Underground, Undercover

Hurricane, Utah

Thursday 1st December 2016, 13:15 PM

Even as she was led away, Samantha kept looking back. Trying to find the jet black car that had driven Mike away. For just a moment, she thought back to the last time she'd seen him. He had been visiting the office, likely to pick up the files. Had she known what he was planning, she would've dropped everything she had been doing.

This time, as she watched him leave, that deep-seated worry set in. That belief that if she took her eyes off him, he would disappear for good.

No matter how much she wanted to break away and follow him, it was out of her hands. Tyler was behind her, almost sensing what she wanted. He kept a strong hand on her shoulder and guided her further away from the crowd.

As they walked through, the crowd began to disperse. Leading them through, it was clear that their destination was back to the car. As her mind wandered from Mike, she reminded herself of the look in Tyler's eyes. Something had happened, that was clear.

Tyler had spotted something, something she had missed in all that chaos.

For a moment she struggled to find her words. "Ty…Tyler. Ty, what's wrong?"

"I'll explain on the way." He promised, without taking his eyes off his direction. "Spence, is anyone following us?"

"Not yet." Spencer answered as he trailed them, "Can't say how long that'll last."

"Keep an eye out." As Samantha tried to meet his eyes, she could see the morbid determination in Tyler's eyes. A look she was all too familiar with; he and Thomas had the same piercing scowl, if not the same eyes.

"What did you see?" Samantha asked him, more quietly this time. They were quickly coming up to the car. Reaching the driver's side door, Tyler gave one more look from where they'd come from.

"We attracted attention." He revealed grimly, before getting into the car. Unsure, Sam joined him in the other seat, whilst Spencer took the back seat.

Making a quick U-turn that caused some stares from the pedestrians, Tyler drove back east. As they went back through the main street, he remained silent, keeping his eyes on the road or his mirrors.

"Tyler's right." Spencer finally explained, seeing his uncle wasn't about to, "There were eyes on us the moment we arrived. That security team for one. Even some of the Police there…if I was ever-so-slightly more paranoid, I'd say they were expecting us."

"Or someone like us." Tyler agreed.

Gritting her teeth in anxiety, Samantha thought about this. "They must know who Mike is. There's no way they don't. And if they know him…"

"Then they probably know you." Tyler finished for her.

Conversation inside the car quickly died out as Tyler drove them out of town. In the back seat, Spencer had twisted and turned so that he could keep an eye on their back. Their tension as they left the main part of town practically filled the car like water.

Sam looked around for any signs of where Tyler was taking them. A part of her knew it would just be easier to ask him directly, yet she felt almost nervous to ask him. In her state of anxiety, she couldn't tell if he was upset with her.

If there were people watching us, she considered, then going up to Mike like that didn't help us.

Blinking when she realised they were stopping, Sam took a glance at Tyler. His face didn't betray his intentions as he pulled up onto the dirt path and around a fenced lot. Staring at the lot, she saw it was a scrapyard. Broken down husks of cars filled the lot. The door to her left clicked open and she almost jumped.

"Back in a minute." Tyler vaguely explained before jumping out. All she could do was watch him as he looked around for any witnesses before scaling the fence almost effortlessly. Turning in her seat, Sam tried to seek any answers from Spencer. Instead, she was met with a similarly vacant stare in his eyes.

"Any idea?" Spencer asked her and she shook her head.

"Not a clue. He has his reasons, I'm sure." Leaning back in her seat, Sam attempted to calm herself down.

For a moment, Spencer seemed to hesitate, possibly unsure of whether to ask it. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "I don't know. He's alive. That's all that matters. I just…I don't quite understand any of it."

"Me neither." He admitted, "When you got to him, what did he say? What did you talk about?"

"He was vague." She thought back to how he had acted when she reached him, "He practically shrugged me off. Like I was just some old school friend. He said he lost his phone."

