian shrugged his shoulders slightly, noticing Flamel looking at him and shot him a smile in kind before continuing "Tunnels it is then." he paused, glancing at the others who were trying to make up their minds.

During Loki's speech, Klaus had done his best to remain focused as a smaller part of him was trying to wake up. Sure, he had a bit of a headache but he'd felt worse and it'd never stopped him before. But, it was right as the word 'task' was brought up that he seemed to really wake up.

Eyes a bit squinty, he eyed the 2 clipboards whilst listening to Loki detail options for them. He didn't really look at the others, not feeling much of a need to as he began weighing the pros and cons of each mission. But, his attention kept drifting towards the last mission.

Now, Klaus was never really picky when it came to tasks and assignments. To him, as long as he had something to diminish his almost constant state of boredom, at least for a little while, he was cool with it. And usually he preferred open spaces (Being an archer kinda puts that into you.) but he did think that this one sounded like a good time-killer. (Oh, and it was safer and all that... but it was mostly a really good time killer.)

Flamel was already adding his own opinion on the topic and then Newt and Kian. It honestly made Klaus feel a bit better knowing that he wasn't the odd one out of this. His eyes seemed to flicker to those around him, landing for a bit longer on Liam, before moving to meet Flamel's. Giving a small smile and nod, he silently offered support to Flamel's reasoning in particular.

“I also vote for option 3. It seems... interesting.” He offered up to the others simply, giving his opinion on the topic. “Besides, I do agree with it most likely being safer.” Here, he gave an apologetic smile in Liam's direction. He was well aware of the man's aversion to cramped spaces and felt a bit of sympathy for him.

Flamel’s countenance relaxed considerably as he began to study the faces of the other Runners, their features slowly growing sharper as the effects of the whirlwind drug he took began to wear off.

The map's aroma seemed to fill the room - more so than the sweat, dirt, and grime already filling it. The cacophony of smells didn't help Sidney's stomach in the slightest. "Wouldn't it make more sense to just like, cover it in a film instead of using some bullshit chemical that would probably boil your skin off?" Sidney said as she took a step away from the map. Once she heard the missions, she already knew which one would be the best for her, but she still waited for the others to speak their opinions.

Newt was, like always, rational. Having a scout would always be helpful. Kian did bring up a good point. Liam would be practically useless in the tunnels. But that didn't really matter. She didn't really like Liam. For once, Sidney could agree with Flamel.

"C'mon Flamel, just admit it. You want to steal a bunch of supplies. And I completely support you in this endeavor. Sounds like a great time," Sidney said as she backed further away from the table.

"Well, for the first job, I'm not exactly the best at fixing things, so it would just be a few hours of doing jack shit while Teach fixes whatever. So, unless shit goes south, I ain't doing that," she said as she shuffled further and further away from the table, "while driving a tanker truck filled with a highly flammable and explosive fuel sounds fun, I'd rather not be anywhere near that tanker truck. You know why. If we do the third mission, that means I could probably blow a hole in the tunnels. Maybe I can even just clear the collapse, if it isn't too bad."

By this point, Sidney was far away from the table. In fact, she was closer to a small alcove, hidden by walls of sheet metal. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go suit up. And puke my guts out. Tell me which one we're doing when I'm done." Sidney quickly broke into a sprint and entered the wall through a loose piece of metal. And a horrible sound echoed out, filled with splatters, gags, coughing, and crying.

Vadri Al

Vadri leaned in a little, inspecting the map as the rest of them tossed out their thoughts on the various jobs. Once Sidney finished her part, Vadri decided to speak as well.

"The first option would likely be the easiest. Follow the cable, find the damage and fix it up. There might be some resistance, but we should be able to handle anything we come across. The tanker truck is probably the most risky of the three. I could probably drive It, but it would need to still be in working condition. The real problem though is that it's... well, it's a tanker truck. They aren't quiet. Everything in a five mile radius will know where we are and anything hungry will come running. I'd assume the pay-off would be the highest of the three though. She said before glancing over to where Sidney ran off to.

