As the shutter fully opened they saw that the loading bay was actually designed more like a car park. Presumably delivery vans dropped off good directly below the various stores. Several librarians pulled out torches and lanterns and switched them on. Ghost would have been happier letting Amber guide him with her elven vision, but he accepted it was impractical with this many people. Better to risk having light and go quickly and quietly. He noticed that the librarians had drawn their guns and rifles and were proceeding in a sort of alternating convoy. One group would advance, then pause and watch the area, while the other group would then advance past them and so on.
Amber looked at him and rolled her eyes. Whatever book the librarians had read clearly hadn’t explained the concepts of cover, concealment and rather importantly fields of fire. Ghost sincerely hoped they didn’t meet anyone down here as the likelihood of the Librarians shooting each other in their crossfire was becoming remarkably high. He nodded to Amber and they jogged on ahead of the two groups.
Even when they were ahead of the Librarians, Ghost still found that they were making the place feel remarkably eerie. Their lights bounced around and shone in random direction making the shadows dance around the scattered ramps and concrete support columns, while their footsteps echoed around the cavernous underground complex. He shivered and gripped the axe more tightly.
Amber on the other hand was noticing that there were in fact rather a lot of crates down here. Her acute vision easily pierced the gloom and she wondered what else might be down here and whether the Librarians would let her borrow that box? She grinned, confident that between them she and Ghost could get back in here again with or without the box.
Soon she found the right bay and indeed there were two large wooden crates. Resting there. She ran her finger over one of them, checking that the layer of dust had been undisturbed in a long time. They paused and waited for the Librarians to finish making their way over to them, at which point they spread out in a perfect semi circle, weapons and lights aiming into the surrounding darkness. The entrance which they had come in was now just a small rectangle of light in the distance.
“This is what you wanted?” Ghost asked.
Daniel shone a torch on the manifest that was still attached to the nearest crate. He brushed off the dust and then nodded to a monk carrying a crowbar who proceeded to methodically open the crates with the ease of someone who had done this many times before. As expected the crates were filled with books, still wrapped up in protective plastic. Cautiously, the other monks started taking them out with a mixture of care at handling the books and caution at trying to point their guns into the darkness at the same time.
Ghost quietly prayed to anyone who might be listening that no-one lurking in the darkness would chose this moment to attack. The monks would accidentally kill each other, him and Amber with remarkable efficiency. He gradually edged over, trying to get himself and Amber into a slightly safe place should things go wrong.
Next
