by Cathy Pegau
He hung up the mic and stared out the window. Thompkins mumbled in the back.
The dim glow of warning lights from a sealed tunnel seemed to pop out of the dust directly in front of them. Natalia hit the brakes, jerking everyone forward. Thompkins cursed. That had to be a good sign.
“You okay?” Conners asked.
Natalia nodded. It was just a little shake. Nothing to worry about. No harm. They were on their way out.
She wiped sweat from her forehead and peered out the side window, down at the abandoned shaft. Only half the security web was lit, yet there was no sign of debris in the area. Just dust. That was odd. Would a rock fall or shift of the substrate have damaged only the bottom half of the array?
She put the Beast into gear and drove her crew to the surface.
* * *
Gennie stood near the open office door, listening to the silent radio as she watched the gaping maw of Tunnel Four. The rest of the day crew milled about at the foot of the stairs with the swing shift. No one was going in or going home until Natalia and the others were safely at the surface. Conversation was quiet. Three minor aftershocks had trembled beneath them, but nothing for the last half hour. The other tunnels had experienced about the same level of injury and damage. Work would resume as soon as inspections showed all was well.
Mac and the emergency lorry waited closer to the opening. The way Natalia had spoken, it hadn’t sounded like she was the injured party. And when the red hat had answered Mac’s last call, the kid seemed relaxed. That told her there was probably nothing to worry about. Probably.
“Here they come,” Mac called out.
Both crews cheered and made their way to the tunnel.
Gennie’s heart beat hard and she sagged against the door frame. Lights bobbed around the opening. The growl of the hauler reached her. She smiled at one of the best sounds she’d heard in a long while.
The nose of the Beast emerged, stopping short of the bin access due to the emergency lorry. The vehicle seemed to sigh as Natalia shut it down. She pushed the door open and dropped to the ground. The crews stayed back. Natalia directed the emergency personnel to the injured man in the back of the cab. She and Mac exchanged a few words.
From where she stood, Gennie couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Natalia’s keracite-grimed face. After several minutes, Mac slapped her on the shoulder and waved her toward the office. Natalia looked over and, even from where she stood, so far away, Gennie felt their connection.
The crew parted to let Natalia make her way toward the office. Toward Gennie. Natalia spoke to one or two of them, but her gaze stayed fixed. Gennie met her at the bottom of the stairs. Many of the day crew veered off to head home or to The Hole now that everyone was out and safe.
Natalia swept her hat off and tucked it under her arm. Ore dust made her blue eyes appear brighter and her smile more brilliant. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Call next time, yeah?” Gennie kept the light tone, but the knot in her stomach didn’t loosen much. It wasn’t a knot of worry, with Natalia standing right there.
Natalia took her hand and squeezed. A tingle danced up Gennie’s arm and her breath caught. Natalia released her. “I will. Let’s go. I’m starving.”
They turned toward the blue dorm.
“Just friends, my ass,” Celine, the conveyor operator, called from behind them.
* * *
Natalia returned from the shower with a towel around her neck, carrying her dirty clothes in one hand and her toiletries in the other. She dropped the garments by the door, ready for the cleaner. Gennie watched her retreat into the bedroom, appreciating the view of her long legs. Natalia returned moments later and joined her on the couch.
Before she’d headed to the shower, Natalia had asked Gennie if she’d please make some tea. Gennie had, thinking maybe she was getting Natalia addicted to the brew. Two cups waited on the table. Something was on the woman’s mind. Probably not the same thing that was on Gennie’s.
Enough.
Taking heed of that inner voice, Gennie crossed her legs. She picked up her cup and rested it on her knee. “How are you feeling?”
Natalia settled back, most of the expanse of the couch’s two cushions between them. “Fine. Tired, but fine. Thompkins had the worst of it.”
“But he’ll be all right.”
Natalia sipped then nodded. “Yeah. Concussion. He’ll be out a day or two then back on the job quick enough.”