"So don't worry about getting bored near the thing, I'm certain there will be plenty of things for you to blow up that doesn't kill us all in one giant fireball. Maybe have you and a few others scout out the path, set some traps for whatever comes after us?" She said, hopefully loud enough for Sidney to hear over her sickness. Looking back to the map, frowning a little about the third option.

"The third assignment is caused by a collapsed trading tunnel, so I doubt we would need to steal the supplies. Seems like a low risk, low reward with the reward dropping the longer it goes on. Collapsed tunnels, high mutant concentrations and simply losing our way could make this into a long trip with how much backtracking could happen. All depends on our luck. Also we'll have to run light on our own gear, as we will need to carry the supplies ourselves." She finished, looking up to Loki.

"My vote? Probably the tanker. With proper setup, it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but we will have to take care of anything that tries to come after us. I doubt the Operators would be too happy if we lead an army of mutants to their doorstep."

John has been standing with his arms crossed, his expression scowling, silently examining the very chemically treated map as he listened to his compatriots deliberate on their course of action. They casted their vote and it seemed as if they were sure about their decision as the only persons left to vote were him and Liam.

The way John sees it, each option came with its own set of pros and cons with the first job involving being exposed for a long period of time, a BIG con with the beasts and raiders that marauded through the wastes, however, the clients have a negotiable price but John - being realistic - knew that they probably didn’t have much to offer.

The second option was a little less dangerous and all they really have to worry about are running over Ghouls, getting shot at by incendiary rounds, and/or the occasional misfire from his associates; Vadri also brings up good points but only the quicker muties and motorized raiders would even bother a prolonged chase, and the sharpshooters on the team could take out almost anything tailing the tanker, the truck is John’s main concern, especially when the truck could stop for some undeterminable reason mid-trip, and if that happens everyone’s screwed.

The last option, the people’s favorite, it has a lot to offer as Konstantin had said, it had “Cleaner air” and “Less radiation”, plus the fact that we could “Borrow” the supplies if the job doesn’t turn out right, but the fact of the matter is that it’s just as dangerous as the first two options if not more dangerous due to a number of factors.

John eyed one of these factors who stood in the room and ran the number of ways that the tunnel job could go wrong, he then raised his head up to look at each of his teammates. He opened his mouth and the words slipped out, “Can you protect Liam from a Stalker or drag him away from two, maybe three packs of Mute-rats if he freezes up in the tunnels?” his voice broke the pause, “Can most of you fight without a firearm of any sort?” he continued, ”There’s a reason they hire us for tunnel duty, these people live and die in ‘em, and that’s 'cause there are things in the tunnels that can rip us to shreds.

Liam gritted his teeth at Teach's words. "I should have never told you about my..." His voiced trailed off as he took another swig of the whiskey. Liam felt angry, not at anyone (except maybe newt.) , but at himself. When he was alone, Liam could handpick his missions and go for them, without letting too many people down. But now his problems became the team's problems. He felt as though he was holding them back in some way. He felt....useless. He knew that he wasn't and that most of the team knew that but he still couldn't shake that feeling. "Welp, despite my crippling fear of small places, I think that option two is the better option. Usually I would avoid high risk missions if I was on my own. But I'm not. With proper tactics we can do it. But that's just me." he said as he wiped his face and downed the rest of the whiskey.

Newt's stupid grin never shifted, and she leaned sideways, a little more towards Liam's position. "I can hold your hand if you like, cherub." Her quiet voice was laced with wickedness. Newt well and truly relished in Liam's frustration; out of all of her comrades, Liam's temperament was one of her absolute favourites. It had gotten to the point where she'd almost miss having the miserable git around. She held the stapler she had found in her sleepy cupboard in her hand, and clicked it in his general direction. A single staple dropped weakly, a few feet away. No harm intended.

"Tempting offer, truly short stuff, but I'll decline for now." Liam growled as he gripped his sabre tightly as he began pacing. "Its too early to get pissed off at the twerp Liam, just calm down." He thought as he began searching for another bottle of whiskey.

