by David Meyer
“Don’t you ever stop asking questions?”
“Nope.”
He grunted in annoyance as he directed us down a different tunnel. “Me and the Sand Demons, we were different than the other sandhogs. For them, the tunnels were just a place to work. But for us, they were our lives. While everyone else hit the bars after quitting time, we stayed down here, exploring the underground.”
“I get it. I used to be an urban archaeologist. There’s just something about the underground that’s addictive. It’s raw, real. More real than what’s above ground.”
“Save your sucking up for someone else. That crap won’t work on me.”
He seemed eager to talk. But his guard remained up. I decided to provoke him a little bit. “You talk a good game. People like you always do. But I’m willing to bet you didn’t do a damn thing to find this place. Admit it. You and your friends got wasted one night and stumbled onto it, probably fell flat on your faces in the process.”
“We worked our butts off to find this place.”
I laughed. “And you think I’m just going to take your word for it?”
He glared at me. “While you were still a nightmare in your mother’s eyes, we were exploring every nook of this city. I can’t even count how many speakeasies, cellars, and crypts we discovered over the years.”
“Some guys chased skirts, you chased the past.” I felt admiration toward him, tempered by pity. “Frankly, I think you would’ve been happier if you just got yourself a girlfriend.”
He shot me a contemptuous look. “We originally set our sites on Alfred Ely Beach’s demonstration tube. But it had been destroyed. A few years later, I got my hands on some of his papers. I found a couple of maps and plans related to a new subway tube.”
“And that led you here?”
He nodded. “For three straight days, my buddies and I chipped away at the cement. Eventually, we discovered a small natural crevice in the bedrock. When we looked through it, we knew there was a manmade tunnel on the other side. We hollowed out a space to crawl through the bedrock. And when I finally set foot in here, well, it was the greatest day of my life.”
“Who cares?” Beverly’s tone turned exasperated. “Can we move on to something more interesting? Namely, how the hell did you get involved in this mess?”
Cartwright looked at her and then looked away. I took the opportunity to glance at Beverly. She shot me a wink and a crafty smile.
Cartwright grumbled quietly for a couple of seconds. I sensed his internal struggle. He wanted to talk, but felt guilty doing so. I knew we could break him, but we needed to keep applying pressure. If we played our cards right, he’d open up to us. If not, he’d shut down for good.
“Yeah,” I said. “What happened that day? Wrong place, wrong time?”
“How much do you know about what happened down here?” he asked.
“Just about everything.” I shrugged. “We know about Hartek’s laboratory, Rictor stealing the Bell, and the Omega. What we don’t know is your side of the story.”
“Rictor’s brothers were friends of ours. We met Rictor and Hartek through them and they also became good friends. When Hartek needed help building his lab, we agreed to do it. And when he needed something delivered, we’d make the arrangements and handle it.”
Beverly kicked a pebble. “Did you know what he was doing at the time?”
“Only that he was building some kind of device. One day, I overheard a conversation between Rictor’s brothers. They planned to kill Hartek and seize his invention. They said it was some kind of nuclear weapon.”
“Did you warn Hartek?”
“We were too late. By the time we reached the laboratory, Rictor had already killed the other assistants, kidnapped Hartek, and stolen the Bell. We ventured back into the tunnel and covered the tracks with debris. When they stopped, we opened fire.”
“On your own friends?”
He paused and his eyes grew distant. “We wanted to rescue Hartek. He’d been tied up in a burlap bag and moved into the Omega. But during the fight, Rictor shot him. After it was over, Hartek used his dying breaths to tell me about the Bell, about Red Mercury.”
“What exactly did he tell you?”
“After he came to America, he spent decades researching and testing the Bell in secrecy, hoping to discover at least one peaceful purpose for it. He never wanted to add another weapon to the world. He saw enough pain and suffering during the war to last a lifetime.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I found an old Nazi badge in his desk.”
“He used to carry that around with him. He said it was to remind him of the horrors of war.”
Beverly coughed. “Did he tell you that the Bell couldn’t be destroyed?”
“He warned us not to play with it.” Cartwright’s face hardened. “It’s a nuclear device in its own right. Unless dismantled properly, it’ll explode.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Well, that’s not exactly good news. But why’d you stay down here all this time? Why didn’t you just abandon it?”
“He told us one other thing before he died. He said we needed to keep operating the Bell or it would explode. Every one hundred and fifty-five days, we remove the decayed Red Mercury particles and refuel the Bell with a special mixture.”
“What’s in the mixture?” Beverly asked.
“Gold, mercury, and a few other things. Fortunately, we’ve never had to make it from scratch. We’re still using some of the fuel we got from his lab.”
I walked around a bend. “So, after Hartek died, you sealed up his laboratory and started to hide the Omega in a side tunnel. But when Fred Jenson showed up, you knew you had to move it. You’d already cut out a small tunnel to Beach’s system. So you just needed to expand it. Am I right?”
“One hundred percent.” He sounded impressed. “How’d you know about Jenson?”
