Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.

Here you are. It came out a little longer than expected, but no worries. :D

Chapter Twelve – The Passage

"Right near the scene of the crime, eh?"

Harry's attempts to lift everyone's mood failed once again. He hated tension, and right now you could cut it with a knife.

He sighed and led everyone up the stairs. They almost slipped a few times because it was so steep, but there were no injuries. Five minutes later, they reached the top. A large metal door stood in front of them.

"So, do we just knock?" Truman asked.

"I – I'll try," volunteered Harry.

He was about to tap on the door when it swung open. Staring down at them was a tall boy with brown hair, a denim jacket and jeans: Nixon. He smirked at them in a knowing way and it seemed like something amused him.

Harry and Truman were surprised with this new revelation while Celeste became angry and Melissa had on her poker face.

"Well, we've been expecting you," Nixon stated.

'What is this, the mafia?' Harry thought, aware that saying it aloud could kill him. Instead, he just stayed quiet.

"Anne-Marie is waiting for you."

Nixon opened the door wider, inviting them in. Harry stepped inside, but when the others moved forward, Nixon held up his hand. They gave him a questioning look.

"She only wants to see Harry," Nixon said.

The last thing Harry saw before Nixon slammed the door was Melissa's cap shielding her eyes, Truman's shocked look and Celeste looking furious. Before he knew it, he was pushed down a pathway leading to another set of doors. Nixon forced them open and they both walked inside.

Anne-Marie was sitting on the desk with her legs out in front of her. She looked particularly happy with herself, especially when she saw Harry glaring at her from the doorway.

"Ah, I meet my Harry again at last." She grinned evilly.

"I'm not yours," said Harry with more confidence than he had.

Anne-Marie only smiled. "Hmm, all in good time. Anyway, I assume you want your teammates back."

"Naturally," agreed Harry, trying to keep his voice calm.

"You'll have to do a little job for us."

"Anything."

Of course, Harry didn't plan on going with what Anne-Marie wanted, but he had to so he could save Thomas and Kellie. What would happen if he refused? He knew they would be killed, and not quickly and painlessly. They would be tortured and the rest of the team would be forced to hear the screams. Then they would be next.

Would Anne-Marie kill him? It was obvious that she still liked him, and he hoped that would be enough for her to show him mercy. He wouldn't ask to stay alive, however. He wanted to use any method he could to save his friends, even if it meant he had to die.

Anne-Marie jumped off the table. "I need you to collect these things for me."

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small sheet of paper. She handed it to Harry, who took it reluctantly. He scanned the writing, which read:

Metal

Polish

Tool box (preferably with tools IN it)

Nails

Fresh spring water from Alice Springs, Australia

Harry frowned at the last item. "What the hell? What do you need spring water for?"

"Fresh spring water from Alice Springs in Australia," Anne-Marie corrected, folding her arms. "Get it right."

"And if I don't get all these things?" Harry asked, trying to leave out any traces of worry.

"I'll kill the hostages." Anne-Marie continued when Harry opened his mouth to speak again. "If you don't obey after that, I will kill the rest of your team."

Harry twisted his mouth in frustration. He could try and fight now, but the odds were against him. Nixon was still standing by the doorway and he was sure both he and Anne-Marie had weapons and enforcements. Also, if those two were here, Father had to be around somewhere, and he was worse than both of them combined. He would definitely come if a fight started.

"Well, will you do it?" Anne-Marie asked, feigning sweetness.

Harry took a deep breath and held the list tighter.

Outside the base, no one was talking. Truman was drawing in the dirt with a stick to pass time. Melissa paced between Truman and Celeste, who had her ear pressed to the wall, trying to pick up noise. All of them were full of worry.

"She's not going to kill Harry," Truman reasoned, though he was really trying to convince himself.

Celeste scowled. "Of course she won't. They used to date, remember?"

Melissa stopped pacing and placed a hand on Celeste's shoulder. "Celeste, don't do anything drastic."

"Fine," Celeste sighed. She banged the wall with her fist. "I just want to help him, that's all."

"We all do," said Melissa, "but he'll be fine."

"He better be," Celeste mumbled.

Truman, who had tuned out of the conversation, felt something hard under the dirt. He abandoned the stick and dug with his hands. A minute later, all the dirt had been shoved away. In its place was a white rectangle with holes in it. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he wrapped his fingers around the edge of the holes and pulled.

"Truman, what are you doing?" Celeste asked, her eyes wide.

The white rectangle popped out and flew into the air, landing a centimetre away from Melissa. Truman looked where the rectangle had been. He realised it had been the lid to an underground passage.

"What are we gonna do about that?" Melissa questioned, peering into the hole.

