The interior of the sub-basement had none of the smell of the previous chambers, and consisted of two tiers with walls of poured concrete.

So if Coil has a base under the skeletal building and a way to provide Tattletale with keys to the construction site, is the building commissioned by him?

The upper level we stood on was an arrangement of metal walkways that extended around the room’s perimeter.  Crates and boxes filled the level below, and I could see fifteen or so of Coil’s people down there, sitting on crates or leaning against them, talking among themselves. 

Sounds nice. I mean, it seems like we’ve got plenty of people around here acting casually and like they’re enjoying each other’s company – it just sounds like a nice place to be right now, despite the looks.

Each soldier was outfitted in a matching uniform: shades of gray and some black, hard vests with raised collars to protect their necks.

Neat.

Only a few wore their balaclavas, and I could see a variety of nationalities in a group that was mostly men.

Unlike the Amorphous Basket Balls and some other gangs in the area, Coil’s plan isn’t really tied to any sort of national or racial identity, so there’s no reason to discriminate.

The male domination is probably just tied to demographics elsewhere. Wasn’t there a thing about Coil’s soldiers mostly being ex-military? It seems to me that his soldiers would inherit the demographic imbalances from the military in that case.

All of the soldiers had assault rifles somewhere nearby, slung over shoulders with straps and leaning against walls or crates.  Polished steel attachments on the underside of each gun’s barrel contrasted with the dark gunmetal tone of the rest of the equipment.

I don’t know enough about guns to tell what these attachments could be.

The skeleton of a building loomed over us.  Girders and beams joined together in what would become one of Brockton Bay’s high rises, twenty stories tall.

Oh, nice, an unfinished building that is actually still under construction.

At the base of it was a sea of crushed stone, with innumerable bulldozers, piledrivers, loaders, mixers and graders standing still and dark.  The only light came from the buildings and streetlights on the surrounding streets.

Dark, darker, yet darker.

Tattletale put key to lock and let us through the fence that surrounded the site.

Hm, now how did she get that key?

She held the gate open as Grue, Regent, Bitch and I filed through, followed by Judas and Brutus.  The two dogs were nearly normal in size, nothing that would raise alarm if someone saw us at a distance.  When we were through, Tattletale shut the gate and reached through the gap to put the lock back in place and click it shut.

Is this where Tattle’s half of the team have been staying? I’m not completely sure (I may have misinterpreted that “would” up there), but it sounded like this place was still an active construction site, so it seems like an odd choice.

Also, where’s Angelica? Is she already inside?

Gravel crushed underfoot as we made our way to the unfinished high rise.  Tattletale pointed to a hatch, surrounded by a rim of concrete.  The hatch itself had a yellow warning sign reading ‘Drainage’, sporting images beneath of a man wearing a hazmat suit and a man wearing a gas mask.  She fiddled with the keyring to get the right key, undid the lock and raised the hatch.  Stairs led down into a darkness that looked and smelled very much like a storm drain.

Ah, so this is like that shortcut from the end of Hive, is it?

As we descended, the smell got stronger.  We passed through a door with metal bars, and then traveled down a long hallway.  The room at the end of the hall was small, with one other door and a small surveillance camera in one corner.  The door we faced had no handle, forcing us to wait.  It took about twenty seconds before someone opened the door for us.  One of Coil’s men.

Hm. Well, hello there.

Is this one of Coil’s own bases of operations?