28 |

Inselhotel 
Potsdam, Germany

 

“You were right to be concerned.”

Tommy gulped at Dean Milton’s statement, Mai’s eyes widening beside him as they both listened on speaker. “We were?”

“Yes, something has happened. According to someone I just talked to, they’ve all been trapped inside the mine since a group of armed men stole the Amber Room crates. They kidnapped Jim and Laura, then blew the mine entrance. And they shot and wounded their Polish contact, Professor Lisowski.”

Mai gasped. “Oh my God! What are we going to do?”

“I’ve reached out to the university where Aleksandra works, but there’s no answer. I’ve left messages, but these people are running out of air and need help.”

Tommy stared at the screen of his laptop. “I’m showing cellphone signals outside.”

“If only we had one of their phone numbers, we could call them.”

Tommy chuckled. “Who needs numbers? I can connect to them right now.”

“You can?”

 “Sure, all I need to do is—”

“I don’t need a technical explanation, I just need results. Can you patch me through to someone?”

Mai pressed against him, a smile on her face, and he stared into her eyes for a moment, then sighed. “Just a second.” He tapped away at his keyboard, and a phone rang, something in Polish said. “Go ahead, Dean.”

“Hello? Do you speak English?”

“Yes, some,” was the heavily accented reply.

“Good! My name is Greg Milton. I am the Dean of St. Paul’s University in Maryland, in the United States. Who am I speaking to?”

“This is Officer Jelen of the Polish Police.”

“Oh, thank God, a police officer! Listen, I just got off the phone with a group of people who are trapped inside an old mine that I believe you are standing outside of—”

“Wait. How did you get this number?”

“That’s not important. There is a woman inside who has been shot, and the others are running out of air. If you don’t start a rescue operation immediately, they will all suffocate to death.”

“Give me your number, and the number you spoke to inside.”

Milton quickly relayed the numbers.

“Very good. I will call you back shortly.”

The call ended, and Tommy leaned closer to the phone. “What do we do now, sir?”

“Wait.”