Because they wanted out of the tunnel already, each boy had the urge to rush up to the door, but Adam stopped as they reached the bottom of the ramp. "We don't know where this leads. I'll open it and take a look while you wait here," he whispered.
The others agreed.
Adam shone his light around the door as he approached, searching for the impression. Before he reached the door he found it exactly where the other ones had been.
The door looked like another slider, so he placed the pin and pulled the handle. The mechanism was quieter than the one in the file room, and so was the movement of the door. He opened it a little and peered through but saw nothing in the darkness. He shone his light into the crack and realized there was something in the way. As he pulled the sliding door open he found another door on the other side.
The door was normal and plain, like an interior door in a house. It was painted a strange green color and had an old style knob. The lock assembly looked like it took a skeleton key like to the ones Adam had seen in old cartoons. He turned the knob and pushed on the door, but the lock held it in place. Unless they had a skeleton key, they weren't getting through that way.
Adam called the group to the door and they each took turns looking at it. When Mark saw it, he smiled.
"I know where that door leads," he said, happy that he knew something the others didn't.
He paused, and the others stared at him. Jimmy rolled his hands in a 'get on with it' motion.
"The weather monitoring station," he finished.
"Are you sure?" asked Kevin.
"Oh yeah. That door leads into the basement."
They looked at him and said nothing.
"I used to play down there when Dad needed to do things at work. Once the twins were born, he had to take me along on weekends, and I would end up in the basement. Unless there's another door around town that is painted the same green as this one, it leads into the basement of the weather station."
"Did you ever ask him about it?" asked Jimmy.
"Yep. He just said it was a storage room where they kept old equipment."
"So how are we going to get through?" asked Kevin.
They all looked at Adam, who felt strange in their gaze.
"So?" asked Mark, looking at Adam.
"So what?" Adam shot the question back.
"You're the mechanical guy, can't you figure something out?"
Adam looked at Mark, paused, and then decided to put his mind to the task.
He thought out loud, "Ok, so far we've gotten in and out of the tunnels just by using the pin as a key. We've made it here, and now it looks like they added another door and another lock. Why would they do that?”
The others shrugged while following Adam’s logic.
Adam thought for a moment and then spoke. “Nobody has this type of magnet lying around,” he said showing the pin, “so the sliding door had to be safe enough. Did they put the second door up just to hide the sliding one? It is just a common old door."
“It worked for me,” said Mark. “I’ve seen this door fifty times and didn’t think anything was strange. If I saw that sliding door, I would have wanted to see what was on the other side.”
"There's got to be a way to get through this door with the pin. I wouldn't go through the trouble of building all of this," Adam motioned to the tunnels and the doors, "only to have a standard lock on this last door."
He moved in to take a closer look at the lock. He shone his light around the rectangular lock plate. The paint beside the lock plate was scratched in one area. Adam placed the pin on the scratches and immediately heard the bolt sliding. He tried the handle and opened the door just a crack.
After looking back at the guys and giving them a thumbs-up, he opened the door as slow as he could. It opened easily but made a small creak. Adam worried that it was loud enough to alert anyone that might be in the building, so he paused and listened. Once he was satisfied that no-one was coming to investigate, he finished opening the door. He waved for the others to follow and slipped through.
The basement of the monitoring station was empty, except for an oil furnace and some shelving units with old computer equipment on them. The dirt floor smelled musty, causing a slight gagging feeling in Adam’s throat.
Mark slipped past Adam and walked to the stairwell. He made a motion telling everyone to stay put as he disappeared up the stairs. A minute later he called back down.
"Nobody's here, you can come up."
Jimmy and Kevin climbed the stairs while Adam closed both tunnel doors, since he had been keeping them open as an escape route.
"There's no alarm in here, so nothing to worry about - except being here without permission," said Mark.
"Better to be caught here than in the tunnels," replied Kevin, “…at least for us three.” He pointed at himself, Jimmy and Adam.
Even Mark agreed. “At least I might be able to talk my way out of being found here with you guys. Not so much in there,” he pointed downstairs toward the tunnel.
"If the tunnel leads here, it has to be more than just a monitoring station,” said Adam. “I always wondered why they built it at the bottom of a valley instead of up on the flat prairie. At least up there you could see the weather coming."
"If I have to hear that joke about it being 'so flat you can watch your dog run away for three days', I'm gonna punch someone in the throat," Kevin said, half joking.
"Whoa big guy," said Jimmy, "no one was going to say that. Calm down. We're all sick of hearing that joke too."
Mark brought them back to the original subject. "I asked Dad why they built this place in a valley once. He said that they don't have to see the weather; they use the data from the instruments in that big golf ball looking thing about a mile south of here."
"Oh yeah, I remember seeing that ball. It's in the middle of nowhere," said Kevin
"Mark, are there any files here?" asked Adam.
"Nope. Everything’s always been electronic, as far as I know."
"Do you know any of the passwords?" asked Jimmy.
"Nope."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
"A while ago you were pretty sure your dad didn't know anything about all of this either," said Jimmy.
