2150 hours

Underground Lost City, below White City Ruins.

“Fuck… I… really… hate… stairs!” Huffed Dylan, who found himself hating himself for not keeping up with his cardio.

“See, this is why I told you to keep running Shorty,” Andre replied smiling, his own voice slightly marred by his own huffing and puffing.

William, who was slightly ahead of the other two, just shook his head with a sigh.

“Man… how the fuck are you not tired?” Dylan asked William, noting how he seemed to be the only one not huffing and puffing.

William peered over his shoulder and back towards Dylan, “I’m just as tired as Richard, bro. I just sweat my ass off.”

“Pfft, fuck that, I’ve seen you running up and down the steps back at the stadium there bro.” Andre chimed with a chuckle.

“Honestly bro, I just remember to keep doing legs day. Legs day all day, every day… because every day’s a good day for the Airborne Infantry.”

“Damn straight! Rangers lead the way.” Andre followed up with a grin as he ran up just in time to fist bump, William.

Dylan frowned slightly as he watched Andre and William begin to jog up the rest of the stairs. “Fuck… you… guys, I’m the one carrying most of the heavy shit!”

“Only because you don’t trust the rest of us to carry the tools bro.” William replied with a grin.

“That’s because none of you know how to use these tools masterfully as me.”

“True, I don’t doubt your skill at masterfully handling another shaft.” Andre sneered with a grin.

Dylan nodded, “Damn straight- wait… aw, fuck you, man!” He cursed as he gave his buddies the bird with a shake of his head.

“Alright, alright, best ready up bro’s, remember the traps our hosts left us here. Watch your steps and also…” William started before turning back to the others with a pause, “When we get back, I need to take a dump.” He said finally, a serious look on his face before he smiled and began to laugh.

Dylan raised his arms as if saying, ‘really?’ while Andre just joined in the laugh before confirming the warning with a, “yeah, rog.”

And shortly after their small little laugh, the three men arrived at the tunnel entrance once more. Getting their NVG’s ready, the misfits began to make their trek back to the base camp to report their findings. Needless to say, the journey there proved to be a fair bit faster given how they were now more keenly aware of the traps and surprises left by the former inhabitants. Though as they grew closer towards the camp, the three Rangers paused for a moment as an uneasy feeling washed over them the closer they got to the main entrance.

“It’s quiet…” Dylan observed as he pulled his NVG’s up and off before the light from the entrance blinded him.

William nodded, “Yeah… somethings off.”

“You think something happened?” Andre asked, joining in the worry his friends had.

Biting his bottom lip in annoyance, William brought his carbine up and at the ready. “I’m not sure, but last time we left, we could still hear the voices of the researchers… and now… now we can’t hear shit. Ready up guys.”

“Rog.” Andre quickly brought his up at the fire ready stance as he took point ahead of the others.

Dylan did the same without a word, his eyes locked on the front sector as they made their approach towards the dull light. Slowly the three men walked into the temple, William turned left, Dylan the right, while Andre remained glued to the front.

“Clear left.”

“Clear right.”

“Clear… oh fuck…” Andre stopped short of making his reply as his eyes came to rest on the naked and hogtied form of Erynn on the plastic table.

Quickly the other two twisted about, their eyes going wide in shock.

“Son of a bitch!” Growled Dylan who twisted around in disgust and annoyance.

William’s grip tightened around the grip of his weapon before he lowered it, and motioned for Andre to cover the exit, before he walked over to Erynn.

“FUCK!!” Dylan cursed loudly as he flipped over a nearby table “Those fucks! Fuck, fuck, FUCK!!!”

“Calm the hell down Bull!” William barked, “Get your shit together and get me a blanket over here.”

Dylan, still seething with rage nodded slowly, “Yeah… yeah… right.” He replied slowly, visibly calming down as he began to pull around his ruck and dig through it to find a blanket.

As William began to figure out how to get Erynn out of her bonds, he peered over towards piece of paper left beside her that had a small rock over top of it, as if to act as a paperweight. Raising a brow, he picked the sheet of paper up, his gloved fingers seemingly having no trouble grabbing the smooth surface. Within seconds his blue eyes went wide as he began to read the words on the page. It was a note addressed to them, and only them. The former officer felt his blood boil as he began to read the lines in the page.

Dear Rangers,

I’m sorry I could not be there to greet you personally, but I had other tasks to deal with

So I was left with no choice but to leave you five this letter, as it’s the least I can do.

