Granowski stopped in front of a plain, steel door. The room was simply labeled with a number next to the doorframe. He held a plastic key card in front of a sensor; there was a soft, short beep and he entered a number in the keypad on the wall left of the door.
“Double security?” Jack asked.
“You get five seconds to enter your number once you’ve scanned your card.” Granowski pushed on the door. “Follow me.”
Jack and Ross followed him into the room.
Faint lighting lit work areas where it was needed. There were groups of people in twos and threes focused on the task at hand. Nobody looked up when they entered. Sure Thing and Squeaky were already working with people in the room.
Granowski led Jack and Ross over to a bank of monitors. “We’ll be able to monitor the teams and what’s going on from here. The teams will be in place shortly.” He pointed up at the monitors to the left that showed video feeds from outside of the building. “The police are blocking off the streets around the Fed. Nobody will be driving past until we’re clear to what’s going on.” They could see the flashing lights from the patrol cars and the absence of traffic on Hennepin Avenue.
“What do you think happened?” Jack asked.
“There was some sort of underground explosion. It was big.”
“We felt something,” Jack said.
Granowski nodded. “Our sensors picked it up immediately and set off our alarms. There are a series of old tunnels under the city and sometimes the tunnel rats set off our alarms.”
“Rats?” Jack asked.
“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.”
Jack looked at Ross. “Guess we didn’t need to hurry down here.”
The rain continued to fall on Jack and Ross as they stood outside the entrance. Water dripped off of their noses and chins. Their wet hair stuck to their heads and blades of grass clung to Jack’s legs from his fall.
“Can we come in out of the rain?” Ross asked.
The guard stepped over a half step and made room for Jack and Ross to enter. “Sure, just be careful of the wires and equipment.” He motioned to the box and black cables that ran along the ground into the tunnel to maintain contact with the teams inside.
“Thanks. We’re drenched.” Ross stepped forward and squeezed past the guard.
Jack stood in the rain, not moving inside to the protection from the weather.
“Come on in, Jack. It’s not raining in here.”
Jack stepped forward enough to get a little protection and turned around to look back outside the cave. “I’m fine here. It’ll be crowded in there and they’ll be bringing the prisoner out soon.”
Ross tried again. “Come on, Jack. He said it would be ten minutes. No reason to keep getting wet.”
“I’m fine, Junior,” Jack replied back over his shoulder.
“Jack, you claustrophobic?”
Jack didn’t reply.
“I’m fine where I’m at, Junior.” Jack turned and looked into the cave. “We didn’t introduce ourselves,” he said to the guard. “I’m Jack and he’s Ross. Agents Miller and Fruen.”
“I’m Alex,” the guard answered with a nod of his head. He turned back towards Ross. “Officer Butler.” Then he returned his gaze to Jack and whispered, “I don’t like the tunnels either. That’s why I’m guarding the entrance.”
Lightning flashed across the sky, followed almost immediately by claps of thunder. Jack jumped and looked back into the cave. The rain refreshed its intensity, pouring out of the sky, splashing on the saturated grass. Alex took a half step back into the cave to get out of the rain, but kept facing outside.
“Jack, come on!” Ross yelled from inside the entrance. His voice was muffled, echoing off of the concrete walls, and was almost drowned out by the rain splashing on the ground. “Get in here before you get hit by lightning.”
“Alex, how much longer?” Jack asked, ignoring Ross.
“They’ll be out soon.”