“We met him. Just before Chase killed him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Jenson was a good man. We ran into him from time to time. To the best of my knowledge, he never told anyone where we had hid the Omega.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand.” Beverly adopted an accusatory tone. “I know why you sealed up the lab. But couldn’t you have at least returned the bodies to the surface? Did you ever consider the pain their families must’ve felt?”
“It was Hartek’s final wish. He wanted us to seal off everything, bury all traces of him and his work. I don’t know if it was the right decision, but I listened to him all the same.”
I stopped as I entered a small room. There was nowhere else to go. I examined the space. It was covered with dirt. Chunks of stone stuck out in seven areas. My heart raced as I saw etching upon the stones. They weren’t ordinary stones.
They were gravestones.
I whirled around and looked at Cartwright. He returned my stare with cold, calculating eyes. I needed to buy time. “One more thing. What’s the deal with that alligator?”
“We found her in here some time ago. She was a lot smaller then. We didn’t know what to with her so we blocked up the tube with the grating and kept her as a pet. To feed her, we poured fish into the river. As she got bigger, she got meaner. I guess you could say she’s become our guard dog.”
“Let’s cut the small talk.” Beverly placed her hands on her hips. “We know why you brought us here. And you’re making a mistake. We’re on the same side. If you kill us, you’re throwing away valuable allies.”
“I’m not going to kill you. I brought you here to show you something. Do you see those graves?”
I nodded.
“Three are for Rictor and his brothers. Three more are for Sand Demons who died in the gunfight. The big one belongs to Hartek.”
I knelt down next to Hartek’s tombstone and quickly read the engraving. It was just his name, date of birth, and date of death. There was no inscription or flowery sentiment. But I still sensed the passion that the Sand Demons felt toward the man.
“I want
you two to understand something,” Cartwright said. “We’ve taken a vow to keep the Bell hidden until we can find a way to destroy it. We’d sooner die than give it up to anyone else. So, I’m sorry. You’re not going to see it, not today, not ever.”
I’m going to end this, Hartek. One way or the other, I’m going to find your Bell and destroy it.
Distorted, splattering noises erupted from the room’s entrance. They bounced off the walls and were distorted even further. But I recognized them all the same.
Gunshots.
Chapter 52
I sensed two presences as I raced through the passageways, hot on Cartwright’s heels.
Standish.
Chase.
They’re here. They’re in the damn control room.
My blood curdled as screams filled the air. Part of me knew I was listening to the death throes of the Sand Demons. Part of me tried to deny my ears.
I roared around a curve at top speed. On one level, it was practical. Cartwright flew through the corridors like a 747. If I lost him, I might never find him again. But on another level, it was entirely emotional. The faster we moved, the sooner we’d find survivors and rescue them. The sooner we’d stop Chase and Standish.
The sooner I’d rescue Diane.
But speed came at a price.
I winced as sounds exploded all around us. Gasps of breath. Boots pounding on the bedrock. The occasional splash of water. Pumping arms, brushing up against clothes.
We were making noise.
Lots of noise.
I knew we needed to slow down. Caution, not haste, was the safest way to proceed. The smart action was to reach out, grab Cartwright’s shoulder, and wrench him to a halt.
But I just kept running.
Soon, the screams died away and the passageway returned to relative silence. After a few more turns, Cartwright tilted his face in my direction. “Our bunker’s just ahead and to the right. We’ll be there any minute now.”
I looked at my holster, which hung over his shoulder. “Give me my weapons.”
“No.”
Suddenly, I heard light murmuring.
Someone was close.
Very close.
Reaching out, I grabbed Cartwright’s shirt and yanked. He stumbled backward and spun into the wall. As he fell to the floor, I reached out and snagged my holster before it could hit the ground.
I reattached the holster. Cartwright groaned and lifted up his arm. His shirt was in tatters and the whole right side of his body was scraped up. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Beverly reared up behind me. Ignoring Cartwright, I shot her a quick glance. “Did you hear that?”
As she nodded, Cartwright rose to his feet. Leaning over, he jabbed a thick finger into my chest. “Listen here, asshole…”
I didn’t have time to listen to his nonsense. Rearing back, I slammed my fist into his stomach. His eyes bulged and a wheeze escaped his lips. Then he dropped back to the ground and rolled around in agony, groaning softly.
Leaning down, I retrieved my machete from his waistband. “Keep quiet,” I whispered. “Or there’s another one of those waiting for you.”
“Why’d you –?”
“Because something’s not right. Now shut up and let me listen.” My pulse raced and my breath came out in short, quick bursts. I could barely hear myself think, let alone any nearby murmuring. I itched to move, but stayed in one place, forcing myself to listen. Irritation rose within me. One moment, my instincts told me to run while my brain urged me to stop. The next minute, my instincts led me to stand still while my brain told me to do the opposite.
Why can’t you guys get on the same page for once?
Gradually, my labored breathing began to slow and with it, my pulse. I closed my eyes. My concentration increased. My senses heightened.
I heard voices, some masculine, some feminine. But from where?
I rotated in a small circle. The walls played tricks on my ears but I felt reasonably certain the voices originated from the southwest. Tilting my head in that direction, I listened carefully.