As you might have guessed, I have taken the liberty of leaving you gentlemen a gift, as

Thanks for helping me achieve my goals back in Afghanistan last year. I do hope you understand

That it was all for the greater good, and… personally, I had no doubts in my mind that you

Fine gentlemen and your unit would have no trouble in dealing with the Taliban fighters.

Anyways, getting back on point, I believe it is only fair that I leave you with something to

Remember me by, so, I left your lovely employer here. However, the others come with a price.

Should you wish to rescue the others from our care, you’ll need to do another favor for me.

That favor being the collection of the keystones, like the one you had used to enter the tunnel.

Now, I won’t blame you for exploring the location each unlocks, as it actually makes my life easier,

In truth, I’m hoping you’ll explore the many locations you find and gather whatever is hidden within

Each of the ruins you find. Once you’ve collected them all and the keystones, you won’t need to

Contact or find me, rather I’ll come to you, and offer you what it is you want most.

Sincerely,

Mr. Raven

William had to calm himself down as he slowly lowered the letter. “That dirty mother fucker!” He cursed under his breath.

As Dylan walked up, he grabbed the letter from the table and began to read, his previous rage returning as he threw the letter into the wall, “FUCKING ASSHOLE!!” He blurted aloud in a rage, “I swear to God if I EVER see that mother fucker I’ll fucking kill him!”

Andre shook his head, a somber look on his face –which was unusual given the smile or grin he would often have- as he walked towards his two brothers. “I know, I want to get this guy too, but getting angry is only going to make things harder for us down the line. We’ve been through worse fam, we’ve got this.” As Andre reassured his two friends he rested his gloved hands on both men’s shoulders, which seemed to do the trick, as they both visibly relaxed.

Sighing, William rested the weight of his upper body onto his rests, before he peered over at the hogtied form of Erynn, still unconscious from the tranquilizer they had used on her. “Your right… sorry… I… well, I can’t find the words… the only thing we can do now is getting our employer here out of her bonds and back in fighting shape. Chances are, we’ll need all the people we can get to help us find the other stones.”

The other misfits nodded in unison before Dylan chimed in, “Agreed, I don’t want to do anything, or go anywhere until we have a solid team here. I mean, there’s only so much the five of us can do.”

“I hear you fam.” Andre joined in, folding his arms across his chest, “I think we’ll need as many bodies as we can get. Knowing how these fuckers operate, we’ll be seeing some unwelcome surprises in the future.”

“Agreed. Alright, Bull, you gather what tools you have left, chances are they didn’t find our little cubbyhole in the jungle where we stored our other shit. Ghost, I want you on overwatch, can’t be one-hundred percent that all those asshats are gone, so I think its best if we have you watching that doorway.” As William began to layout the orders to the others, he turned around and began to look over the steel bindings that held Erynn in the position she was in.

“Already done,” Dylan replied, as he began to walk over to the exit.

Andre, doing the same, replied with a quick, “Rog."

Within moments William was left alone to try and undo Erynn’s bindings.

--

Evan and Lucas both sighed, each man looking over the gathered gold, each man seemingly stuck in a sense of wonder before suddenly they were snapped back to reality as Jourdain snapped his fingers.

“Gentlemen, I believe we have other tasks to do besides looking at gold, hmm?” The old man pointed out, his hands now clasped behind his back, and a small smile tugging at his lips.

Both Rangers turned towards the aging researcher. “Yeah… sorry.” Lucas said first, as he adjusted the sling of his carbine. “Have anywhere specific you want us to look into?”

Jourdain shook his head, “None at the moment sadly, as of right now, I’m still trying to figure out which one of these buildings we should look into first.”

Evan began to scan the surrounding area his mind beginning to look back at his experience in Afghanistan, and Africa. Suddenly, as his eyes began to look around he spotted a point that seemed a little out of the way. Quickly resting his hand on Lucas’ shoulder, he then pointed towards the building in the distance. Lucas raised a brow, before he squinted his eyes, trying to see whatever it was Evan was pointing towards before suddenly he saw it.

“Ah! Good eye Twitch.” Lucas complimented before quickly turning back to the old man, “Sir, we may have a starting point for you to look at. Twitch here spotted a point up ahead that looks like it might be a prime location to hide something you don’t want being found.”

Jourdain raised a brow, “Oh?”

“Yeah, look over there.” He added quickly before pointing towards the building himself.

The graying man peered over towards the building in question and his eyes went wide for a moment, “Aha! Well done gentlemen, well done indeed!” Quickly crouching down, Jourdain began to dig through his bag of tools before producing a small stone tool. “Quickly now, no time to waste, we’ll need to get over there ASAP.

