They followed the trail of crushed bushes and leaves for 10 minutes before something caught Danny's attention. "Hey, look at this..." Danny said moving himself forward, closer to the ground. His eyes were pushed closer as he focused on the area. He took a few breaths as his head became nearly unbearable from the amount of strain he had to pull before he could get a clear view. His brain was screaming, crashing against the walls surrounding it, his head hurt like a bitch. "The ground here is a lot darker than either side of it..."
"So?" Kono questioned confused.
"So, it could mean that Chin and Adam, assuming this is their trail, turned back but then moved" Danny followed the line with his finger and pointed into the deeper forest "that way. Maybe they were running from something?" Danny stood back up, a bit dazed, forcing him to blink twice.
Kono studied the area and looked at the trees. She looked at three in particular and with the pocket torch, took a closer look. "Bullet holes... but there's a lot of them... and they're pointing the way the trail was... The Pirates." Kono swallowed hard as she informed Williams of her discovery. "They must've been what Chin and Adam ran from..."
"Unless you know of a Jaguar who can point and fire?" Danny joked trying to lift her spirits but it only made her pull a smile. Real or not. "Then yea... The Pirates or whoever they are must have got to them." Danny sighed as he moved closer. "Lets follow. Who knows, maybe Chin and Adam got out their grasp!" Danny tried again and this time it helped. Kono's determination shot back to her and she nodded hard.
They climbed through the forest and before they knew it "Blood..." Kono's voice went dry as she informed the Detective. "And ripped clothes... black blazer... Adam!" Kono whimpered seeing the image of her Boyfriend, dead.
"Hey, hey..." Danny went down to her level and wrapped an arm around her "It'll be okay... Adam's a strong man, as is Chin. They're both fine. I'm sure." He rubbed her arm with his hand for comfort as they stood up and noticed the trail died. "Lets go back to Steve, figure out a plan, and then save our boys." Danny smiled as she smiled back. They made their way quickly back to the Cave/Tunnel.
H-F-0
Steve had just parted with his team and he began to move down the cold, wet hole. It felt like forever before he saw anything interesting besides dark, wet and grey. He moved unevenly down the straight tunnel, trying to keep balance by holding the walls. It took him a while to adjust, and even then he wasn't quite right. The bleeding had stopped in all areas but one where a drizzle was still slowly dying. He must've lost at least 3 pints of blood...
BANG BANG BANG BANG. Pounding against his skull violently shook his brain as the darkness nibbled at him, straining his worn eyes. "Ugh..." He groaned quietly to himself as he made his way further into the darkness.
He had been moving for 5 minutes, though it felt like an hour, before there were voices muffled in the distance, around a corner. Steve flicked off his torch, stood still, breathing silently as he listened. "Jeez, if the Captain keeps killing off his men, there'll be none left!" One voice huffed.
"Oi, if he hears ya say that, he'll kill you 'imself, personally!" Another remarked laughing.
"Shut it, Harold." The other retaliated "C'mon, we gotta dump this body." The man sighed as the flickering of an old, tired torch started itself. Steve dived down, concealing himself in the darkness, behind rocks, between rocks. He wasn't in any condition to fight and he knew it. He held his breath as the two men, carrying a body, walked down the tunnel without care.
They didn't go too far before they dumped the lifeless body into a shallow hole, kicking dirt over it. "There... buried." Hardold laughed proud before leaving with the wagon followed by his partner. Steve clenched his fists at the sight of them casually throwing bodies around like it was some game... but who knows? Maybe in their lives, it was? A game of surviving and living or death and surrender.
The men had left and Steve caught his breath again. It took him a minute but he stood up, relighting his torch, and moving down the tunnel some more.
Lanterns lit the cave, leaving a passage deeper into the cliff and to an opening on the other side. As curious as he was to see, the mission was for him to find an opening to the tunnels, which he had successfully figured out. Steve smirked, turning his torch off and slyly, unsteadily, making his way to the opening, peering out to see what he could. Not much.
There were plants in the way and if his senses weren't so fuzzy, it would've reeked of death from the corpses beside and in the bushes. A skull by his foot, he studied the area in silence. He looked around but couldn't see much behind the large Event tent which owned most of the area and the two bright white Caravans either side of it.
In the Event Tent, to his liking, he saw a radio operation system. It wasn't moveable and was old, large. But he knew how to work it. A smirk formed on his face as he found himself peering round the tent and nearby areas. Hardly any guards were out, only four were in his way of successfully infiltrating the radio system. He could take them down with the 5 bullets he had left. His smirk grew as the idea of jumping down and operating the radio system, sending for a rescue plan was in his reach but that all changed in less than a instance.
He heard screaming come from beyond the caravans and it sounded familiar. 'Chin.' he thought to himself wobbling, trying to keep balanced. He was incredibly tempted to dive in and save his friend but he knew his efforts would be futile. He was too weak, to vulnerable right now to do it alone. He needed his team.
Half an hour had passed and it was time to head back. "I'll save you Chin, don't worry." Steve promised Chin mentally as he turned and ran back into the tunnels. Though running seemed impossible, he did it. He was running besides all odds, likely from the adrenaline. It took him 20 minutes to make his way back and he found Kono and Danny already, impatiently, waiting there.
After they exchanged their findings, Steve spoke up with a slight smirk "Okay... Here's the plan."