Mannik had left the meeting in a hurry. There wasn't too much longer before Above ships would depart. He moved through the old city blocks quickly, keeping an eye out for trouble. He got lucky for the second time of the day and didn't meet any obstructions.
His ship was old. Very old. Like before anyone had left to live in Above old. It was one of the few the Below rebels still had, and it was also Mannik's pride and joy. Above hadn't bothered with really old, broken down ships, thinking they would be useless in their new world. It was a good thing they hadn't brought all of them, otherwise Raids wouldn't be possible. The people of Below would have starved or wouldn't have had the supplies they needed to live in Below.
The metal was patchwork, really. Pieces salvaged over time and welded together. Still, it ran. There was a whoosh as the glass top slid backwards, under the metal that made up the back of his ship, and Mannik was tall enough to reach in and pull out his flight suit without having to climb on the wing. There were two seats, again patched together with salvaged pieces, although a few springs could be seen poking out of the fabric in the back. "She won't have a comfortable ride back..." Mannik muttered to himself, refusing to think that he may die.
He tugged on the jacket, zipping it up. Then he tugged up the pants over his own. Something his ship did not have was a heater, and it got cold in the clouds. The gloves were next, and Mannik flexed his hands automatically after donning them. He climbed into the cramped space and flicked a few buttons. A whoosh happened again, and Mannik was peering through dusty glass. Absentmindedly, he shoved some of the fur from the jacket out of his face.
Another switch and the machine whirred to life. The familiar excitement filled him. He'd be leaving the dust and danger behind for a little while. He'd get to bathe in sunlight! A rare smile lifted his lips and the ship lifted from the ground, hovering. Mannik's fingers moved over another switch, and he peered at a circular grid in front of him, nodding.
It was another reason he loved his ship. Above's ships no longer had shields, since Above was at peace, they hadn't thought they would need shields, which hid them from other ship's radars. Most of Below's ships, however, still had the shields, and they were remarkably easy to fix.
Soon enough, Mannik was whirling through the air. It was a straight shot where he was going, and took less than a half circle of the clock (A half hour.). When landing on Earth, he landed on three flat 'feet'. Here, however, he had no place to land. It had taken months to prepare the various spots they had to 'land'. He found what he was looking for easily, due to years of knowing what to look for. A small dent in the underside of Seven. Mannik shifted the ship until he was hovering under the small dent. Slowly, and turning every now and then, Mannik was able to fit the glass hood of the cockpit into the indent. He flicked another switch, and three hooks came from the top of his ship, hooking themselves into three tiny indents also made previously. Any ship that flew below wouldn't be able to tell a ship was there. It would look like mismatched metal that made up the bottom of Seven.
His glass slid back again, and Mannik pressed his ear against the metal above him. His mask dug painfully into his cheek and neck, and as usual, he heard no movement. Still, better safe than sorry. He reached down into a panel of his ship and tugged out a small metal piece with a small hand crank. Using the lights from his ship, he easily fit one end of the metal object into a huge industrial screw. Then he began to turn the crank. He did the same at four corners of a piece of metal. He pocketed the screws, and carefully lowered the piece of metal. Inside was a long tunnel. He poked his head above, blinking at the light. It wasn't well lit, but tiny bulbs lit up the empty corridor. Mannik grinned and stood up, placing the metal back. He paused long enough to remove a small piece of chalk from his other pocket. He made a tiny mark in the bottom right corner.
He was currently in the 'sewers' of Seven. Only Below workers were here, and even the workers who had happily settled here wouldn't dare rat out Mannik if they happened to see him. A rat would be found out quickly, and the others from Below, who were rooting for the rebels, would have silenced the rat quick enough. They would know to look out for the chalk, and keep from stepping unto it.
The male moved down the corridor quickly. One side was a freezing cold wall, and the other had a railing, keeping people from falling into the rushing sewage. Because of the chemicals used to treat the waste, every so often on the railing were bright orange bags labeled 'Chemical Spill Kit'. Mannik paused at one of them, noting the thin line of chalk running along it's seem. He tugged out the outfit hidden inside, and stuffed his gas mask, and flight clothing into it. Most Below workers had the same uniform, a gray one piece jumpsuit. This was the item Mannik had pulled out, and he tugged it over his current clothing quickly.
Now just to find the girl...
He paused a few more feet down the tunnel, gripping the cold rungs and climbing. At the top, he lifted the trap door and shut it quietly. 'Sewage Entrance', it read. And now Mannik was standing in the maintenance room for the 'HeadQuarters' of Seven. This was, of course, the most likely place to enter and exit Seven. No one expected Below workers to come through here, due to heavy guards and security measures. But, someone with the issued jumpsuit and smelling like he'd just been released from a Sewer Shift wasn't likely to be questioned.
Mannik turned away from the door, and came face to face with a worker from Below. The man's blue eyes were widened in suprise, his hands loosely gripping a mop handle. Mannik touched a finger to his lips, and forced a hand into his jumpsuit. He fumbled around for a minute, until he was able to tug out the 'list' from the pocket on his jacket. He handed it to the worker. The man nodded and leaned close to Mannik. "Edna Harris?"
This was common enough. People brought here to work missed their families. There were few enough people that everyone pretty much knew everyone else. So when Mannik met workers in Above, they commonly asked after their families. "Fine." He responded quietly.
"Take me back?" This was another common request, and Mannik usually obliged the first person to ask. Because his ship had one seat. It was hard to refuse, however. He hesitated.
"Help me get her...You hold her in the back. It will be tight..." The young man's face lit up, and he nodded. He pointed to the paper, then shoved a bucket into Mannik's hands. Mannik took it, dug for his gun. He dropped it gently in the bucket, and covered it with a rag. The man lifted his mop up higher.
"Last I saw, she was here. Fell asleep. Only got a few minutes before the Recovery Crew arrives to get ready for the returning soldiers...." Mannik nodded and followed the male. In front of the room were two armed soldiers. They nodded at the two workers, granting them entry, assuming they were cleaning a mess made inside.
It was easy to recognize the female from the photo drawn, and Mannik couldn't believe she was there, just laying out like a package ready to be delivered. He held up a finger to the male, then popped his head out the door. The guards weren't expecting him, and after two soft pops, he was dragging their dead forms into the room. He shoved one under the couch, and sat the other one in a seat like he'd fallen asleep.
Then it was easy enough to rip a sleeve off the soldier under the couch. He moved to Adelmar, and nodded to the other male, then her arm. The man moved to her, grabbing her right arm. Mannik opened her mouth, and stuffed the sleeve into her mouth, forcing it back too far to be spit out. His other hand remained on his gun, and pressed it to her temple. Once the gag was in her mouth, Mannik's free hand gripped her left arm, his other hand keeping the gun against her. "Not a word or a wiggle. Even with a bullet in it, your body is still valuable...start walking..."