“Nice place you got here,” I said. “Rat-infested to be sure but not bad.”
Cartwright looked at me. “You’ve got a smart mouth.”
“And here I was worried that I had a stupid mouth.”
“Why are you here?”
“I’m looking for a place to live. New York real estate prices are ridiculous. Still, I think I can do better than this place.”
He lifted his shotgun and pointed it at my head. “One last time. Tell me why you’re here.”
My brain cleared and I had a moment of understanding. “Wait a second. You’re…all of you, you’re the Sand Demons, aren’t you?”
He grunted, but lowered the gun a few inches. “Will you just answer the damn question already?”
“Who are you guys anyways? Some kind of secret society?”
“No.”
“But I saw the skull and pickaxes. The secret doors with the push-button mechanisms.”
“Tricks of the trade.”
“So, you’re just a bunch of ex-sandhogs living underground?”
“That about sums it up. Now, for the last time, I want you to tell me why you’re here.”
I hesitated as my brain reeled through a couple of possible answers. He must’ve seen it in my eyes.
“I think I know why,” he said. “But I need to know for certain. I don’t care for violence but if you refuse to talk…”
I didn’t like him, but Cartwright seemed like a straight shooter. I decided to take a chance. “We’re looking for the Omega. If you know where to find it, you need to take us there right now.”
“And why would I do that?”
“We don’t have time for this.”
“Make time,” he growled.
“It’s got a device stored inside. Something called die Glocke or, if you will, the Bell.”
He swallowed. “So you do know.”
“Of course I know. And I also know that you and the rest of your goons here have the Omega.”
“Why do you want this Bell so badly?”
It was a good question, one that touched a lot of trigger points for me. But I decided to go with the most obvious response. “Whoever controls the Bell becomes an instant nuclear power.”
He shook his head. “Why would you want such a thing?”
“I want to destroy it.”
He gave me a long, close look. “You’re assuming that it can be destroyed.”
Beverly cleared her throat. “We have Hartek’s journal.”
“What journal?”
I reached into my satchel and withdrew the small book. “You probably didn’t give this a second look when you searched my stuff. But it’s a record of Hartek’s work. Assuming you haven’t done so already, we might be able to use it to dismantle the Bell.”
He eyed the journal suspiciously. “What makes you think I want to do that?”
“You stole the Bell over thirty years ago. You and the rest of the Sand Demons kept it out of the public eye all this time. I’m guessing you want to get rid of it just as much as we do. Now, let’s get moving. We need to see the Bell if we’re going to figure out how to destroy it.”
“If there’s something to destroy around here, we’ll handle it.”
“Yeah, you’ve doing a great job of that,” I retorted. “Over thirty years and you’ve got nothing to show for it.”
“That’s enough.”
“Let me tell you something else. Right now, a man named Jack Chase and his private army are scouring these tunnels for the Bell. Now, he’s on your doorstep. And if he finds it, he’ll unleash hell upon the earth.”
“You’re lying.”
I stared him straight in the eye. “Do I look like I’m lying?”
“It’s impossible.” He shook his head. “No one’s ever breached our defenses.”
“We did. And if we can find these tunnels, so can Chase.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“I don’t care if you believe me or not. But at least prepare yourselves for Chase. He’s coming, whether you like it or not.”
Cartwright considered me for a moment. Then he glanced over my shoulder again. “Put your guns down.”
One of the Sand Demons cleared his throat. “But, Cap —”
“Do as you’re told.”
I heard soft metallic noises as the Sand Demons holstered their weapons. I nodded in appreciation at Cartwright. “Do you have a contingency plan in case Chase arrives before we destroy the Bell?”
He gave me a dirty look. “Did you see a third rail in any of the tubes? Of course not. This place is our contingency plan, you moron.”
“Then take us to the Omega. Maybe we can destroy the Bell before he gets here.”
Cartwright stared into my eyes, carefully evaluating my every move. “First things first. You need to see something. Walk toward that door.”
“But —”
“Not another word. I still don’t know if I can trust you. So, if you want to see the Bell, do as I say. Otherwise, I’ll shoot you dead where you stand.”
Chapter 51
I felt tension flowing through me as I stepped through the door. But it wasn’t external.
It was internal.
I’d been so caught up in getting my way that I hadn’t stopped to consider things from Cartwright’s point of view. He and the Sand Demons had risked their lives to acquire the Omega. And then they’d spent more than thirty years watching over it and the Bell.
Thirty years.
I let that number sink into my brain. It was an astounding level of commitment and dedication. Despite Cartwright’s contention, the Sand Demons reminded me more and more of a secret society. Brought together by friendship, a single fateful day back in 1976 had melded them into a determined, unified force.
When considered from that angle, Cartwright’s attitude made perfect sense. He and other sandhogs had spent decades protecting a secret, one that could irrevocably change the world. But it went even deeper than that. The Bell was the glue that linked the Sand Demons together. It gave them a purpose beyond their normal lives. He wouldn’t just give up its location on a whim.
I glanced at Beverly. Her attention was directed at the ground. I looked over my shoulder at Cartwright. He returned my look with a stern one of his own.
Since no one seemed interested in talking, I started to think about other things. My mind drifted to a question, one that had plagued me for some time.
Why did they steal the Bell in the first place?
“Turn left.”
I angled my footsteps in line with Cartwright’s instructions. But my brain remained focused on the question at hand. The answer seemed obvious. The Sand Demons stole the Bell to keep Chase from getting it.
But why? And furthermore, why had they hidden it away in a maze of underground tunnels rather than turned it over to the authorities?
I mulled it over in my mind. Maybe the sandhogs were pacifists. Maybe they, like myself, just wanted to keep the Bell from hurting anyone. But if that was the case, why hadn’t they dismantled it? Was it true that the Bell couldn’t be destroyed?
That’s impossible.
Isn’t it?
Plagued by questions I couldn’t answer, I forced my mind to switch gears. Ultimately, none of those things mattered unless I could get my hands on the Bell. But to do that, I’d have to earn Cartwright’s trust.
“Turn right.”
I complied, leading our group through yet another passageway. If I was going to earn his trust, I needed to get him talking. I needed to build a connection to him. “How did you find this place anyways? I ran a dig down here a few years back and I had no idea something like this even existed.”
He didn’t respond. Frustrated, I sorted through my mind for another question. “Well, how —?”