"Are you all right, sir? We heard the blast and caught this woman running away."
"Yeah, we're all right. Get her covered up and bring her along. In cuffs, please. Let's get out of here before the rest of the roof comes down."
They all made the long slog back through the tunnel with the guards supporting the dazed young woman. Behind them they could hear the groaning of the blast damaged roof and then heard a loud crash followed by a gush of gritty air pounding them from behind. More of the roof had given way.
Back in the Security section everyone was on alert as the explosion, muffled underground as it was, had still managed to shake and awaken most of the ranch house.
Maeve and Cindy were waiting at the door to Sam's office and looked very relieved at the sight of Lucas and Sam and the guards. The prisoner, still somewhat concussed, was put into a cell and given a prisoner's jumpsuit to wear. She kept saying, "I didn't know he had a bomb," in a plaintive voice but neither Sam nor Lucas showed any signs of believing her.
"What will you do with her?" asked Maeve.
"Not sure yet," Sam answered. "Interrogation first, but I don't want to hand her over to anyone like last time. I don't want her free to do this again."
"But we can't just keep her here," said Maeve.
Lucas and Sam exchanged glances but said nothing. Maeve looked from one to the other and decided that discussion could wait for a few days.
"Anyway, I'm relieved and glad you're all safe. That explosion scared me to my roots."
She took Lucas' arm possessively, "Can we go back to bed now?"
Sam said, "Sure. We'll just lock up and post guards at the mine entrance and pack it in. Tomorrow is time enough for clean up and questions."
"We better have some structural engineers in to look at the blast site," said Lucas.
"I'll call one tomorrow."
Chapter 42
The interrogation was mostly fruitless. Their prisoner maintained ignorance of the bomb and said their mission was supposed to be reconnaissance, not action. She was probably lying, thought Sam, but she was clearly in emotional pain.
"Who was your companion?"
She shook her head.
"What does that mean? You don't know? You won't tell us? What?"
She shook her head again, "I loved him. We were going to get married. Have babies."
She sobbed and Sam gave up. When Lucas arrived Sam said, "She's hopeless right now. Let's let a couple of days go by and maybe have Cindy try to talk to her. She's good at getting them to drop a hint or two."
"Sounds good. There's a team of mining engineers on the way to check out the tunnel. If they say it's safe we can start digging out the rubble and see what we can learn from the body. Or what's left of it."
They went back to work on their other fronts in what they thought of as the War on Gaia. Lucas' team of cyber-saboteurs were continuing to exploit the weak points Fran had uncovered. Unconfirmed but believable reports had Axel Radnich's office in disarray. Reporters who had gone to interview him about the North African Stock Exchange were met with closed doors. Reports of banks he was heavily invested in suddenly suspending operations began to surface.
"Do we have his undivided attention?" asked Lucas.
"I think so, sir. Right now they're scrambling,"
"Good. Don't launch any new attacks just yet but get them prepared. I want him to think the problem's not getting any worse so he'll keep his people working on it. When it seems like they're getting things under control we'll hit him again."
"Yes sir."
"Keep me informed."
"Yes sir."
With just over ninety days to the Gathering all parts of the organization were in high gear. This year's event would mark Maeve's tenth anniversary as High Priestess and would celebrate that fact. It would also hold an awards ceremony for the Best of the Best Practices ideas in the categories of the Natural World and Gaian Meetings and Organization and a special High Priestess' award for Excellence in Education.
Requests for tickets were running very high and more volunteers were put to work checking backgrounds. Security preparations were going on at the venue in Las Vegas and the Anarchic Artists were feverishly at work on several major installations. Helene conferred with Maeve every morning and with Lucas and Sam every afternoon. When they asked her about her own security she grimaced, "They're with me all the time, your guards. No privacy." She suddenly smiled, "But you know, those people Down Below, they're the best security I've got. They used to be the way in for all sorts of characters but now no one even vaguely suspicious gets in that way."
"That's great," said Lucas.
"Yes it is. Listen, I'm thinking of sending Mishi and Lowell to the other Down Belows in the city as ambassadors. Maybe we can get some other Gaian groups going there."
"Sure, why not evangelize. Are you sure you want to send Lowell? I thought he was a big help to you," asked Lucas.
"I might as well send him. He's so caught up in Mishi right now he can't think about anything else. At least this way they can both be getting on the job training."
"Okay," said Lucas. "How's Gramps?"
Helene laughed. "I forget he's your grandfather. He's fine. He's researching Down Below so he's happy and he's getting ready for another trip to Ocean City One. They've developed a new method of desalination that looks very interesting. It might be something we can help distribute. Anyway, anything that promises fresh water is worth looking into."
The mining engineers arrived the next morning and Lucas took them to the mine entrance. He was surprised to find Aquarius waiting nearby and was instantly concerned. "What's going on?" he asked.
The engineers were dressed in practical "tramping through the boonies" clothing and looked surprised at Aquarius in tattered clothing and bare feet but perked up when he spoke, "Whatever that explosion was it shut off the spring at the beaver dam. I came to see why."