And so the three men quickly rushed towards the rundown looking stone pyramid that seemed to look a fair bit smaller than its associates that darted the underground city. As they rushed towards the stone ruins, Knight stood in silence as she continued to examine her notes on a large stone slab, the fact the three others left without her not at all seeming to bother her. Rather her mind was lost in thought, still bothered by the pristine condition of the ghost town they had found, what’s more, the fact that items that should have rotted away were merely musty in smell, but otherwise in perfect condition. Slowly raising up from her hunched stance, Knight began to look around, looking for the others, only to spot them halfway down the street.

“What? Ugh… not even a heads up?” Knight frowned in annoyance while scratching the back of her head. Sighing lightly she rested the hands on her hips before looking back at her notebook, she figured she’d do her own independent search and contact the others if she ran into any trouble… or traps.

On the opposite side of the ghost town, the Rangers and Doctor Linville were already at the only run down structure in the city, and already the two soldiers were climbing up the stone steps, their weapons at the fire ready stance as they inched further up the structure. Once at the top, both men visibly relaxed as they didn’t see any dangers or anything for that matter.

Turning around Lucas waved up the Doctor, “AO’s clear sir- Oh holy shit!” Lucas jumped back as he came face to face with the Doctor.

“I’m already aware Ranger, though I appreciate the warning.” As he spoke, he clasped his hands together and began to rub them in excitement. “Now then, to work my good man.”

Both Evan and Lucas could see just how excited the old man was, though both just shrugged it off, with Evan quickly bringing up his secondary weapon he began to enter the ruins. Lucas watched a while longer, motioning for the old man to follow behind Evan. However, Jourdain was already following closely behind the former sniper, a hop in his step as the excitement began to take him.

“Fuck man, aren’t you ever excited,” Lucas observed aloud, before adjusting the sling of his weapon before forming in.

Jourdain, grinning opened his mouth to reply, “Think about it, man! We’re walking into a complex no one has been in well over four hundred years!”

His reply came quickly, and Lucas nodded in agreement, it was an extremely cool moment for the three men as they walked into the darkness of the only ruined building. Though both Evan and Lucas quickly went stone-faced as they began to examine the dark area, looking for any signs of light, not wanting to use their NVG’s in an area that might mysteriously light up like the others when they lit up the torches.

“Found it!” Evan exclaimed as he brought up a lighter, the gentle orange light filling up the darkness before suddenly it lit up the entire walkway.

As the darkness was replaced by the light created by the fire, the three men stood in shock at what lay before them. Bones, human bones, scattered across the ground.

“What… the fuck?” Muttered Lucas in shock.

Jourdain was about to take a step forward but was quickly stopped by Evan’s hand which was thrust in front of the aging researcher.

“Hold a moment…” Evan said, before crouching down, his eyes scanning the dirty floor. “… The area might be booby trapped. Watch out for keystones.” As he warned the others he began to look for the trigger stones that might set off whatever traps were hidden.

Lucas frowned, “Shit… now we have to deal with the real traps, I guess the ones at the tunnel were just to make the illusion of a poorly defended area.”

“Agreed… And these unfortunate Spaniards seemed to have discovered just that.” Jourdain said grimly.

Evan rose to his feet as he began to rummage through his load-bearing vest, before pulling out an empty clip. “Always carry an empty clip, just in case,” Evan said before taking a few steps back just in case.

Throwing the empty clip onto the stone floor, the three men waited with baited breath to see what happened, with Lucas quickly pulled the doctor over in behind cover, Evan soon followed, diving behind a large statue. The three men remained silent, and the silence was the reward.

Looking up and around the corner Lucas raised a brow, “Nothing happened? You sure you did it right Twitch?”

Evan shrugged, “Pretty sure.”

“If you got another, throw it in a different direction.”

“No.”

“What? What you mean no? You’re the only one who saves the empties.”

“Yeah, so?”

Lucas looked stunned for a moment, shaking his head, “Just… fucking throw one.”

“You got twenty?”

“What? You want money for those things?”

Evan nodded.

“Bro! Why do you need money?”

“They're expensive, and consider it an investment.”

“Fuck…an investment? Really?” Lucas spat in annoyance before turning back and rolling his eyes, “Ugh... fuck it, fine.”

“Sweet.” No sooner had the deal been made, Evan pulled out another empty clip and whipped it across the floor and just on cue a number of darts came flying out and towards them, slamming into the walls, statues, and stone slabs.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck!” Lucas cursed as he quickly covered his head and that of the doctor, shielding him from any potential ricocheted dart.

