"The hardest part about manipulation is making people think it was their idea."
***
The fork in the tunnel appeared like a question mark carved from stone.
Two paths diverged into darkness ahead of us. Each one promising its own particular brand of death.
I stood there at the junction. Let my shoulders slump into that posture of defeat I'd spent weeks perfecting. While my mind ran through angles, timing, and the exact words needed to save four lives without revealing I was anything more than a pathetic coward who'd stumbled his way this far through dumb luck.
Marcus clutched his tactical manual against his chest like it was some kind of shield that could ward off the things lurking in these tunnels. His ink-stained fingers trembled as he consulted the worn pages. Flipped between sections with increasing desperation.
The poor bastard had been relying on theory since we'd first descended into this labyrinth.
Theory was about to get him killed if I didn't intervene soon.
