"Major Collins, I don't smell him anywhere. Should we try the next room?"
"No Billy, we've already checked that room!" Claire yelled despondently as she threw a box of tools across the room. "I'm not sure when McKenzie got good enough to hide from your nose, but he's definitely not around here… Serena!" Serena, who was speaking to another guard, quickly returned to Claire and Billy's side. "Anything?"
"No one's seen Captain J since he came in." Serena responded, "We've been looking for him for so long. Can I go do my job, sis?"
Claire responded by laughing menacingly, "Serena, Serena, Serena you, of all people, should know better than anyone that I can and will abuse my authority however I feel like. Just think of it as helping a superior officer locate one of her associates, in order to, say, promote justice."
"This is a pretty gross miscarriage of justice, isn't it?"
Darius watched over the group of guards from a small ledge that hung out over the doors in this hallway. The doors rose up around 20 feet high, but the ledges weren't large enough to hold his entire foot. A very uncomfortable position to hold for over an hour. Not to mention Darius's extreme fear of heights.
"So annoying!" yelled Claire, "Are you sure you don't smell him Billy, I know for a fact that he walked down this hallway."
Darius did not expect the Yeti to have the nose of a bloodhound, sniffing the floor and being led by Claire. Darius could comfortably place that image as the strangest thing he has ever saw… at least in the top three. If Darius hadn't washed the armor before he got here his mission might have become compromised pretty early on.
"You're not going to find me down there shrimp! Just move on! Dear Iroh just move on!"
Darius was slowly losing his mind and didn't know how much longer he could take it. However, slowly he could feel his feet inch no centimeter further over the edge. Sweat continued to flow freely from every pore in his body, which only made his problem considerably worse.
His own thoughts barely helped him, "I need to just not think about it. Yeah, that should work! Just need to imagine myself in a nice meadow on the nice smooth ground. Nice and smooth and shaky… and shaky? What the?!"
"Damn it, damn it, where did he go! He couldn't have gotten far." Claire cried out in a fury. She was beating her foot against the door where Darius was posted. He did his damndest to stay upright, but with nothing to hold onto, it was only a matter of time before he fell.
"Stop, Stop! I'm going to fall! Stop, I'm going to fall!" It took everything for Darius to keep his panic to his thoughts rather than yelling out loud. Though it didn't stop him from continuing to flail with all his might, catching the eye of Serena. She continued to look at Darius for a short time before grabbing onto her sister's shoulder.
"Hey, didn't Captain J say something about being busy?" Serena questioned, "That probably means he's either making his rounds or with one of the superiors. Actually, isn't General Tonery coming in today, if I remember correctly, they have some history. Captain's probably on his way now!"
"You're right!" Claire yelled while heavily kicking the door one last time, "If we hurry, Billy might be able to cut him off. Come on! Let's go."
Claire led the charge out the hallway followed closely by Billy and Serena, but before she left, Serena gave a quick wave to Darius. Not that he could have seen it considering that last kick made him completely lose his balance, leaving him to plummet to the floor.
"I hate heights!" He thought before trying to stand up, "My leg!" Darius was already starting to feel worn out, but now it seems he also sprained his ankle. The fall plus the added weight of the armor must have caused it.
"Revenge… she'll get what's coming to her. No, my job, I have a job-" His thoughts were cut off by the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching.
"Did they hear the fall?" Darius attempted to stand again, managing, but not without a small cry of pain. Darius attempted to open the door nearest to him, but discovered it was locked.
"Nothing comes easy, does it?" He looked around while considering his options. Luckily, he managed to view a doorway that was slightly ajar, about 15 or 20 feet ahead of him. The footsteps from behind continued to get louder. There wouldn't be much time before those three came bursting down the hallway again.
With an exasperated sigh, Darius tried to walk. He didn't care that each step brought with it a burning pain, or the fact that he didn't have a plan on dealing with whatever was inside the door. He just saw a solution to his current problem. That is, it was the best solution until his leg gave out and his face went crashing into the floor.
"Whelp, that didn't work. Wonder how I'll talk my way out of this one."
"Soldier, what are you doing on the floor?" an unfamiliar voice said.
"Oh? Sounds like I lucked out."
"Right, I was on my way to some important business before I tripped and sprained my ankle," Darius responded. "I had a little too much to drink last night, and it feels like I'm paying for it now."
"Is that so, what business were you up to?" another voice asked.
"That sounds like doubt," Darius turned over to take a quick look at the men in front of him. Both of them wore light leather armor, probably scouts, but he noticed a distinct lack of stars and stripes on their uniforms.
"That's classified sergeants," Darius responded while presenting his ID.
"C-Captain! Sir… Captain McKenzie, we apologize for bothering you. Please let us help you up take you to the infirmary!"
"Thanks for the help, but this matter is of the upmost importance. For now, just continue as you are, dismissed!"
"S-Sir!" Both guards yelled before saluting and walking off.
Darius took a quick check on his body. The sprain wasn't swelling much, so the pain should be manageable. Satisfied he continued towards his goal until, when passing by a clock, he saw he had less than 15 minutes until the next guard change. "Time for a second try."