Gennie watched her face as she spoke. There were little white strain lines by her mouth and she didn’t meet Gennie’s eyes. “What is it?”
Had the earthquake bothered her more than she let on? It wouldn’t surprise Gennie in the least, considering her parents’ deaths.
“I saw something down there that’s niggling at my brain,” she said.
Gennie kept silent, letting the CMA agent work out what was bothering her.
“One of the sealed shafts had only half its security array working.” She explained how the web of beams was supposed to act as a system to alert the shift boss of anyone entering abandoned—and potentially dangerous—tunnels.
“Was it damaged in the shaker?”
Natalia shook her head. “Not that I could tell. There was no debris. And it wasn’t the only one along that stretch.”
Gennie rose and retrieved the data stick she’d copied at the office. She picked up her comm from the counter and plugged in the stick. There. Tunnel Four was next on the rotation for whatever the mystery pirqs were doing.
She handed to comm to Natalia.
The CMA agent flicked through the data, her brow creasing. “When did you notice this?”
Gennie sat beside her. “Not until today. By the time it finished sorting, I was a bit preoccupied wondering if you were alive or not.”
Natalia’s head jerked up. Their eyes locked. “You were worried?”
Gennie tilted her head. “Of course I was. Why shouldn’t I be?”
Natalia smiled and turned her attention back to the comm. The smile faded. “Our extra crew is working in Tunnel Two, shaft A242. They’ll be at Tunnel Four next week, doing sensor array repairs.”
Gennie leaned closer, craning her neck to see the comm screen. Natalia’s spicy scent filled her. “They were doing sensor repair in Three the week before.”
Natalia scrolled through the data. “Seems like sensor arrays are out every two or three weeks.”
“So they’re a repair crew.” That sounded legitimate to Gennie. Except how could sensors go out on such a regular schedule?
“Doubtful.” Natalia set the comm on the table and picked up her tea. “I’m going to check out Tunnel Two tomorrow night.”
Gennie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, unable to believe she was about to say what she was about to say. She had to get it out, though, before she thought about it too much. “I’ll go with you.”
Surprise flickered across Natalia’s face then her brow furrowed. “No.”
Gennie couldn’t say which was running stronger, the relief that Natalia didn’t want her in the void or the way the order made her hackles rise. “You can’t go wandering around in there without backup. That’s why I’m here, remember?”
Natalia’s jaw muscles worked as if she were chewing a lump of keracite. “I can’t afford to have you panic on me. It could kill us both.”
“I won’t panic,” Gennie said sharply. Maybe challenging Natalia would help her overcome the fear. The color on Natalia’s cheeks deepened, as did her frown. “I have meds I can take. Besides, I’d just follow you anyway.”
Natalia attempted to stare her down, but Gennie stared right back. If she wanted a battle of wills, Gennie was ready for it. Hell, she’d made cage fighters cower with a glare when she was with Simon.
Though, what
had possessed her to say she wanted to go? Pride? Bravado? No, Gennie realized. She wanted to be there for Natalia, just like Natalia had been there for her. Even when she didn’t know why, exactly, she was helping Gennie.
“Fine,” Natalia said with a sigh of resignation, “but if you lose it, I will knock you out.”
“Understood.” Gennie knew Natalia wasn’t joking, but she smiled all the same. “I guess payback can be a bitch.”
Chapter Twelve
Natalia felt Gennie at her back, heard the increase of her breathing as they hid in the shadows of a loader at Tunnel Two. There weren’t many places to hide in the brightly lit site, but at nearly twenty-six hundred, no one was around. The crew was in the void, and the shift boss was in the office, not likely to stir unless there was a problem in the tunnels. Natalia was hoping to avoid any such thing. All they had to do was get to shaft A242 four klicks inside and get back out without being caught.
Gennie swallowed hard.
“You don’t have to go in,” Natalia whispered. “In fact, it may be better if you stay out here, in case something goes wrong.”
