Adam followed Elianora’s instructions and it worked. Moments later he was stepping through the door to the file room. Kevin closed the door behind him without a sound as Adam lowered the drawbridge door. The file room ceiling was lit by the Lumiens as well, which made it easier to find the drawbridge door, but the storage room on the other side was dark except for the light streaming from the opening.
"When we get to the storage room door I'll turn on the lights for when we come back, but we'll have to stay in the dark on the other side. I think we should leave the basement lights off, just in case. We can follow the wall to the stairs," said Adam.
Kevin nodded his understanding.
Adam wound his way through the box maze and turned on the lights, soon followed by Kevin. The drawbridge door closed behind him, too soon to have been activated by the timer.
"I just pulled up on the door and it closed," said Kevin. "It’s a habit, I guess."
Adam smiled at Kevin and opened the door. They slipped through and hugged the wall, shuffling along until they found the corner. By luck or by design, the path along the wall was clear all the way to the stairs. Before reaching them, they saw faint light coming from the stairwell. The lights seemed to be on in Town Hall, which meant there might be people inside.
Adam listened at the stairwell for a few moments. He heard faint voices, but they sounded too far off to be inside. Jeff's office was across the hall from the stairs, so it would be easy for them to cross as long as the building was empty.
Adam crept up the stairs and peeked around the corner, looking down the hallway toward the front doors. The lights were off, but daylight was streaming in from the windows. He found it eerie, since it had been nearly dark at Elianora's.
The voices were coming from outside, and one sounded like a drill sergeant choreographing troop movements.
Adam and Kevin wasted no time getting to Jeff's office door. Adam turned the handle, but the door was locked.
Oh no, thought Adam as he started to panic. They couldn't break down the door as the noise would alert whoever was outside. Images of capture began to fill his mind.
After he shook off the fear, a thought struck him. He fumbled through his pocket, pulled out the key he had made for the main door and wiggled it in the lock.
It worked.
They slid inside and shut the door with a gentle nudge, locking it behind them. Their hearts pounded as they looked at each other and nodded while taking a calming breath.
Once inside the office, they could see outside through the window. The window looked out the back of the building and they were happy they couldn't see people in that direction. It was bright but hazy outside and the light was almost as eerie as the darkness they had just left at Elianora’s.
"Where's the ladder?" asked Adam.
Kevin pointed up to the attic access hole and down the wall beneath it. “It has to be there,” he said.
The ladder to the attic was on the outside wall beside the dividing wall to the next room. It had been built out of wall bricks, alternating one recessed with one that was flush. It was difficult to see as it was the same color as the rest of the wall. Both agreed; it didn’t look safe.
"I think I know another reason the clock never got fixed," said Kevin.
Adam walked to the ladder and looked up. He really didn't like the thought of climbing it, but knew he had to. He looked at Kevin, shrugged his shoulders and started to climb. When he reached the attic hatch, he tried to lift the cover. It wouldn’t even budge. There must be something heavy on the other side, he thought. He tried twice more and climbed back down.
“I can’t open it. Hopefully you can,” Adam said to Kevin.
Kevin looked up, then back at Adam. “Really? ...This is gonna suck,” he said, and then climbed the ladder with slow precise movements. At the top, he made sure to secure his feet then pushed hard. He held back none of his power, but had the same luck as Adam. Next, he took a step down and paused while looking up at the hatch. A few seconds later he came back down.
“It has to be locked. There are some scratches on the far side of the hatch, away from the ladder. Do you think it’s locked like the door at the monitoring station?” asked Kevin.
Adam mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it while he was up there the first time. It made sense. Up the ladder he climbed, pin in hand so he didn’t have to fumble through his pockets at the top. As he climbed, he looked at the attic cover. Once he was halfway up he saw the scratches Kevin had mentioned.
At the top, Adam reached out and slid the pin across the scratches, starting from the outside toward the middle, then pushed up on the hatch. Nothing. He tried the pin again and heard some movement on the other side. Again he pushed up and still couldn’t move the hatch. The third time, he tried moving the pin slower while pushing slightly upward at the same time. Once he had moved the pin about an inch, the hatch popped up slightly. Success!
He pushed the hatch open completely and noticed a handle he could grab to pull himself into the attic, so he waved down at Kevin who began climbing. Once he was in the attic, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the low amount of light. He then offered a hand to Kevin and helped him up.
“I’m not afraid of heights, but you have to admit – that’s a scary climb,” said Kevin.
Adam nodded in agreement. “You get to go down first so I’ll have something to land on if I fall,” he said as he closed the hatch.
There were only three windows in the entire attic, two small ones at the front and one at the back. Thankfully, the one at the back was large and let in a reasonable amount of light. The attic was nearly empty, with only a few boxes scattered about. They could see the clock’s mechanical assembly at the front in the center, with a window on either side.
As they took a few steps through the rafters, the rafters creaked and cracked under the weight, sounding as though they wouldn’t hold the boys for long.
“And now we know one more reason the clock hasn’t been fixed,” said Kevin in a hushed voice.
