Chapter 253: Saviours, Part 11, The Present

He whistles through his teeth, a tuneless noise that serves to give him a little comfort in these uncomfortable surroundings.

Officer Phil Cardelli, Rookie, is not technically alone. His partner searches along an adjacent passage, following routes marked out on a plan, laminated against the filth all around. The plan is detailed and complicated, overlaying sewers, subways and city service tunnels of all kinds.

Periodically, they call each other, maintaining contact. But right now, he feels….

What’s the right word?

Yeah…. Spooked….

Never thought when I signed up that police patrol included sewers….

He passes muck and debris, rat droppings and occasional skeletons. A dead cat, bloated and semi-decayed, eyes obscenely open, bobs in the water.

He feels better thinking of it as water.

The heavy rubber waders reach up to his waist, suspended on braces which dig into his shoulders. The work is dark, stinking and deeply unpleasant.

The place, frankly, gives him the creeps.