Chapter 14 #3
“Quiet, please.” Archie raised his right hand in a motion that Kendra found more humanlike than almost anything she’d seen from him yet. The robot’s head slowly moved from left to right, and Kendra assumed he was scanning the surrounding area for signs of the guards or any other threat.
She glanced around. There appeared to be no lights and no structures for miles. Where had those men come from?
Stevie adjusted her goggles. “What do you see, Archie?”
“I am zoomed in on a long strip of weeds and grass that appears to have been stepped on repeatedly for at least a few days, possibly longer.”
“I think I see what you’re talking about.” Stevie turned to Lynch. “It’s straight ahead.”
Lynch was already trained on the site with his night-vision binoculars. “Good. Archie, lead the way.”
Still ducking low, Archie sprinted toward the trampled weeds. The others followed, trying to keep the same low profile. But none of them could match the speed and grace of the robot’s movements, Kendra noticed. Amazing.
With Archie as their guide, they followed the trail through a small forest and finally through a patch of foliage that abruptly ended at a rock wall.
Then they abruptly stopped.
“This is it?” Jessie asked. “The path just . . . ends?”
“Yes,” Archie said. “I see nothing more.”
Kendra crouched and glanced around the grounds. “Butts. People come here for smoke breaks. That means they’re probably coming from an enclosed area nearby.”
“How do you figure that?” Lynch asked.
“These leaves have been recently, and repeatedly, bathed in cigarette smoke.”
“Even I can smell it,” Jessie said.
“Vantage brand,” Kendra said absently.
“No way,” Jessie said firmly.
Kendra picked up a twig, speared a cigarette butt, and held it up. “It’s pretty distinctive looking. The filter has a hole in the center. My sense of smell isn’t that good.” She stood up and looked around. “But I think they’re close. Very close.”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Stevie said with exasperation.
Lynch dropped to his knees and brushed aside vegetation next to the path where they had just walked. He aimed his flashlight at the ground. “Look at this.”
The others gathered around and looked down. There, embedded in the ground, was a large rusty door.
“What the hell?” Jessie bent over to get a better look.
But Stevie knew immediately what they’d uncovered, and her expression was lit with breathless excitement. “It’s a scalawag hideaway.”
“I’ve heard of those,” Kendra whispered as she gazed eagerly down at the door. “But I’ve never actually seen one.”
“Well, I haven’t heard about them,” Jessie said. “What are we looking at?”
Kendra pulled more of the vines off the old iron door.
“There are hundreds of these old bunkers all over the U.K. They were built during World War Two, after the evacuation of Dunkirk. Locals were afraid of a German invasion, so they built these little underground fortresses to mount their operations. A lot of them didn’t even coordinate with the military, so there are scores of them that have been totally forgotten with no records and no evidence that they ever existed.
They got the nickname scalawag from the Brits for obvious reasons.
Just in the past few years, the British government has been asking its citizens to help find and document these things. ”
Jessie nodded. “Then how large are they?”
Stevie shrugged. “They’re different sizes. It could be one room . . . or an entire complex.”
Lynch pulled out his gun and held it in front of him as he tugged on the door. It didn’t budge. “Locked,” he said. “We should get inside and look around before those guards get back. Maybe we can pry it open with a—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Archie tore the iron door off its hinges and tossed it into the bushes.
Lynch shrugged. “Or we could do it that way.” He leaned over and aimed his flashlight into the opening. “I think if there were any occupants to disturb down there, we’d be hearing them right now.”
“Are you sure about that?” Kendra asked.
“Not entirely.” He raised his firearm. “Hence the gun. Archie and I will go down first and scope things out. Once we clear it, we’ll call you. Sound like a plan?”
Stevie shook her head. “Where Archie goes, I go.”
Lynch shook his head. “I can’t allow that, Stevie.”
“It’s not your choice. You told me I had the most to lose. Well, I have no intention of losing my dad. If he’s down there, I need to be there, too.”
Lynch sighed and turned to Kendra. “See what I’ve been dealing with?”
“She’s got a point, you know.”
Lynch swore. “I knew you’d take her side.”
“It’s her dad, Lynch.”
“Okay, I get it. From both of you. I don’t like it, but I get it.”
Kendra nodded. “Jessie and I will stand guard up here until we get the all-clear from you. Trust me, I’m not crazy about it, either.”
“I know. Just keep close watch so you can let me know if those guards show up.”
“Lynch, you don’t have to tell me that.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Stevie was obviously anxious to get into the bunker. She was heading for the steel rung ladder. “Come on, let’s go.”