Adam stopped. “I’ll go the rest of the way alone. There’s less chance of falling through that way. I’ll let you know if I need you.”
Kevin nodded.
Having less weight on the rafters, Adam could walk slow enough that there were no more creaks.
As he approached the front, he saw the box Elianora spoke about. She didn’t tell them that it happened to be located high on the front wall, near the roofline. The closer he stepped to the front, the more Adam realized that he would need to figure out a way to climb up to it, as there was no ladder nearby.
At the front, Adam glanced out the small window. What he saw scared and amazed him. Most of the townspeople stood in a large group facing Town Hall. They stood and swayed together, as if they were snakes hypnotized by a snake charmer. Marius and his family were near the front. The Guptas were near the middle, along with the Chens. Mike and Charity Baranov and the girls were near the back, off to the side, but there was no sign of Kassie. He scanned the crowd, recognizing all of them, but searching out the few he knew best. The Jones family wasn’t there yet, so maybe Kassie was with them. His mother was missing as well.
Four men ran up the side of the crowd toward Town Hall. They wore clothes that seemed to blend into the scenery around them. The clothes had made it difficult to see them unless they moved. They carried a large cylinder with a flat plate on the front. A battering ram!
“Open it,” sounded a voice directly below where Adam stood. The clock tower was built into the overhanging part of the building jutting out from Town Hall. Adam had forgotten about the design of the building and worried that the voices heard him as he walked to the window. He turned to Kevin and signalled for him to stay still and be quiet.
Bang! They heard the men hit the door with the battering ram, but it still sounded solid. Bang! After the second hit, the blunt noise ended with the sharp splintering sound of wood breaking. A few softer blows, probably kicks, sounded through the bu
ilding, and the double doors could be heard slamming open.
“It’s ready for you sir,” Adam heard a slightly muffled voice say directly below him.
“Give me a few minutes and start bringing them in,” said the voice that seemed to be in charge. He had a distinct accent, however slight. German or Russian, Adam thought.
“Yes sir,” came the reply. Adam watched as the man walked to the front of the crowd, followed by the three other men.
They began lining up the townspeople. Lacey and her family were the first in line, and not far after was Marius and family. Karl was easy to spot near the back. Adam realized the townspeople were being questioned to find the Heartstone, and since Marius knew Elianora, he would point the intruders right to her and the tunnels. They had to act fast.
Adam decided to risk it, so he stepped over to the framework containing the clock mechanism. As he looked at it, he saw that he could use the metal frame and the boards on the wall to climb up to the box. He climbed the structure as fast as he could while still being quiet. When he made it to the box, he couldn’t see where the pin could be used to open the box. He examined all exposed sides and the bottom, finally deciding to climb one step higher and look at the top.
There it was; the mark Elianora had spoken about. He took the pin and tried opening the lid, but it was difficult. Trying to work the pin, lift the lid, and hang on without falling took a lot of effort. He kept trying and was getting tired and frustrated. Finally, he pulled up on the lid while he slid the pin, and it worked. The lid popped open, but in the process it launched the pin in the air, bouncing it against the front wall. Adam grabbed for it and fumbled, knocking it into the open box. Luckily, the pin was small enough that it didn’t make a lot of noise to alert those outside or below.
He reached into the box and felt the pin on top of something soft. He grabbed the pin and put it in his pocket, then reached back inside the box. Next, he pulled out a small bag with a drawstring on the end and shoved it in his pocket too. His hand searched the box again, and when he was satisfied it was empty, he descended the same way he had climbed up.
Adam stepped carefully back toward Kevin. He motioned for Kevin to move to the attic hatch. He heard the odd small creak as he stepped and hoped no one below heard anything. There hadn’t been any talking coming from below which made him concerned.
When he reached the attic hatch where Kevin waited, he stopped, taking a few deep breaths.
“They’re inside,” he whispered to Kevin.
Kevin nodded, “I guessed that. What did you see?”
“The whole town is lined up outside. I think they’re going to question them here,” said Adam.
“My family…”A horrified look came over Kevin’s face.
Adam nodded. Kevin hunched over in sadness for a second then straightened up again, ready to go.
“What do we do?” he asked.
Adam shrugged. He’d been trying to come up with a plan that didn’t require an insane amount of luck. “We just have to go down and risk it. I found the key, so now we have to get it to Elianora.”
Kevin nodded.
“Let’s go,” said Adam reaching for the latch.
Before he touched it, a voice on the main level yelled, “Over here.”
Adam pulled his fingers away.
Bang! The men below used the battering ram on Jeff’s door, shattering it open with the first hit.
Footsteps ran into the room below.
They heard us! We’ve been caught! thought Adam.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Adam’s heart pounded in his chest and echoed in his head. The sound made it difficult to hear what was happening below as the men seemed to be searching for them in Jeff’s office.
“There’s the attic,” said a voice directly below, causing the boys even more panic.
Adam reached down to the latch mechanism and held it in place.
The hatch jumped a little as someone tried to open it with a hit, then another. “Won’t budge,” said the voice on the other side of the piece of wood that seemed thinner each moment.
