Golden Eights

by Nigel Seed

  The elevator doors closed and the machinery hummed, as they dropped. No lights indicated the floor numbers. There were just up and down buttons. The doors slid open as they stopped and the three of them stepped out while their guide hung back.

  “Hell’s teeth! Would you look at the size of this? These aren’t tunnels, this is an underground roadway. I’ve worked in smaller coal mines than this!”

  The corporal joined them. “They could make them this big because the rock is relatively easy to work, but still quite stable. At these upper levels we get very little movement or cracking in the rock.”

  “Well, with electric lighting strung through the tunnels we won’t be needing these damned helmets, will we?” said Ivan.

  “Oh, you will, sir, if you are going out of the areas that are still being used. The working areas and their connecting tunnels are lit, but where they are disused it’s disconnected.”

  “Thanks, Corporal. Now, what about those phones I can see on the walls?”

  “Oh yes, sir. If you look closely at your maps you will see them marked. At each major tunnel junction there is a phone. If it has a red tag on it then it’s out of service, the ones with the blue tag still work. If you pick up the handset and dial zero you will get an operator. If you find you need help ever, just find a phone and read the numbers off the tunnel wall. Someone will come and get you.”

  “With all those maps, we are carrying, I can’t see us getting lost, if that’s what you are trying to say tactfully?”

  “I’m sure you would be right, sir, if the maps were complete. We have found that even in the upper levels there are side tunnels and caverns that are not marked. We think that was done deliberately in case the enemy ever got in here during the war.”

  ”Right then, if we are all ready, our guide here can start the tour. Geordie? Ivan?”

  “We’re ready, boss. Just admiring the roadway, it looks like you could drive a Land Rover down here easily. I just can’t see why the tunnels need to be so big.”

  “That’s any easy one, Sarge. Most of the tunnels were dug in a hurry during wartime. They needed to get the stone out PDQ, so they brought heavy digging equipment and trucks down here to get the job done fast. Later on this was going to be an alternative main bunker for the government in case of nuclear war, so they made it more comfortable. The ramps where they brought the vehicles in are still there, but the entrances have been blocked.”

  They walked along the upper level tunnels, their guide pointing out items of interest, with Geordie and Ivan following their progress on the maps they carried. After a time they came to a set of stairs carved into the rock and headed down to the next level. At the bottom, they found that the light levels were less than in the upper tunnels. Here they also found disused offices carved into the sides of the tunnels with pieces of old, damaged furniture lying about.

  “This was the admin area for one of the ammunition depots. It was abandoned some time ago and just left as it was. The souvenir hunters have been through here, but I don’t think they found anything exciting,” explained the young corporal.

  After another hour of walking and looking into side tunnels and bays carved into the walls Jim called a halt. “I think we have the idea now, Corporal. Ivan, if you are happy with those maps, can you lead us back to the entrance. Then we’ll call it a day and be back tomorrow morning for our next look.”

  “What time would you like me to be here, sir?”

  “I don’t think we need you any longer, Corporal. If you just give me the key to the outer door we can look after ourselves. Unless of course we get lost.”

  They walked back along the tunnel with Ivan scanning the maps and pointing the way. Geordie walked alongside Jim and waited until the corporal was out of earshot.

  “Are we staying on the base overnight, boss?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Too many people asking questions and getting interested in us. We’ll find a nice quiet country Inn somewhere nearby and come in daily.”

  “Sounds good to me. The food will probably be more interesting anyway. Any idea how long this is going to take? It’s just that Sam is due back from her play in New York this weekend and I’d kind of like to be there for her:”

  “With eighty miles of tunnels and galleries, this is not going to be a quick job and we are running out of time. I don’t think we can afford to work a five day week with weekends off. I think we might get an odd day off here and there if that suits all of us.”

  Chapter 63

  They were back the next morning and the next. For two full days they marched the corridors and tunnels, looking into galleries and alcoves for any clue that might indicate a hiding place. By late Friday afternoon they were tired and not a little fed up. This wasn’t going to be a simple search. Jim called a halt and they returned to the surface.

  Jim had arranged to meet Helen in London to finally buy her the expensive dinner he had promised her. Geordie was heading up to his home in the North East of England to spend the weekend with his wife and Ivan was heading to a country parish in Wiltshire.

  On Monday morning they met up again at the security post of Rudloe Manor. The security sergeant was there to meet them with a beaming smile to hand over the key to the elevator doors.

  Jim looked at the sergeant and said, “You look cheery this morning, Sergeant. Did you win the lottery over the weekend?”

  “No, sir, but nearly as good. I don’t know what you did to the commandant, but he has been like a bear with a sore head ever since. It’s been a joy to watch. And he has stopped being arrogant with visitors too.”

  “Nice to hear, but you might want to be careful who you say that to.”

  “Oh I am, sir. I don’t need any trouble, but I thought you would like to know that just about everyone on the base would like to buy you a beer.”

  “We might take them up on that after a few more days in the tunnels,” said Jim as the car pulled through the barrier and into the base.

