“Well, they’re not rats, but people that like to explore underground. They’re a little…”
“Different?” Ross finished for him.
“I was going to say friggin’ weird or crazy, but different will cover it.” Granowski sat at a workstation, scanned the monitors, and started checking in with the teams on the radio. “Team three, report.” He pointed on the screen to show Jack and Ross where team three was.
A voice filled the room from speakers around the area. “Team three leader. Nothing unusual to report.”
“Team two?”
“Team two leader. We’ve entered the tunnels. There’s definitely been a disturbance. There’s a lot of dust in the air. Our lights can’t penetrate very far. We’re proceeding slowly ahead.”
Jack noticed Granowski tense up and focus on the monitors. “Ten-four, team two. Slowly but surely ahead. Stay in contact.”
“How can you talk to the teams underground?” Ross asked. “I wouldn’t think their radios would work through the rock.”
“They run hard line back to a transmitter station they leave behind by the entrance,” Granowski answered without looking back. “Team three. Report.”
“Definitely evidence of a detonation. We can smell it in the air. We’re going on respirators and moving in deeper.”
“Now what?” Jack asked.
Granowski stayed glued to the monitors. He was leaning forward with both elbows on the surface. Jack watched as his eyes moved across the monitor bank in front of him. Granowski held a pen in his right hand and fiddled with it; he stuck the end in his mouth, pulled it back out, and scribbled something on the pad in front of him. He used his thumb to click the plunger on the pen like Morse code. “Now we wait.” He put the end of the pen in his mouth, and then spit it out. “I wish I had a friggin’ cigarette.”
The explosion pushed air through the tunnel, followed by a muffled roar. The Governor crouched down and leaned against the wall as he waited for the pressure from the blast to move past. It was right on schedule. Once the main blast dissipated, he got up and hustled ahead through the dust-filled air. He held his right hand out and kept in contact with the wall. His headlamp reflected off of the particles flowing on the air waves through the tunnel, filling the shaft with a glow and making it impossible to see ahead. He had to make it to where the controller was set up to carry out the rest of his plan.
The Governor had a smile on his face and felt like a giddy kid on Christmas morning. He thought about the money that would become his in just a short time. The air cleared and he checked his bearings. A few more tunnels to work his way through and he’d be ready for the real treasure he was after.
Jack looked at his watch and paced around the room. It had only been five minutes since the last team checked in, but it seemed like hours. “Ross, we have to do something.”
“They’re doing it, Jack. There are two teams down underground and they’ll have news for us soon.”
“I can’t wait.”
“You’re worse than your kids.” Ross grabbed a chair and wheeled it over to Jack. “Sit down and relax. We’ll know as soon as they know something.”
“You sit, Junior. I have to move.” Jack walked across the room and watched the monitors, standing behind Granowski. “It’s still raining out?”
Granowski answered without looking back. “It’s raining.” He tapped his pen on the desktop. “The good thing is that the weather is keeping people away. There’s hardly anybody out there.”
“No media trucks yet?” Jack asked.
“Not yet, but if they show up they’ll have to stay back. We’ll put out a story about a missing puppy in the sewer or something.” Granowski turned and winked at Jack.
Jack continued to stare at the monitors. The roads were shiny from the reflection of the streetlights and the lights from the buildings reflected off of the wet surface. A monitor above broadcasted the local news. Everything seemed normal there, with the focus on the weather and the impact to Fourth of July celebrations. Jack drummed his fingers on the work surface and asked without turning from the multiple views laid out before him, “Is there a schedule for the teams to check in or do we just wait?”
“We’re on ten minute intervals unless something of interest comes up sooner. The teams are working in close quarters so they can communicate without radios, but they’ll check in.”
Jack pushed back from the console. “How much longer?”
“Three minutes.”
“Three minutes, three days, it’s forever sitting here waiting.” Jack started walking towards the door.
“Jack,” Ross started after him. “Jack, where are you going?”
“I can’t wait around in here, Junior.” Jack grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.
Jack stood in the tiled hallway and looked left, and then right, trying to remember which direction he came from, or which way looked like it would get him outside. He was going crazy sitting in the room not knowing what was going on underground. He needed to get closer to the action.
The door hissed behind him as it slowly closed, pulled shut by the piston designed to keep it shut. The right looked familiar. Jack turned to head down the hallway. “Team two to base,” he heard from inside the room, causing him to stop and lean back into the doorway. The closing door bumped into his shoulder as he held it open a few inches.
“Base here,” Granowski answered.
Jack stayed still and listened to Granowski and the team.
“We need an ambulance where we came in. We’ve got two bodies and one survivor.”
“Get the survivor out. Leave the bodies until you’ve assessed and secured the scene. I want to know what happened down there.”
“I need to get Jack,” Ross said to Granowski.
Jack pushed the door open. “I’m here, Junior. Let’s go.”
The sky was black with water pouring from it, splashing as it hit the ground already saturated with pooled water. “It’s still raining.”
“Thanks for the update, Junior.”
Jack and Ross ran across the grass and down the hill to where the team would be coming out of the ground. Ross, with one arm in a sling, wobbled as he ran. Jack slipped twice on the wet, grassy slope. The first time he saved himself. The second time he fell on his butt with a splash.
“You all right?” Ross asked.
Jack rolled over in the soaked turf and pushed himself up. “I’m OK. Let’s get down there and see what this guy has to say.”
They made it to the entrance cut into the side of the hill and stood by the black, wrought iron gate that hung open on its hinges. One of the Federal Reserve’s incident team stood inside the opening out of the weather. He swung his assault rifle up when he saw Jack and Ross. “Halt!”
Jack put his hands up, palms facing the guard. “Hold it, buddy. We’re with the FBI.”
The guard kept his weapon pointed at Jack while he looked him up and down. Jack could see a look of doubt on the guard’s face as he took in Jack’s shorts and polo shirt.
“Listen. Granowski knows we’re here. Didn’t he tell you we were coming? We wanted to see the survivor the team is bringing out.” The guard relaxed a little at the mention of Granowski and the tip of the gun dropped a little lower and to the left so it wasn’t pointed directly at Jack.
“ID?” the guard asked.
Jack slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out his credential. He held on to one side and let it flip open to reveal his ID and FBI shield.
The guard swung the weapon back and away from Jack and Ross. “Sorry, I’m a little jumpy.”
“You have every reason to be,” Ross replied, speaking for the first time since they had seen the guard.
“Any news on the survivor or how long it will be until they get him out?” Jack asked.
“Sounds like he’s mobile. His hearing’s shot from the explosion.” The guard put his hand to the side of his head and adjusted his earpiece. “They should be out in about ten minutes.”