"Well, at least I'm not fat." Newt murmured childishly as spun on her heels and walked away towards her bedset. Her immaturity was mind-boggling, as was her tendency to call people fat when she couldn't think of anything else to say. "I'm sticking with the third, boss. I'll be getting ready."

"Nice shortcake....real smooth comeback." Liam quipped.

"Cut it! Both of you!" he grunted addressing both Liam and Newt, the glare in his aging eyes was enough to turn anything in its gaze to stone, "I'm too damn old, to yell at you like children." he continued, his voice was strained from old age, he wasn't that old, but he knew these people were already old enough to know when to stop bickering like eight year olds. "Now I asked a serious question, IF we go through with the tunnels Liam, can you handle it?"

Newt almost rocketed out of her skin at John's input, her eyes widening for a moment. She looked away glumly, and shrugged a little. "...I can go ahead, try and find a route we can all get through. Make sure it's safe." She spoke with a little more reason now, swallowing the temptation to pipe up again as she fumbled with her grappling hook, anchoring the device around her right forearm.

Liam thought for a moment. "I should be able to. This thing is really down to chance. Sometimes I can do it, other times I panic just by thinking about it." He said as he continued thinking. "Actually I should be fine, if we go for it, I can handle it. But I still agree with Vad, on this, the tanker is the better option." He grumbled as his heart began pounding, Sorry me, we are going through with this, we'll take it for the team he thought as he found a unopened bottle of whiskey. "Aha, unopened. Anyone care to share?" he said shaking the bottle around.

John weighed in Liam's unassuring answer, but a yes is a yes, John waved off Liam's offer to drink, "I don't drink remember?" he then glanced back at Newt and felt a little bad. He never got mad at her, not unless it was something that could get her or someone else killed,these were one of those moments. He sat down next to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for making the effort kid" John just smirked for just a second, then he stood up and went back to being stone cold and distant.

He looked Loki straight in the eye and said "We're goin' with option three."

"Oh boy kids we're going on quite an adventure today huh?" Liam retorted as he began drinking.

---

They were strained on cash, and as the one responsible for the accounting of their money, Loki was painfully aware of that. The map was really expensive, and the money they spend on drugs and alcohol make up most of their expenses a week. She was hoping that they would go with the second request so they could get a payday, but it seemed like the crew wasn't a big fan of the Hellscape. So the only option that didn't require going topside was the option they choose, bringing along with it a plethora of issues that needed to be adressed. Like Liam's fear of tight spaces. It also meant that they would go in blind, effectively doing double the job for a small, diminishing payment. And the lack of space was distressing given the ranged focus of the party. Still, she didn't say anything while they were talking and kept her own thoughts to herself. She figured that a good leader acts as the final words once the decision has been made, and makes sure that the minds of the people don't change halfway through. It was a much better option than the alternative of deciding the mission by herself and then forcing the others to follow.

Loki nod as the decision was finally made by the entire team and she stashed away the clipboards in the bags on her waist. She picked up the paper of the mission they choose, and waved it in front of the group with a smirk on her face. "I guess we're hauling veggies lads. Don't bring your fancy clothes, we'll be covered in manure and sewage by the time we deliver the package." She turned towards Newt and betn forward, mocking the short stature of the kid. She spoke up with a sweet, belittling tone. "Would you be so kind and bring the flashlight dear? We'll be needing them to see anything once we start to explore." She smiled at Newt before turning back towards the rest of the room and shouting over the noise caused by opening curtains and people packing. "You have 10 minutes to get ready and meet me outside. If you're late, you stay." She then set a new timer on her watch and grabbed the steel tube from next to the table.

Loki's quarter was separated via wooden interior walls that have been decorated by her in the little freetime that she allowed herself. A collection of black leather strips hanging from an overhanging pipe acted as a doorway into her domain. Still carrying the steel container tube, she used her hand to swipe away the strips and walk inside the "room". The entire quarter consisted of a single bed and a medium sized dressing table with a large mirror that was preserved in perfect condition. She leaned the metal container down in a corner and the sat down on the bed. She let out a silent sight, and stretched out her tired arms. Closing her eyes to rest them, Loki tried to focus on the things ahead of her. She leant forward, and reached into the small compartment under the bed. She pulled out a small black leather bag and put it on her lap. She had noticed before that Doc didn't come to briefing, and her best guess was that he didn't wake up. She packed in a some gauze, painkiller tablets and a small vial of disinfecting alcohol. She would always keep these with her on the nightly incursions, but they should suffice for the rest of team without Doc. She put on her backpack, straightened the sheets on her bed, and then left her room. As she walked through the main room she checked her watch.

