Travis’s first inclination was to head for the elevator, the same way he and Nish had gone when they first bumped into the robbers. But elevators make noise. Besides, it was already up a floor, having taken the two thieves up.

“We’ve got to use the stairs,” Travis whispered.

Neither questioned him. In the dim security lights, he could see both Nish and Andy nod.

“Keep your heads down and go fast, and not a sound,” Travis said.

Travis went first, low and scrambling up along the side of the stairs. From the top he could see the Great Hall where the trophies were. The elevator was to his right, down the short corridor where they had first encountered the robbers.

Nish came up, then Andy, each crouching low. He could hear them breathing. Travis had them all wait a moment until they calmed down.

They could hear noise from the vault area. The big doors were still open, and the robbers were talking.

“You think somebody’s really going to pay a million bucks ransom for a piece of old tin like this?” It was the darker one with the scar.

“This hockey-mad country?” the ponytail said. “You could get whatever you asked.”

“Can’t you hurry it up?”

“Just relax, okay. We move too fast, we trigger the secondary alarms. It’s gonna take twenty minutes to do this right.”

A power tool started up. A saw? A drill? It was difficult to say. Travis turned and looked at Andy and Nish. They looked back at him, waiting for instructions.

Travis felt a strange sensation. He thought he might actually know what to do.

“Follow me,” he whispered, and ducked back down the stairs.

 

At the bottom they caught their breath again. Nish and Andy waited for Travis to talk.

“We’re going to block the elevator,” said Travis.

“How? It’s already up there,” said Nish.

“We’ll block it with a hockey stick,” Travis said. “Get a good straight one out of a display case. You can handle that part, Nish. Bring the stick over and call down the elevator–I don’t think they’ll hear it with all the noise they’re making–and then jam the door open.”

“What good will that do?”

“If the door can’t close, they won’t be able to call it up again and they’ll have to use the stairs.”

Both Nish and Andy thought about it a moment, then nodded.

“Get going,” Travis said, and Nish ducked away, still staying low to the ground.

“C’mon with me,” Travis said to Andy.

He scooted in the same direction Nish had gone, with Andy right behind him. When they came to the minivan, Travis stopped.

“Very quietly open the doors–we’re taking Mom and Dad.”

Andy glanced at him, not understanding, but said nothing. Travis seemed to know what he was doing and Travis was in charge.

The dummies were strapped in, but pulled out fairly easily, and Travis, with Mom over his shoulder, turned and scurried back toward the stairs. Andy, carrying Dad, hurried along behind.

At the bottom of the stairs, Travis stopped and listened. He could still hear the whir of power tools. He looked over toward the elevator and saw Nish, with a hockey stick in one hand, pushing the button to call the elevator.

“Bring Dad over here,” Travis said.

Andy dumped him beside Mom.

“Can you bring both kids now?” Travis asked.

He nodded and hurried away, back to the van.

Travis sat down, breathing hard.

What now?