But try as I might, I was unable to distinguish individual words. It was just one big mess. Giving up, I turned to Beverly. “Did you catch anything?”
“Just jumbled words.”
I looked at Cartwright. “Sorry about that. I couldn’t afford you making any noise.”
He glared at me.
“We’ve got voices coming from the southwest. Is that where your bunker is located?”
“Go to hell.”
“Chase might be in there.” I returned his glare. “If so, the others are already dead.”
“Then, I’m wasting my time here. I need to get to the Bell.”
“It’s nice to know you care about your friends.”
His eyes tightened. “I care about them just fine. But I made a vow to keep the Bell safe and nothing’s going to stop me from doing that.”
“Fine,” Beverly said. “But take us to your bunker first.”
Cartwright pushed himself to his feet, led us all the way down to the end of the corridor, and then opened a small door.
I looked inside, seeing a dark, four-foot tall passage.
“This leads to an air flue.” He lowered his voice. “Beach planned to use it to filter compressed air into the tunnel to propel his subway car. If you follow the path around, you’ll see a slab of metal. Pull it aside and you’ll be able to peek into the bunker without anyone noticing.”
“Thanks.”
He gave me a hard look. “We’ll meet again, Cyclone. Count on it. But for now, you’re on your own.”
I watched as he slid by Beverly and disappeared into the tube. Then, I ducked my head and entered the short, dark passage. Keeping low, I followed it around in a winding path for about a hundred feet.
Finally, I stopped in front of a small piece of metal. Dousing my flashlight, I quietly cracked it open a quarter of an inch.
I peered into the next room and saw about a dozen people milling around. It looked perfectly ordinary, similar to how we’d left it. And yet, it was totally different. The faces had changed, the weapons were fiercer, and the expressions lacked emotion.
I switched my gaze to the floor and swallowed.
Hard.
Ten bodies lay in a heap against one side of the bunker, bloodied and unmoving. Their frozen expressions told me everything I needed to know.
The Sand Demons were dead.
My gaze swept the room. It passed by the soldiers. It passed by the row of beds, which were covered in gore. Finally, I saw them.
They sat on one of the empty beds. Standish appeared to be writing something on a sketchpad. Chase held his gun, unwavering, off to the side.
I reached for my pistol. Two bullets. That’s all it would take. With two bullets I could end their lives, end my misery.
And then I saw her.
She sat on the floor with her head sagging to her chest. She appeared to be bleeding heavily from the stomach and looked near death. To make matters worse, Chase’s gun pointed directly at her chest.
Fury poured into my brain, cutting off my sense of logic. I wanted to kill Chase for what he’d done to Diane.
I wanted to kill them all.
My fingers clenched the grip of the gun but I left it in the holster. I couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me. The instant I fired my weapon, hell would rain down on us. Beverly and I would die instantly. Diane, if she didn’t perish in the crossfire, would die shortly afterward.
I glanced back at Beverly. She stood behind my shoulder, peering through the small crack afforded by the slab of metal. “Seen enough?” I mouthed.
She nodded and stepped away.
Gently, I pushed the slab back into place. Then I followed Beverly back through the flue.
Once we were out of earshot, I took a deep breath. “We need to rescue her.”
“Don’t you ever get tired of playing underdog?”
“It’s the American way.�
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“I know those people. They’re some of Jack’s best soldiers. We can’t beat them, especially not with just two of us.”
“We don’t have a choice,” I replied. “She needs our help. She’s dying.”
“There’s always a choice. And right now, the smart thing is to wait for our opportunity.”
“You just want to sit here and do nothing?”
She shook her head. “We’ve got two things going for us. First, we know where to find them but they don’t know where to find us. And second, we know what they want.”
“The Bell.”
“I say we go and destroy the thing before it hurts anyone. Then, we set a trap for them. In the confusion, we’ll grab your friend and run for it.”
“How the hell are we going to do that? I thought you said we didn’t stand a chance against them.”
“We don’t. But we can’t stage an effective fight here. If I know Jack, he’s itching to find us. We might as well make sure that when he does, the advantage is ours. Because the instant he sees us, he won’t let up until he’s dead…or we are.
Chapter 53
Doubt wrapped its icy fingers around my heart as I darted through the passageway. I didn’t like leaving Diane behind. It felt wrong.
Completely, utterly wrong.
You’re doing the right thing.
I repeated that mantra over and over again in my head. Part of me knew Beverly was right. We didn’t stand a chance in a fair fight. We needed to regroup at the Omega and destroy the Bell. Then we could marshal our resources and strike at our enemies in an unconventional fashion.
But no matter how many times I tried to convince myself we were doing the right thing, it didn’t help. I still felt guilty.
Guilty as hell.
As I rounded the corner, I squinted. To find the Omega, we first needed to find Cartwright. Unfortunately, he had a lead on us. Even worse, we didn’t know how to navigate the maze of passages.
To make matters worse, once we caught up with him, there was no assurance he’d take us to the Omega. In many ways, that task seemed even more daunting than the first one.
