Submerged (15 page)

“Growing impatient, Mr. Sachs?”

“I was born impatient, and I don’t see any
reason to change now. Where is the light coming from? When did the
U.S. build this?”

“I don’t know, and we didn’t,” Sanders said
without missing a step. “The light just is.”

Henry had been looking for lightbulbs and
panels, but he found none. He searched for electrical conduit like
the kind he had seen in underground bases he had helped construct
in California, South Dakota, and other states. There were none. And
if there were no metal conduits attached to the walls or ceiling—a
difficult distinction to make since everything was curved except
the stairs—then they must be hidden behind the stone surface or the
treads beneath their feet.

“I have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering,”
Zeisler groused, “and I’m pretty sure light has to have an
origin.”

“If you can find it, Dr. Zeisler, I’d like to
hear about it,” Sanders said.

“What did you mean when you said we didn’t
build it?” It was Grant. He sounded winded. “We all know that the
government has built underground bases.”

“That’s true.” Sanders stopped and turned,
perhaps to give everyone a short break. Henry didn’t mind. Grant
seemed relieved. “We have underground bases to store ammunition, to
provide refuge for our country’s leaders, and a place to continue
government. Of course, there are underground missile silos like
those in South Dakota and Wyoming, to name just a few. Then there’s
NORAD in Colorado. That became operational in 1966 and took 142
million dollars. That’s 1966 dollars. It would take a lot more 1974
dollars to make that happen. It’s a work of art.” He paused and
looked at Henry, then the others. “We didn’t build this tunnel,
folks. Nor did we build what you are about to see, and when you see
it, you’ll know why we’re concerned.”

“If you didn’t build it,” Cynthia asked,
“then who did?”

“That is what you’re here to find out.”

“Maybe a different department in the
government put it together,” Zeisler said. “You government types
like to have secret groups. Maybe a group you’re unaware of did the
work.”

“You will just have to trust me on this, Dr.
Zeisler. None of our people did this.”

“Soviets?” Grant suggested.

“That’s our fear,” Sanders said. “If it was
the Russians, then we have a real problem. How could they build a
base under our soil, under our noses, without us knowing about
it?”

Henry eyed Sanders. The man’s face was drawn;
for the first time he showed concern. “You don’t think it’s the
Soviets, do you?”

“You won’t either. And it’s not the Russians
or the Chinese or any group we worry about. Come on, I’ll show
you.”

Chapter15

Carl struggled to
temper his breathing
. He had run from his place on the
opposite side of the lake to a hidden position ten yards from the
black-clad men who held Janet captive.

He took a slow breath, held it, then let it
slip from his lips. His lungs wanted more, demanded more, but he
forced himself to be patient despite the burning in his chest. His
hands shook with anger, but his mind refused to release its
control. Cops got in trouble when they acted on their emotions
instead of their training. Of course, he had never been trained for
this kind of situation.

Janet lay facedown on the dirt road. Carl
could see bits of grass and pine needles in her hair. Janet was as
brave as anyone he had ever met, and she looked terrified. Lloyd
held Janet’s 9 mm at her head. He was saying something, but Carl
couldn’t make it out.

Weighing his options made him sick. He was
one man with a 9 mm pistol in his hand. In front of him were four
men with automatic weapons. Even if Carl started firing at the men,
he might injure one or two, but the amount of bullets coming his
way would be impossible to dodge. It was a stupid idea and might
endanger Janet. What he needed was backup, and he had no way of
calling for it. Helplessness was a new feeling for Carl . . . one
he didn’t like.

Should he bluff his way out, marching from
his position, gun raised? Should he wait to see what happened next?
Maybe they would let her go like they did before, but he doubted
it. He wondered how long it would be before someone found his
body.

“Hey, can you tell me where to find a
Starbucks?”

Carl snapped his attention to his right. On
the road was a tall, thin man with light brown hair. “I think I may
have made a wrong turn and . . . Oh, I can see that I’m
interrupting. I’ll just go back the way I came.” The man turned and
ran.

“What the—” Carl whispered to himself.

