Chapter 2
Captain Jonas's speeder tore through the mid-hab levels of hive 56 at great speed. They were beginning to enter the fringes of the under hive now, and the presence of Arbites officers there was not taken too kindly by the locals. Jonas wanted to be in and out before anyone even knew they were there.
"The Co-ordinates the Inquisitor sent us aren't too far away sir. ETA 5 minutes." Rex, the young officer piloting the landspeeder, reported.
Nodding in acknowledgement, Jonas turned around and unlocked the speeders built in gun-rack. He removed a standard issue Arbites shotgun and begun to load it. Entering the under hives unarmed whilst wearing the uniform of an Adeptus Arbites official was suicide; there was no respect for law and order down here.
"I want you to examine the corpse with the utmost speed Grendel" Jonas turned and addressed his retinues Genetor and Verispex technician, chiefly in charge with the forensic examination of crime scenes.
"Any tests or evidence that does not need to be collected in the field shall not be conducted. Period. I don't want to spend any longer in this dump than I have to." Jonas was rather irritated that the Inquisitor had insisted he come in person. He was a busy man. He had no time to be running around looking at dead people, especially if they happened to be dead in one of the most dangerous areas of the Hive city.
He did, however, know better than to question an Inquisitor.
"I shall work with the utmost swiftness sir." Grendel replied in an artificial monotone. His entire larynx, neck and voice box had been replaced with artificial counterparts, along with much of the rest of his body.
They were getting into the real depths of Hive 56 now. The street lighting was virtually none existent and the landspeeders huge headlamps bathed the narrowing tunnels in an eerie glow. Jonas noticed the pedestrians on the streets had diminished to. They were simply mere shadows that edged the walkways and habs, trying to remove themselves from the glare of the headlights. Jonas could feel there bitter gaze upon him. He realised if they weren't out of here soon word of their presence would reach the Hive gangs, and then they'd be in a world of trouble.
The speeder slowed, turning down a tiny annex in the tunnel wall. It was barely small enough to fit through.
"The crime scenes dead ahead sir." Rex informed as the speeder came to a halt. The headlamps extinguished as the speeder wound down, and Jonas switched on his shotguns under slung torch as he clambered out.
He, Rex and Grendel began to advance cautiously down the long, dark passageway. His torch probed the darkness exploring its depths. He could tell the body was near. He could smell it.
*****
The soft crimson glow of Detritus's ignited power blade bathed the tunnels in an eerie red light. There portable lights had expired long ago, and now he and Neve were using only the light generated from the Inquisitors ornate and ancient weapon to find their way.
They were, as it happened, completely lost.
"This is ridiculous!" Detritus exclaimed, rather irritated.
Neve chuckled to himself.
"Well I'm glad you find it funny Gus, because I most definitely don't. Were lost in the bowels of some emperor damned hive, crawling around in filth and looking for a psychopathic murderer with nothing more than the bloody light from my power-blade!"
"It's all lookin' rather peachy boss." He said with chortle.
"I swear by the emperor I'll be glad to see the back of this rock." Detritus muttered
"No offence sir, but you'd of been eaten alive back home on Thracian." Neve was happily grinning to himself. It was rare to see the boss so perturbed by something, and he was quite enjoying it.
"None taken, the Hive life evidently isn't for me."
"Evidently."
The hunt for the killer had leaded them both on a wild and fruitless search through the never ending bowels of Hive 56. They had waded through grime and muck, crawled through service hatches and hidden passageways and crept through the never ending darkness, constantly looking over their shoulder. Well, Detritus was at least.
Neve however was used to the eerie atmosphere of the under hive. The stale and pungent smells that made his boss gag was like a whiff of home sweet home to him. The random clatters, bangs and distant roars of the ever working hive sent shudders through the Inquisitors spine, yet to Neve they were a pleasant cacophony of all too familiar sounds. When it came to the constantly encroaching darkness, Neves eyes were quite at home peering into it, yet poor old Detritus waved his glowing blade into the constant night trying fruitlessly to carve a path through the shadows.
"The vox working yet?" Detritus queried. They had been getting worse and worse signal and reception the further down they got. It was nearly impossible to contact anyone on it. They were literally on their own.
"Nah it's useless down here. Were in the servicing annexes now, the walls here are too thick. We're down to deep."
"How reassuring."
A long silence ensued. Only the steady drip of leaking fluid nodes could be heard, accompanied by the occasional distant rumble.
"You hear that??" Neve asked, suddenly stopping in his tracks.
"What? The rumbling?" Detritus asked puzzled.
"Shhhhh. . ." Neve put his finger to the Inquisitors lips as he stood there, listening intently.
Drip. . .Drip. . .Drip.
Detritus strained his ears. All he could hear was that steady dripping of fluid nodes off in the darkness.
Drip. . .Drip. . .Drip.
"What are we . . .?"
Neve quickly clasped his hands round the Inquisitors mouth.
Drip. . .Drip. . .Drip.
Detritus tilted his head, trying to hear whatever it was Neve had picked up. Trying to drown out that incessant dripping
Drip. . .Drip. . .Drip.
There! Over the slow drip of water, over the distant rumble of the Hive he heard it echoing through the darkness.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrr. . . ."
They both gave each other a long, anxious glance that seemed to last for an eternity.
Neve leaned forward slowly and whispered in his ear. . .
"Run!"
