Page 97 of Never Enough

Nemo squinted into the distance beyond Gem. “Am I seeing a light, Gem, or is that a trick of my eyes?”

“No,” she replied, “that should be the exit hole into the cavern. We’re close, Midas. No need to panic.”

There was grumbling on the other end of the airwaves, something to the effect of “Don’t panic, she says.”

Gem informed Nemo, “I’m turning off my headlamp. I don’t want it to shine out into the cavern. It probably wouldn’t get noticed, but I don’t want to take the chance.

“Copy. Turning mine off as well.”

For the last fifty or so yards, they basically crawled in the dark. When they made it to the end, the opening was definitely wide enough for Gem to sneak through. Nemo would be a tight fit, but he was pretty sure he could make it.

“I need your hand, Gem.”

There was a snort from one of the others on the comms. “Really? The tunnel? That’s ridiculous, even for you,” Steel spit out.

“I need her to cover the glow of my watch, dickhead. I do have some sense of timing, you know. Besides, this would be uncomfortable as hell.”

“For you, maybe,” Gem replied softly. “I’d be on top. No way I’m lying on my back on the floor of this tunnel.”

There was a round of soft chuckles from everyone online. She tossed a smile over her shoulder at Nemo, and it was almost like they’d returned to normal.

She put her hand back, and Nemo moved his arm up her side so that it covered the green glow of his watch.

“Midas. Confirm oh-five-twenty-two.”

“Confirmed.”

“Gem,” Nemo asked. “How are we looking?”

“We need to lie low for a little bit. There’s a considerableamount of activity in the central cavern. They’re probably waiting for the dust to settle after the blast.”

“Any idea how long that might be?” Waters asked.

“Well, it’s been about thirty minutes since the blast. Probably thirty more, maybe less. They’re not going to supply the miners with proper breathing equipment in there, so they’re going to be cautious,” Gem answered.

“Will that leave you enough time?” he worried.

“Should be in and out with plenty to spare. I know exactly where I’m going.”

“Keep us apprised. Midas is still watching drone footage. Cerberus has been in for approximately five minutes and is setting the charges in the maintenance shed.”

“I didn’t hear him check in,” Nemo said.

“No,” Loki chimed in. “He works radio silent, no matter the situation. He did send us a signal that he was in and good, and Midas caught him on the drone.”

“Nothing like a rogue teammate,” Nemo muttered.

“Don’t fret, Nemo,” Gem reassured him. “He’s good at what he does. You know that. And he’s cautious. If something even has a hint of hink, he’ll be out of there.”

Nemo and Gem lay in the darkness, Gem keeping an eye on the cavern as best she could without sticking her head through the tunnel opening. He desperately wanted to ask her what was wrong, but between the tenseness of their situation and everybody listening online, it wasn’t the best time. After twenty minutes, he couldn’t do it any longer. He had to know.

“Midas. I’m closing out communications for a couple of minutes. I’ll be able to hear you in case you need us.”

“Not advisable, Nemo,” Waters grouched.

“It’ll just be for a couple of minutes,” Nemo assured him.

Nemo closed the voice channel with a tap of his finger. He patted Gem on the ankle, and through hand signals, he askedher to do the same. She scowled at him but complied. Her head turned back to the tunnel opening.

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