Landing clumsily on my knees, I found myself face to face with one of the electric rails. Quietly I thanked every ancestor I could think of for watching over me and making sure I didn't land on it. Meanwhile Jake came up behind me putting on his face mask.

"Please tell me you did not just land on a rail. All you had to do was jump straight," Jake groaned.

I rolled my eyes and lifted myself up, "No thanks to you, I actually survived your crazy stunt."

"Good! It would have been disappointing if you hadn't. Now can I suggest we start moving?" He walked over to give me a hand getting up.

"Disappointing? Oh, I'm sorry my death might disappoint you," I frowned as I stood up, ignoring his help.

"Maybe I misspoke," he scratched his head.

"You think?" I glared at him.

"I implore you, let's move before the next train comes," he sighed.

"Yes, of course," I dusted myself off and for the first time, noticed our surroundings.

The tunnel was lined with dim, emergency lights along one side, illuminating a narrow path at platform height beside the rails. I could see this path stretched the entire length of the tunnel in both directions, but as the tunnel curved, I could not see far in either direction. Jake stepped over the rails and tossed his backpack onto the narrow platform. Then he turned towards me as I carefully walked over the rails to join him. He spread his feet apart and readied himself with his hands clasped together to offer me a boost up. Grabbing his shoulder, I stepped onto his hands, and he lifted me up to the platform. As soon as I was up, I turned around and knelt to give him a hand, but I found that was unnecessary. He jumped and pulled himself up with ease.

"You really need to stop making everything look so easy," I mumbled.

"Do I make you look bad?" He teased. "Back against the wall! A train is coming!"

He and I both immediately threw ourselves against the wall just as an express train approached us. As we only had an arm's length distance between us and the cars, the experience was a thousand times more terrifying than it would be on a normal platform. I spent the entire time with my eyes closed shut, praying that nothing would hit us. I couldn't even fathom how deadly getting hit by even the smallest object jutting out from the side of the train would be.

As each additional car travelled past, I found it harder and harder to breathe. The train kicked up a lot of dirt and small debris that it was like we were in a small sandstorm. I had to hold my breath and wait for the seemingly endless vehicle to travel past us.

Finally, the roar of the train ceased and I could breathe normally again. I opened my eyes and noticed the light of the train fading into the darkness. I glanced at Jake, who was far less terrified of the situation, but watched the metal beast with respect. As there was still a lot of lingering dust settling, I still ended up coughing and sneezing.

"If you see me wearing a mask when it would seem redundant, please take it as a sign that you should be wearing one too," Jake commented.

I rolled my eyes, "Now you tell me."

"I didn't get a chance to warn you earlier, but now you know," he shrugged, then gestured in the opposite direction of the train for us to start moving.

"Wouldn't it be faster to go that way? The station wasn't too far ahead," I asked as I reached into our bag to pull out my facemask.

"You mean the station where the cops are waiting for us?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Touché," I shrugged and spun around to start walking away from the station.

"We're not going the entire distance back to the other station. There are emergency exits all through the system. There is bound to be one before we reach the station," Jake explained from behind me.

"You've done this before?" I asked.

"Not in Colville, never had the pleasure. I have spent some time in Berlin's tunnels though. It's not the most efficient way to travel, but when you have a lot of heat on you, it's one of the more discreet methods," he answered nonchalantly.

"You have a lot of stories to tell, don't you?" I mused.

"Nothing exciting," he responded humbly.

"Really? Jumping on trains? Fleeing from moving vehicles? Narrowly escaping the authorities? That's not exciting?" I countered.

"I know you're interested in all that, but right now I'm trying to think of what to do next when we reach the surface," he argued. "One day we'll have so much time that I will happily divulge that information for you."

"Ok, then let's brainstorm what we're going to do when we reach the surface," I conceded.

"Well, we will have to change clothes. Your wig needs to go as well," he began.

"Is that going to be enough though?" I questioned. "I mean your wardrobe literally just goes from black to dark grey with occasional navy blue for splash."

"What are you suggesting?" I could hear from his tone of voice he wasn't amused by my jab at his fashion choices.

"Well, you changing clothes isn't exactly a change, is it? If we're meant to be changing our appearance because we were seen, shouldn't we make a more drastic change?" I argued.

"My wardrobe allows me to easily fade into a crowd," he defended. "I only said that I would change as well to be fair to you. However, as you said, it is absolutely redundant. However, I'm not the one who attracts all the attention. You are the walking beacon."

"Excuse me?" I frowned and glanced behind me.

"Have you not noticed that every time we walk into a room all eyes fall on you? That is a very troublesome trait you have," he explained.

I laughed and shook my head, "What a strange way to compliment someone, Jake."

"I don't recall that being a compliment. It's a fucking nuisance," he responded annoyed. "I am beginning to think you're incapable of keeping a low profile."

"So you want me to somehow make myself less... seen? As if that's an option? You do understand I have two breasts and a pair of hips. I get eyed as soon as I walk through the fucking door and instantly graded. I can't turn that shit off, as much as I would like to," I ranted.

