Night Sentry at the Cable Arch

Darkness rolled beneath the television console, wrapping my reinforced tunnel in heavy shadows. I slipped past the wooden checker piece, checked the propped rubber cable overhead, and took up position against the steel casing of the upright AAA battery. It offered solid, cold cover. With my boots planted flat against the polished floorboards, I leaned back, rested both forearms across my knees, and kept my eyes fixed on the open corridor ahead. The red foil antenna on my belt caught the faint flicker of the distant hallway lamp. An operative needs rest, but never lets down his guard. The extraction corridor holds.