  Unlocking the heavy steel doors and taking the elevator down to the tunnel level, they set off hiking along the roadways to where they had stopped the search on Friday afternoon. They considered splitting up, but, with so many tunnels and caverns to get lost in, decided against it. Half way through the day, they came upon a narrow gauge railway track running next to a large conveyor belt system.

  Ivan studied the map. “Well according to this we are on the edge of the Central Ammunition Depot. This seems to have been where ammunition was brought in by a train, then cross loaded onto that conveyor belt to be taken into the depot. The way in is that way,” he said, pointing to the left.

  They followed the track and came to a chamber where the conveyor belt vanished through a hatchway in the wall. The rail track continued into the darkness of a curving tunnel. Geordie followed the track and came back with a happy grin on his face.

  “The locomotive and a couple of flat cars are just around the bend. They have a large tarpaulin thrown over them, so they seem to be in decent condition.”

  “What were you thinking of doing with them?”

  “Well, if the track is OK out to the entrance, I wondered if we could get the engine going and take it out to give to the railway museum. It may not be steam, but it was linked to the GWR. Nice piece of history for them, eh?”

  “Maybe. We’ll have to work out who owns it though. Knowing the Ministry of Defense it will be on somebody’s books even if they have forgotten it. In the meantime, we need to catch up with Ivan. He was following the conveyor belt.”

  Following the wide conveyor belt brought them into a large echoing chamber through what had once been fireproof doors. The ammunition and explosives had been cleared out but the warning signs were all over the walls with fire extinguisher points scattered liberally around. Ivan picked up an old stirrup pump lying next to a metal water bucket.

  “Not sure how much use this would have been if a fire had really started in here. Even with all these blast walls, if this depot had gone off when
it was full it would have taken most of the hill above with it.”

  “That’s true. So I guess it’s a fair bet that the gold would not have been stored in or close to here. I think we can skip through here rapidly and move on into the lower levels.”

  “Probably right. How do you feel about taking a lunch break here? We can sit on the fire points instead of the cold stone and Geordie can slip back for another look at his toy train.”

  They settled down to take the sandwiches out of Ivan’s backpack. Geordie took his and went for another look at the narrow gauge engine while Jim settled down next to Ivan and leaned back against the cavern wall.

  “So then, boss,” said Ivan around a mouthful of chicken sandwich, “how did this weekend go with Mrs. Jennings?”

  “Pretty well. We did all the usual London tourist things including going to the shops in Oxford Street. She certainly has a talent for shopping, that one.”

  “Sounds like it might be getting serious, then?”

  “Do you know, I think you might be right. It’s a long time since I have felt like this about any woman. But how about you? I guess you went off to see the lovely Reverend Mansfield. How’s that going?”

  “It feels comfortable. First time I have been able to say that since my Mary died. Might be something to do with all the people who have died in her family. She seems to understand more than anyone I have ever met. And her cooking is out of this world, which doesn’t hurt.”

  “Good for you. I hope it works out for you both.”

  “And you too, boss. You and Helen make a bonny couple.”

  “Well, enough of that. We’re gassing like two old ladies here. Can you round up Geordie and we’ll push on? Quite a few days before we earn ourselves another break from searching tunnels.”

  Back together they set off again, following the maps they had been given. Generally they were accurate, but, as the corporal had said, there were side tunnels and rooms that had not been marked up on them. Whether that was deliberate or the maps had just not kept pace with the expansion of tunnels, they could not tell.

  They trudged on, noticing now that the side passages had been given street names, carefully painted on smoothed patches of stone at the tunnel junctions; Regent Street, Anson Terrace, Whitehall, King Charles Street, all went past with no indication of anything that might lead them to an Auxiliary Unit base.

  Chapter 64

  The days dragged by in an unending trudge through the tunnels and passageways. They occasionally found interesting remains, in the notices left on walls and defunct pieces of equipment left lying about. The stone dust coated their mouths and dried their throats. By the time Jim called a halt on the Friday afternoon they were all heartily sick of the vast underground complex.

  The same routine dragged on for three more tedious weeks and Jim was glad he had set up the routine of taking occasional days off. The two days with Helen every so often, in either London or Brighton, allowed him to recover, ready for another round of thankless days of searching. His two men obviously felt the same, but never uttered a word of complaint. He had chosen absolutely the best people for a task like this.

  As the fifth week started he had to square his shoulders and motivate himself for the long hike back to the spot their search had left off the week before. He found himself rerunning his time with Helen in his head as he trudged through the seemingly endless, boring tunnels and corridors of rock. The swell of her breast under his hand and the taste of her lips before and after their lovemaking, the gentle sound of her breathing in the night and the way she kept her eyes open looking into his as they made love. He pulled himself together and refocused on the job in hand.

  If nothing else they were getting a surprising amount of healthy exercise. Walking along beside Ivan with Geordie taking a turn reading the maps, Jim noticed that the big Welshman seemed more cheerful than last week.

  “Come on then, Ivan, what’s up? What has polished your apple? You’ve been struggling to hide that smile since we got down here.”

  “Nothing specific. It’s just that being with Sarah has lifted a weight off my back. I know we haven’t been together long, but it just feels right and for the first time someone understands about Mary.”

