Wisdom Spring (28 page)

“What wasn’t there?”

“A computer. Everybody has a computer nowadays. The idea that the guards were out here in the middle of nowhere without one is odd, to say the least.”

“No Internet out here?” suggested Jess.

“Easy enough to get around,” I said. “Besides, look.” I pointed to the hotel. “They have a satellite dish right on the roof. Probably for TV, so Internet wouldn’t be a problem. You checked for laptops?”

“We checked for everything,” said Scott. “We found a satellite phone in the kitchen, but no computers or tablets of any kind. Even their cell phones were basic vanilla. Identical phones, in fact. No smart phones. No ability to connect to the Internet. And other than the IDs we took off them, the men had nothing in their belongings that would indicate who they worked for. There were no phone numbers stored on the phones, and no call history listed. Not that there is any service out here anyway, which is probably why they had the satellite phone. The only thing we did find was a notebook that seemed to serve as a daily diary or ledger of the activities here. Based on that, there is
no
activity at all here. It basically listed each day, and whether or not any visitors had driven through. This book started about four months ago—maybe when this group started their shift here, since I imagine they have to rotate guards, otherwise they’d go crazy—and in that time a total of two couples came through looking for ghost towns.”

He continued, “The only entry of interest was from a few days ago, announcing the arrival of four more guards. That tells me that Hillstrom, or whoever is behind this, is scared. The fact that they can’t find you worries them.”

“They’re scared so they send more people to this godforsaken place? That tells us that this town is hiding something,” said Jess. “Why in the world would they need six security people? They’ve barely needed the two up til now. So there is still something we haven’t found.”

“I think the whole notebook thing is interesting,” I said. “In this age of computers, it’s almost unheard of to be using a manual system. Anyway, I agree with Jess. There’s something we haven’t found. I think it’s time to take a closer look at the mine.”

“Which brings us to the final item, the one of significance,” said Scott. “It does have to do with the mine, but it’s a little scary and we decided not to touch it. Hidden in the pantry is a box attached to the wall. It has a sign that reads, ‘Mine closure instructions. Break glass only upon authorization.’ Now, my guess is that it includes some sort of codes. I think ‘closure’ is a euphemism for ‘destroy.’ We didn’t open it for two reasons: First, we assume it has instructions inside, but on the off chance that it starts the sequence, we thought it prudent to wait; Second, there are some wires coming out of the box. We both agreed that it is probably some sort of alarm. If you were to break the glass, an alarm would go off somewhere, maybe using the satellite phone line, letting someone know that the first steps to mine closure have begun.”

“Assuming we find an entrance to the mine, it probably has a pretty sophisticated lock,” I said. “Would you guess that the key or combination is in there, or do you think the security guards have it?”

“The guards definitely would not have it,” piped in Joe. “If this mine contains information that would put a whole plan in jeopardy, they wouldn’t give ready access to some low-level guards. If destroying the mine requires entering it, then the combination or key would be in that box. However, if it can be detonated remotely, I think we’ll be out of luck.”

“You want to guess?” I asked.

“It’s just a guess,” he answered. “I’d say you have to start the detonation sequence from inside the mine. That box hasn’t been touched in a long, long, time. Maybe the guards don’t even know about it. It was well hidden.”

“But if we break the glass, you’re saying that we might be sending a signal to whoever put it there, warning them that we’re here?”

“Maybe. But again, we’re dealing with the remoteness of this place. It’s still going to take a while for someone to get here. I suggest we look at the mine, find the entrance if we can, then make our decision based on that.”

I looked at my watch. About an hour and a half had passed since Frank escaped. I found myself looking up the road.

Joe caught me looking. “We’re okay for a while,” he said. “We’ll have plenty of time to check out the mine.”

“Do you think Frank will come back to try to pick us off?”

“No. Unless he had a high-powered rifle stashed in the Jeep, which is doubtful, at best all he has is his pistol. You’re not going to pick anyone off with that. No, he’ll wait for reinforcements so he can lead them here. He’s probably keeping watch on the road’s entrance from the highway so he can follow us if we leave.”

