MuTerra-kindle (9 page)

―

The following morning Keith sat in his office looking over the files of the five men he had decided on the previous night. Wallace and Camarillo sat in the outer office with those men. Keith waved his hand to let Cam know he was to show the first man in. The first four were all middle-aged men who had civil criminal justice experience. For what they were going to do while inside, he thought they were the best men for the job. Like his father, Keith thought the best solution to a problem was to put the proverbial round peg into the round hole. All four seemed competent enough and that settled his first order of business. The last man was something different. When Keith read his file, he wondered if it would have made more sense to let him run this operation. He was a former F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Arizona office with fifteen years of experience.

Keith thought there might be some animosity between them once he learned that his new chief’s claim to fame was being his father’s son, so he decided to feel him out to see if he might want some kind of reassignment. Keith gestured for him to be shown in. He stood behind the desk and offered his hand as he approached, “Nice to meet you Trent, my name’s Keith.” As the two men shook hands, Keith first noticed his eyes. There was a smile on his face, but that did nothing to hide the coldness of those eyes. Keith had taken other lives in the line of duty, and he knew the look of those who took pleasure in it. He was looking at one such person now.

“My pleasure,” Trent Gibbs said as they both took their seats.

 When anyone was able to focus on him without being repelled by those eyes, they noticed a very ordinary man. He was of medium build and average height with no other distinguishable features including his brown hair and brown eyes. There was an aura of confidence around him, however, and those who had worked with him, knew that aura was grounded by achievement.

“I’m not one to mince words so I’ll get to the point. Looking at your experience, you are much more suited to this position than I am. But, it’s been entrusted to me and I intend to do the job. That being said, would it pose a problem working under me?”

“Not at all,” Gibbs answered instantly.

“Why not,” challenged Keith.

While there was no mirth evident in his eyes, there was an expression of either amusement or respect or both emanating from the former fed in response to the question. After a moment, he replied. “I don’t think we will be here, underground, forever. I believe, sooner than later, we will make our way outside. Things will be different. What I once was is no more. What you once were will probably be again. I am content to wait and do whatever is necessary until that time comes. It may be that I will inherit what you are doing now, or that I will be given a chance to do something similar outside. I do not see us as competing for anything.”

Keith thought about that. It made sense and there was really no glamour or perks relative to either man’s job. It truly was a completely different environment. He could see now what his father was accomplishing with discarding military uniforms and rank. People were not being paid; they could only draw rations and equipment. Incentives were collective not personal.

“Okay. I already have my shift commanders. What I had in mind for you was to handle all investigations; anything assigned to me by my superiors, as well as anything that presents itself over time. Until such work is necessary, you will assist in training rudimentary investigation and interrogation techniques. What do you think?”

“I’d like that.”

“Your office is two doors down. All reports come directly to me. You are separate from the shift commanders and they will be told that. You can have two men to assist you. When you know who you want, let me know.”

“There is one man, a former agent of mine actually, who I would like.”

“His name,” Keith asked as he picked up a pen.

“Culver, Ryan Culver.”

Keith wrote the name on a pad of paper, “You got him. Whenever you have another name for me, give it to Wallace. That’s the big man outside the door. He’s my assistant,” he said getting to his feet.

They shook hands once more as the man left his office. He signaled for Wallace to enter. “He took the job. I don’t think he’s going to be a problem, but you let me know if he gives you or anyone else a hard time.”

“Don’t worry about me boss, I’ve dealt with stranger cats than him,” Wallace said.

FOUR

Shortly after Terri left their apartment, Keith decided to
explore as much of the complex as he could. Terri had adjusted well by keeping busy with her work. She was excited by the prospect of getting her doctoral degree in a few more years and was focusing her time and efforts to accomplish that. That was fine with Keith. Their relationship was back to normal, considering what they had gone through, and he was engaged in his own activities.

Everyone in the mountain was required to pursue educational courses. If they already had a degree in one discipline, they had to take up another. It was reasoned that if someone had special skills in one area, then they would be much more beneficial to their fellow survivors with two or more. It was a productive way to use their time anyway. There were no days off, and people who were pursuing a degree could trade working hours with educational hours. Once they completed a degree from their educational center, there was no further obligation to pursue another. If someone wanted to obtain multiple degrees, it was their choice. The extensive computer network that they had facilitated study of any curriculum one desired. It was the culmination of more than a century’s worth of education collected from library and university databases throughout the world. All of the world’s literary classics, and educational
disciplines, were available at the stroke of a few keys.

The only time people were excused from work was due to injury. There was no allowance for time off due to illness because no one ever showed signs of being sick.
Some reasoned that the series of inoculations they all received was responsible for this. Others said germs did not live underground, and yet others claimed that their food was enhanced with vitamins and minerals, which kept diseases in check. It was all a conspiracy to keep them working they joked.