"Are you sure that was the cause?" asked one engineer. He was a tall man with a slight lisp which was jarring at first in an otherwise model of dignity.
"I can't be absolutely sure," said Aquarius, not unkindly, but the explosion happened and the spring stopped. Hard to think of another reason."
The group of four men entered the tunnel and the engineers took a robot from their packs. It was a sturdy drone that flew over the contours of the ground beneath it and sent back images of the tunnel. They followed it to the site of the explosion and found their way blocked by a wall of earth and broken timbers. The engineers probed the walls and inspected the ceiling of the tunnel and conferred with each other at length.
"Digging this out could be very dangerous," one said. "At the very least you would have to shore up the ceiling as you dug in. This is an unstable mass around us and could collapse further."
"What about the spring?" asked Aquarius.
"Probably gone for good, but it might reappear in another location."
"The beavers won't be happy," said Aquarius.
The engineers asked Lucas, "Is it necessary to dig this out?"
"Highly desirable," he said."What's on the other side?"
"A tunnel we built to connect to the mine."
"Can we see it?"
Lucas led them back to the ranch house while Aquarius took his leave to "check on the beavers and look for the re-emergence of the spring."
Going down to the tunnel Lucas caught the engineers checking the construction. When they reached the explosion site they carried on a careful inspection, at last saying, "The bend in the tunnel here deflected a lot of the energy. Very little damage to the structures. If you must dig it out it would be safer from this end. And we'd recommend doing it by hand."
"But what about when we get to the other end?" asked Lucas. "Won't we have the same dangers of collapse?"
The engineer with the lisp said, "By starting here you can shore up the tunnel every foot of the way and probably avoid another rock fall."
"What will it take?"
"A cre
w of experienced diggers and a mine construction robot."
"What's that?"
"An intelligent machine that extrudes pillars to hold up the ceiling and coats it and the walls with a very strong concrete."
"Sounds like a lot of work and equipment."
"It is," said the engineer. "Unless you have a compelling reason I'd say leave it alone. It's stable now."
"The reason's fairly compelling. We're pretty sure there's a body and the remains of a bomb under there."
The engineers were surprised but strove to keep their faces set in professional lines.
"Perhaps the authorities," began one.
"Not likely," interrupted Lucas. "Would you mind coming to my office while I confer with my colleagues?"
They waited in his anteroom while Lucas set up a conference call with Sam and Helene. He explained the problem and asked for input.
"Let him rot there," said Helene.
"We need the tunnel," said Sam.
Lucas laughed, "Can't have both."
At the end Sam's view prevailed. The tunnel was an important part of their defenses and the body might have clues to the threat that sent the bombers. Lucas brought the engineers into his office.
"Can you oversee the excavation?" he asked.
They worked out terms of a contract including transport for the mine building robot and promised to start within the month. "We need to start immediately," said Lucas.
The engineers conferred. "Do you have the necessary manpower?"
"Oh yes. We have plenty of strong, young, intelligent people and all the tools you need."
They decided that one of the engineers would stay and get the digging started at once while the other returned to Denver and brought the mining machine back with him.
"We'll need a deposit," said the one going back.
"Not a problem," said Lucas happy that the last obstacle was only money which Gaia had plenty of."
Chapter 43
Being sent out as ambassadors to the world of Down Below was a lark for Mishi, a two week adventure that promised novelty and fun. For Lowell it was a trip fraught with unknown dangers which he would face with a still unpredictable partner. On one hand he relished two weeks of Mishi's full time company, on the other he feared the situations she might provoke.
They started out innocently enough by choosing a cube less than two blocks away, the above ground home to a stratified cross section of the community. The top floors were home to very wealthy people and the amount of wealth dropped with each floor until it blended into the commercial floors. The wealthy had a hospital floor beneath their high end enclave and received their goods and services through delivery to the roof top. They were essentially cut off from the lives, literally and figuratively, beneath them. As a side note, Lowell informed Mishi, the most notoriously kinky sex club in the city occupied its own middle floor and was supported mainly by the wealthy residents.
"Figures," said Mishi. "Is that what they mean when they say money corrupts?"
"I don't think so, but it could be," grinned Lowell.
"I'm glad we're not kinky," said Mishi. "I enjoy our sex."
Lowell grinned again, "So do I. But remember, one person's kink is another's vanilla. It's hard to fault or condemn people for their urges. And anyway, consenting adults and all that."
"Sure, whatever you say. I just like my urges the way they are. Don't you?" she asked slyly.
"Of course I do and you know it."
She smiled smugly at his answer and took his hand. She led them through a door marked No Entry into a pitch black area where they had to use the lights on their communicators. They were on a steel staircase that led down into blackness.
"What is this?" asked Lowell.
"An abandoned underground railroad. Subway, they used to call it. We can go to the track level and walk along it just a little way and then climb up to the Down Below entry point."
"I heard about these subways. Don't they criss-cross the city?"
"Yeah. People used to live down here too, after the trains quit running. But now they're in the Down Belows."
