The hatch closed behind them with a firm, final sounding snap. 

Much to Johnathan's own disappointment, they had encountered no further resistance during their travel through the dark, narrow passages of the deeper lower hive. A missed opportunity to watch his mistress dance further... still, it was for the best. She deserved a much finer stage to perform on anyway, even if her light did shine brighter in the darkness without lesser lights to get in the way. 

There were many paths that led up to the higher levels of the hive if you knew where to look; many of them had even started off as actual pathways and access tunnels that had been simply forgotten about over time by those in the upper hives but there were also a few... improvised pathways that had been created by knocking down walls, digging through floors and other activities that often risked the collapse of a structure or two. The route that Jacob was leading him down, according to the man himself, was an old ventilation tunnel that had been converted into a smuggling route for a bar that his cousin owned that he used to occasionally slip in... surplus supplies that no one would miss without bothering any of the watchful gangs or law enforcement.

Even with the mask covering his face and filtering the air he was breathing, Johnathan could tell that the air smelt stale and foul, the rungs of the access ladder they were climbing rusted from age but in much better condition then what they should have been in a centuries old abandoned tunnel; Almost like someone had made some repairs one or two decades back. It was dank, it was dark with only the flickering of his flamers light making the shadows dance to guide them and a fat man would have struggled to move in the space without some kind of oil to help them, but the two of them climbed in silence none the less with only the sounds of their boots on the metal rungs echoing in the dark to keep them company. 

In the end through, they reached the top of the tunnel. A new hatch with a proper combination keypad lock was opened and while the light was dim it still hurt the eyes for a moment after the darkness that they had been traveling through before. While both of them were physically fit, they didn't deny themselves the chance to sit down and seal the hatch behind them in order to regain their strength and rest their limbs after the climb. 

The two former PDF members sat quietly in what appeared to be a storeroom for what had to be a bar, but their priorities were set; Catch their breaths first, then go and have a word with the owner.