Thankfully the trap lasted but a few moments, and both Lucas and Evan slowly began to emerge from their cover, and walk back into the hallway.

“Well… good thing Bull wasn’t here.” Lucas suggested.

Evan tilted his head and gave a puzzled look.

Turning towards Evan, Lucas grinned, “He’d have gotten a dart in the ass.”

Evan chuckled, shaking his head, before pushing Lucas forward.

“Alright, alright, should still be careful, chances are there’s still traps active.”

“Mhm, a sound observation Lucas.” Jourdain added as he himself pushed himself out from behind the statue.

Both men turned to look at the doctor as they stopped in their tracks. “Any suggestions as to what to look for?” Lucas asked, his gloved hands resting on the top of his carbine.

“Well, normally there would be some sort of symbol, design, or script that would act as a sort of warning to anyone smart enough to listen, but here… it was almost like whatever it was they were trying to hide and protect was something of such importance that they made it so not even their own would know where to step, crawl, or jump.” The doctor replied, a grim look on his face as he examined the stone flooring and walls for any sort of clue. “Essentially… we’re walking on pure luck. I’d recommend waiting for the others, and maybe using something as a shield from any more potential traps like the one you had set off there. Given what we’re looking at right now.” Turning away from the former Rangers, he peered over towards the hallway, littered with the skeletal remains of the Spanish victims. “There’s no cover between here and the goal.”

Lucas threw his head back in annoyance, “Fuck~” He moaned in annoyance, before pulling his head back up and looking over towards Evan. “Well… no point wasting any more time than we already have, best get the Boss, Bull, and Ghost here… and get them to bring some sort of shield.”

Evan nodded, pursing his lips, before holstering his weapon and walking out of the complex and down the stone steps.

Lucas and Jourdain both watched Evan a bit longer before they soon joined behind him, looking to regroup with the others quickly. As right now… there was little to no chance they could get through the trap infected complex without the support of the others. But, what news awaited them was only going to make things that much more complex for the former soldiers and researchers.

--

“OW! Fuck… pinched my finger” William whined, waving his pained finger about while trying to undo Erynn’s bonds.

Dylan sighed lightly, as he threw down a pair of pliers. “Bro… it’d be easier to use these. Just saying.”

Turning back to Dylan, William frowned. “Really? Now you bring me this stuff? Would’ve helped twenty minutes before.” He retorted quickly, annoyance clear in his tone of voice.

Andre grinned as he walked up, “You know shorty, he likes coming in at a fashionably late time.”

“Pfft, you’re just jealous because at least I look fabulous when I do.” Dylan joked with a grin.

Shaking his head, “Heh, always.”

William chuckled softly as he watched the back and forth between his two brothers before he returned his attention back to the hogtied Erynn, who was still very much out like a light. Though given how many darts marks were darting throughout her pale yet scarred skin, it wasn’t hard to see why she was still out despite the time that had passed. With a quick shake of his head, however, he returned to trying to clip the bonds. Dylan, raising a brow as he walked up stroking his legendary beard, couldn’t help but still admire how well built Erynn was. One could tell she had some form of military training by how she moved, but what solidified that thought was the tattoos she had that decorated her arms, back, and her left thigh. Many were beautiful murals that seemed to tell some kind of story, a story of pain, loss, and near death moments in her life that seemed to match well with the brutal scars that littered her otherwise gorgeous frame.

“Gotta say… seeing all this… gives me a whole new level of respect for the woman. I mean… damn. Look at these tattoos.” Dylan observed his hazel green eyes seemingly glued to the art that decorated the woman’s body.

The former Captain just nodded, too focused on trying to free their employer, while Andre walked up, his own eyes taking in the art that decorated her body. “Former Marine by the look of that one there.”

“Hmm?” William hummed.

“Look, see the unit patch?” Shouldering his weapon, Andre pointed out the moniker of a certain deadly USMC group.

“Yeah.” Both said in unison, which had Andre chuckle before continuing.

“Marine Raiders. Our boss here was a former Raider.”

“Oh shit… but wait… how… how’s that possible? I thought they didn’t accept women in their ranks?” Dylan pointed out quickly, his own memories thinking back to the lack of equality in some of the units.

“Don’t know bro. Lot of shit we don’t know about. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she herself asked to remain a secret. But…”

“… But, its not surprising she was in given the mess she left behind.” William finished Andre’s sentence after his pause.

The three men looked back at the bloody bodies that remained. “Gotta say though… fucking cold that.” Dylan spoke up.

