39 Danev

"Alright. Now what the fuck is that bullshit?!" Exclaimed Aden from the wall where we were perched. Fire Nation patrols wouldn't come near our spot on the wall for a while so we were safe. Relatively at the very least.

In reference to what had surprised Aden so much, a metal foundation had been built midway between the homeland road and arsenal road. The housing in the way had been demolished making room for the metal foundation. The foundation was structured as an arch almost mimicking-

"A tunnel." I said out-loud. "Metal too. Somebody's scared about earth benders, by the looks of it."

"What's it for?" Asked Meeko.

"Moving stuff in safely and quietly by the looks of it. This fucking sucks for us though."

"I don't see any convoys either." Said Aden.

"They're probably holding them somewhere close outside the city walls until the tunnel is done."

"Why?" Asked Goni. "We haven't been attacking Fire Nation convoys for months now. What do they have to worry about from us?"

"Not us" I replied. "The Rats."

"Who the fuck is that?" Asked Meeko.

"Miro's gang. Looks like they finally got a real name and have been a thorn in the Fire Nation's ass for too long."

"Alright. Said Aden. So what now?"

"Now, we can hope that Riu had better luck than us. Aside from that, we see what we can learn. Find wherever the Fire Nation's storing their goods outside the walls. Around a year ago, Luke told me about the sewers under the city and that there may be something in there that the Hornets were looking for. Asked for way too much money for that bullshit info, but it looks like it may just be what we need to get out of this city.

"If we know a way out of this city, why don't we just leave?" Asked Goni.

"And go where? Ba Sing Se? Fuck that. I heard that the city's under siege. Aside from that, it's just open forest. We'd be fucked in the ass. Here, at least we know what's what."

I looked at the construction site for a few more seconds. They had small cranes set up, carrying the metal foundations and even laying some metal sheets near the bottom. "And if that fails, let's take some precautions and make an entrance into that tunnel for ourselves tonight. Maybe through the sewers or a loose metal sheet here or there. We need a backup in case things go to shit."

"So let's just head back for now?"

"Yeah. Just head back for now. We'll make an entrance into this tunnel tonight."

And so we left. While I've never been a fan of Aden, Meeko, or Goni for that matter, they had their uses. Yes, they were all hot headed, idiots, and simply unlikeable explaining why they didn't go with Riu, but they had their uses. Like, say, there's a wooden wall that you need to get to the other side of. Tell Goni that there's smoked pork on the other side, he'll use his own head as a bettering ram just to get what he wants. I guess, in a way, it's admirable. In its own fused up kind of way.

Hell, just thinking about smoked pork had been making my mouth water. I really hoped Riu had better luck than us. I needed to eat. I don't think I can go another without food or I may just drop dead. We climbed down the exposed foundations of the wall, using maintenance paths through the actual wall to get back down to ground level. One of the entrances was perfectly secluded amongst a trio of abandoned warehouses which made for a nice hidden entrance into the wall. There was no way out through the wall, however. That was only through the main gates, unfortunately.

The way back to the hive was simple enough. Just had to get to the arsenal street, go down the central alley way, take a right at the old market and you're at the Hive. And standing in the center of the courtyard was Riu and his group. Almost immediately, I noticed that a lot was missing from the courtyard. Some training dummies, sharpened sticks used as swords, some simple homemade armor, and more.

"The hell happened here?" I asked.

"The rats! It's those fucking rats!" Yelled Riu. "They couldn't fucking let old flames die, could they! Steal from the Fire Nation and they think they're so big and strong. Fuck that!"

Hearing Riu like this, really made me doubt whether I was getting fed tonight or not. This attitude, this anger. Not the kind of stuff nuns are big fans of.

"How do you know it was the rats?"

"They drew pictures of rat heads on everything they could find." This time it was Luke talking. "They're really shitty drawings too. I doubt its some street urchin trying to start a way between two gang. They're not smart enough for that."

"Fucking assholes" mumbled Riu.

"Okay, Riu. So what are we going to do about this?"

"First off. We never leave the hive abandoned again. We always keep some people here to watch the place. We didn't exactly have much, but I guess the rats thought that little amount was just too much. Then. Then we'll strike back. I don't know how, but we need to show that we're still kicking or they're going to keep on fucking with us."

"Agreed."

"Yeah."

"Fuck 'em"

"Let's kick some ass."

"Okay. We'll handle this in turn. Is that all?"

"No." Answered Riu. "Any luck today for you guys?"

"No. They're building a tunnel midway between homeland and arsenal to transport supplies. We think they're currently stocking food outside the walls. We're going to try to find a way into the tunnel tonight to-"

"Relax." Said Luke. "We did your job for you." And with that he set a basket down and slid it across the floor to where my group stood. I bent down to open it to reveal the treasure trove of food that had been the entire end goal of the Hornets for the past month. Food."

I looked up to Riu, almost asking if I was allowed to eat.

"Eat. Deal with this supplies business later, but for now, eat."

And so I ate. And for a brief moment, I was content. Maybe I wasn't going to die tonight.