Tunneler 13 was on her way to the hospital, which Booker said might have information about her son. A door into a service corridor stood open; a leg encased in a metal suit stuck out of it. Curious.

To avoid damaging whatever lay within, she drilled holes in each corner of the wall, placed tethered bolts in them and backed slowly away. The wall collapsed into the street.

A weapon lay on the floor next to the body; so this must be one of the killers. And much of the body had been melted. On the back of the helmet was a symbol made of three concentric circles. Under it she read, “USNE Special Ops / Lott.”

The body had a necklace with a metal tag. This bore a symbol like a sideways number 8. Next to it she read “FIST OF GOD / Lott” and a number.

She asked Booker about her find. “A soldier with identification from two militaries fights under false colors,” he told her.

“Less, please,” she begged.

“He was living a lie.”

The world above is an awful place. She hoped her son was in the mines.