After returning to the yacht, the team watched footage of Sarah and Cobb’s exploration for several hours. The film study may have seemed like overkill, but it served a purpose. Having searched the entire system, the only thing that stood out was the curious brick wall at the end of the final tunnel.
For some reason, it didn’t seem to belong.
Garcia did some digging and explained what he had found. ‘Jack’s theory about the bomb shelter is dead-on. It was actually planned by the British military. They saw the tunnels as a way to protect the local population if the Germans decided to bomb Alexandria. The Egyptian government signed off on the plan, authorizing a sizeable project that was intended to transform the empty tunnels into shelters.’
‘Transform them how?’ Papineau asked.
‘Where needed, they reinforced the stone with concrete to ensure that it wouldn’t collapse. They lined the walls with wooden benches. And they installed a ventilation system to provide breathable air.’
‘We didn’t see any benches,’ Sarah offered.
Garcia anticipated the comment. ‘The benches have mostly been removed in the years since the war. The wood was needed in the ghettos. Some built with it. Some simply burned it. Either way, everyone turned a blind eye.’
Jasmine appreciated the information, but it didn’t explain the brick wall. ‘It still leaves us with one question: if the goal was to protect as many people as possible, why seal off part of the system? There’s another cistern beyond the brick wall and several more tunnels. There would be room for hundreds of people. Why not use that space as well? Why put the barricade there? And how do we get past it?’
Silence hung in the air as everyone pondered the issues.
That is, until McNutt chimed in.
‘I’m not great at math—’
‘No shit,’ Sarah said.
‘But by my count, that was four questions, not one.’ He double-checked his math on his fingers. ‘Yep, cinco.’
Jasmine smiled. ‘What’s your point?’
‘I have no idea how to answer the first three, but the fourth one is easy.’ He broke into a wide grin. ‘If you want to get through, I can get through.’
They weren’t the only ones pondering new evidence. Kamal and Tarek had gone without sleep as well, having spent the night running down their only lead: the cell phone picture of the mysterious woman.
The photograph had been sent by an elderly shopkeeper at one of the businesses that they ‘protected’. He, like many others, had heard of Kamal and Tarek’s interest in the woman. Hoping to curry favor with the henchmen — the payments that he owed to them seemed to increase every week — the shopkeeper did what he could to find her.
Since his ailments prevented him from roaming the city, the shopkeeper had asked his grandson to keep an eye out for anyone matching Sarah’s description. The grandson had then asked his friends for help, and one of those friends had snapped the picture of her down the street from the apartment building.
They didn’t know where she was headed.
But if she returned, they would be ready.
There were pros and cons about returning to the tunnel so soon after their rekky.
On the plus side, it was still the weekend, which meant the streets would be filled with people of all shapes and sizes and the local authorities would be preoccupied with maintaining the general peace on the rowdiest day of the week.
On the other hand, if anyone had grown suspicious of Cobb and Sarah the night before, their reappearance might cause some alarm, especially since there would be more to notice on their return trip. This time they were bringing Jasmine, McNutt, and a wide assortment of equipment.
After sorting through all the possibilities, Cobb decided it was better to hit the tunnels while they were fresh in their minds than to sit on the yacht and wait.
The rest of the team agreed.
Papineau dropped them off in an alley near the apartment building before he returned to the yacht. Meanwhile, Garcia monitored the team’s movement from his makeshift command center, using high-tech toys and surveillance videos.
Garcia tapped a few keys. ‘Okay, boys and girls, I’ve got all of you up on my screen. That means your devices are transmitting… Can everyone hear my voice?’
‘Yes,’ said Jasmine.
‘Hurry up,’ urged Sarah.
‘Who is this?’ asked McNutt.
Cobb smiled. ‘That’s affirmative.’
Garcia checked his video screens. ‘The street is clear in front of the building. The lobby is clear, too. Commence on your go.’
Cobb nodded at Sarah. ‘Clear here. Moving in.’
To lessen their odds of detection, they traveled in pairs. Sarah and McNutt went first, followed by Cobb and Jasmine. Sarah picked the lock without breaking stride and continued down the hall toward the stairwell. McNutt slowed briefly, placing a piece of tape over the strike plate to prevent the lock from reengaging, before he caught up with Sarah. They continued toward the basement and the boiler room as Cobb and Jasmine arrived at the front door. Cobb opened the door like a gentleman while smoothly removing the tape from the frame. Jasmine walked through before he pulled the door shut behind him.
All in all, their breach had taken thirty-nine seconds.
One second less than they had expected.
Inside the boiler room, McNutt had no trouble removing the metal grate that led to the tunnels below. Sarah instinctively paused to listen for trouble. Hearing nothing but the steady hum of the boiler, she dropped into the system below and turned on her video flashlight.
‘We’re clear,’ she said from the tunnel.
A minute later, the team was standing beside her.
‘Now where?’ Jasmine wondered.
No longer the navigator, she was relying on Garcia to guide them to the far end of the cisterns. Unfortunately, she knew it would take a lot of jumping and climbing to reach the brick wall — and climbing was not her forte. In fact, the last time she had climbed anything of significance was back in grade school, and that incident had resulted in a bloody lip when a classmate pulled her hair and she fell off a jungle gym.
Today, the stakes would be much higher.
And so would the obstacles.
As they approached the first cistern, Sarah pulled a thin climbing rope from her backpack and began tying it around Jasmine’s waist. ‘This will catch you if you fall. It’s not the easiest climb down.’
‘I’m going first?’ Jasmine blurted.
Sarah smiled as she pulled the knot tight. ‘No. I’m going down first to check the holds. If they’re still solid, you’ll come down next. If not, the guys will have to lower you with the rope.’
Before the others could argue, Sarah was off the edge and making her way toward the floor. Fifteen seconds later she was staring up at them. ‘Jasmine, you’re up.’
‘Great,’ she said in a tone that suggested otherwise. ‘So, Jack, how do I do this? Do I just start climbing?’
Cobb smiled. ‘Yep.’
‘And if you happen to slip…’ McNutt showed her the tight grip he had on the rope. ‘I swear I’ve got ya.’
‘You won’t fall,’ Cobb assured her. ‘I did this yesterday in both directions, and the handholds are solid. Just have a little faith, and you’ll be fine.’
Jasmine took a deep, calming breath, blew it out slowly, and then started her descent. Her pace was measured at first, but after she got a feel for the spacing of the slots, her speed picked up considerably for the rest of the climb.
McNutt went down next, followed by Cobb, who brought the rope down with him. Once he reached the bottom, he quickly spooled the rope around his hand and elbow before he slipped it over his shoulder and nodded for Sarah to take the lead.