Part III

Part III

Andrew Napoli had trenched through the snow for near 15 minutes. The quick wind and blowing snow delayed his travel. He was near “The Fortress” having found a corner hidden in the shadow. His first obstacles were up ahead, the two guards at the entrance of the building. He kept a watchful eye on them as he found the grate to the ventilation system on the outer wall, hidden in the shadows. He pulled his knife out and felt for the screws locking the grate into place.

“Flathead,” he thought to himself. He slid his fingers across the dull edge of his knife. He locked it into the flathead slot and began to try and budge the screw to come undone. After a bit of force and pressure, the screw slowly began to emerge from the inner chamber of the wall. Andrew’s head sporadically look towards his adversaries standing guard. The strong blowing wind helped keep his presence unknown.

2 screws, 3 screws, four screws and the grate was unattached. He lowered the large metal object carefully to the ground, trying to keep noise from giving away his position. Using his toned upper body, he pulled his weight into the shaft and began to crawl through the system of vents, treading carefully as to not make any unnecessary noise that could bring attention to him.

The vent system was bringing him through the exterior wall of the building. The interior building was his destination. Every grate he passed, he peered out, being extra cautious then as to not be spotted. He occasionally saw solitary guards standing with the AK-47, but was able to continue without alerting them.

The building was silent which was what made this journey even harder for Andrew. Despite the freezing temperatures, Andrew was sweating inside the shaft, likely due to his body heat circulating around him in the narrow vents.

Up ahead he saw a diverging trail away from the route he had been taking. He had reached a meeting point that would bring him to the interior building, his planned destination. He took the alternative route.