They had their very own radio station. It was integrated into the computer system as well as broadcast through their internal communications terminals. They broadcasted three different programs featuring a variety of musical programming. There were TV monitors in the majority of workstations offering a limited in-house video stream. At several predetermined times of day, news was scheduled. This ranged from changes in work assignments, to educational opportunities, and even the occasional crime, mostly involving petty theft. If it was not taped, a news presenter would from time to time offer the latest weather report which was enough to lighten the mood no matter where they were, and what they were doing.  

Keith stepped onto an elevator, slid his card through the magnetic reader, and selected the bottom floor. He rode in silence as he descended alone ten stories below his living quarters, watching the numbered floors count down as he went. When he reached bottom, the door opened and he stepped into the sweltering heat. He appreciated the air handling systems regulating the floors above. There were no computers here so it did not warrant similar regulation. The walls were solid rock, and the floor was compressed stone and dirt. Emergency lights could be seen down the individual corridors. Most of their equipment ran on compressed air, but the smell of natural gas was also present. He looked around to get his bearings, and headed toward an office located in the nearest tunnel.

“Hey Chief,” a stocky man in glasses said. “Is there something we can help you with?”

“I just wanted to take a look around, if it isn’t a bad time.”

“Sure. Give me a minute
and I’ll take you myself. I need to get out of here for a while anyway,” he said indicating his office. After the engineer finished with what he was doing, he grabbed two helmets from a shelf along the wall, and handed one to Keith. Once he was ready, they left the office.

“This tunnel,” he said leading the way, “is being excavated for minerals. The men in their white coats upstairs put in requests all the time. We need several pounds of this; we need a hundred pounds of that, as if we just keep everything on a shelf down here made to order.”

Keith looked at the man and smiled. He was not speaking for entertainment purposes, but matter-of-factly. When they reached a junction, they turned to the left.

“This was one area where we discovered pockets of natural gas. We use a lot more caution here as we tap and capture as much as we can. It is piped throughout the complex. Even with geothermal energy, we can’t pass up the chance to tap into other resources. I think they are actually running a pipeline to the top, the top, top, for when we get outside.”

Keith was amazed at the size of the tunnels. It was a major operation. After what seemed like another mile of walking, they came into an open cavern. At the far end was a tubular shaped machine with half a dozen men surrounding it. They walked up.

“You gonna’ be runnin’ anytime soon,” he asked the man who appeared to be in charge.

“Just about to fire it up,” the man replied.

“Let’s stand over there and you can see this thing in action.”

“What’s it called,” Keith asked.

“It’s a TBM, tunnel boring machine.”

Keith nodded his head signaling his understanding. It was massive;
at least thirty feet tall,
he estimated. When the machine was starting up, the others walked to where they were standing. It was a sight to see for Keith, business as usual to the others. After a few minutes, his stocky escort indicated they should be on their way. When the noise diminished to the point that they could resume normal conversation, they continued on their tour. Keith was shown where they tapped into the aquifer providing them with water, and even how the geothermal power was generated.

When they returned to the office, Keith shook the man’s hand and thanked him for his time. It had been quite an educational and interesting experience. “No problem,” the man said, “we don’t get many visitors down here; in fact, hardly any at all.”

―

The next level he went to was the quartermaster or storage facility. It too was enormous in size. It looked like the same boring machine had gone through here at one time. These corridors however, were separated by steel link barriers with a door in each section. Pallet stacked upon pallet could be seen through the chain links. Few people were observable behind those transparent walls. He walked to the nearest one and examined the contents. There were canned goods, dried foods, lights, mechanical parts, and batteries; anything and everything imaginable. He saw more barriers beyond this one, and turned to see that the other corridors were all arranged the same way. Nobody noticed him as they all continued about their business and he returned to the elevator.

After he ascended a few floors he heard, “Hey Chief, you copy,” the faint scratchy voice announced from his radio.

“This is the chief. What do you have Cam?”

“Chief, your father said he wanted to meet with you. He is coming to your office. I said I hadn’t heard from you, and nobody answered at your quarters.”

“Yeah, I was in the lower levels. The radio doesn’t reach that far. In fact, I doubt it would work any further than where I am right now…..I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” Keith finished.

“Got it Chief; ETA, ten minutes.”

He swiped his card and pressed the button for the third level. The number panel inside the elevator was the opposite of what was found in traditional elevators. They numbered from the top down because the only ones that changed were the ones below, which made the uppermost floor, the one his apartment was on, number one.

It had been a few months since he last saw his father. He decided it was best to keep his distance for now. He had not quite forgiven him and did not know if he even wanted to. Whatever he wanted with him was sure to be interesting. It always was. 

When he reached his office, Cam indicated that his father was already there. He walked into his office and closed the door. His father was attired in a dark blue business suit, looking like he was fresh from the barbershop; clean-shaven and well-manicured. Keith took his seat behind the desk. “You’re looking well,” Keith said.