"McDeath, have you acquired the layout of the entire building?" The captain suddenly asked.
A dark-skinned member nodded and brought out a half-burnt map. "A secret Biotech doesn't seem to be printed on this map and even if it was, the fire must have burnt that part away." The dark-skinned man shook his head, dropping the map on the security counter.
The captain frowned. "This place is large, searching for a hidden Bio-Lab here would take forever. McDeath, search for any abnormalities with the building structures within the map with the assistance of your bio-lens, with the topmost part and the underground as a priority. We must find the Nano cells and get the hell out of here by tomorrow and get to the base before noon, I'm getting sick of the stench here already." The captain inhaled a large puff of the cigarette to rid his senses of the stench of corpses and toxic radiation floating in the air.
"Chief, I think I found something. The west side elevator over here. The cables used for the elevator shaft in this part are a few meters longer than the ones used in the other elevators, although by a negligible amount, it still couldn't escape my eyes." The dark-skinned man said excitedly.
"Couldn't it just be an error in the measurement?" One of the other members retorted.
This immediately reduced the dark-skinned man's excitement and he scowled. "To build a company this large, do you think they could afford to make even the slightest bit of mistake?"
"That's enough. McDeath, continue with your explanation." The voice of the captain immediately shut the two of them up.
"What I'm trying to say is that the bio-lab we are searching for might be underground and can only be accessed by this particular Elevator."
The dark-skinned man then walked to a pillar near the west side elevator, he ripped apart a metallic cover and pointed his torch, revealing a mechanism inside the large pillar.
"These buildings operate on electromagnetic inductions, In case there's a fire, they are held in place by a fail-safe braking system that operates even when dark, but If I cut this cable, the elevator will free fall and if it free falls three meters past this ground floor, then I'm pretty sure it is the underground space lab we are looking for." The other mercenaries nodded at the idea. It was a pretty sound one.
"What if the elevator is stuck on the top floor? Then we have a free falling elevator that will cause a massive ruckus once it reaches the ground floor, there's even a possibility of destroying the underground lab isn't it." The captain said with a tight frown.
"That's also true, but this is a manual braking system for the elevator, in the event something happens to the system. When I pull, the elevator braking system will latch tightly onto the cable, stopping the elevator from free falling." McDeath revealed a lever within the mechanism.
"Now, all that is left is to determine the height of the elevator to avoid mistakes in timing."
"You've done well McDeath. You heard the man, let's move!" The captain patted the dark skinned man's shoulder slightly impressed.
* * *
"Are you one of the survivors Jacob rescued recently?" Ryver grabbed her tactical mask from the ground and placed it on the table. He walked towards the drawer by his bedside and retrieved two glass cups and a bottle of expensive whisky.
Skye seem to have recovered fully as she stood upright, not bothering it adjust her clothes. "Yes, I joined the team at 04:54,"
The noise of the liquid whisky rushing into a glass cup sounded as Ryver filled half the glass cup with whisky.
He removed his improvised gas mask and laid it beside the manufactured one. If one were to differentiate between the two gas masks, the one Ryver had been using was considered filth compare to this one.
A slight melodious sound echoed from the glass, when Ryver's middle finger circled around the edges of the glass cup. He then filled the other cup half way with whisky and gave it to the lady behind him.
Skye's beautiful eyes twinkled as she grabbed the cup from Ryver, drinking it in a single gulp. Her eyelashes fluttered as she sat seductively on his bed and bit her bottom lip. "You don't have to get me drunk in order to sleep with me."
"Hmm, I know." Ryver hummed as he sipped the alcohol from his glass cup.
Skye pouted. "Am I that obvious?"
"What is your mission in coming here and how many of you are here?" The sudden question startled Skye into sobriety and her smile faded a bit, making her sit upright in the process.
"Mission? I don't know what you are talking about." Skye scrunched up her face and gazed at Ryver it looked as though she had no idea what he was talking about.
"is that so?" Ryver poured her another glass of whiskey, but this time a full cup and he replaced his dwindling liquid within his cup also.
Skye softly stretched out her silk looking hand and grabbed the cup of whisky, downing the entire thing down with only a slight groan escaping her lip.
she went poker-faced and stood up, adjusting her opened up shirt. "In as much as I would like to desperately go down on you, I think it's high time I left. Thanks for the drink, and for the... " a flush crept up her neck as she seem to be remembering what has happened earlier. She shook her head, took her tactical gasmask along the way and swayed her hips seductively as she left.
Ryver didn't continue his interrogation, he had gotten what he needed from her already and watched with flickering eyes as Skye exited his room. This time though, the cup Ryver had placed as a trap fell to the ground with a crash.
"Civilians don't use 24-hours time format, and have..." Ryver muttered, gulping down the remaining liquid of whisky in his cup.