Chương 117: Book 2 - Chapter 35 - Tunnel Trauma

It only took a few minutes for Mirage to come, but in that time I still managed to get bored, put my feet up on the table, and use Bob as a backstop to keep my chair from falling over. When he walked in, Mirage just shot me a dirty look before walking up to the front of the room. Behind him was someone I didn't expect, Whisperer. The woman looked just like I remembered, long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, a sensible jacket, jeans, and a huge ass bird sitting on her shoulder.

"Did you get called in too?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"You didn't have to rush over here because I failed to call ahead, did you? Because I wasn't aware that was a thing."

"No," she chuckled, taking a seat across from Sharron and I, "I work here."

"Doing what? You don't seem much like an 'office' person," Sharron inquired, as she pushed my feet off the table, forcing me upright again.

"Animal preservation work. I spend most of my time tracking wild animals because, as it turns out, most dwindling animal populations are caused by unidentified antithesis incursions. Protecting the critters while destroying the plants is a win-win in my books." Before I could ask a follow up question, Mirage cleared his throat.

"Since we're all busy, perhaps we could get started. I didn't ask you all here for a meet and greet," he announced grumpily. I turned to him with a sigh.

"Then please, enlighten us, why did you invite us all here today?" I asked. Mirage's eyes flashed for a moment, and the screen behind him blinked to life. It depicted a smallish town nestled between the mountains.

"This is Jasper, a former tourist town in what used to be the Jasper national park, before the corps got a hold of it. Now it's the base for several rare metal mining operations."

"Lovely," Sharron whispered.

"So, what does this have to do with us?" Whisperer growled. Mirage cleared his throat.

"Four days ago, a wave of antithesis surged out of the mines and hit the town. It decimated the population before reinforcements could arrive."

"Well… fuck," I muttered.

"That was to be expected," Mirage continued, unfazed.

"What we didn't expect was for the antithesis to completely disappear before samurai from Edmonton could arrive."

"Excuse me?" Sharron said.

"What do you mean disappeared? Someone else got to them first?"

"No, I mean that they straight up disappeared. Hit the town, then fled back into the mines." The image on the screen changed to a 3D map of some tunnels.

"The team followed them in, expecting it to be an easy cleanup job, except they couldn't find any antithesis, hives, or corpses anywhere. What they did find were more tunnels. A lot more tunnels." The map expanded, and smaller red tunnels appeared between the blue mines. Hundreds of twisting passages spiraled off in dozens of directions.

"This is just what we've mapped so far. Over a hundred square kilometers of interconnected tunnels dug into the surrounding mountains. We have no idea how deep it goes, or where the antithesis went."

"How the fuck did that go undetected?" I asked.

"Don't the mining companies have… I don't know, scanners or something to search for ore?"

"They do. Typically all the big conglomerates have high grade ground penetrating radar. However, the antithesis coat their tunnels in some sort of slime that interferes with the scan," Sharron replied. I turned to look at her, slightly surprised.

"It's how I became a samurai. The company mined into a tunnel that wasn't on any map and ordered the indents to investigate. It turned out to be a hibernating antithesis hive. I was the only one to walk out of there," Sharron told me quietly.

"I get the situation is a little abnormal, that doesn't explain why you've called us in. There are plenty of samurai capable of clearing tunnels," Whisperer grumbled. Mirage straightened up.

"That's true, the problem is that even though most samurai are capable of clearing, they're not capable of tracking, and based upon how old some of these tunnels are, we suspect that the system is significantly more complicated than what we've explored so far." The map zoomed out again, and this time purple tunnels appeared. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it"That's a lot of tunnels," I quipped.

"If I'm reading this correctly, you think the tunnels extend completely through the mountain range, hundreds of kilometers." Sharron's eyes narrowed.

"That would take them right up to--""Hinton," Mirage finished for her.

"That's not fucking funny," Sharron growled.

"You can't be sure they travel that far."

"No, we can't," Mirage conceded.

"We're extrapolating based upon the angle of the tunnels, and age, the centre is about fifty kilometers north of Jasper. Fifty kilometers beyond that is Hinton."

