Quoted By:
Taking one last gander at the office, you let out a sigh before turning around and heading for the exit!
“Hold up, bro!” Interrupts Raj as he places a hand on your shoulder, “We uh… we aren’t gonna do the usual ‘<span class="mu-i">Search the Place and Take Everything Not Nailed Down</span>’ schtick?”
Nope, you reply with a shake of your head, if Pepper was here before you she probably found all the juicy stuff. Besides, you shrug, if Hauser really wanted to hide something, he’d keep it buried deep, not in a shitty office surrounded by a little <span class="mu-i">fence</span>.
Rodney doesn’t look as convinced. “Yea, sure… you just don’t wanna dig through all this crap, do ya?”
No, you frown, no you <span class="mu-i">don’t</span>! Leading the way out of the office, you make a beeline for the bungalow closest to the <span class="mu-s">MINE ENTRANCE–</span> the one with the steps leading up to it caked with what must be generations of dusty boot prints!
Like the office, the bungalow is left unlocked for you as well. Whether it was like that when you arrived or was unlocked by the Red Menace remains to be seen, but whatever the reason the door doesn’t give you any trouble!
Where the office bungalow had a moldy and coppery fragrance, this trailer is just plain <span class="mu-i">musty</span>! Judging by the rows of <span class="mu-s">LOCKERS AND TOOL HOLDERS</span> lining the walls, you’d wager this is where the miners kept their gear!
“Woaho<span class="mu-i">HO</span>, check it out, guys!”
Spinning towards Rodney in a defensive position (it’s a reflex at this point), you give the Pizza Delivery Guy a dismissive scowl as he swings around a <span class="mu-s">DIRT-ENCRUSTED PICKAXE</span> like it was a baseball bat!
“If I had ta’ choose a weapon, this’d be my <span class="mu-i">TOP PICK!</span>”
Both you and Raj give him a withering glare before continuing your search around the room.
“Get it?? ‘<span class="mu-i">TOP PICK!</span>’ Ahhh, forget you guys!”
You forgot about <span class="mu-i">him</span> ages ago! Making your way over to the <span class="mu-s">HAT RACK</span> on the wall, you find quite a few <span class="mu-s">MINING HELMETS</span> left over–the ones with the <span class="mu-s">BUILT-IN HEADLAMPS</span> to boot! Your enthusiasm dwindles, however, when you find that only <span class="mu-s">TWO</span> of them actually function…
“It gets worse, bro…” Groans Raj as he holds out some <span class="mu-s">GAS MASKS</span> for you to peruse, “Only two masks, but that’s not all…”
You spot the problem long before the skater can even mention it. Though both <span class="mu-s">GAS MASKS</span> have clean filters installed, the second one has a thin, but still very visible <span class="mu-s">CRACK</span> in its lens…
Raj, you groan, where’d you find these?
Your pal points you to a rack on the wall before placing the masks back where he found them. “Guess they never returned the other ones, huh?” He remarks as he points to the empty pegs in between. That’s one theory, yea…
>CONTD.