"Yeah yeah, so I was wrong about that - but I've spent loads of time here being completely bored, so I know there are no files here. If there were, I'd have probably looked through them for something to do," said Mark.
"So, nothing to do here I guess. We might as well head back to town while there's still some light outside," said Kevin.
Reluctantly, Adam agreed.
They stepped outside onto the balcony that surrounded three sides of the monitoring station’s upper floor. The station was built into a hill, with the back side of the basement buried and the front side exposed. One steel fire exit was the only access to the basement from the outside as there weren’t any windows. The balcony covered the basement, and in turn was covered by an overhanging roof on all four sides.
After closing the door, Mark told the other three to look away while he punched in the code to lock the door. It was a keyless entry keypad. "I'm not supposed to know the code, but I've seen Dad do it enough times to remember," he said.
They climbed down the stairs and started the trek back into town. Walking quietly, each was lost in their thoughts. The monotony of their footsteps didn't help, having been mentally tired from the excitement in the tunnels.
Step after step, they trudged along, and after they had made it halfway home Adam's brain started firing again. He pictured the tunnels from outside, like a map viewed from above. Lines and curves were drawn on the mental map, and a picture came into view.
He remembered something that got him excited.
"We need to get back to my place. I think I have a map there."
The others looked at him wondering how he could suddenly realize he had a map, but then seemed to get excited as well.
They picked up their pace and Mar
k started complaining soon afterward.
"Slow down! I'm not built for this,” he said, gasping for air.
Jimmy laughed. "Just what do you think you're built for then?"
"I'm fast in short sprints, but not long distances!"
“I’ll bet you are, Gimli,” Jimmy mocked. The others laughed at the ‘Lord of the Rings’ reference.
“Funny guy,” Mark replied.
“No, really, I believe you,” said Jimmy. “You’ve had years of training with all those short sprints between the couch and fridge.”
"Not funny," replied Mark between great puffing breaths. "At least I'm not skin and bones like you and Adam. You guys are built for jogging long distances."
"Kevin's not having any problem, and he's not built like a stick," replied Jimmy, faking insult. He loved teasing Mark, and often said it was one of the few ways Mark ever got his heart rate up, so he was only looking out for Mark's health. "Besides, we're not even jogging. You could barely call this speed walking," his eyes gleamed with fun.
Mark grumbled and was quiet from then on, trying to conserve his energy. Soon they were at the edge of town and walked more casually toward Adam's house. They waved at a few passing cars, trying to look as if they were only out for a walk. They didn’t want to raise any suspicion.
After a few minutes they arrived at the garage, ready for a rest and curious to see Adam’s map.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Adam grabbed the papers from their hiding spot. He thumbed through them as he sat down; stopping when he found the page with the spider-looking diagram and his dad's initials at the bottom.
"I think this is a map of the tunnels," he said, "or at least a guide."
They passed it around, each examining it for a short time.
"I don't follow," said Kevin.
Adam placed it on the table, with the spider picture face up.
“Look. The dot at the center is the junction, and the eight tunnels branch off from it, each curving slightly to the right,” he said. “There’s the ring tunnel that runs through them all.” He pointed to the ring in the picture. “It’s not the best drawing I’ve ever seen, but look at the symbols on the other side." He flipped the picture over. "They're the same as the symbols I felt on the wall in the tunnels.
See how they look like the hand of a clock?"
"Look here," he pointed at the first one. "See the letters next to it – ‘th’. Remember when I felt the marker and said Town Hall was at 12:00? That looks like it’s pointing at 12:00 to me.”
Understanding lit upon their faces as Adam spoke.
"Look, the one that points to 10:30 is labelled’ ht/bc’. hotel and Ben Casey makes sense to me," said Jimmy.
"I always knew there was something fishy about Mr. Casey," said Mark.
Kevin looked at him, "And you never even had a sniff about your dad."
Mark was about to argue back when Adam continued speaking. "9 o'clock doesn't make sense to me, but 7:30 is probably ‘ms’ for Monitoring Station, and 3:00 ‘fh’ has to be Fire Hall. Any others jump out at anyone?"
No one offered any more suggestions.
Adam thought out loud again. "We know these 5, so now we only have 3 more to figure out. They could go anywhere, but most likely in the direction they started out. I would bet ‘sc’ goes to the school, but the other two I haven't got a clue – ‘ew’ and ‘el’."
"Would the ‘el’ stand for Ellie? Isn't that what you heard them say in the tunnels?" asked Jimmy.
"Good thinking," said Adam. He sat quiet for a moment. "That brings up a whole other issue. Who would Ellie be? I don't know anyone named Ellie or Ellen that lives here of any age. I know enough stubborn old people that live here, though."
"If you follow the ‘ew’ line you could get near Ms. White's place, but I'm pretty sure her name is Nora. That would have to be a really long tunnel, because she lives a few miles out of town." said Kevin. "Dad and I delivered a side of beef she bought from us once. I've never seen her myself, but Dad said she's old."
Adam added, "Mom told me that Mr. Garagan delivers groceries to her every week. I guess she doesn't have a car and never comes to town. From what I’ve heard of her I doubt she’s involved."