“Which brings up the question,” said Jess, “how do we get out of here without being seen? The road looks like the only way out.”

Silence.

“I made a big mistake showing myself,” said Jess. “I should have hidden under something. They would have let you drive out.”

“And then where would we be?” I asked. “We’d still have to come back here and deal with the guards. There’s nothing to suggest that the result would be any better. I’m not sure any plan would have been perfect. We just need to move on. I suggest we go to the mine and look quickly and then get out of here as fast as we can.”

“Actually,” said Scott quietly. “Jess brings up a real concern. Frank could be waiting somewhere at the head of the road, not to follow us, but to get as many bullets into our car as he can. So driving out of here really isn’t an option at any point.”

More silence.

“Then here’s the plan,” said Joe. “Jon, you and Jess go to the mine. You don’t need us. Scott and I will head up the road. We’ll stash the Jeep when we get close to the road entrance. If Frank is there, we’ll take him out. If not, we’ll wait and see if reinforcements arrive. But whatever we do, we should do it now and not spend our time talking.”

Jess and I nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Whatever you find down there, find fast.”

Scott came over and hugged Jess and me. “Good luck, bro,” he said.

Scott, Joe, and Max hopped into one of the Jeeps while we turned the Armada around and went back down the road to the mine.

“Hope they’re going to be okay,” said Jess.

“I’m not sure you’ll find two more capable people,” I said. “Plus, there’s Max, the brains of the group.”

Jess smiled to be polite, but she was definitely worried—more worried about them, I think, than about us.

We arrived at the mine a couple of minutes later, presented again with what looked like an impassable entrance. This time we got out of the SUV for a closer look.

Finding the true entrance turned out to not be as difficult as we had thought. The gate with the rusted padlock was all for show. The rocks covering the entrance were real, but upon closer inspection had been piled very strategically to look like a cave-in. We found a clasp at the bottom of the gate that, when unlatched, allowed us to lift up the gate entirely and move it out of the way. Once we did that, we were able to go behind the rock pile, where we encountered a substantial steel door with a keypad. The door was about the size of one you’d find on a commercial freezer. It had a handle similar to that of a freezer door. The keypad was set back in the door, with a clear cover, but insulated against the harsh Alaska winter.

Jess suddenly backed away from the door and leaned against the rock wall.

“Oh!” she exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?”

She held her head as if it would stop the message.

“There’s death in there. My father is very disturbed.”

“What kind of death? Like a disease? Are we in danger?”

She was quiet for a minute. “No,” she said, almost out of breath. “There’s no danger to us, that much is clear. I just can’t get the message.” She stopped holding her head. “I’m sorry, there are too many emotions coming through. A tremendous anger and sadness. I think though that whatever it is, he wants us to see it, or experience it.”

“I think we’re going to have to take the chance on the thing in the pantry at the hotel. We’ll just have to hope it doesn’t start the countdown.”

Jess was feeling better, so we got in the Armada and headed back to the hotel. We found the pantry with no trouble, and the box attached to the wall. It was exactly as Scott had described it.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“We really have no choice.”

“Okay,” I said. “Here goes.” I found a large kitchen knife and, turning it around, smashed the glass with the butt.

We listened for a moment. “Well, nothing blew up, anyway.”

Chapter 33

Hutch answered the phone in his office.

“Hutch? Carver here. Remember that alarm you said is real important? The one you said would probably never go off? Well, it just went off. Figured you’d want to know.”

Hutch’s blood ran cold. The only person who could approve the mine’s destruction was Mays, and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have done that.

“Another thing,” said Carver. “My office got a call just a couple of minutes before the alarm. It was from one of the guards in Wisdom Spring. The reception was not very good…”

“Why didn’t he use the satellite phone?” interrupted Hutch.

“He was saying something about him being the last one alive. Then he mentioned the girl.”

