An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

“Damn it!” Warrick cursed. “I was just getting started.”

He was covered in blood. His eyes burned with a wild, excited gleam.

Warrick lived for the fight. After two days in hiding, he was itching to let loose-and now that he had, he wasn’t ready to stop.

“Sir Prescott, think about the bigger picture. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late,” Mulder urged, grabbing his arm.

At the far end of the street, dark figures were already visible in the distance, rushing toward them. Though Warrick still seemed reluctant, he quickly calmed down.

“Fall back!” he shouted.

With that, he and Mulder charged past the checkpoint and led a handful of battered soldiers into the outer city.

Unlike the inner city, the outer city had much weaker defenses. The sheer size of the area made it impossible to secure every corner, so only the main thoroughfares had a strong military presence.

Mulder had already mapped out their escape route and prepared the gear.

According to the original plan-if they hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention they’d leave the inner city by car and make a clean getaway.

But if they couldn’t make it out of the city or if their cover was blown, they’d have to use the backup plan-the secret tunnels.

the outer city, each leading from the inner

under normal circumstances. If war broke out, these tunnels could

the Hall of Gods, Mulder hadn’t planned on using the secret tunnels to escape-doing so risked

now, he had no choice. At that moment, survival

later, they finally reached an unremarkable house. They slipped inside, wiped away the bloodstains, and changed

for them to move. They slipped out quietly and

a tangled mess of run-down buildings packed tightly together, with narrow alleys and winding streets that could easily

been here before. He wove through the

dizzy and completely disoriented. Just as he was starting to lose his patience, Mulder suddenly veered into a small Strequan-style house with

others immediately followed,

and peeled back the rug beneath the coffee table, revealing a hidden trapdoor. He hooked two

underground. Standing at the tunnel entrance, they could feel a cool breeze drifting up from the

Prescott, after you.” Mulder

darkness. It was pitch-black, and it was impossible

a faint smile. Without hesitation, he led his men

behind, his senses on high alert. They might be allies for

recklessness did. Warrick wasn’t going to entrust

began scouring the area to track down Warrick and

as soon as he received the news. He was determined to make up