"Hang on, this wasn't about you being a woman," he defended.

"Wasn't it?" I glared over my shoulder.

"I dug myself into a hole, haven't I?" He sighed.

"One six feet deep," I replied in a sing-song voice.

Jake was quiet for a while, then mumbled under his breath in German. I looked over my shoulder and he averted his eyes guiltily.

"What?" I pressured.

"Nothing," he lied.

"No, I heard you. What did you say?" I pushed.

He sighed, "I said I don't like it when people look at you like that."

"Really? That's all you said?" I asked in disbelief.

"I may have also said I would like to permanently blind them," he admitted. "My wording may not have been as polite."

I smirked, "There's the Jake I know."

"It's just you're more than your looks," he said after a while. "Those people don't know you and have no right to judge you. You're- train!"

Confused, it didn't register with me until Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me against the wall that he was interrupted by an oncoming train. He pressed his body against me on the wall to keep me protected. Feeling the weight of him leaning into my body made me suddenly wish we were elsewhere, instead of traversing the underground with death traps at every corner. Even with the cold tiled wall on my back, there was a growing heat between us.

After the train passed, I opened my eyes and found him looking at me longingly. He raised his hand and traced the contours of my lips through the facemask. I reached up and pulled down his facemask while he lowered mine. Our lips, and then our tongues, met in a heated exchange of passion. It was if he had decided it was easier to express his emotions through actions rather than words. I had to push him off me so I could catch my breath, though Jake seemed annoyed I did. He gave me only a few moments to recover before his mouth was over mine again to take my breath away again. His hands found mine and pinned them against the wall while his thigh snuck between my legs and started grinding gently. I moaned against his lips and he groaned huskily in response. He shifted my hands to above my head so that he could hold both my wrists with one hand. His other hand slipped under my shirt and snuck around to the small of my back. For a while, I think we both forgot where we were and what we were meant to be doing. Making out in the middle of the Colville underground was definitely not our intention.

Another train passed us, which was enough to break Jake's concentration. When I opened my eyes again, he was staring at me like a caged predator staring down its prey. I was so weak at that moment that he could have asked me to do anything, and I would've obliged. I bit my lip subconsciously, which caused his eyes to widen.

"Not now," he gritted his teeth and pulled his facemask back up.

"Which one of us are you trying to convince?" I smirked.

Jake raised my mask back in position tenderly, "It's pretty obvious I need to be the responsible adult here."

"Since when were we trying to be responsible?" I joked.

"Only until we find a new place, ok? Then we can be as irresponsible as we want," he assured me as he stepped away. He took a moment to look over my appearance. "We have to do something about you though. You have this innate ability to attract and command attention. You're simply too fascinating."

I blushed, "I don't think anyone has ever said I am too fascinating before."

"Well, you are," Jake gestured for us to keep walking.

I took the lead again down the path, trying to figure out what to do. Buy another wig? Would that still work? It worked for Sydney Bristow in Alias, but then again, she wasn't one of the world's most publicised and wanted individuals right now. My mind wandered to the Mission Impossible movies and how I wished we had the tech to create those masks like the ones Ethan Hunt used to change his identity. If I couldn't change my face, then what could I change?

"Maybe we're going about it the wrong way," I spoke up. "Maybe I need to be bolder. Today I have no makeup on. Going from one set of plain clothes to another set of plain clothes isn't enough. We need a more drastic change. We should think like Ethan Hunt."

"Who?" Jake questioned.

"You know, Tom Cruise's character in Mission Impossible," I shook my head in disbelief.

"Ah, I can't stomach watching anything that thinks you can break into a highly encrypted system with a few key presses," he commented.

"What? But you watched Terminator!" I pointed out.

"A, I watched those movies as a child. I didn't know any better at the time. And B, it's future tech," Jake explained.

"So an advanced AI hellbent on destroying humanity makes more sense to you than pressing enter to hack into a satellite?" I mused.

He paused before responding with a simple, "Yes."

I rubbed my head as it hurt from trying to understand his logic as we finally came across an emergency exit. I was hesitant to open it as I didn't know if there was some sort of sensor on it, but Jake opened it confidently. As I walked through behind him, I looked back to check, and it was quite evident there was absolutely no security on it.

In front of us was a metal staircase and to my surprise, we were not at the base of the stairwell - there were stairs leading down as well as up. Jake took the lead going up and I followed close behind, begrudgingly.

"What's wrong?" Jake looked over his shoulder at me. "You're not as energetic as you were."

"Uh, this is like the infinitieth flight of stairs today?" I reminded him.

"What did you expect? An elevator?" He laughed.

"It would have been a nice change of pace," I humoured.

"So, this Ethan Hunt, what did you mean we need to think like him?" Jake questioned.

"Well I am mean he doesn't just go into disguise, he full on changes everything. Hair, face, voice, outside, hell even the gait of his walk. Albeit they cheat and use a different actor in those scenes, but with the suspension of disbelief, we're made to believe that it is really Hunt assuming a different identity," I explained.