Falling silent for a second, Sam found herself feeling a strange sort of pain in her chest. Raising an eyebrow, Spencer detected her discomfort. "There could be a hundred explanations, Mom. They might have been listening in. Watching him."

"I know. But to have gone radio silent for so long…none of this looks good."

"In what way?"

Sam sighed again. "We'll have to report this to Carl and the others. If they have a suspicion that Mike has become a security threat…"

"Then we'll deal with it first." Spencer assured her.

A rustling on the fence in front of them cut short their conversation. All of a sudden, the figure of a six foot man sprung over it, landing on his feet. Without a second to lose, Tyler headed to the car, but didn't enter the driver's side seat. Instead, he headed around to the back. Sam shared another confused look with her son before Tyler returned twenty seconds later.

Getting into the car, he passed a licence plate to Spencer. "Hide this under one of the seats. Just in case?"

With that, they both understood what he'd been doing. "You switched the plates?" Spencer asked him.

"Aye. For now. Until we know if we're in the clear, or if it's hit the fan." Pulling out from the scrapyard lot, Tyler had a good look around before leaving. When she recognised the street they were on, Sam knew they were heading north. To their right was a campground, roads and umbrellas scattered around. Further onwards was a creek, a big one, that stretched towards the hills.

A moment passed before she realised that she knew that creek.

"I have a feeling they knew us." Tyler explained, knocking her out of her thoughts, "We were being watched the moment we arrived. That security team, and the cops. Could be an APB on this car, but we'll have no way of knowing unless we're suddenly being tailed."

"A changed licence plate won't be enough to stop that." Spencer pointed out, "They'd be looking for any vehicle matching the description if they saw us drive away."

"Probably. But it's something, at least. These are small town cops; they're not gonna go all DEA on us."

"Except we're now under Fazbear Entertainment's watch." Spencer pressed him, "We can't discount the chance that they're being paid off."

"You're overthinking this, kid."

"No, he's right." Samantha spoke up, "They did everything they could to stop Tom back in the nineties. They hired Dutch to kill him and Mike. They know that we're connected to Mike and there's no telling if they know we're connected to Tom. They'll try anything they can if they think we're a legitimate threat."

"Well, I'm all ears if anyone else has a plan." Tyler cut in, "As per usual, Mike's gotten us into another mess. If you want to call in AESIR, then do it. I ain't calling them."

For some time, silence filled the car as he continued to drive closer towards the creek. A glance towards Spencer told her that he was stunned by the venom in his uncle's voice, but she gave him a reassuring smile. It was to be expected, especially since she knew he wasn't wrong. As he'd grown, Tom had softened, gaining control over that deep-seated fury that threatened to burst at any moment.

It was a type of anger that she was used to. A stress reaction, nothing more.

Sitting back in her seat, she tried to relax. Scanning her memories over everything that had happened over the past hour.

As she did, she realised that Tyler was pulling over to the side of the road. Behind her, Spencer voiced the same question on her mind. "Everything okay?"

"Yep." Tyler grunted, before opening the door, "Need a fag."

Stepping out, he took out the cigarette and began to smoke it, heading towards the shore. Samantha could feel the need to stretch her legs and get some air, so left the car too. At first, Spencer seemed unsure of what to do, before deciding to join them.

Standing near the front of the car, Samantha stared across to the other side of the creek. Foliage lined the shore and the hills, rocky and dusty, loomed over them. She knew she recognised the area they were in. As it dawned on her where she had last seen it.

It had been Carl who had driven her here, as they looked for him. It had been after they'd found out Mike was missing, having never returned after his shift. When they had spotted him, Carl had pulled up in nearly the exact same spot.

"Give us a moment." Sam had asked Carl and he'd nodded, understanding. Even from there, she'd known he was angry. Though she'd had an inkling, there was no way to tell without hearing it.

She had approached him slowly and saw his hands clenched, even more so as he detected their presence. Before she had been able to open her mouth, he'd spoken.

"Both of you should be at the apartment." He'd spoken firmly, "It's not safe."