  “I know how you feel. She is a lovely person. You deserve each other.”

  Geordie turned back and waited for them to catch up to him. “Can you feel that?”

  Jim and Ivan stood quietly. Jim placed his hand on the stone wall. “Vibration?”

  “Why aye. Unless I miss my guess that’s the vibration from the main London to Bath rail line. I think we are getting pretty near to the Box Tunnel itself.”

  “I wonder why they didn’t mark that on the maps?”

  “Maybe because it’s outside the complex? I guess it must have been on the detailed engineering plans so they didn’t tunnel into it when they were expanding the galleries.”

  “OK. Interesting, but it doesn’t add anything to the search. Plod on.”

  They moved forward until Geordie called another halt. “According to this we are just about at the end of this tunnel.” He shone his headlight the way they were facing. “In fact, I think the end of the tunnel is just there, it’s a dead end, no way out.”

  “So, according to the map, where do we have to go next?”

  “Honestly not sure, boss. We’ve been marking off the tunnels and caverns we’ve been through and the bits and pieces we have passed over don’t look too promising, since we agree the base would not be anywhere that a lot of people would go.”

  “Looks like we should take a break here before we head back to the surface and think again. We might as well do lunch here as well.”

  They settled down with their backs against the tunnel walls while Geordie passed out the sandwiches. Ivan looked inside one suspiciously.

  “Ham, eh? That’ll do. So, boss, we seem to have run out of tunnels. Any idea where we go next?”

  “Not really. The clues were thin anyway, but we seem to have run them to earth and I think we may have to tell Sir Richard he’s got all the gold back that he is getting.”

  “Well, I won’t be sad to see the last of these ruddy tunnels.”

  “Nor me. OK, shall we head out of here? Geordie, you’ve got the map, so lead on.”

  “Um, sir, I have a confession to make before we go.”

  “Go on.”

  “Well, not all the gold made it back to the Bank from Castleton. I didn’t think they’d miss a couple of those small bars and what with the cost of the wedding and everything. Well, long story short, I liberated three bars, but when I showed them to Sam she went ballistic and I was feeling bad about it anyway. I thought I could just slip them into the next lot we found. Sorry, sir. Here they are.”

  Jim took the bars from Geordie and put them in his backpack. He looked long and hard at the big sergeant, but said nothing. Geordie sat, looking like a whipped puppy.

  Jim sighed. “No major harm done. We’ll just pass them on to the bank.”

  Ivan stood with a flushed face and looked down at Geordie. “And once we get out of here you and I will have a conversation about this.”

  Geordie climbed to his feet with his head down “Yes, Sergeant Major.”

  They had started the trudge back the way they had come. Jim was feeling fairly depressed about wasting five weeks in this underground search when he noticed Ivan was no longer with them. He turned to see the big Welshman staring at the alcove they had just passed.

  “Problem, Ivan?”

  “Maybe not. We passed this alcove on the way down here, if you recall. It looks like a dozen other passing places in the tunnels where trucks could go past each other.”

  “And?”

  “And so why has this one got a name? We didn’t see it on the way down as it’s on the right side of the wall, but now we are going the other way I spotted it.”

  Jim walked back. “Not sure I see any significance in that.”

  “Wait till you get here, guys and the
n see what you think.”

  Geordie and Jim walked back to the alcove and looked up at the right hand wall. It took a second or two for the penny to drop and then they saw what had grabbed Ivan’s attention. Cromwell Place. An unassuming alcove with a name was odd, but one using the Special Units’ code word had to be worth a second look.

  “Bloody hell, we walked straight past it.”

  “We did indeed. Nice spot, Ivan. Let’s take a look.”

  The three men dropped their packs in the main tunnel and Geordie put down his folder of maps. They moved into the alcove. It was the full height of the main tunnel, carved in a curve back into the rock. It was about six feet deep, at its deepest point. They stared at the stone and ran their fingers across its surface. There was nothing there.

  The train vibration came again, more pronounced this time, as the express from London to Bath drove through the Box tunnel.

  “There!” cried Geordie. “There is a piece of the wall that moves differently to the rest when the train goes by.”

  He pointed to a piece of the wall that looked exactly like the rest. With the train gone there was nothing to indicate any difference, but Geordie had his eyes fixed on the spot he had noticed. He moved and put his hand on the place.

  “Stay there, Geordie,” said Ivan as he walked to his pack. He came back carrying a heavy hammer. “Mind your fingers.”

  The big man swung the hammer at the piece of wall. Then again. At the third try a piece of stone flaked off to expose a metal bar embedded in the wall.

  “Well, I’m damned,” said Jim. “Not sure which of you takes the credit for this one but that was a remarkable find. Shall we see what happens when we move the bar?”

  “After you, boss,” said Ivan, tossing the hammer back towards his pack.

  Jim reached up to the bar. He pulled down, but it did not move. He tried pulling it towards him and although it swung outwards nothing happened. He stepped back and contemplated the bar now jutting from the wall. He reached up and pulled down again. Within the wall they heard a metallic clunk. And then Jim noticed a crack had appeared in the wall five feet to his right.