"The vent that we need is right around here," Ink said. "It's close by, somewhere below us."

They didn't see any other guards as they cleared the area and Quinn guessed that they were all inside, where their toys and their knowledge of the hallways made them much more deadly than in the open space of outside.

They reached the shed and Ink hacked off the padlock, chain, and deadbolt with the sword from his arm before opening it. He swept his arm across himself and bowed his head. "After you."

Quinn smiled despite the situation. "Always the gentleman," she remarked as she entered with him close behind. They descended the steep stairs quickly and came out into a grey hallway not unlike the ones they had trained in at the Institute. It was quiet except for the humming lights and Quinn hoped that Blackout would have them out soon.

Ink tugged on her hand, leading her down the hallway, and they moved as silent as they could while still keeping a good pace. Ink led the way, occasionally stopping at a fork to pick a route.

"How do you know where we're going?" Quinn whispered once.

"Because I know the direction of the vent and I'm good with the compass points. We need to go south-east and we are currently going south. Turn right here." They veered right and slowed as Ink cautiously eased open a door. Inside was a large car, something that Quinn would call a tank but others would simply name an armored vehicle. Whatever it was, it was the size of a Hummer but more square and the walls were a dark, shiny grey. Ink narrowed his eyes at the transportation unit and gave it a wide berth as he led the way around it, keeping half his body to it and half his body to the garage door that was noticeable only by the slight cracks in the wall that Quinn matched with the cracks for the doors in their last training mission. "We can get out through here," she told him. "I can get the door open."

Ink didn't say anything, just nodded hurried down the hall once they exited the garage. They ran down a few more hallways before Ink stopped at a small closet-like door. "It's here," he said. "if I'm not mistaken." He pulled open the door and Quinn spotted the vent grate in the ceiling just as the lights went out.

"Perfect timing," Ink commented. His hand touched Quinn's shoulder and she turned her head in his general direction.

"You saw where the vent was right?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Great. I'll reach up and open it, then give you a boost. I'll support you and stay down here until you get in and start going. Actually…" He paused and the hand that was still rested on her shoulder shook for a second. Something cool and smooth slid around her neck and she froze. "Relax," Ink told her. "She won't hurt you. My snake will stay with you as long as I can keep her stable. If I get into a fight or run out of energy to sustain hers she'll disappear, ok? If you get into any trouble she'll see and disappear, so I'll automatically know. "

"Fuck you're good at this stuff," Quinn commented, and he laughed quietly. The snake settled against her neck, its tail hooking onto the corner of her uniform as it snuggled under her collar right against her neck. Quinn heard the sound of the vent click as it was unlocked and let out a small ring as it fell open. Ink's hand left her shoulder and she felt him shift below her. "Put your hands on my shoulders and lift your left foot," Ink instructed. Quinn did as she was told and she balanced as he carefully stood. "Reach up and grab the vent," he told her. Once again she did as she was told and gripped her fingers around the edges of the vent. Ink boosted her up as high as he could and she pulled herself the rest of the way through, worming onto her belly.

"Good luck," Ink called up. "If you find something, send out a mental message to Jean. If you need help, do the same. Either way the closest person to you will meet up with you, alright?"

"Sounds good," Quinn called back. "And good luck to you too." She heard the grate over the hole snap shut and the closet door close. She took a breath and started forward, going slowly at first as she adjusted her body and wings to the confined space, but soon she picked up the pace. She had gone a couple meters when she paused. Ink hadn't told her any directions. Was there only one way out of this thing? Or was she supposed to guess?

She sighed and rested her forehead on the cool metal below her. She didn't have time to stop and think of all the uncertainties; she could go through those as she kept moving and figured out some one by one. So she pushed on, kept going down the shaft that only made small noises of protest and were undetectable in the hallways and rooms that certainly lay below her.

She held in her mind that eventually the shaft would have to gdo straight down, and she wondered how she was going to work that out. The only idea that came to her head was the image from several action films where the hero wedged their back against one wall with their feet flat against the other and shimmied their way down. Quinn laughed to herself at that idea, knowing she'd probably just slide right down if she tried that, but once again she decided to cross that bridge when she came to it. Continuing onwards, she concentrated on moving as quickly as she could.