River had lost her sense of time again and Karen was waiting at the main door, she looked stressed. "River, there you are. We need to get a move on, I'm already late"

River nodded and followed tucking her bananas under her jacket.

She had reached the bottom steps when suddenly she remembered that she had to meet this mysterious person at the coffee shop. She looked up at the cameras just outside the entrance to the Upper and walked into the busy crowd of bodies walking home from work. Management usually wore blue uniforms similar to hers so blending in was simple.

River remembered to go into the back of the shop like the note had said, she scanned the room and sat at the small table furthest to the back. The same older lady came and placed a mug of coffee in front of her and River paid her a coin for it, the older lady smiled this time and signed Thank you. Her smile was beautiful and made her eyes light up, it was the first time River had ever seen the old lady smile. River signed back quickly 

"Thank you, have a lovely evening" 

The coffee was bad, like dishwater bad. In comparison to what River had been drinking in the Upper this hardly even tasted like coffee. River took two sips and then looked up to see a man approaching wearing the symbol.

"Hello, River. I am Ian. Can we talk somewhere a little more private? Can you follow me?" He signed quickly and clearly. River nodded and stood up to follow him.

He left the coffee shop through the back doors where it connected to the bakery and the grocery shops, the cameras would never see us in the backs of the buildings. They walked past most of the shops and towards the tunnels where River used to work. The tunnels were darker and they had no cameras in the area, it was the perfect place to meet in secret. Small lights on a thick string ran along the tunnels and at the entrance they had made metal supports.

River followed the man down the first tunnel and then they entered a large room that had better lighting, she could make out other people standing in the room. She recognised his golden hair and his golden eyes as he smiled, Leo was here.

Ian turned around to River "Welcome to the Vanguard, River. We are a group recently formed and we want to stop this, the sound barrier, the Under. We want to free our people" He signed with such energy. Another woman came from behind Ian with a small box, it looked like a music player from the old days. 

The woman lifted an ariel from the box and pressed a few buttons. River could hear a gentle hum like when she was in the elevator. Moments later she could hear. Ian smiled at her "There, this is something we have designed, the box can only stop the frequency of the sound barrier in this room, it would need to be much bigger and more complex to stop the whole of the Under. River walked up to the box and had a look at it.

"Wow, that's pretty cool"

"I thought you would find it interesting with your love of machines, we need young people like you River to help us fight. I chose you, I have been watching you for a little while and I think the Upper have the same interest in you too" River felt all eyes were on her making her feel a little uncomfortable.

She whispered to Ian "Can we talk with fewer eyes on us please?" He looked at everyone watching and agreed "Of course, come to the back here" He signed for others to talk freely too. The room quickly filled with hushed tones talking and smiling. It was a miracle, people were talking in the Under. 

" I have to be honest with you Ian. The Upper's sent me a message a few days ago now, I'm going up there every day to work on a machine as their people are not capable of it, they didn't trust their people" Ian was surprised.

"They what? Wow, they must be desperate if they have to use our people. This is such brilliant timing River, you are up there! You can find as much information to help us and find the most important machine, the sound barrier" River thought for a moment, did she want to tell this stranger everything? Yes, he was from the Under like her, trying to free everyone, but they had just met.

Leo walked over to the both of them "Hello, River, it's nice to see you again" River smiled back at Leo, it was nice to be able to hear each other's voices "Hello, Leo it's good to see you too, nice to see a face I have already met" Leo's voice was deeper than River expected it to be, gruff like rough gravel.

River looked to Ian "Yes, I can help. I will learn as much as possible about the machines up there. They just let me walk around freely, but I suspect they do have cameras"

Ian thought for a moment and nodded " Great this might work out even better than we thought River, with you up there in the Upper we have a real shot at this. Would you meet with Leo after your shift ends every day just to give a quick report then we meet here twice a week at the moment, but be very discreet when you come"

River nodded "That could work as I pass the coffee shop anyway" Leo smiled at River and Ian "Works for me too" Ian walked away to talk with the others leaving Leo and River. Leo held up a carton of apple juice "Apple juice?" River laughed at the childish tiny apple juice carton "Yes please, I could use a drink"

Leo sat down on the dusty wooden plank and patted it for River to sit. They sat watching all the people talking and smiling and it felt so normal. River noticed there was a small group and they were teaching others how to sound out words, it was amazing.

"How was your Day?" River sipped her apple juice almost finishing it in a couple of sips.

"It was good thank you, I actually found something cool today deep in one of the tunnels. I love finding old things, treasures from history" River was intrigued "Can I see it?"

Leo nodded with a big smile and jumped up fetching his treasure in a hurry. Rubbing it as he walked back trying to make it look cleaner. He passed it to River and took a good look "Do you know what it is?" Leo shook his head "No, I have no idea but it looks cool with all those small buttons" River let out a small laugh and gave it a good clean, pressing the eject button which made Leo jump. "It's ok, look" River pulled out the old cassette tape and examed it "Mint condition, what a find" Leo looked confused "It's a tape player, this is a cassette and it has music on and the box is a speaker and it plays music"

Leo's eyes gleamed "Wow, that is a treasure. Wish It wasn't 200 years old"

River laughed "I could get it working in no time, leave it with me. I have some tools in the upper, and they have old batteries up there too" 

Leo gleamed with a smile "You would do that?" River smiled "Of course Leo, it won't take me long at all and I geek out for this kind of stuff"

"Thank you, River. I don't know how I can repay but I will find a way" As Leo was mid-sentence Ian announced the hearing device would turn off as soon as the meeting was over so say your goodbyes.

"See you tomorrow River" His deep voice was the last thing River could hear and she wished she could listen to it all night but it was back to reality.