Just from that, she had known he was trying to keep his anger at bay. Trying to talk with him when he was like this was never easy. "Then why are you out here?"

He'd sighed at that. Hearing the pain in his voice, the tiredness, had been heartbreaking. "This is where I made my promise to Mike, you know. This exact spot. It hasn't changed too much since then. I promised him, right here, that if he ever needed help, I would be there."

"Something had almost stopped me from saying those words." He'd explained, the conflict in his voice calcable. "I guess because in spite of everything, part of me just wanted to put the thing to rest. That if we ever did try to pursue it again, we would end up regretting it."

Biting her lip, she had decided to field the question. "And do you?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Are we gonna do this, then." Tyler's voice knocked her out of her stupor, "Talk about what we saw?"

Regaining her bearings, Sam sighed, "I guess so. Look, this all looks bad. I know that. But Mike must have his reasons."

"What are you thinking?"

"Well, for one thing, how in the world he's working with them. They know him; he's been a target for two decades. He was fingered as one of the culprits in Reginald Wood's death."

"So how did he manage to get in in the first place?" Spencer asked.

Though Samantha knew the answer, as did Tyler, neither of them gave it. "He has connections." Tyler explained, not elaborating. "There's two options: Either Mike has turned his cloak and sided with Fazbear Entertainment for some stupid reason…"

"Or he's undercover." Spencer offered.

"Exactly. I've done it before, both with AESIR and otherwise. Most awkward thing is when you bump into someone you know. We might've screwed things up for him, but…"

"He's still using his name." Sam agreed, "Well, part of it. They must know who he is."

Spencer cleared his throat, "Yeah, I was about to mention that. Why the Hell did Mike choose that name, of all things? He's naming himself after a serial killer."

"Might be some prodigal son bull." Tyler explained, "You know, a long lost relative comes back to right some wrongs. Might be how he got in with Fazbear Entertainment in the first place."

"That's true." Sam agreed, "As best as I can tell, the Afton family's relationship didn't stop with William. A few cousins here and there were a part of Fazbear Entertainment at some point."

"Yeah. Anyway, we're getting off track. If Mike is working undercover, then we just probably jeopardised it. If not, and Mike's been able to smooth things over, we're best off backing off."

Samantha narrowed her eyes at that. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying the mission's done. We confirmed that Mike is alive and well. I'd say at most we make sure he gets back home. Then we do so ourselves."

She sighed at that. "Ty, the mission's not done. Yes, we've confirmed that Mike is still alive, but he's not out of the woods yet. He might need our help."

"If he needed our help," Tyler said plainly, "he would've asked for it back in Switzerland. Or Hell, back when you were talking to him. Sam, he brushed you off. That screams stay away."

"You don't know that."

"Oh, I'm sorry; you worked undercover recently, love?"

Bristling at that, Sam tried to not show her annoyance. "Mike is still in as much danger as he was before we found him. His communication has been severed. If he needs help, he won't have any way to contact us. We're not leaving him like this."

Tyler scoffed as he blew out smoke from his cigarette. "Yeah, and that's on him. He chose to leave AESIR's protection, and chose to go it alone. This whole operation of ours was a courtesy, nothing more. The last thing we need is to be wasting more resources on someone clearly not wanting help!"

Before she responded to that, a part of Sam had noticed how Spencer had backed away from the conversation. It was to be expected, she supposed; he didn't have the same knowledge as they did. He'd always preferred to wait and listen before acting.

Unfortunately, she had no such luxury.

"I'm not leaving one of our own in danger." She spoke quietly, just loud enough for them both to hear. "If you want to go, then do so. I understand if you have other more important duties. But you know damn well that Tom would've never walked away. I'm not going against that."

"You're right." Tyler practically growled, "My little bro wouldn't have. Just like how he didn't last year. Is that your plan? Your kids need to lose another parent for that bastard who can't leave things well enough alone?"