8 minutes later Loki stood in front of the large metal door, looking at the timer of her clock reach zero. The device beeped once and then turned back to showing the actual time. It seems like Doc won't be accompanying them on this mission. She sighed and turned around to face the team gathered behind her. She pulled out a small tattered paper that she unfolded into a rough map in front of herself. The light from the nearby lamps was enough to observe the map, revealing a crude drawing of all the settlements and tunnels nearby. "Okay, listen up guys. We are headed to the settlement of Nairvalle." Loki uses one of her hand to draw a striaght line from their location to the settlement mentioned. "As you can see it is not that far away, but we still need to hike quite a bit. I think we can make it there in about 3 hours if we are lucky." She looked at the others around her and then packed away the map into the pouch. "Let's get going then."

---

After a long walk in the sewers, railway tunnels and metro lines, the Runners finally approach at the settlement of Nairvalle. It is located inside an old metro station and consists of small houses made of metal and wood. Nairvalle stands out amongst the other stations with it's aquaponics farm that they use to produce food in harsh conditions like this. Two security guards approach the party as they approach the gates leading into the settlement.

The ground in front shouts at them, aiming his makeshift gun at the group whilst the other guard is fumbling with his flashlight. "Halt! State your name and business!" Lokie stopped and signalled for the others to follow her example. The second guard finally turned on his flashlight and directed the lightbeam at their faces. Loki flinched as the light hit her eyes and upset her darkvision implant. But the two guards lowered their guns and turned off the flaslight before it became too obnoxious, and the guard in front spoke up again. "I am sorry Runners, we've been cautious of outsider ever since the tunnel collapsed. The chief is expecting your arrival, please follow us." The guards holstered their guns and signalled for them to follow.

The large metal gates opened on well oiled hinges and revealed the town square behind them. A small group of settlers were waiting for the group with several crates next to them. "That's the chief over there. He'll tell you all the details." They took positions on the walls, and closed the gates behind the group.

Loki took a step forward and looked back at the group with a sarcastic smile "I like the hospitality here." The chief of the settlement was a large guy wearing a worn-out business suit. When the group approached them he was messing with his tie, trying to find the perfect size that fits his neck. He gave up trying when one of the other settlers, presumably a farmer by the looks of his clothes, cleared his throat loudly. The large man looked up from the tie, and smiled at the group. "Ah, glad you accepted our request. Let's not spend too much time standing around, we can talk while walking." He turned around and headed straight for the other side of the settlement. The other settlers who formed his escort have already packed the food crates on 3 separate carts and followed teh Chief through the settlement.

It wasn't a big settlement, but it was in a good shape compared to some of that junktowns that exist in the tunnels. A large spacious street ran through the middle of the settlement, most of it made up of the railways covered in wooden boards that could be liftedn in case an engine would come through. As they approached the other side of the settlement, the guards opened the gates and let them out, with a few of the accompanying the group. Loki didn't like the escort one bit, but she could understand the safety measures.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking through the dark tunnels and the Chief talking about some stuff that really didn't atter to Loki, they arrived in front of a large cave-in. Concrete and metal debree blocked the way forward, clearly originatiing from the roof of the tunnel. The chief spoke up again, his face troubled. "This is it. About a day ago the tunnel collapsed and cut us off from a settlement that we have a trade agreement with. We don't know how much of the tunnel collapsed, but we cannot spare any men to find alternate routes. There are a couple of service tunnels around here that might be of help, but we haven't exactly checked them out yet. Please, make haste with the cargo. Time is of outmost importance. Take care." His escort left the carts next to the group, and then began their journey back towards the settlement. The light of their flashlights slowly dimmed as the tunnel took a turn and blcoked the line of sight.

