For the flimsiest of moments, as she gained the highest point in her leap, Utena seemed to hover far above the swirling ocean, as ifgravity itself were pausing, considering whether to exert its weight on her or not. She thought of the coyote from the old Road Runner cartoons. How many times he was left suspended and gasping in mid-air before he plummeted to the bottom of the canyon. Still, as gravity decided not to make an exception for Utena, she started her plunging acceleration towared certain death, she had one rather important advantage over the coyote.
Utena swung on the rope clipped tightly to her belt, arched towared the black slab of cliff, and relaxed her muscles as she had been taught. The impact barely winded her. Her feet and fingures fixed themselves to the rock. No problem. If only the coyote had trained at Ohtori High, or better known by it's students as Spy High.
A light winked at her from father down the cliffside like a boy giving her the eye. That would be Touga. No doubt he'd already found the entrance to the tunnel and claimed it for the grater glory og himself. Utena rappelled towared him.
"Took your time," Tougha commented. He'd already unclipped his line and was crouched in the narrow tunnel like a sprinter eager for the gun.
"I was admiring the view, something you never do."
"Yeah, well point your baby blues this way." Touga jabbed his finger toward deep, circular darkness. "A hundred meters to Stormfeld's complex. Let's put them behind us."
"So keen to save the world,"Utena observed, with more than a hint of sarcasem.
"That's right,"Muttered Touga," and if we reach the core beforeSanionji, so much the better."
"Talk about the short straw," grumbled Juri as she scrambled deeper beneath the earth, the roughly hewn tunnel showing no sign of coming to a end. "Touga and Utena het rappel, Kazue and Miki get the sea approach, and what do we get? The chance to crawl on out bellies all the way to the complex." She paused briefly to sweep her hair from her eyes. "How come we always get the short straw?"
Sanionji, keeping close behind Juri,m said nothing, though the expression beneath his tangled mop of green hair suggested that he had a good ide. He forched Touga's smug face from his mind. 'Concentrate on the mission,' he reminded himself. 'Only the mission matters.'
"I just hope some of Stormfeld's goons get in my way," Juri warned darkly."I've got a lot of tnsion i need towork off."
Sanionji frowned. "Forget it. We need to acess the core as quiickly as possibale. We don't want any diversions."
"Says you. Me, I say what;s a mission without the chance to break some faces? Hey Sanionji..." Juri stopped, rapping her fist on the surface in front of her. The sound rang merallically. "We're in."
"We're in." Sanionji allowed himself a grim kind of grin, nothing too elabortae or emotional. They'd reached the fridge of Stormfeld's headquarters, as the stell plating of the tummel now testi-field, but there wasa long way to go.
They slithered across the polished metal playted. The light imporved as they neared the main body of the complex, allowing Sanionji a rather more explicit view of his partner's rear as she wiggled her way forward. Sanionji was relived that Miki was not in his position at this particular moment.
Juri paused again, this time because she couldn't go any further. A wire grille blocked the intruder's path. She couled back on herself a hissed to Sanionji: "Where's this supposed to lead again?"
"An empty storeroom,"He supplied,"According to the blue prints."
"Then send the blueprints back,"Juri whispered. "And make that a very occupied storeroom." She indicated with her thumb. Sanionji peered through the grille. A guard, uniformrd and helmeted in black and, more worryingly, equipped with a large and probably well-serviced laser rifle, was settling himself down on a packing case. They hadn't planned for this.
"What's he doing?"
By way of answer, the guard eased off his helment and felt in his pocket, drawing out a packet of cigarettes and a light.
"Unscheduled work brake, " Chuckled Sanionji. "Naughty boy. Well, we've only got to wait, sit, and..."
"You can forget that,"Scoffed Juri. "I'm out of here."
"Wait!"