Spencer gave a sharp intake of breath at that behind her. For her part, Sam remained where she was, sadly staring at Tyler. Within moments, Tyler's hard face and piercing eyes couldn't meet hers and he looked away. They all stood there, silent, for what could've been an eternity.

"I understand where you're coming from…" Sam finally allowed herself to open her mouth. Before she could finish, however, Tyler interrupted her.

"No." He said plainly, "No, that was out of order. I'm sorry."

"I get it, Ty. I felt the same way last year. But you don't know him. Not like I do. He would've gladly taken Tom's place if he had the choice. He saved my life last year."

"Then it sounds to me," Spencer at last spoke, satisfied with what he'd heard, "that we only have the one choice. Whatever Mike's gotten involved in, we can't take the risk. At least, until we know if he's got this all under control."

"I get that, kid." Tyler reasoned, "The problem is, we could end up ruining his cover if we get involved. Hell, we probably did back there."

"So it would be more prudent to ensure we haven't broken the thin ice he's on and left him to freeze, no?"

"Touche."

"Look, I'm not denying that Mike is in dangerous waters, here. Waters that could very well cause us problems if we get involved. The problem is, I made the decision to mistrust a potential ally last year, and it nearly cost us. Mom, do you trust Mike?"

"With my life." Samantha answered, no moment of hesitation.

"Then I'm with you. I vote that we make sure Mike is okay, first. Then we get to him while he's alone. If he makes it clear that he's better off without us, we back off. If not, then we do our best to make sure he gets out with his head attached to his shoulders. Deal?"

"Deal." Sam agreed, before looking over to Tyler for his own answer. When they had set off together, she had known about his resentment. There was a deep-seated reason why Tyler had voted against sending AESIR in the first place.

With a weary sigh, Tyler shrugged, "If that's the way you want to do things."

"Okay." Spencer nodded, his muscles relaxing from relief, "So, I'd say our first step should be trying to figure out where Mike went."

"Any ideas?"

"Well, what about that office building? You know, the one where Lawson killed those executives?"

"That would be the most likely candidate." Sam agreed, briefly recalling the appalling scene she, Tom, and Carl had walked in on.

"At the very least," Tyler pointed out, "the car he was in will be there in that's where they're operating."

"Right." Spencer blinked, "Uh, did anyone get the plate number?"

"Kid, this ain't my first rodeo."

With that, they all got back in the car. As they turned and headed back into the city, Sam found her thoughts wrapped up tightly in her theories and speculation. The answers, it seemed, were illusive, yet not quite transparent

I hope.

New Harmony, Utah

Monday 3rd October 2016, 00:27 AM

As his finger pressed down on the button, Mike expected many things. He expected, perhaps, to find an empty stage. Better yet, he hoped to see the animatronic on her stage, performing. A deep paranoid part believed himself to be the prospective victim of a fright.

What he had not been expecting was complete darkness.

To be expected, I suppose, Mike mumbled to himself. All around him was technology that would be considered advanced even today. How on Earth he was able to build this place as far back as in the eighties was simply mind boggling.

"Looks like a few of the lights are out, but we can fix that later." The voice said rather matter-of-factly, "Let's encourage Baby to cheer up with a controlled shock."

This time, Mike knew he would regret this. Having had a bad feeling that was going to be the next order given, he felt pale. Reaching for the bridge of his nose, he contemplated what his next move should be. He knew that there was no way to progress with this operation without doing what needed to be done.

Even if it was a step too far.

Forgive me, Mike thought as he pressed the button. A surge of electricity channelled through the walls. Without the light, Mike could only assume that it hit its target. Several painful seconds passed before the voice spoke again.

"Let's try another controlled shock."

"Just get on your stage." Mike couldn't help but speak aloud, more to himself than anything. "Please."

When nothing changed, Mike sighed and pressed the button again. Once more, that surge spilled into the room in front of him. The picture of the animatronic's limbs going rigid in shock ingrained itself into his mind.

