Before Quinn put the phone back in his pocket, he realized he had a text waiting. It was from Orlando and had been sent while Quinn and Nate had been searching for the back door entrance.
Where are you?
He typed in a quick response that implied they were in a safe position doing a basic recon. Her response was almost immediate, and confirmed his thoughts.
Bullshit
He put his phone back in his pocket. They could argue about his decision later; doing it now and by text would be counterproductive.
“Did I hear you say that guy was CIA?” Nate asked.
Quinn nodded.
“Well, that’s awesome. Did he bring any friends with him?”
“I don’t think so.”
Quinn started walking back up the tunnel toward the surface.
“Where you going?” Nate asked.
But Quinn didn’t answer. Since the door was a bust, he figured their next best chance was one of the ventilation shafts. Though if Tucker’s group had gone to the trouble of blocking the entrance to the emergency exit, they surely would have done something that would keep anyone from using the vents. Still, Quinn had to try.
When they reached the rusty door, Quinn stepped through first, then turned to make sure Nate shut it behind them, only Nate wasn’t there.
Quinn stepped back inside. Nate was ten feet down the tunnel, looking toward Quinn but not at him.
“I think I might know how it works,” Nate said.
Quinn was quiet for a moment, then glanced over his shoulder at the rusted metal door. “Are you thinking that—”
“Yes,” Nate said. “Stay here.”
Without further explanation, Nate ran back down the tunnel.
Thirty seconds later his voice crackled in Quinn’s ear.
“Can … ou hear … Quinn, can … ear me?”
“You’re breaking up.”
“… ose the do …”
“What?”
“… e door … ose … oor.”
“You’re not coming through.”
“Close … e door.”
That was enough. Quinn reached out, grabbed the handle of the rusty door, then pulled it closed. As he did, he noticed a lever built into the frame. It was in the down position.
“… id yo … lose it?”
Quinn thought about it for another second, then reached out and flipped the lever up.
For a moment there was nothing. Then, “… aaa. That d … ome … down. Come …”
Quinn raced back down the tunnel. At the bottom he found Nate standing near where the tunnel had ended. Only now the artificial wall had moved out of the way.
“Closed circuit,” Nate said. “All you had to do was close the door.”
Quinn thought about telling him it had nothing to do with whether the door was open or closed at all, but decided to save it for later. It was good for Nate to feel like he’d accomplished something. It had been a good guess anyway. And if Nate hadn’t suggested it, Quinn would have never seen the lever.
“And you’re going to love this,” Nate said.
He shone his light through the opening. The tunnel went on for another ten feet, but straight and level now.
And at the end, a door. A real door.
“I think we’ve found the way in.”
CHAPTER 30
Tucker looked at his watch. It had been thirty minutes since the prisoner had been taken to his cell. He would have liked to leave the guy sitting in the dark a little longer, but there was no time for that.
It wouldn’t be long before he and his team would have to pitch in on the final preparations of the shipment. And by this time tomorrow he would be on his way to Bali, the job complete, and his final payment sitting safely in his offshore account.
He wasn’t even worried about what would be next after that. At some point he would have to find more work. But his pay on this one had been pretty damn good, so it would be a while before he’d have to make any calls.
He radioed one of his men to meet him near the detention cell, then pushed himself away from his desk.
It was time to find out what the asshole knew.
The door from the tunnel let out into a wider corridor. Quinn went through first, his SIG with suppressor attached in his right hand. Nate, also armed, stepped out of the tunnel as soon as Quinn was clear.
Quinn signaled to his apprentice to leave the tunnel door cracked open in case they had to make a quick exit, then leaned forward just enough to peek around the corner.
Empty, both ways. He stuck his head out a little farther for a better look.
His first impression was that they’d suddenly found themselves inside a naval ship, or more accurately, perhaps, a submarine. All the walls were metal, and thick with layers of gray paint. Along the ceiling and hugging the top of one wall were pipes of various diameters running lengthwise down the corridor. Lights hung down between the pipes every ten feet or so, and gave the hallway plenty of illumination.
To the left, the corridor went another fifty feet, then turned to the right, out of view. To the right, it continued half again as far before dead-ending at a closed door. Somewhere in the distance was the sound of a door closing. He paused, listening, but there was nothing else.
He pulled out the Yellowhammer blueprints from his backpack and located their position. This particular section was at the north end of the facility. The corridor to the left that made the ninety-degree turn ended in what appeared to be a storage room. The rest of the base lay to the right, through the closed door.
The map showed that just beyond the door was the main east-west corridor. Compared to the passageway they were in, there was a much greater chance it would be occupied.
He folded the printout and put it into his pocket.
“Stay here,” he mouthed to Nate.
He could see the reluctance in his apprentice’s eyes, but Nate nodded anyway.
Quinn approached the door at the end of the hallway. The handle was a lever, not a knob. Down to unlock, up to lock. Quinn pressed his ear against the door, his free hand resting on the handle. Quiet.
Slowly he pressed down on the lever. There was a muffled groan as the bars holding the door in place moved out of their sockets. Once they were free, Quinn paused. If anyone had heard the noise, they’d show up any second.
When no one did, he pulled the door back a few inches, testing the hinges. They were smooth and silent.
The corridor beyond was much like the one he was in, only larger. Again he listened for sounds of life, and again he was greeted with silence.
He pulled the door open farther, then stepped over the threshold.
He knew from his examination of the blueprint that there was another corridor about twenty yards to the east that led to the elevator. It was the only way to the facility’s main exit. Beyond that, the hallway he was in disappeared around a bend to the left. To the west, there was another intersecting corridor running to the south.