"Great. Let's take look around and see what we can find. Newt, I hope you have the flashlights that i asked for."

Newt perched on the edge of her bed, and dragged out a large, plastic box from beneath her feet. It was full to the brim with dart needles - a weird set of possessions for a teenager, perhaps. Carefully picking out several of them with her left hand, her right fumbled with one of the full flasks from the wooden crate beside her. The flask was a good size, and filled with a strange, pink-tinted liquid. Steadily, she pierced the film lid with one of the needles, filling it with the substance. She hummed quietly and tunelessly to herself as she repeated the process, until half of her darts were prepared and she could move onto a different flask. This time, the contents were much thicker, and coloured with a potent shade of dark green. Newt was apparently very sensible with her work, and rather than labels, she used dyes to identify her potions.

"Would you be so kind and bring the flashlight dear? We'll be needing them to see anything once we start to explore."

Newt was stood up by this point, and she looked towards Loki with a blank, humourless expression. After a few moments of thought and a head tilt later, a wry smile crept onto Newt's lips, and she pulled her cloak over her shoulders. "With pleasure, dear commander."



As usual, Newt lagged behind the group, though its purpose was perhaps understandable. If something were to happen, Newt would need to gain some distance behind as quickly as possible, as to provide the best line of support. Though this mindset remained for now, she expected that she would need to help the front-line in navigating the deeper, more unstable tunnels. Newt was remarkably more reserved when outside; a feat which generally didn't go unnoticed. Her playfulness had dulled down significantly, especially so since her recent 'accident.' Even during the group's introductions, Newt knew it was better to keep her mouth shut. Leave it to the grown-ups.

Newt peered over her comrade's shoulders, tip-toeing as to get a glimpse of the crumbled tunnel. "... Easy." she breathed to herself, eyeing various gaps within the debris. It looked simple for her to navigate, and the rubble itself seemed like an easy job to shift. Especially with Sidney, the group's very own demolitionist.

"Great. Let's take look around and see what we can find. Newt, I hope you have the flashlights that i asked for."

Newt cracked a smile, shifting her position and taking a deep, exaggerated bow. She extended her right arm, revealing an array of flashlights hooked onto the inside of her cloak, along with her toxin darts and tear gas. Real shady dealer-style. "Shh. Wanna buy some torches?" She lifted her left hand, pressing her finger to her lips.

John put on his tight fitting, makeshift rad-suit, he wasn’t fancy with his equipment, which basically meant that if it worked, then it worked. No use adding or fixing things that ain’t broke. He then put on special over-boots, they were meant to protect the feet of the wearer from radiation; the gloves did the same thing for the hands of the wearer. He taped the gloves and boots where they met the suit to make a comprehensive seal; usually, for any other suit it would seal nicely and neatly, but John doesn’t like taking chances. He made sure that his suit was sealed tight, he was cautious that way.

He took his combat belt and buckled it narrow around his waist. He checked his tool kit, containing various screws, screwdrivers, allen keys, drills, wrenches, nuts, bolts, soldering kit, lock pick kit, and more. After checking his inventory, he zipped the bag and strapped it over his shoulders, the bag also had a strap that could be buckled at the front to allow the wearer to bear the weight on more than just two points on the upper body. He took up his caplet and put it over his suit, propping up the hood that came with it. He checked his rifle and made sure his side arm was still holstered. John also checked his ammo and other essentials like rations and medicine, he liked carrying around extra supplies - you never know what might happen. At the end of it all, he was carrying as much weight as an actual soldier would carry, but John was fit, and he'd been out in the wasteland with this kit all the time, it was proven and tested.

He headed out the squeaky door to meet up with everybody else, and began making their way to the station. He was - slightly - concerned that the Doc isn't coming with them; without the Doc around, they might end up in a bit of trouble or worse, fucking dead.