"Um, MC, we can't change faces without the help of a professional makeup artist, and even the most advanced voice changer would still be obvious," Jake reasoned.

"Yes, I know, but my point is the patrols are expecting a certain stereotype by now. Two very skittish, nervous individuals who are trying their best to not stand out by dressing in plain clothes. You know who they're overlooking? Every non-plain individual. We could dress as two circus clowns and they wouldn't even bat an eye at us!" I exclaimed.

"I'm not dressing as a circus clown," Jake's disapproval was evident from the tone of his voice. "Not to mention, where would we find the costumes and makeup?"

"That's just an example, and maybe far more extreme that we need to go," I chuckled. "But my point is we need totally new identities, and this goes far beyond new names and a loose back story. It's not about stealing the clothes off two unconscious plumbers, it's becoming real, living, breathing plumbers. Right now, to the way they walk and talk."

"You mean like pretending to be a shy, nervous computer geek so the cute girl lowers her guard?" he humoured.

I rolled my eyes, "Was it really that much of a stretch for you though? I'm talking about something more drastic. This goes far beyond trying to scam people to revealing their personal details or private information or convincing them to do something irrational."

"No, it's still a scam, only there is no singular target. You're talking about scamming every person you walk past into believing they must be mistaken because the wanted individual would not be walking around the city dressed as a clown," he argued.

"Ugh, you're still stuck on the clown thing! Ok, instead think of us as two very cleanly dressed corporate executives, but not walking around skulking in the shadows, but power walking through the city as if they're on a mission," I clarified.

"And for some reason don't have private car service?" he questioned.

"Maybe they're environmentalists!" I added.

Jake was quiet for a while, "You may be onto something, but we don't have a secret agency's supply of wardrobe. We got lucky with the plumbers earlier, however those identities were only good until those plumbers woke up and reported the attack and theft. Sure, we could go buy a couple of business suits and clean up enough to convince people we're heading to a meeting with our clients, but we don't know where this exit will take us. There may not be a shop selling business wear for miles. I don't want us wasting time on this gamble."

"Ok, that's fair," I conceded. "How about this then, the first clothing shop we find, whatever it is, that becomes our new identity. Whether it be business wear, activewear, outdoor wear, formal wear, it doesn't matter. We have to make do with what we find, as long as it doesn't fit our stereotype."

Jake chortled, "And what if it is bridal wear?"

I blushed, "Well I guess I am stuck wearing a bride's maid dress."

Jake turned and stopped at the top of the stairs to frown at me, "You wouldn't be a bride?"

"Have you seen those gowns!? How could I possibly move in them? Also it would probably be too flashy," I laughed. "Are you disappointed?"

"I thought we could be playing a couple running away to get hitched," he shrugged.

"You're just interested in the honeymoon," I rolled my eyes.

"No, that's not true," he answered, offended.

I realised he was being serious, and I blushed, "We are talking about two temporary identities, right? Ones just to help us relocate somewhere safe?"

"Hmm, I suppose. But could we be the best man and maid of honour? Maybe we had enough of the bride and groom that we completely ditched them and now we're off to have a celebration of our own," he thought out loud.

I smiled, "Our bride called the wedding off this morning, but who says we can't have fun? We were going to get drunk and have sex anyway!"

"I am liking this roleplay kink you have," he teased.

"It's not-! Ugh!" I slapped my forehead. "If I wanted to roleplay, it wouldn't be that.'

"No?" He tilted his head curiously. "Well now my interest is piqued."

"Hmph, I am not going to tell you that easily!" I pushed past him to see what was at the top. "A ladder!?"

"Yes, but that will take us out onto the street," he explained. "So, are you ready?"

"Staying here isn't an option, is it?" I sighed.

"We have no amenities down here and our time will be limited," he pointed out. "Look, I promise that as soon as we get out of the area, I will find us somewhere to rest. We have to get clear of the heat first."

I nodded, "Ok then, moment of truth, what will be our new identities?"

Jake walked past me to take the lead on the ladder. He climbed to the top and pushed on the metal door at the top to open it. The sudden flood of daylight blinded me for a moment. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I went up to join Jake at the top.

The emergency exit had brought us out into a side alleyway thankfully, so no one noticed us climbing out. Jake gently closed the metal door as I stood up. The door made the slightest of sounds, but no one came to investigate. Feeling confident, I followed Jake to the end of the alleyway to see where we had exited, also curious to see what sort of potluck we had today. I secretly prayed we wouldn't find an adult store as he probably let me hear the end of it. To my surprise, the street was full of music, skateboarding, tobacco and alcohol shops. There were people representing a whole range of subcultures walking up and down the street. Then I noticed a giant piece of anti-establishment graffiti in the alley further down the road, which drew my attention to the punk clothing store beside it.

"Huh, so I have to pretend to be an anarchist?" Jake asked.

"Ok, so not the big change we expected," I laughed.

"I am not sure that will help us," he shook his head.

"Hmm, well we could always pretend to be musicians," I reasoned. "Come on, let's see what else they have. At least you should feel at home."

Jake glared at me, "It's a clothing store, I never feel at home."