by Collin Earl
*****
After procuring some additional assets, Dirk secured his cargo and started to make his way back through the maze of tunnels. He had stayed way longer than his original plan had called for, but sometimes you just had to stop and smell the gold.
Using his mental map of the route, Dirk continued back through the various parts of the network of tunnels. An hour or so later, he found the entrance and started to hook up to his line. He checked his stash to make sure it was secure, engaged the climbing motor to eat up the slack, and steadied himself for the ascent.
A few meters up the line Dirk's skin felt uneasy. Immediately he stopped. He had learned the hard way never to ignore his skin. He reached back and checked his find. Secure. He looked at the line. It looked just fine. He checked the climbing equipment. Nothing seemed out of place. He was just about to continue up when a few small rocks fell past him to the valley below. The hair on Dirk's skin stood on end. He looked up to find a rather large group of enforcement officers at the top of the ledge. This was bad.