“No.”
Natalia turned around. There was enough light to see that Gennie had gone pale, to see the glitter of fear in her eyes. “Gennie...”
Her eyes narrowed and she straightened her shoulders. Fear was pushed aside by determination. “We’ve discussed this.”
Natalia wanted to argue, but there wasn’t time. Gennie had said she’d follow her in, and Natalia believed her. She had to give the woman credit, though whether for bravery or sheer stubbornness would be decided later.
Whatever her motivation, Natalia had to accept her decision. It would be helpful to have her in the tunnel, to have an extra pair of eyes and ears, but what if she panicked?
They kept to the shadows as she led Gennie toward the mouth of the tunnel. Once they reached the ramp, there would be no way to avoid being bathed in bright light. Speed would have to suffice. At the last refuge of darkness, she kept her voice low. “No sense in trying to hide. Just run as fast as you can to get into the tunnel.”
She took another look around the site and held up three fingers. Two. One.
Natalia burst out of the shadow of the bin, her boots thumping loud, her heart louder as adrenaline kicked in. Behind her, Gennie ran hard. She passed Natalia on the ramp and disappeared into the darkness. Natalia followed a second later. The ambient light from the outside showed Gennie leaning against the rough wall, controlling her breathing to reduce the sound. They stood close enough that she felt Gennie’s body heat.
“Damn, you’re fast,” Natalia whispered.
“Go fast or go home,” Gennie replied, a smile barely visible in the dim light.
Natalia smiled back. “Let’s get this done then we can both go home.”
She slid her pulser out of the holster at the small of her back. Most pirqs didn’t carry energy weapons due to the risk of a spark. If they carried anything at all it was a standard projectile weapon or a needler or a knife. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use her pulser, for safety’s sake, but felt better having it in hand.
A glance confirmed Gennie thought the same thing. Her pulser was smaller, compact but undoubtedly deadly. If they ended up shooting anyone, there would be some explaining to do.
“Once we pass the tunnel leading to the elevator, it’ll be dark except for the warning lights on the closed tunnels. Use your comm and keep the beam at your feet.” Natalia studied Gennie’s face and body as best she could in the poor light. This was her last chance to bail out. She saw nothing that indicated Gennie would give up now. Not a surprise. “You gonna be okay?”
“Took the meds. I’m fine.” Gennie fished her comm out of her inside jacket pocket and tapped the end several times until the light dimmed to a still-useful level.
Natalia did the same, holding her comm in her left hand and her pulser in her right. “Let’s go.”
Their boots crunched on the ground rock and keracite dust. As long as they kept a slower pace, their footsteps shouldn’t give them away, and they should see anyone coming toward them before being seen themselves. Should. Natalia wasn’t keen on “shoulds” but had little choice.
The half jog, along with the circle of light at her feet, gave Natalia the surreal sensation of floating down the tunnel. The nothingness beyond the glow of their lights likely contained just that—nothing. Or it could be hiding a sharp corner of rock. Or a miner determined to conceal what was happening at Grand Meridian by any means necessary. What would they find in Tunnel Two?
She dabbed sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of the arm holding the pulser. It was growing warmer the deeper they went. At the pace set, they’d reach the shaft in about half an hour. That would be after the meal break was over and miners were back in full swing. Though whatever was going on in A242 might not follow the same schedule. The closer they came to their target, the more vigilant they’d need to be.
Using their comm lights to guide them, Natalia and Gennie silently navigated the pitch-black tunnel. Silent, other than Gennie’s occasional deep breath. Natalia was tempted to stop and take her back but couldn’t. Turning around now would waste precious time and, more than likely, torque Gennie. Not that she had a problem upsetting the woman if it meant completing the investigation, but they couldn’t afford an argument here.
A tug on her jacket brought Natalia to a stop. Damn it, was Gennie about to panic on her? Had her meds worn off already?
Warm breath brushed her ear. “I hear something,” Gennie whispered.