When the shock had passed, Mike tentatively pressed the button once more. As before, none of the lights worked and he closed his eyes. Was he going to have to do this all night? The idea repulsed him and he knew he wasn't going to be able to-

"Great job, Circus Baby." The voice interrupted his downtrailing thoughts, "We knew we could count on you!"

Feeling relief swill up through his body, Mike allowed himself to breathe. Perhaps the idea that he couldn't see the animatronic on the stage might've once unnerved him. After everything he had done and gone through the past year, it only made him feel numb.

"That concludes your duties for your first night on the job." The voice continued, and that notion surprised him. "We don't want you to leave overwhelmed; otherwise, you might not come back."

Narrowing his eyes, Mike checked his watch. It's not even been an hour. Though true that this job he'd found himself embroiled in had simply been an induction, it nevertheless perturbed him. Though even more sure now that he was being messed with, he shook his head of these doubts. No point overthinking this.

"Please leave using the vent behind you, and we'll see you again tomorrow." The voice finished, before a brief sting of static announced its departure and Mike was on his own.

For some time, Mike remained standing there, staring at the glass in front of him. Having not been given the chance to see the animatronic for himself rattled him.

Giving one last sigh, Mike turned and got onto his hands and knees. This is going to be the worst part of the job, isn't it? He pondered as he crawled back through the dusty, confined vent. At the very least, he had oxygen this far underground-

Crash.

An involuntary gasp escaped Mike's lips as his body operated automatically. As the crashes on the side of the vents grew rapidly, he crawled faster. They continued, following him, all the way until he reached the end of the vent.

Once he was there, Mike lunged out of the vent and rolled. Finding his pistol, he took aim into the vent, seeking his attacker.

There was nothing.

Looking all around him, he tried to find any sign that he wasn't alone. Inside of the vent, there wasn't any sign of damage. Slowly clambering to his feet, Mike flashed his light onto the two auditoriums, finding both the animatronics where he'd left them.

He took a moment to calm his nerves. For a moment, he wondered whether he'd simply imagined the sounds, or if it had been something with an easy explanation. Cursing softly, Mike looked towards the next vent he had to crawl through.

Suddenly, the thought of doing so had become even less appealing.

It's my only way out, he pointed out to himself, but maybe I should just wait a few minutes. Get my bearings.

Feeling satisfied with that decision, Mike gave himself a better look around the control room. Alongside the creepy heads mounted to his left, there was another figure with bulging eyes to his right. Shining his light towards it, he snorted as the figure became a lot less creepy. Hanging on the wall above those mounted heads was a clock; the face of Circus Baby was plastered over it. Merchandise, Mike decided. How on Earth any child would want that shimmering in the darkness was an alien concept to him.

Hanging high above, over the air ventilation, was a mask. For some time, Mike found himself staring into its empty eyes. It was a pale white, split down the middle. A red button nose and orange eyebrows were its only discernible features. On top of its head was a party hat that stood lopsided, just off the centre of its head.

Finding himself rather unsettled by the empty gaze of the mask, he looked away. When nothing else came to mind on what he should look for, Mike found himself bored. Finally, his eyes returned to the vent that lay before him and he grumbled.

Though he knew it to be foolish to dismiss the day, more due to having actually found the animatronics, Mike felt surprisingly unfulfilled.

What have I really learnt?

Not only that, but he'd only actually seen two of the animatronics. Broken lights had prevented him from meeting Circus Baby and Freddy hadn't appeared at all. Somehow, it amazed him that this led to him feeling rather disappointed.

Once he'd made his way back through the vent, Mike stepped into the elevator, unsure. A part of him pondered staying longer, yet the place filled him with a certain dread. That itself was strange to him, as he hadn't been in any actual danger.

That's not going to stay like that, he reminded himself. If he'd learnt anything over the last year, it was never too late to question the risk. Had he forced himself away from Fazbear Frights, he might've stopped everything else from happening.

As the elevator took Mike back up to the surface, he continued to question his resolve. Pattern recognition told him that going back would ramp up the danger. Were he to return tomorrow, there was a chance he'd regret it.

