Head on in

Scarlet takes a few steps in, peering inside as she softly whistles and calls out quietly. "I'm baack~??"

On the floor is a hatch, she looks around a bit more before bending her knees and lifting it up. With a squeal and a moan, the hatch lifts and is at a 90' degree angle. You look inside and notice everything below is well-lit, and you think you can hear voices just behind the uncomfortable sound that hatch made when it was opened. "Kenji?”

Silence follows, but then it breaks when a half-slurred man responds. “Scarlet?”

Scarlet shifts legs. “Kenji? Why the hell do you sound drunk?”

“Flora’s medicine. I’m not drunk.” He replies. “How did your recruitment go?”

She looks at you. “He’s with me.”

“Send him down first then.” There is shuffling below, and then a soft click of metal. “No guns. No knives. Just him.”

Suddenly, you feel uneasy. Perhaps you clipped off the wrong person and this all just an elaborate plan to kill you. As you consider what might be happening, Scarlet rolled her wrist and then gestured down the ladder. “Go ahead and give me your guns. No sudden movements now.”

“This is bullshit,” you hiss. “What if he shoots me?”

You hand over your rifle, but keep your pistol. When Scarlet reaches for it, you twist away. She looks up and glares at you.

“He won’t.” She hisses back. “Quit being a fuckin’ faggot and get down there before I stab you.”

“Bitch,” you spat back. “I’m not going down there unarmed.”

“Are there problems?” The man below inquires, seemingly impatient.

You look back up at Scarlet - she is still shooting daggers from her cold eyes. “If you try anything funny I can guaran-fucking-tee I’ll kill one of you in the process.”

Her eyes narrow, but she swallows her pride and exhales. “Trust me.”

You want to say more, but saying anything else would be overkill. You start descending the ladder. When you reach the ground, you turn around and see a lone man laying on a couch, casually smoking as he stares at you with a pair of boring brown eyes. He puffs out a cloud and nods. “Hello, there.”

The man seems friendly enough. Despite his rough appearance, his glance is welcoming. If he didn’t share the same cold stare that most contractors had, you’d almost consider him as a harmless fellow. But, when they narrow, your stomach gets into a knot. If this man intended to harm you, he would have already done it.