------------------|+|------------------

They finally end up at the station after a few hours of trekking to the location. John hovered his hand over his sidearm tensely, prepared to draw it out for quick shots if things went south. He whispered to himself as they went through, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this job already…” the guards’ nervous expressions and actions made him grip his gun sling tighter; each time a light was shined on them he would instinctively pull his hand closer to his nine-mil. He was glad when they finally led them out to see the damage and left them alone to do their job in peace.

When he finally saw the debris a thought drifted to his head, ”Newt’s gonna love this” he shifted his gaze towards one of the other tunnels, the dim light made it hard to see. The tunnels were tight, he was worried how Liam would react in such an environment considering that Liam was claustrophobic; it’s like placing an arachnophobe in a box full of spiders.

He turned around after hearing Loki say something, "Great. Let's take look around and see what we can find. Newt, I hope you have the flashlights that I asked for."

In an instant Newt bowed, opening her jacket up to all sorts of unsavory things, like chemicals, poisons, and weirdly colored concoctions, "Shh. Wanna buy some torches?" John was only interested in the Flashlights anyway. He grabbed one from her jacket and said, ”I’ll take one kid.” she couldn’t tell, but John was smiling under his gas mask. He couldn't deny it, Newt may be a big pain in the ass sometimes but she sure does liven up the place.

It seemed like the third choice had won by majority, Kian agreed that all three choices were viable with it's own set of advantages and disadvantages. Whatever the case they were given just about ten minutes to prepare. As he stepped back from the 'briefing' table he rolled his shoulders, a familiar bony crack echoed silently through the hollow halls, before he sauntered over to his equipment. At this point it was all muscle memory on what he carries on his person, smiling melancholically as he stared at his mask. With a careful hand he slowly unwrapped the bandages around his head grimacing slightly as he met his eyes on a glassy surface; the familiar hum and pale glow irritating him more than it should have. With a tepid sigh he snapped his gaze away, and jogged up to his crew whom were about ready to leave.

The Doctor didn't seem to be amongst the slowly forming group at the entrance. A bead of sweat ran down from his temple to his cheek but it couldn't be helped, and after a huff he followed. It'll be fine, we'll be alright, Kian reassured himself, patting his emergency medicinal supplies that Loki made them carry just in case Doc couldn't get to you fast enough.

---

The individuals who had hired them weren't exactly welcoming, and showed open hostility towards the Runners, which wasn't a very safe thing to do all things considered. He eyed John's hand slowly etching his hand to his holstered weapon, pat his shoulder and shook his head slowly. A trigger finger from either side would've just started something that they would rather not get into seeing as the other group did specifically request of them. Luckily it didn't end up as such and they were shepherded into to a chief wearing a not so pristine suit, Kian questioned this with a slightly quizzical look, he gets the purpose of a suit but doesn't it limit your movement to what basically is a crawl in this lands. He didn't voice his thoughts and chose to listen instead, following them.

"Shh. Wanna buy some torches?" Newt called out, opening her jacket like a drug dealer from before the fall.

"I'll take one, I'll share some of hidden peach stash with you later." he called out in an amused tone, shooting her a short smile before holding his hand out for one.

Going on a mission without Doc... sure... we'll see how this works... should be interesting... if not slightly worrisome.

Klaus had this thought swirling around in his head as he gathered everything he'd need, having noticed the missing person in the flurry of movement. He tried to focus on the automation of getting his things, having passed out whilst fully dressed the night before.

Fastening his quiver to his back, he meandered over to the chest underneath his bed, opening it. He slipped his golden lighter into one of his many pockets, quickly followed by his usual pack of smokes. He was about to grab the flask buried at the bottom but paused, thinking about it for a few minutes.

Eh... headache is barely even there... He admitted to himself, grabbing the flask and slipping it into the inside of his jacket. He then grabbed the swiss army knife, the familiar weight making him feel a bit lighter. Slipping it into his boot, he closed the chest before standing.

He put on his hood as he walked over to the others, snatching his bow off a nearby table. Oh my love, how I adore you. He internally cooed to his bow, gently slipping it over his head so that it rested over his chest for easy grabbings.

Standing by the others ready to go, his content smile turned into a small frown when he noticed who was missing. Shit... There was no doc.