They stood still, barely breathing. The drip-drip-drip of condensation onto rock. Beneath that, a low rumble echoed along the walls. The shifting gears of a loader.
Natalia found Gennie’s hand on her jacket and gave it a squeeze. “Well done. Okay, we’re close. Have a care.”
They continued onward, their pace slowed to a walk. The growl of machinery grew louder. According to records, there was no digging going on in these tunnels. All were played out, sealed or off-limits. The closest working shaft was another two klicks deeper into the mountain. A glitch in the sensors would require hardware and tech replacement, not heavy equipment.
The warning lights of the supposedly closed tunnel came into view, pulsing like a heartbeat. Incoherent voices joined the sound of loaders coming from within. No movement around the mouth.
Natalia and Gennie stopped at the opening. Natalia examined the alarm web. Red beams criss-crossed at the top of the mouth, as expected. The sensors from just over her head to the ground were off, like the soon-to-be “fixed” sensors in Tunnel Four. The supposed glitch that kept cropping up.
If ore was being mined, why would the crew need to return every three weeks? Why not stay in one shaft until it was played out then move on to the next? And why keep it a secret?
Natalia had no idea, but she damn well would find out.
“I’m going inside,” she whispered into Gennie’s ear. “Stay here.”
In the bloodred light, Gennie frowned and shook her head. “You need backup in there more than out here.”
Natalia suppressed a sigh. She had a feeling Gennie wouldn’t agree to being left alone in the dark. “Fine. Stay close and stay quiet.”
Weapons out, they slipped around the mouth of the tunnel and into the shaft.
Roughly ten meters in, the glow of light leaked around a bend. The rumble of machinery changed from active engine to idle. Natalia stopped a few meters from the corner and switched off her comm light. Gennie did the same.
Done with the loader for now, but not done for the night?
The murmur of voices, like a distant stream, remained at the same volume. Were the miners right around the corner or farther in? Hard to say with the weird acoustics of the tunnels. They didn’t sound close, but the distortion of echoes made it difficult to
judge.
Natalia faced Gennie and held up a hand, palm out. Wait here, she mouthed.
Gennie frowned again, appearing more concerned than stressed about being left behind. Whatever she was on, it was working, thank goodness. Gennie glanced over her shoulder then back at Natalia and nodded.
Natalia crept along the rock wall. Behind her, Gennie was a vague outline, a dark form against a darker background. Satisfied no one would see Gennie and that she wasn’t following, Natalia crouched down and peered around the corner. From that angle, she saw no one, detected no movement despite the auditory illusion of men and machinery close by. She crept farther along the wall.
What she saw shouldn’t have startled her but did.
A dozen blue barrels, like the ones described on the inventory list, were lined along one side of the shaft. Several were close enough for her to see they were sealed, their electronic locks glowing a faint green to indicate whatever was inside was safely contained. The rest, unlocked and, presumably, not filled. The barrels themselves had no distinguishing marks, and Natalia couldn’t tell if the lids held any indication of contents or other information. She’d bet not. It would be smart to hold off applying shipping details until later.
What was in the barrels?
Only one way to find out.
Natalia rose and stepped forward. Behind her, Gennie didn’t call out, but Natalia heard her hiss of frustration. She held up her hand to keep Gennie back then leaned out as far as she dared to see the rest of the section. No one around. If she could make it to the first barrel, no one coming from the other direction would see her.
Natalia bent over and hurried to the nearest container. She could only imagine how torqued Gennie was and would surely hear about it when they got back to the surface. But she wasn’t concerned about soothing the other woman right now. She had to find out what was in these barrels.
Natalia searched for any indication of contents. Nothing. When she inhaled, the air seemed thicker, heavy with moisture. An underground water source nearby? That could explain why the tunnel was never blasted closed, if whatever was in the barrels wasn’t enough of a reason. Blowing out an aquifer could flood tunnels.