"Should we go in?" Truman asked uncertainly.

Truman and Celeste turned to Melissa, who was the leader when Harry wasn't around. She bit her lip, contemplating the right thing to do.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," she began after a few seconds of deliberation. "One of us will go down and the other two will stay here. Anyone want to go?"

"I will," said Truman. "I'm the smallest, so I'll fit better."

Melissa nodded and gestured to the hole. "When you're ready."

Truman moved himself so his legs dangled over the edge of the hole. He took a deep breath and let himself fall downwards. He had to close his eyes because dirt threatened to fall inside them. It must have been a good twenty seconds before he finally hit the ground. His ankle throbbed a bit, but he didn't think it was broken.

"You okay down there?" Melissa called.

"Yeah, I am," Truman answered.

He looked up and realised he hadn't fallen as far as he thought, though if the hole had been any deeper, he could have been seriously injured.

"Celeste brought some rope, so we'll just hang it here. When you want to come back up, just yank it," Melissa yelled into the hole.

"Okay!"

Truman waved and turned around. He was at the beginning of a pathway that led deeper underground. He realised how dark it was and wished he had brought a torch. Taking one look back, he started trudging through the dirt.

Two minutes later, he was in complete darkness. He stumbled through, praying that he didn't hurt himself. He took a step forward, but tripped on something.

Bang!

"Ouch!" shouted Truman, rubbing his arm. He had fallen onto something metal. He squinted in the darkness, but still couldn't see, so he outstretched his hand. He made contact with a curved object. He moved his hands and, after thinking hard, found what it was: the ring of a ladder.

Making sure he had a good grip on the ladder ring, he hoisted himself up and began climbing. It was only a short climb, something he was thankful for. After all, he was better at academics than sports.

Squinting in the darkness, he saw something white. If it had been any other colour he wouldn't have seen it. It was another rectangle, just like the one at the entrance to the passage. Unlike the other one, however, there weren't any holes.

'Hmm, maybe I can cut it out...'

Clutching the ladder with one hand, he wrestled a small drill out of his belt. He always carried it around with him, just in case he needed to loosen or cut something strong. It often came in handy, even when he wasn't on a mission.

Flicking the drill on with his thumb, he started shifting the rectangle. It gave in easily, brushing past him as it fell to the floor. He looked up, but didn't see any sunlight. Or any light, for that matter. He touched the spot where the rectangle had been and sighed exasperatingly.

Concrete.

In a hurry now, he turned the drill back on. This time he cut a circle shaped hole, just big enough for him to fit through. Keeping his balance with his feet, he lifted the concrete slab, though it was very heavy. He wobbled a few times, but managed to keep himself steady so he could drop the concrete.

As he had already adjusted to the darkness, he found the light shining down on him very overwhelming. Even so, he raised himself out of the hole.

"Truman!"

He turned to his left, where the sound had come from. Kellie was waving at him, a large smile on her face. Next to her was Thomas, a small smile on his face too. Though they were glad to see him, Truman could tell they were exhausted. They both looked like they had been through physical combat, which they probably had. They didn't look too bad yet, but if they didn't get out soon they would start to stink up the place.

They were sitting inside one of many prison cells, though theirs was the only one occupied. There were dust and spider webs everywhere. There were no colours other than gray, playing a significant role in the depressing atmosphere.

"Hey, man, how did you get here?" Thomas asked.

Truman grinned, happy to see them. "I found a secret passage thing outside the base entrance, so I decided to see where it went."

"Where are the others?" Kellie inquired.

"Harry was told to go to Anne-Marie alone, so I don't know what's happening with him at the moment. I was waiting outside with Melissa and Celeste when I found the passage," Truman explained.

Kellie's eyes lit up. "So they're okay?"

"Yeah," replied Truman. Then he added, "For the moment."

"So, are we gonna get out of here or..." Thomas trailed off and waited for Truman to answer.

"Yep, let me get the drill ready."

Truman ran to the bars, turned on the drill and was ready to cut through them when he heard a noise. He stopped the drill and listened.

Kellie, who had better hearing than both the boys, said, "Footsteps."

Truman's breath caught in his throat. He mouthed, "Sorry," to the two captives and hurried back to the hole. He was halfway down the ladder when he looked up again, giving an apologetic look to Kellie and Thomas. They both motioned frantically for him to go. He nodded once and descended into the passage.

After he heard his feet make contact with the dirty ground, he grabbed the concrete and covered the opening. He made sure it was firmly in place before running off to tell the others what he discovered.

I hope you liked it. Review. :D

Also, what if there was a Tumblr of KND? Like, with a lot of KND moments. I've seen it with other fandoms and I thought it would be awesome. *Sparkly eyes* :D