Devil's Runners

I've got a bad feeling about this... He admitted to himself, fingers lightly twitching in an urge to grip onto his bow. He was towards the back to provide support in case something went down so he'd be able to draw his weapon rather quickly before anyone really noticed. But, the last thing he wanted was to show hostility towards the already hostile-looking people. Especially if they weren't even going to do anything. His eyes flickered to everyone else, wondering if they also felt the kind of tension in the air.

But, regardless, they made it to the collapsed tunnels. He looked around with a somewhat bored expression, a usual for him. Bouncing lightly on the heels of his boot, he looked around casually.

"Great. Let's take look around and see what we can find. Newt, I hope you have the flashlights that I asked for." Those words drew his attention, eyes flickering over to the others.

"Shh. Wanna buy some torches?" He saw Newt whisper conspiratorially, looking quite shady as she opened her coat to reveal flashlights. He felt a sense of deja-vu but didn't linger on it for too long, wandering over.

“Don't mind if I do.” Klaus said with a small smile, grabbing one of the flashlights. Tossing it up in the air and catching it, he gave a pleased grunt. He proceeded to do this while walking away, glad to have both light and something to entertain himself with.

Liam gave a slight nod as he walked back to his bed. This will be fine, it should be absolutely fine. I can handle it. I've done it before. He thought to himself, as his mind was brought back to his mother telling him the only way to overcome your fears is face them as often as you can. Too bad I couldn't face my father and her eh, by her logic things would've been soo much fucking easier. He thought as a small smile crossed his face.

Liam never understood the people who believed that doing the thing you fear the most would help you lose your fear of it. Sure, some times it worked but most of the time? You'd be better off trying to make a pig fly. But none of this mattered now, all that mattered was the mission, and whether or not he liked it he knew that it had to be completed. With a sigh he strapped his sword to his hip and his slung his gun holsters over his shoulders and looked at the small mirror on his bedside table. "Jesus mate, you're looking uglier than normal." He chuckled as he put his helmet on and walked out to meet the rest of the group.



After walking for what seemed to be an eternity, finally the group arrived at Nairvalle. Liam watched as the guards shined their flashlights and aimed their guns at them. For a quick moment, Liam felt so tempted to just fire a shot off right next to them. Sure, they might've opened fire but not before shitting themselves. And its not like they would stand a chance. He chuckled at the thought as the guards realised who the group was and escorted them to the mayor of the town.

Liam took the place in. He loved it all, the sounds, the smells the buildings, It was easy to disappear in places like this. It was easier to make OTHER people disappear. "If there were ever a more perfect hunting ground..." Liam said as his voice trailed off. As the mayor began walking towards the collapsed tunnels, Liam noticed two of the men escorting them were looking at him in disgust. At first Liam thought they were looking at Newt or Teach, but as they moved further along Liam realized they were staring right at him.

"Huh..." He mumbled as they walked. Liam doesn't remember ever being to this place, let alone doing something to piss off these two guys. Liam cracked a wicked smile behind his mask as he suddenly snapped his towards one of the guards, making the man jump. Liam cocked his head to right as he stared at the man. After 3 seconds the man slowly backed away and joined up with the rest of the escort. As he walked up to join the rest of them Liam let out a soft chuckle. Liam had to admit, He loved the fear most people felt when he wore the mask. Liam knew for a fact that if he wasn't wearing he would probably get socked in the jaw if he tried acting intimidating.

I wonder if Teach could make a voice distorter. That would be the icing on the fucking cake. He thought as he laughed out loud. His laughing suddenly stopped as the reached the collapsed tunnel. "Fuck me..." He whispered as he stared at the tunnel.

"Great. Let's take look around and see what we can find. Newt, I hope you have the flashlights that I asked for."

"Shh. Wanna buy some torches?"

"Yeah..I'll take one please and thank you." he said as he took one from her. Liam clicked the switch on and shined his light on the wreckage in front of him. He noticed Klaus walking away and decided he would stick with him.

"Hey...hope you don't mind if I tag along." he said as he jogged up beside him and cracked a nervous smile. Not that Klaus could see it. Thank god.