It didn't take them long to make the journey and climb up to the entrance. Lowell had wondered how they would gain entry but Mishi produced what she called a universal key that supposedly would open any of the doors connected to the old subway system, which it did. Once through the door they were in a service corridor. Mishi consulted her communicator and found a map of the building.
"This way," she said and led them to another door, strongly built but with the lock mechanism removed. They pushed it open and stepped into the Down Below. They walked toward a lighted section and suddenly were confronted by several scruffy young men carrying batons which Lowell knew carried a strong electric punch.
"Outsiders," said one. "Ripe for trashing."
Lowell's muscles tensed but Mishi stepped forward slightly, "Worst mistake you'll ever make," she said. "We're from number 42."
"Trash 'em," said another. "I want some of that ass."
"Try me," said Mishi, pulling a small device from her pocket.
The ass-wanting young man raised his baton when a female voice from behind him said, "She's got an energizer, you idiot. You swing at her and that baton will bounce back and beat the shit out of you."
The scruffy gang parted slightly and a woman of indeterminate age stepped forward. She was older than the boys but not old enough to be the mother of any of them. Her face was heavily tattooed with tribal signs and her hair was in an elaborately braided coif.
"I'm Roxanne," the woman said, "and these fools are my team of scavengers. Who be you?"
Mishi explained who they were and the mission they were on and Lowell could see Roxanne's eyes light up with interest.
"Come with me," she said. "Shawnte will want to talk to you."
As she turned Lowell said, "Is there always a guard on this entrance?"
"No, we just happened to be passing. Why?"
"Just thinking of security. It's on our minds a lot lately."
Roxanne looked speculatively at him and pointed to one of her gang. "Stay here and keep watch. I'll send someone to get you soon."
"We can replace the lock," said Lowell.
"Nah, it's a trap here. Easier to monitor with a camera and a couple of these," Roxanne pointed to her cohorts. "We'll be okay for a while. Come on."
Shawnte was a large black woman whose face lit up at the sight of Lowell.
"What have we here?" she boomed at them. "Come close so I can get a good feel of you," she said to Lowell. "And you too, little girl."
Chapter 44
Harrison awoke with a real desire to know more about the history of Down Below and resolved to visit Granny that day. Helene was long gone to her office, regularly arriving there at six a.m. He sent her a message about his destination and immediately after breakfast headed downward.
Down Below's existence was an anomaly in his experience with bureaucracy. Normally bureaucrats seemed much more eager to enforce rules than to accomplish ends. Their argument that they were paid to enforce the rules was always invoked when doing so had caused harm, often irreparable harm, to people they were actually paid to serve. That Down Below not only existed but appeared to flourish countered all his experience with city administrations.
"Absent big payoffs, with money these people clearly don't have, I don't know how they did it," he thought.
He made his way onto the Down Below level and after a few wrong turns found Granny's space. The old lady had another young woman with her, Mishi's replacement, and brightened at Harrison's arrival.
"Hello Professor," she chirped at him. "What brings you here?"
"Well, I thought we might have a chat about the history of this place, if you would indulge me. And if you feel up to it, of course."
"Why wouldn't I feel up to it?" she replied belligerently, but added, "I'd be happy to."
Turning to the girl she said, "Dearie, would you make a pot of tea for us. And serve
it with those little biscuits."
As the girl turned to the tasks Granny said, "Another of my great grands, I think. Not Mishi but she's learning fast."
When the tea and biscuits arrived the girl was sent away for an hour, "Come back then and bring my pills."
Harrison, looking for a way to get her started asked, "When did you get down here?"
"Didn't you know?" she said, "I'm surprised Mishi didn't tell you. I was the one who found this space. I'm the founding mother," she smiled broadly at him.
"It was right after this cube was built, forty four or forty five years ago. I was a single mother with no money but the welfare and two kids at my skirts. They put us in one of those awful shelters where the gangs run everything. When my older girl was nearly raped in her own bed I decided we had to leave. So we did."
She looked off in memory and became very quiet and Harrison sat quietly beside her. At last she resumed her story.
"The first couple of nights we slept in the park across the street. At that time a lot of homeless people camped there and it didn't feel any safer than the shelter. On the third night I was resolved to find another place for us. I came over here to the cube because I thought there might be a spot around the construction yard that was still here but instead I found an open door. The door led to the staircase landing and eventually I found this level."
She paused and laughed, "We couldn't believe we'd found this enormous space and it was totally empty. I was dragging our bedding around with us so I found a secluded corner and set up camp. The girls weren't as afraid as they'd been in the shelter or in the park and we thought we'd get a little respite here before looking for a permanent home. I kept thinking that any day we'd be discovered and driven out, but that didn't happen."
"Why not, do you think?" asked Harrison.
"I'm not sure. This space was designed for use in emergencies so it wasn't on anyone's daily To Do list. It was here, it was stocked with emergency supplies and that was it. Once they closed the door I think they forgot about it."
"Then what?"
Growth (GAIA Trilogy Book 2) Page 13