“The girl is there,” Hutch responded. “She’s gotta be. And I bet Joe Gray is helping her. Who do we have close?”

“We have four guys in Anchorage. Not the best of the best, but better than nothing. They can probably be there in three hours.”

“Get them. How long til we can get the best of the best up there?”

“Eight hours, anyway. Maybe a little more.”

“Scramble them. Get ‘em moving now!”

He hung up, seriously reluctant to make the next call. He took a breath and dialed.

Mays picked up.

“What?” This wasn’t going to help his mood.

“The mine alarm in Wisdom Spring just went off.”

“Oh my God! What are those fucking guards doing? Did you call them? I don’t want them in the mine. I want them fired. Replace them with some people you can trust. No, I don’t want them fired, I want them dead.” Hutch had never heard him so out of control.

“Well, you got your wish. They’re dead. Five of them anyway.”

That stopped Mays’s ranting.

Hutch explained the phone call that came from the remaining guard.

“The girl. She’s there,” replied Mays.

“I figure she’s got her mystery man and probably Joe Gray.”

“I want you to get up there yourself. I want everybody up there. I want her dead. I need her dead. Then I want you to blow the mine. Should have done it a long time ago.”

“Why…”

“Because it wasn’t my call. Just get up there!”

Hutch hung up the phone. All this time he thought Mays was top dog. “‘Wasn’t my call.’” How far up did this thing go?

Chapter 34

There was a small handle on the other side of the broken glass. I pushed it down and the whole outer casing swung open revealing a single envelope. I would have expected a fancy document with a wax seal, stamped: “Secret: For Your Eyes Only,” or something equally as sexy. No, it was a plain white number ten envelope with no writing on it whatsoever. Inside was a single sheet of white paper with a short typewritten note:
Door code: 8,6,8,9,7,1,4,0,#. Document room code: 4,4,D,S,F,9,9,0,#. Mine destruction box is in second chamber on right-hand wall. After activating code, mine will self-destruct in ten minutes. Code: 4,A,G,6,9,F,#,#,1.

In many ways it was disappointing. I came from a generation of advanced technology, illustrated by over-the-top spy movies that had to outdo the ones that came before them. Yet, here I was with a single piece of paper with a simple message probably typewritten on an old IBM Selectric. I won’t say it was without its own share of drama, though. As boring as it was, this paper held what could be the answer to the biggest conspiracy in history. Kind of scary, really. I copied down all of the numbers then left the envelope in the box and closed the outer casing. The broken glass was a clue that someone had opened it, but I felt more comfortable leaving the original document in place.

We went back out to the SUV, both of us sneaking glances up the road, looking for some sign that Scott and Joe were okay. The road was empty. We drove back to the mine and approached the door.

My hands were actually shaking as I punched in the code. As I hit the pound sign, a little light turned from red to green. I shot Jess a glance, pushed down on the handle and pulled the door open.

We were immediately struck by the dampness and smell. It was a true cave. A dim emergency light lit the entranceway. I looked around for a light switch and found an industrial-size lever. I pulled it down and we were suddenly bathed in a bright light. After determining that we could get out the door again, we shut it securely. Someone would need the code to get to us.

We were in the entrance to the mine. To our right was a rickety-looking elevator, obviously used to take miners down to some lower level. It was chained off—real chains this time—and hadn’t been used in forty or fifty years. Directly in front of us was a different entrance to the lower levels. It was a road of sorts, wide enough for a vehicle with about seven feet of clearance. It descended down a mild slope. I could make out a switchback about two hundred feet down. The whole descent was probably a series of switchbacks.

To our left was the second chamber mentioned in the note. We walked through it and, sure enough, on the right-hand wall was a box. Much bigger than the box in the pantry, this one was serious. I opened the outer covering and saw a keypad. I closed the door quickly, not really wanting to touch it.

This section was small and led into a third and final chamber. At the end of the third chamber was a door—a regular-size door, but made of steel. Near the handle was a small keypad.

“The document room?” I asked.

Jess didn’t need to answer.