Moments later, Ed reached the bottom of the ladder and Alex said loudly from above, his voice echoing, “You didn’t tell me it was this damn far down.”
“Didn’t want to ruin the surprise,” Ed responded, digging the light out of his pocket. He found it, turned on his light and said, “Allow me to give you the dime store tour.”
“By all means,” Alex said, motioning with his hand for Ed to proceed.
Ed splashed through the centimeter or two of water to the podium, which was almost in the center of the chamber. Two men on their knees were busy guiding a cable into a small hole next to it and did not notice them walk up.
Alex stood next to him, placed his hand on the large stone podium and asked, “This is where the bomb was?”
“Yes, and aimed straight up.”
“Where is this water coming from?”
“Don’t know, but if I was to speculate; the water seems to be leaking in from the Potomac River.”
“I see,” he said, stepping around the podium.
“This way,” Ed said, splashing past the men. He stepped through the large wooden doors and pointed in both directions, “The chamber is enclosed within a large square base made of stone blocks roughly the same dimensions as the Washington Monument.”
Alex stepped to the wall and hit his fist on it. He examined the wall briefly and said, “This structure looks suspiciously like a load-bearing wall.”
“If it is,” Ed asked, “what is it supporting?”
Alex stepped back and responded, “Or when was it supporting something?”
“Excellent point.”
“And where was this pile of bones I keep hearing about?”
“This way,” Ed said, splashing down the passageway. He made it to the corner and followed it to the right along with the power cords. Ed stopped at the intersection next to another large light. “In that direction, after a long journey treading through water and another door leads to a ladder which leads to the other entrance.”
“And the skeletons were piled at the bottom of the ladder?”
“That is correct.”