With a weary sigh, Mike got into his car. The night sky shimmered over him, stars twinkling brightly.

In spite of how deep into the night it was, Mike felt strangely lucid. Almost restless. Even if he tried, he knew he wouldn't fall asleep. Even if I could, I won't be coming back here until midnight tomorrow, anyway.

Not long after he left, Mike was pulling back up to his house. Parking slowly, he got out and heaved his backpack over his shoulder. Once he was inside, he uttered another sigh before heading for a shower.

Inside, as the hot water washed over his body, he continued to ponder his next move. The whole experience had been strange, to say the least. Naturally, he had not been expecting to talk into an automated induction. How on Earth it even worked was beyond him.

Once he was out and dried, the night sky still visible out of his window, Mike felt a gnawing pain in his stomach. Haven't eaten in nearly half a day, he muttered internally before heading to his kitchen. He retrieved a bag of popcorn, put it in the microwave, and waited patiently as it heated up.

It was done quickly and he was filling up a plastic tub with it. Then he headed over to his living room and put in one of the tapes he found into the player. As it loaded, he took a step, then stopped, eyes wide.

In that moment, he remembered that he'd killed his first man standing right where he stood.

Grunting, Mike tried his best to forget that. Were he to question the morals of living in this house, there was a lot more coming. Instead, he sat back on his couch as the tape began to play. With his popcorn tub in his hands, he watched as it played.

A grey vignetted screen lit up on the television and bold red letters appeared. The Immortal and the Restless. The host began to introduce the show and Mike leaned back in his chair, grabbing another lot of popcorn.

As the show started, Mike found his thoughts to be wrapped up in that facility. None of it made sense; how on Earth had such a facility been built that deep underground in the first place? Nothing he'd found on it had explained that. No plans had been found, no other entrances he'd discovered…

A vampire, dressed in purple, spoke in a telltale accent, "Clara, I tell you, the baby isn't mine!"

Could be an old mineshaft, he considered. There were plenty of old man made caves scattered all around Utah. It was entirely possible that the entrance of one was on the other side of the town. If it stretched out far enough, it could've led to a place big enough.

"Count, I tell you that it is! You're the only vampire I've ever loved!" Said a blonde woman, her furious expression matching her voice, "And, the baby turns his bottles into powdered milk."

One fear that he hadn't considered, which he knew to be an elephant in this room, were the other employees. Though fortunate that he hadn't had to deal with one so far, surely there were security cameras in the facility? If someone saw him and knew him not to be an actual employee…

"That doesn't mean anything." The vampire retorted, but was quickly met with another argument.

"He sleeps on the ceiling fan!"

"Upright, or upside down?"

As he continued down this path of doubts, however, he reminded himself of something. I've gone all this way, made all this effort. I came back home for this. Built this place back up, to give myself the time I need. I knew the dangers of this whole operation. Can I really justify walking away now?

"Why does it matter? You need to be part of your son's life!"

Grumbling, Mike tried to force his attention back onto the show. Now was not the time to be dwelling on all of this. Were he to treat this like any job, he needed to unwind at the end of the day. The last thing he needed was to be driven to the state he was in during his last investigation.

"I'm an old man, Clara! I can't be a father!"

"Well, then, at least pay your child support, you deadbeat!"

Though outward he was almost smiling at that scene, a glimmer of recognition filled him. He could almost feel himself relate to Clara, almost idolising her. Had he been able to stand up and call out the insanity happening around him, perhaps things would've been different.

Finally, the show crawled to its end and Mike remained sitting there. Still not feeling his fatigue weighing him down, he got up to find something else to watch.

TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3: This was the issue with Sister Location that I knew approaching it. Unlike the others, which had such abstract stories, Sister Location's was always rather rigid. Naturally, Mike's POV might seem to be going in very few directions. I do have quite a few things laying in wait this act, though. More so with Sam's POV; it's going to be quite the ride.