The Walker
36

Walker scanned the tunnel they had arrived in. It ran underneath the warehouse building they had entered through the skylight earlier, and contained old containers and boxes, and not much light.

Benny was ahead of him, using one of his high-tech gadgets to check for heat signatures, lasers and all sorts of intruder detecting things Walker knew little about.

Daisy dropped with a light splash behind him, crouched with weapon drawn.

“You won’t need that yet, girl. We have to be as quiet as possible.”

Daisy looked up at him from behind her visor, “No problem.” She slipped her gun back into its holster, “You have any other weapons for me then? Because that’s all I have.”

Walker looked back at her, thinking. He could use his body as a more effective weapon, but decided to keep the knife for himself.

“Find a rock.” He replied.

She considered him for a moment, but nevertheless began to search around, checking the boxes and debris around them. She finally came up with a decent fist sized rock, and grimaced at him.

Benny had finished his scan, and turned to them. “Right, it’s like a maze down here, but things seem quiet. Keep behind me, stay quieter than I do, and if I run, follow.”

Walker nodded and began to follow the wiry man, Daisy falling into place behind him. He could hear her breath, short and fast. He turned to her as they darted along the darkened corridors below the city.

“Control your breathing, girl. Stay calm. We’ll have the element of surprise down here, remember that.”

She nodded, and hefted her rock. “And I have this, don’t forget,” she whispered, half joking.

They moved through the belly of the city, pausing irregularly to allow Benny to check, mutter and scan for problems. Walker soon lost all sense of where they were, despite his best efforts at memorising the route. He muttered his misgivings to Benny.

“Thief, how do the girl and I get out of this hole?”

Benny paused and goggled at him in the darkness, “How is that my problem, Walker? You wanted to get into the Library. I’m helping. That was the deal.”

Walker grabbed at the man’s leather jacket as he turned away. Benny spun around, brandishing a twisted, evil looking knife. The slick edge glowed sickly yellow in the dull light thrown by the tunnel’s ceiling lamps.

“Let go, boy, I ain’t scared of you, like the others, and I’m tired of you bossin’ me about, calling me thief an’ that. I could leave you, down here in the gloom, to die all alone. But I won’t; I like Charlie, so I’m doing him this favour. But once you’re in there, you are alone. Apart from her,” he motioned with his knife to Daisy. “Now, let go, and come on. It’s going to be light out by the time we get there.”

Walker glared at the man, but let him go. The knife slowly moved away, and made a slinking sound as it slid back into the man’s hidden sheath. Benny watched Walker for a second more, then moved on again, faster through the shadows.

Walker spat, and followed. Daisy whispered from behind him, over the dull splashing of their boots in the wet. “Walker, he said he’s going to leave us in there? How will we get out?”

Walker carried on in silence for a while, thinking. He had trusted that this man would stay, and wait for them to return, leading them back from the tunnels to the streets.

“Never mind, girl. We’ll think of something.” He pulled his hat lower down his face and moved on.