“What’d you mean?” William asked just as he finally managed to break through the cuffs holding Eyrnn’s hands together.

Adjusting the strap of his carbine, “I mean… they just left their dead behind like nothing.” Dylan said finally.

“Rog… seems fucked.” Andre agreed.

William just shrugged, “I mean, given who we’re up against here, it’s not entirely surprising. But, for now, our main focus should be getting Erynn free, once that’s done, we’ll start burying the dead before they start to really stink up the place. Sound good?”

Cracking his knuckles, Dylan walked up to help William with the binds.

“Really? Did you really just crack your knuckles before coming to help me? Its pulling off some metal bro, not punching someone.” William joked, a grin spreading across his face.

“What is this? Pick on the Bull day?” Dylan retorted in mock insult.

“It’s always pick on Shorty day bro.” Andre chimed in, his eyes still glued to the entryway; just in case there were some possible stragglers.

Dylan flipped both men off, before a wide grin spread across his bearded face. Though, just as he did so, he and William both managed to finally undo the last piece of the puzzle, which saw to Erynn’s limbs once more falling free, leaving her head and neck to free fall until William caught her at the last minute. Both quickly shifted her over, before Bull walked up and threw over a makeshift blanket of sorts to cover her nudity until they could find some clothing for her.

“By the way, think they left anything for us out there?” William asked, grabbing his gear now that Erynn was free.

Andre was the first to shrug, “Honestly, I doubt it. After seeing the condition of this place, I bet you anything they took all our shit and disabled our rides.”

Bull nodded in agreement as he began to run his fingerless gloved hands through his bushy beard, “Odd’s aren’t with us on this one.”

William clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Che… fuck it! No harm looking. Bull, Ghost form up on me, we’re going to at least check our st-“

“What the fuck happened here?!” Suddenly shouted Lucas, who, alongside Evan, Knight, and Jourdain, emerged from the tunnel entrance.

The other three quickly shifted around before walking up. “Oh… scratch that guys, seems like we have some talking to do.” William corrected.

Though explaining what had happened, still didn’t really help calm the minds of the others who were still walking around, their eyes darting about as if trying to piece together something they already knew. Evan, however, was different, he just calmly and quietly leaned against the tunnel entrance as if already knowing what they were going to do before the others even did. A trait he often displayed during stressful situations, and one that had almost always been right with; more so after Lucas and Jourdain had told their own little story, which saw to the group more or less at a standstill.

“Well fuck…” Dylan cursed in annoyance as he twisted about on his right heel. “So, then… what the fuck? We don’t even know what the hell we have, let alone what we’re supposed to really do once and IF, a big if there, if we find whatever it is that douche wants.”

The other four Rangers nodded in agreement before Knight raised her voice to interject. “While I do understand the situation we’re in, I still have to go with our original goal. We should focus on getting that artifact, all other objectives are secondary at this point if I’m to say it in your terms that is.”

William raised a brow, slightly impressed, “Gotta agree with you on that Doctor Knight... chances are, they left us fuck and all out there, leaving us with only one real option until boss lady over there wakes up.”

“Find the key.” Evan finished.

William snapped his fingers and pointed to Evan, “Yup.”

Bull shook his head, annoyance clear as day on his face. “Man… I’m telling you, this better not be another Africa… cause I’m warning you bro, I will shove whatever tools I have left out there, straight up your fucking asses.”

“Calm down there Shorty. Africa was just a fluke, no way that shit will happen again.” Andre said, resting his hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure his friend, which did little to nothing to help.

Sighing, Dylan just shook his head, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. “Fuck it, better down there then up here.”

William chuckled softly shaking his head before looking down at Erynn. “Also, we’re gonna need to take her with us. No way can we risk leaving her here. Bad enough we got those guys rotting there. Who knows what’s coming to feast on them.”

“Rog, I’ll pull out the stretcher.” Andre agreed, before taking a knee and pulling ‘round his rucksack.

Lucas walked up behind him, “I’ll help carry her down with ya bro.”

Andre nodded, happy for the help. “Thanks. Alright Capt, we’re ready to go once she’s on.”

Not wasting a moment, the former Captain quickly patted Bull on the back, and gave Evan a nod -who quickly twisted into the tunnel- before looking over at the two last researchers they had with them. “Doctors, you’re behind Ghost and Boer there. Follow their every step. Dylan, you’re behind them to watch our rear. Evan’s on point.” As he made the order he started to head down the stairway leading to the tunnel.

Once all was said and done, the group of soldiers and researchers vanished into the darkness, ensuring that they remembered where the traps were in the dark tunnel.