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situation. The new tunnel he was in was much smaller than the other one. And it smelled five times worse. “ I need to get back up there. This way doesn ’ t look promising. ”
    Alana looked down at him. It was a twenty foot drop from the main tunnel down to the new tunnel. “ I have some rope in my pack but it got blown off in the explosion. It ’ s probably down there with you. ”
    “ I ’ ll find it. ” He squatted down and started searching through the rubble.
    “ Take your time, ” Alana said as she loaded a fresh magazine. “ I ’ m enjoying myself. ”
    The purple glow of trivisium aided David as he moved rock and dirt from the tunnel floor. It took a minute but he soon found Alana ’ s grey backpack. He unzipped the top and pulled out a reel of paracord.
    “ Freeze bitch! ” Every muscle in David ’ s body instinctively tensed up. He looked to where the words had come from expecting to be looking down the barrel of a gun. Alana had stopped firing.
    “ Don ’ t make a move! Turn around! ” It was a PK. He was high above David. David had not noticed that the grenade had not only blown a hole in the floor of the tunnel, but in the ceiling too. The PK was looking down through that hole and had his rifle raised. And it was pointed at Alana.
    Alana didn ’ t move. “ You know if I stop shooting, these glassers are gonna get both of us. ”
    The PK fire two rounds, and David heard the squeals and screams of glassers. “ Don ’ t worry about them. Just do as I say. ” The PK didn ’ t seem to know that David was there.
    Alana slowly turned around, weapon raised. The PK nodded at her pistol. “ Toss it. ” She did so, dropping it into the hole in the tunnel floor. It landed at David ’ s feet and he quietly scooped it up and stuck it in his waistband.
    Above him the PK spoke. “ I got one of them boss. ” Three more figures appeared at the edge of the hole in the ceiling, all of them with weapons. They were all oblivious to David below.
    A different man spoke. “ Where ’ s your partner? ” David was unable to see his face, but he was clearly speaking to Alana.
    Alana hesitated. “ He ’ s dead. ” She nodded to the collapsed rock pile. “ I was the lucky one it seems. ” She let a little distress creep into her voice.
    Smart move, Alana . No one worried about dead men. Now the question was how to capitalize on that advantage.
    The man wasn ’ t completely sold by Alana ’ s act. “ You really expect me to believe that? ”
    Alana sighed, her eyes watering just a hint. “ I really don ’ t give a shit what you believe, but it ’ s that truth. ” David had to admit, she was putting on a pretty good performance. Bravo.
    “ Well, that ’ s very disappointing. ” The man nodded to one of the other PKs.
    Before David could react one the PKs raised his rifle, pointed it at Alana, and pulled the trigger. He expected to hear the explosive flash-bang of a bullet, but instead there was a pop-hiss and a large net sprang out at Alana. She screamed as it wrapped around her. She tried to struggle against it and then fell to the floor.
    “ We ’ re not leaving here until we find his body. ” The lead PK finally stepped into the glow of the trivi and David immediately recognized him. It was the man he had tailed in the train station. He cursed himself for not following his gut.
    David thought through his options. He wanted to raise his weapon and shoot the Peak bastards. But that would be an emotional decision. Tactically he was in a terrible position. He was outnumbered at least four to one and completely exposed except for the concealment afforded by the shadows. And Alana wanted him to run. That was clear. She had told him twice, first by tossing her pistol and then by telling the PKs he was dead. Surprise was on his side. The message was clear. Live to fight another day .
    It took David two seconds to make up his mind. He needed to regroup and get the drop on the PKs. As slowly and