Lloyd stood and pointed at two of his men.
They sprinted after the stranger, their guns close to their chests.
Carl was torn. He wanted to follow to see what was happening over
the rise, but he couldn’t leave Janet. Minutes passed, but the men
didn’t return, nor had there been any gunfire. He watched Lloyd,
who was becoming agitated. The “colonel” walked to the Humvee and
removed a radio. He had his back to Carl, so he couldn’t hear. Carl
moved closer, hiding behind another tree.

“Mount up!” Lloyd commanded. He was loud
enough that Carl had heard him perfectly.

“What about her?”

“Cuff her to her car. Double-time. I’m not
getting a response on the radio.”

Carl watched as Janet was jerked to her feet
and led to the rear passenger door of the four-door vehicle. Her
captor opened the door and lowered the window. Lloyd joined him and
helped cuff Janet to the door frame.

“You’re with me.” Lloyd started for the
Humvee. He tossed Janet’s weapon in the rear seat and slipped
behind the wheel. His man joined him in the front seat. Seconds
later the big vehicle came to life. Lloyd backed it up in a
three-point turn and headed over the rise.

Carl didn’t wait. He had no idea how much
time he had or who the tall, brown-haired man was, but he wasn’t
going to waste time thinking about it. He sprinted to Janet.

“Carl!”

“Keep your voice down. Are you okay?”

“No. I’m handcuffed to my patrol car.”

“Yeah, I didn’t much like it, either. Did
they leave the key?”

“No, but I keep a spare in the holder.”

“Turn around.” Carl looked at Janet’s utility
belt. Like many officers, she carried more than one pair of
handcuffs. He opened the leather holder, removed the metal cuffs,
and fished out the spare key. A second later, Janet was free.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Carl snapped as he
went to the back of the SUV, opened the rear door, and removed the
twelve-gauge shotgun from its rack.

“Neither should you. I was sent looking for
you.”

“Whitaker sent you up here after what
happened to us?”

“Well, not directly. I was just supposed to
make sure you weren’t doing something stupid, which you are.”

“Get in.” He fast-stepped to the passenger
side of the SUV. “You’re driving.”

“Where to?”

“That guy on the road is going to need help.
If they don’t show a uniformed deputy any respect, they aren’t
going to go easy on some civilian.”

Janet started the SUV and turned it around.
“We’re still outgunned.”

“I know. I don’t know what else to do. I
can’t leave the guy on his own. I couldn’t live with myself if he
wound up dead.”

“You were always the responsible one.” She
gunned the engine.

Carl turned off the light bar. “No need to
announce our coming. Slow down. We don’t know what we’re facing.”
He snatched up the radio microphone and tried to reach dispatch,
certain it was a wasted effort. He was right. The valley boxed in
the signal. There would be no backup.

They crested the rise, and Janet hit the
brakes, uncertain what to make of the scene before her.

Perry heard the sound of the coming SUV, its
wheels crushing the small stones of the dirt road. He tensed, then
relaxed when he saw the sheriff’s cruiser top the rise and start
down. It came to an abrupt stop. That puzzled him for a moment
until he realized the curious scene he and the others must present.
He gazed at the patrol car and saw two people where he had expected
one. He knew the woman sheriff’s deputy should be there, but he
didn’t know who the other person was. The Ford SUV crept
forward.

Perry took the two steps necessary to ask the
leader of the four men a question. Three of those men now sat in
the middle of the road, their backs to each other, their legs
straight in front of them. Making sure they remained where they
were, Gleason held on them one of the armed men’s automatic
weapons. It was the sole weapon still loaded and capable of being
fired. The M16s and sidearms had been stripped of their clips. The
one man not seated was facedown on the ground with Jack sitting on
him. He was not happy.

“Tell this gorilla to get off my back!” the
man demanded as Perry crouched next to him.

“Easy now. Jack is a sensitive soul and
name-calling hurts his feelings. Isn’t that right, Jack?”

Jack nodded. “I feel a tear coming right
now.”

The man struggled, but he had a better chance
of moving the ground beneath him than the man above him.

“There’s a man with the deputy,” Perry said.
“Is he one of yours?”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

“I don’t think he got his nap today,” Jack
said.