“The whole place has been gassed. Just tell them to come down,” came the reply from further below.
A throat cleared on the other side of the hatch. “Whoever is in the attic, come to the hatch and open it,” said the closest voice.
The boys looked at each other wide-eyed in fear. It wasn’t easy to defy direct orders from an adult, even if they were teenage boys. Adam shook his head slightly, telling Kevin that he wasn’t opening the hatch for anyone.
The next few seconds of silence stretched on, and it made Adam’s mind wander. He pictured the men bringing in a tall ladder and somehow using the battering ram to smash open the hatch. They would take the pin and the key. Adam and Kevin would both be tortured, giving up Elianora’s location along with the knowledge of the Heartstone being in Grayson.
“Come down. No one’s up there,” said the lower voice. “We would’ve heard them by now. We have other rooms to check.”
They don’t know we’re here, thought Adam, relieved a little, but knowing they were still stuck.
They listened until the footsteps left the room and another door was smashed open before he took his hand off the latch. Adam realized that Elianora’s leaves were working, as he and Kevin weren’t responding to any commands.
“Anyone in the basement, come up now,” they heard a voice say. One of the men was standing at the basement stairs. He would have to move before the boys could attempt climbing down and crossing the hall.
A few more long moments passed. The man by the stairs walked up the hallway saying, “Basement is clear.” A few more doors opened and closed followed by another voice saying, “All clear.”
Yet another voice spoke from nearby. “The building is secure. Shall we start?”
“Of course,” replied the voice of the leader.
Adam realized that the leader was in the boardroom next to Jeff’s office. That’s why they could hear him so clearly. The attic hatch was in the corner nearest to the boardroom wall, and the walls were thin.
Adam decided that they would need to stay still until the leader began questioning people and hoped that the leader’s concentration on questioning would hide the noise of their escape.
“Come in, sit down,” said the leader, but his accent had changed. He now had an English accent like Elianora’s. The voice must belong to Larix, Adam decided.
Some feet shuffled closer, and Adam realized that Larix was at the head of the boardroom table closest to the shared wall.
“Tell me about your family, please,” said Larix, sounding pleasant.
“I’m Bob Lang, this is my wife Donna and our only child Lacey,” said Bob. His voice sounded weak, almost as if he were drunk.
“Good, now tell me something no one else knows,” said Larix again.
“We were disappointed for years that Lacey was a girl and we couldn’t have a boy. We haven’t been able to have any more children.”
Adam didn’t listen as Bob went on. The time had come to start moving. He opened the hatch and with slow deliberate movements stepped down the ladder. Kevin did the same, closing the hatch behind him.
Adam’s mind was torn between what he had heard and escaping. Obviously, the gas made people tell their most intimate secrets. Bob and Donna Lang had always seemed so proud of Lacey.
He pushed the thoughts from his mind as there were more immediate issues to think about. They needed to get to the stairs across the hall.
They crept to the half-open office door. Adam listened at the hall and after hearing nothing, he peered up the hallway. It was clear so he dashed across, stopping near the basement stairs, hidden from the hallway but still visible to Kevin.
Had Adam hesitated a moment longer he would have been seen by the guard leading a group of people in to be questioned. The guard stopped the group in the hallway next to the boardroom door.
Adam heard them walk in but couldn’t see who was in the
group. He knew Marius and family would be questioned soon. Kevin was trapped and they couldn’t risk him blindly jumping across the hall, so Adam would need to think fast.
Again Adam felt trapped. Anything he could think of doing resulted in either he or Kevin being discovered. He pushed his brain, trying to come up with options. Pictures paged through his thoughts, but most were dismissed soon after appearing.
One image appeared in his mind, and it came together making perfect sense. After a moment of reviewing his plan, Adam signalled to Kevin that he should hide behind the door and wait. Kevin looked confused, but shrugged his shoulders and did as Adam asked.
Adam disappeared down the stairs. At the bottom, he followed the wall back into the storage room and hurried back through to the drawbridge door. It seemed to open slower now that he was in a hurry. Across the file room he ran. He opened the sliding door, and once he stepped through, he slid it shut with barely a sound.
Next, Adam jogged through the tunnel until he made it to the first intersection. Remembering the map, he turned left then left again at the second intersection. He ran up the tunnel and soon was faced with the back of another drawbridge door.
I hope this works, he thought.
The door fell open fast revealing another dark room, but Adam had no flashlight. In the light from the tunnel he saw a set of stairs straight across a large empty space. He ran across the empty room and put his foot on the first step before the drawbridge door closed, cutting off the only source of light. That door closed much sooner than the one to the file room.
In the darkness, he climbed until the hand he had stretched out front came in contact with something. It had to be a door, he thought, so he felt along the wall for a light switch. He reasoned that there should be one nearby, and he was right.
The door in front of him was nearly new and looked as though it didn’t have a lock. He tried the handle, but it wouldn’t open. Being a new door, there were no marks to guide his pin placement, so he tried a few locations until he finally heard the lock sliding.
Town Secrets (The Book of Adam 1) Page 18