Marcus descended first, placing each boot carefully against the worn stone steps.
The staircase spiraled gently downward, its edges polished smooth by centuries of use. Moisture covered the surrounding walls, and a cool draft rose steadily from the passages below, carrying the mixed smells of damp earth, burning oil, cooked grain, and human habitation.
Unlike the abandoned sections of the Hollow Road, this place felt alive.
Tomas followed several steps behind with his suppressed rifle angled toward the darkness. Cole came next, with Selvar immediately behind him, while the two remaining operators maintained enough distance to avoid bunching together in the confined passage.
Every movement had been practiced countless times during training. Entering unfamiliar structures, clearing narrow corridors, and advancing through darkness were nothing new to Atlas.
Yet none of their exercises had involved infiltrating an occupied city buried beneath a mountain.
