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STILLWATER:
Alex leaves Spencer’s office and calls Okana before driving down to the municipal building and parking in the visitor section. When he walks through the swinging double doors, he sees a gray-haired woman sitting at the front desk, talking on the phone. She smiles and points to his right, so he walks down the hallway. The last door has COUNTY SHERIFF painted in black letters on the frosted window. He’s about to knock when he hears Bruce holler to enter, so he opens the door and walks in. “I got your message, Sheriff.”
“Have a seat, Alex. I have people calling in from all over the county wondering what’s going on, but I don’t know what to tell them.”
“I think I finally know why.” He tells Bruce everything he knows so far and his plan to get into the facility. “Okana’s on his way to help me.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, all you have is a theory that they have the device you mentioned.”
Alex stares at Bruce for a moment. “Perhaps, but I am positive the mine is the epicenter for these seismic events. One way or another, I have to get inside the facility.”
“All right, but no sense blowing things up just yet. Let me call George and we’ll check out the entrance from a helicopter first.”
“That works for me. How long until he can get over here?”
“We can be at his office in a couple of minutes by car. Spencer lets him use the movie theater as an office and landing pad.”
“It will take Okana an hour to get here.”
“Like I said this morning. I’ve met a couple of the guards. They might let us in if I’m with you.”
“It’s worth a try.”
Bruce makes the call to George while Alex calls Spencer and Okana to let them know what they are doing. They ride in Bruce’s vehicle to the theater and park next to the building.
Alex climbs out and hears the familiar whine of the turbine engine as they walk over to a metallic green Bell helicopter and the slender man standing beside it. Bruce introduces him to George Whitley and they shake hands. “That’s a nice bird you have. I’ve flown one of these, myself.”
George grins. “It’s always nice to meet a fellow pilot. Let’s go.”
They all climb in and within a few moments, the helicopter leaps off the ground and George swings it around on a northerly heading. Ten minutes later, they fly over the southern rim of the mountain range. Now he’s getting an aerial view, and Alex clearly sees the outline of a volcanic crater.
George flies them to the northern end of the crater, and they can barely see the two green rooftops of the guard shack and a small barrack hidden in the trees. Once past the tree line, he keeps the helicopter hovering above the turnaround area of the clearing. Three men with holstered pistols walk out from the trees and wave him down in a friendly manner, and George looks over at Alex for approval. “It’s your call.”
“They might be able to help us get inside so go ahead and land.”
George brings his bird down in the widest area and sets the engine to idle, then his passengers climb out.
Bruce recognizes one of the men. “Rick Daniels, this is Alex Cave, a geophysicist, and he’s here to help. We think something inside the facility is causing these earthquakes. Can you tell us what they’re doing in there?”
Daniels is glad to see the Sheriff. He’s been worrying about the earthquakes and tried to call Preston, but couldn’t get through. He shakes Alex’s hand. “I’m the head of security. Right after the earthquake, I sent one of my men down the tunnel to the entrance and the door was shut. I told him the entry code, but it didn’t work.”
“Do you know what they took into the facility?”
“Yeah, but I can’t tell you for security reasons.”
“I understand your reluctance. If I’m correct about what’s inside that place, it’s causing these seismic events and things will get much worse. Yellowstone could erupt.”
Daniels can tell that Alex is serious. “All right. Last weekend, this red-haired woman and an old man arrived, and we unloaded this big ass torpedo. They took it inside, and we were told to return to our station. The owner stops by once in a while, but that’s all I know about it.”
Damn her! Alex swears silently. “Why would they shut the door?”
“That’s just it. They wouldn’t. That door is never closed.”
“Is it okay if we fly in and check it out?”
“I’ll go with you. I know the code.”
George waits while Bruce and the stranger climb into the back seat, then looks over at Alex as he climbs into the co-pilots seat. “A new friend?”
“For now. I really appreciate your help with this, George. Could you take us to the mine entrance?”
“All right. The area in front looked like it was made for a helicopter to land.” He shoves the throttle forward, takes off from the field, and heads in the direction of the entrance. “What’s this all about, Alex?”
Alex turns in his seat so Daniels can hear him too and gives a brief description of the purpose of the facility and the device. When George asks him who built the damn thing, Alex knows he can’t tell him the truth and simply answers that it’s top secret. “Right now, our biggest concern is getting inside the facility and shutting down the device.”
A few moments later, George brings the helicopter over the clear area in front of the entrance and drops it down gently on the painted landing area. He and Alex are the first to notice that no dust bellows up from the ground as they touch down.
Alex opens his door and steps out. “It’s no wonder we didn’t see any vehicle tracks when we flew over earlier. It’s painted concrete.”
Once the others climb out, Daniels leads the way to the entrance. The overhead lights are off, casting the interior in a gloomy darkness.
“I’ve got a portable light”, George says and runs back to the helicopter.
When George returns, they jog down the tunnel. No one speaks until they arrive at the door, and Daniels indicates the control panel. “This key pad should be illuminated.” He enters the code anyway and nothing happens, so he turns to look at Alex. “We can’t get in.”
“How thick is that door?”
“It’s two feet of hardened steel, Mister Cave. Even ten pounds of C-4 wouldn’t blow a hole in it. There is just no way we can get inside.”
Alex turns to Bruce. “I guess we go with Plan B.” He looks at George. “Let’s go back to the theatre. I have another idea.”
Everyone turns and jogs back down the tunnel. When they reach the helicopter, Daniels sees that one of his men is waiting nearby in a brown and green SUV, and walks over to talk to him. He notices the man seems nervous. “What’s going on?”
“We just found out they are evacuating Yellowstone Park. After what that Cave person told us, the rest of the guards left the area. All the other vehicles are gone, so I came to get you. We should leave this place.”
Daniels walks over to the others standing outside the helicopter and repeats what he was told. “I’m leaving too. Good luck.”
When Daniels turns to leave, Alex, Bruce, and George climb into the helicopter. A few moments later, George brings the aircraft up over the rim of the mountain range and heads back to Stillwater.
Alex calls Okana and Spencer to let them know they couldn’t get inside, and will meet them at the rendezvous point. As they approach the theater parking lot, Alex sees a large white pickup with oversize tires parked next to Bruce’s patrol car.
Once they set down, everyone climbs out and Alex strolls over to Okana and Patrick, who are standing near the big truck. “Nice play toy, Spencer.”
“It sure is. I’ve got everything you need in the back, Alex.”
Alex notices that George has left the helicopter running and is climbing up to the engine cover, so he walks over to talk to him. “Can you fly us to the ventilation shaft?”
“I’d like to help you, Alex, but there is something going on with the engine. Can you hear that ticking sound?”
Alex listens for a moment. “You’re right. We’ll find another way. Thanks for the ride.”
Alex heads back over to Spencer. “I guess we’re going four-wheeling.” He looks at Bruce. “Are you coming with us?”
“No, my place is here. I have a lot of scared people counting on me. I’ll see you when you get back. Good luck, for all our sakes.” He climbs into his patrol car and drives back into town.
Alex, Okana, and Spencer climb up into the cab of his monster truck, then he drives out of the parking lot.