Ghosts Broken Mask

67 - Engraved

"What the fuck is this place?" you muttered lowly as Keegan shushed you. 

The enemy base was hidden deep within a secluded chasm in the mountains. It looks small, but you can tell just from the outside that it's a well-equipped facility, serving as the command center for the militant group.

It's not a main location, but it's a missed opportunity for a larger facility that could be kept well-hidden and protected. The papers had said that the hostages were at these coordinates, meaning that this must be a smaller fraction of the team. 

The entrance to the base is mistakenly unguarded, with no layers of defense to prevent unauthorized access. In addition, the narrow entrance and winding tunnels of the base make it difficult to storm head-on, forcing one to use unconventional tactics to reach the inner sanctum.

You studied the map with Keegan beside you looking over your shoulder. "Any ideas of entry?" he asks. 

"There's only a downstairs, the only entrance is the one we can see and then it goes down, leaving our entry tactic limited. We only have one way to go, and we don't know what's on the other side." you say, finger tracing the map. 

"Although this mark here has potential." you point, the printer's ink had turned fuzzy on the small shape, making it difficult to see its symbol. 

Keegan hums in thought before glancing about. "The power lines." he says as you turn, following his gaze to lines above. 

"Yes?" you say confused. 

"They've got a steady access to power, unable to work under a certain depth of the surface level, meaning the power box has to be outside." he says looking back and forth between the map and base.

You nod slowly, it was occurring to you that you'd never been on a duo mission with Keegan before. You had been together accompanied by others and under the orders of them. His observations were sharp, connecting dots even faster. 

"You good in the dark?" he said, looking at you with a grin under his mask. You looked back at him; Keegan's helmet was always equipped with the night vision goggles even when a mission discussed beforehand didn't require them.  

"A little riskier but I can manage." you say returning the small smile. It was no doubt Keegan worked well in the dark, you had seen his skills leaning more towards the stealthy side, induced with intelligence he only seemed to wield in moments like these. 

"Goodgirl." he said, shifting in his crouched position, no question his legs were growing tired, you'd both been crouched, hidden at a safe distance from the base. "We'll check this out first." he says pointing to the fuzzy symbol. 

"My guess leans towards a lower exit, meaning a tunnel that's just as risky entry as the front one, both narrow, offering no escape when within the walls." You listen as he talks, his eyes darting back and forth as the gears in his head turn, he speaks as he goes. 

"If it is an entry way then I say we split, going in either entrance, you can have first pick." he says with a grin. "Going in the same one gives us no hope if we are met with surprise. - your comms on?" he asks, reaching up to your ear. 

You feel his gloves on your skin, tapping your earpiece as a beep sounds that only you can hear. He does the same to him, "Test one." he says into the mic, his voice echoing into the earpiece. 

"Received sir." you say back before you both flip your mics up, having confirmed communication was achieved. 

"Good, I'll give sign when cutting the power, enter straight away and keep in contact, sign at each checkpoint and code when danger. We are going into this without much intel on the inside so be alert soldier." he says, as you both double check your equipment. "Mag count?" he asks looking across at you.