"I don't get it. What's in Hinton?" I asked, turning toward Sharron.

"My old 'job'," Sharron managed through clenched teeth.

"It's where I spent my time as an indent. You think that old hive was somehow part of this network, don't you?"

"We suspect, but we'd need someone to investigate that end to confirm it either way."

"Fuck you," Sharron spat. The words came out with such hate that I turned to look at her.

"Even if the antithesis were actually coming out of the walls, I wouldn't go back to that mine." She was trembling, so I gently rubbed her back until she stopped.

"Real smooth, bringing someone to a meeting and casually bringing up some of their worst memories," I said as I glared at Mirage.

"How about you step outside, get some air. I don't think we need you here right now." I told Sharron. The woman nodded, and slowly rose to her feet before leaving the room. I immediately turned on Mirage, "You must have suspected she'd react like that, why did you ask her to come?"

"I would have preferred to have someone with local knowledge lead the investigation," he said with a shrug, "but if Humboldt is unwilling, we'll just have to find someone else to lead the expedition. I'm working with what I have available.

""You're a dick," I hissed, "What the fuck do you want?"

"I'd like you to lead the group heading to Jasper. We've already committed significant forces to tracking down the antithesis. Both Broodmother and Bright Eyes are in Jasper, and most of the other local samurai are only equipped for combat. You're the only one capable of area denial and tracking left in the city."

"What about the Whisperer? And the samurai from Edmonton?"

"Whisperer is here because we need her to do surface surveys, and check the animal populations around the mountain. If the antithesis broke through to the surface anywhere, she would be pretty much the only one who could tell. As for the Samurai available from Edmonton, let's just say they're not very experienced at clearing areas." I saw Whisperer frown out of the corner of my eye, but she didn't say anything.

"Wonderful," I mumbled.

"So Evelyn," Mirage started, straightening out his suit.

"About that favor you owe me… Feel like leading a small group of samurai into the mines around Hinton, to discover if the tunnels are connected or not?"

"Fuck no," I replied.

"I'm not really fond of people fucking with my friend's feelings, even if it's to deal with the antithesis." For the first time, I saw Mirage's face crack. His perfect business smile fell, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, I know we don't see eye to eye, but I AM doing what I need to do to protect this city, and the surrounding towns."

"Doesn't make you any less of an ass."

"I admit, maybe I didn't need to bring Humboldt here and ask for her help, but it was a calculated risk. We need to check those mines. If the tunnel network is as extensive as we think, there could be an unprecedented antithesis threat hiding in there," Mirage practically yelled.

"Then go yourself," I replied, never breaking eye contact with him. The two of us just stared at each other for a minute, before Mirage finally backed down. He slumped into a chair and ran his hand through his hair.

"What'll it take for me to convince you to go?" he asked.

"I'm fucking busy right now, but if you really need me, then first of all I want you to agree to stop the manipulative bullshit. If you keep pulling that shit against other samurai it's going to get you shot one of these days," I said quietly.

"You're also going to put me in contact with some companies to get supplies into, and buy goods from, the undercity, AND you're going to owe me a favor. Not one of your stupid, 'you owe you one' favors, a real one which I can call in later."

"Fine," Mirage sighed.

"When can you be ready to go?" I stood up from my seat and saw Whisperer do the same.

"Send me all the details, and I'll head there soon," I told him as I left the room. Sharron wasn't around, so I sent her a quick ping to check if she was out at the car.

"Thanks for standing up to him like that. When he's in charge, he's insufferable, mostly because he makes the right decisions and he knows it," Whisperer said, patting me on the back.

"Doesn't mean you have to put up with him," I replied with a shrug.

"You're a samurai too. Just because he's right doesn't mean you have to let him push you around. You need to push back occasionally." My augs chirped as I received a message from Sharron, confirming she was back at the truck.

"Sounds like we'll be working together in the future, so take care of yourself."

"Alright, see you later then," Whisperer said, as she took off walking down the hallway. I waved goodbye just long enough for me to realize that I was once again lost in the middle of the complex.

"Goddamnit," I whispered.