"Do we confront Mark's dad with what we know and see if he'll tell us anything?" asked Kevin. "Obviously he’s the leader of this Sentinel League."
"I don’t think he’ll tell us anything. We might waste too much time before we end up disappearing," said Adam.
"If we can find out who Ellie is, maybe we can get some answers from her, directly or indirectly," said Jimmy.
"That’s not a bad idea. Personally, I would like to look through those files again, but it seems like we can't get enough time to just sit and read without getting caught," said Adam.
"I don't think there's much more in the files. I think the papers you have here," Jimmy pointed to the pile on the table, "are more information than you’re going to find there, other than bill payments. Plus, look how long it took to find the one note about the Sentinel League. We wasted a lot of time there."
Adam thought for a moment. "You're probably right. I hate to admit it, but finding Ellie seems like the next logical choice. If we’re going to get into trouble asking questions, we might as well ask the person in charge.”
"Just what I was thinking," said Jimmy.
“But how do we find her?” asked Mark.
"We go back into the tunnels, one more time," said Adam.
Mark groaned. "I think I've had just about enough excitement today. It wasn't your dad that almost caught you earlier, it was mine. I'm not worried about him, but he'll tell my mom and then I'll be in it deep."
"We have to go back in and find out who Ellie is," said Adam.
"Even if we do find her, she's not going to tell four teenage boys what she won't tell the head of the 'Sentinel League'," Mark responded full of sarcasm.
"I don't know, Jimmy can be pretty persuasive," said Adam. “We have to try, at least.”
“Should we take the obvious tunnel? The one labelled EL?” asked Kevin.
Everyone agreed, even Mark, although his response was weak.
"I'm in," said Jimmy, "but, can we go out to the monitoring station to get back in the tunnels?"
They looked at him as though he were speaking a language they didn’t understand.
"Why would we go all the way out there when Town Hall is so close?" Mark asked, not because Town Hall was closer but because the other option involved more exercise.
"Let's see; if we get caught in the tunnels together, we're all in trouble. If we get caught in Town Hall together, I'm in trouble."
"Oh, suck it up princess! You want to go back in as much as the rest of us, or at least me and Adam," said Kevin.
Jimmy tried to appear insulted, but the others ignored him.
"Some of us need to be home by 11 tonight, so if we’re going to do this we better get moving," said Mark.
They left the garage after Adam hid the papers again and walked south to Assiniboia Avenue because it ran in front of Town Hall. Walking that way would offer them a view of most of the building. Only the west side wouldn’t be seen; the one with the side door they entered earlier. If all was clear, they could turn at the Fire Hall and slip through the trees near the back of the park, approaching Town Hall from the south and lessening the chance of being seen.
As they approached the Fire Hall, a car behind them honked quickly. The driver stopped next to them and rolled down the window.
"Did you guys find out how to open that secret door?" asked Jeff with a smile. "I didn't think so," he continued without letting them reply. "A lot of smarter people, like me, have never been able to figure that one out. Anyway, off to work I go. A mayor's job is never done. I have lots to do - busy busy busy. See ya!"
And with that, Jeff drove ahead to Town Hall and parked at the back. The boys stayed where Jeff had stopped them.
"Lots of work, more like free internet," laughed Jimmy.
"That throws a wrench in that plan," said Kevin. "What now?"
Adam paused for a second. "Off to the monitoring station, I guess."
Mark groaned, as the others knew he would.
"Let's get our bikes and meet behind the gas station," Adam continued. "It'll be a lot quicker that way, ok?" He looked at Mark.
Mark's groaning faded somewhat. "We'll have to hide them in the trees near the station," he added.
They all nodded.
"See you in 15 minutes," said Adam.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Fifteen minutes later the four boys met behind the gas station and began their trip. The bikes were much faster than walking, and soon they were coasting down the hill into the small valley where they would find their destination.
Mark stopped at the bottom of the hill and the others stopped beside him.
"Let's hide the bikes in the trees over there," said Mark as he pointed to a clump of Poplar trees on the south side of the road, lower down in the valley.
"Good thinking," said Adam. "The bikes will be lower that the road, and that means car lights won't see the reflectors."
Mark didn't realize that the comment was a compliment. "Oh, I didn’t think of that, it's just the closest bush so I won't have to walk so far."
The others laughed as Mark realized what he had said.
They hid the bikes, climbed back out of the deep ditch and made their way to the station. Mark unlocked the door and they were soon inside making their way downstairs. Standing in front of the ugly green door they said nothing as Kevin waved Adam past. Adam opened both doors and they were back inside the 7:30 tunnel.
They walked along at a steady pace through curve after curve, not speaking while trying to step as light as they could, keeping their noise to a minimum. They walked by flashlight because the glowing ceiling was better used as a warning system. It didn't seem as far to the junction from the monitoring station as it did when they travelled the opposite way earlier.
Adam bent down and felt for the marker indicating the 1:30 tunnel. It was five inches from the floor, just as he expected. The marker wasn't visible at all, no matter how he angled the flashlight. After confirming he was at the right tunnel, he nodded to the others and continued walking.
Town Secrets (The Book of Adam 1) Page 10