Spy School: The Rise of Gama

Chapter 34: Loss in the Maze

Matias's boots hit the ground of the cave with a thud. Amazonian agents swarm around him, filling the room almost to the point of bursting. There are teams drilling through the rock to make pathways into the room of the captives while snipers lay at the vents, shooting and taking out anyone who enters the room to investigate the noise. Other agents push forward through the unknown tunnels in teams, sticking portable signal boosters to the walls as they go.

"Matias, position report?" Rena's voice crackles to life over the radio, earning a slight smirk from Matias.

"Entrance number one. Teams Two and Team Three in progress. Give them five more minutes and we will send rescues up."

"Status on the Eaglets?"

"You can let them take flight. I'm sure they're dying to spread their wings."

No sooner had Matias finished speaking, Razor and Nico drop down into the cave. They both draw their weapons, although they're still locked for now.

"Lyndley's solution to the radios seems to be working," Razor notes. "Also, eaglets? Really?"

Matias ignores that last comment. "It will continue to work until we run out of the signal boosters. We didn't have many to start with. Definitely not to take out the entire base. " He watches as a tea finally breaks through the wall of rock, earning shrieks of terror from the children in cages below.

"Doesn't matter. By time we arun out, Lyn will have hacked into Gama and we won't need them anymore," Nico says, looking toward the tunnel that leads deeper into the cavernous base.

"If only you put half as much trust in me as you put in her."

"If only you did half as much to earn my trust as she has,' Nico shoots back. His voice takes on a less venomous tone. "Maybe after this you'll earn some. Maybe."

"Point taken." Matias sighs. "Alright, you have orders to carry out. Don't let me keep you have any longer."

Razor and Nico both nod before turning and disappearing down the dark tunnel. Matias continues to stare after them for a few seconds after they're gone, as if they could successfully carry out their orders in under a minute. Approaching cries of children pull his attention back to the present and his own role in the mission.

Rope ladders have been dropped through the opening into the other room. Agents vanish down it, replaced by children who climb up. The children are all filthy, their clothes in various degrees of raggedness. All their hair is matted down with dirt and grease, and tear streaks stain their cheeks.

Amazonian Warriors help guide the children to the second rope ladder that leads up to the surface. The agents murmur comfortingly to the children, attempting to console them. Echoing gunshots from below end all chances of that working.

Down below, armed guards with bullet proof vests are running in from the single door on the opposite side of the cavern. They're letting loose a hail of bullets, not caring whether they hit children or agents. Sparks fly and the ching sound of metal on metal echos above the shrieks of fear and pain as bullets ricochet off the cages until they bury themselves into rock or flesh. The floor becomes spotted red like a patchwork quilt as puddles of blood form, blooming from the fatal wounds of victims.

"Rena, I need you down here, now!" Matias barks into his mic. He crouches down between two of the three snipers. "We have to get down there. On my signal, can you cover Casimiro and I?"

"Sir, we're trying to but there's too many. There's still more arriving." The sniper focuses before firing another shot, taking down an enemy agent that is hiding behind stacks of cages near the door.