“Let me up, we’ll see who takes a nap,” the
man threatened.

“You had your chance, pal,” Jack
retorted.

Perry rose. “Be alert, Jack. We’ve got
another unknown.” Perry glanced over his shoulder and noted that
Gleason had positioned himself so he could see the deputy’s car.
Perry nodded, then looked in the Hummer. Dr. Zeisler looked back,
showing no fear. In fact, he seemed entertained.

The driver’s door and the passenger door of
the patrol vehicle opened. The woman deputy looked confused but not
frightened. Her uniform was askew and dirty.

Perry scanned the passenger and saw that he
carried a shotgun. Perry tensed but moved toward the two. “We meet
again, Deputy. Is he with you?”

She glanced to her right. “Yes. He’s my
partner—off duty—you’re the guy I talked to on the road. The cell
phone guy.” She looked at the Hummer. “I remember the vehicle.”

“That’s me, the cell phone guy. My name is
Perry Sachs, but most people call me Perry.”

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr. Sachs. I’m
Deputy Janet Novak, and this is Deputy Carl Subick.” They shook
hands. “How did you . . . I mean . . .” She motioned to the men who
had held her captive.

Perry turned. “We weren’t that far behind
you, and when you turned up the same road we planned to travel, I
got curious. When you turned on your emergency lights, I thought
you might need some help. After all, you were alone.”

“Alone and a woman.” Janet’s words were
tainted with defensiveness.

Perry frowned. “Don’t pin that on me. I’ve
known some pretty tough women. My days of male chauvinism are over.
It wasn’t your gender; it was your number. One cop all alone in the
mountains.” He turned and started toward the others. Janet and Carl
followed. “We stopped where you see the Hummer. I walked on ahead.
By the time I crested the rise, I could see you were in trouble. I
came back for help.”

“And the man who appeared, then ran away?”
Carl asked.

“My friend Gleason Lane. He can run faster
than Jack and I can.”

“Jack?” Janet said.

“The big guy entertaining one of our
guests.”

“But . . . how?” Janet pressed.

“Jack and I hid in the woods. Since they had
you on the ground, I guessed that they would send two, maybe three
of the four after Gleason. I was hoping for two. Gleason led them
into the woods where we were waiting. We came to an agreement.”

“You waylaid them,” Janet said.

Perry smiled. “Jack can be very convincing.
Do you mind if I ask what all this is about?”

“We had a run-in with these guys yesterday,”
Carl said. Perry could hear the bitterness in his voice. “Hey,
Janet, let me have one of your cuffs.” She did, and Carl handed the
shotgun to her, then walked to the man on the ground. A few moments
later, the man was cuffed, and Jack was on his feet.

“Well, if it isn’t Colonel Lloyd,” Carl said
with a sneer. “We meet again. And isn’t this funny? This time
you’re
the one in stainless steel jewelry.
I think I like it this way better.”

“This guy is a colonel?” Perry asked.

“When I pressed him for a name yesterday, he
said it was Colonel Lloyd. I’m pretty sure that’s a fake.”

“Because the reservoir is called Lake
Lloyd.”

“How did you know that?” Carl said. “It
hasn’t been called that in a long time.”

“I read a lot,” Perry explained.

“Let’s cuff the rest of them,” Carl said.

Janet returned to the police vehicle, stowed
the shotgun, and then returned with a leather case. She removed
several bright yellow nylon bands.

Carl pulled his pistol from its holster and
pointed it at one of the men seated on the ground. “You, on your
stomach, hands behind your back. Do it now.” The man complied. “You
want the honors?” Carl asked Janet.

“Oh, yeah.”

They followed the routine until all the men
were cuffed.

Gleason seemed glad to hand over the M16 to
Carl. “I hate guns.”

“You looked comfortable enough to me,” Carl
said.

“I’m a great actor.”

Carl and Janet searched the men. None carried
identification. They asked each one for a name. None responded.

“What do you plan to do next?” Perry
asked.

“He plans to release them to me,” a stern
voice commanded.

Perry turned to see a man with short, red
brown hair walking down the path. He wore a desert-tone BDU.