—
Riley woke with a start, completely disoriented. There was a total absence of light. The air was cold and damp against her face. Someone was shaking her awake. Her mind cleared and confusion was replaced with fear.
“Günter?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I must have fallen asleep.”
“I heard what sounded like gunshots from the other side of the crevice,” Günter said. “It was faint but distinct.”
Now Riley heard them. Two more shots. She was on her feet, arms outstretched in front of her, feeling for the wall. She reached the wall and found the crevice.
“I’m going to help,” she said to Günter. “If I don’t come back—”
“Not an option,” Günter said. “You have to come back.”
Riley sidestepped into the crevice. She was squeezed between two rock surfaces, but it was no darker than it had been in the cave with Günter. Total dark is total dark. She moved as fast as she could, shuffling inch by inch. She felt the change in the air and saw a hint of light and knew she was close to the end of the fissure. She paused when she came to the edge and listened. She heard nothing. Not significant, she thought. Nothing short of a freight train would be heard over her beating heart. She stepped out and squinted into the darkness. It was light enough for her to know she was in the tunnel. Too dark to make out details. The light was coming from the left and she knew the left led to the vault. She drew her gun and cautiously walked toward the light, hugging the wall. She turned a corner and the light was suddenly blinding.
She was in a cavernous space with a high vaulted ceiling studded with stalactites, stretching as far as she could see, lit by bright fluorescent work lights. The huge vault was filled with more gold than Riley could possibly have imagined. Stacks and stacks of gold bars lined up like walls of a city built by King Midas. The golden ramparts zigged and zagged, forming a giant maze. A maze that didn’t need to lead to a treasure because it was made of treasure.
She remembered what Günter had told Emerson. If the lights are on, the guards are patrolling. No surprise, since she’d heard gunshots. She didn’t see any movement. No shadows. Didn’t hear anyone walking or talking. She quietly moved to the closest wall of gold bricks. She crept to the end of the wall and peeked out. Nothing but wall after wall of gold.
“Mr. Knight?” a voice called out.
It was Rollo speaking in his calm, silky voice.
“We can keep this game up for hours but you know what the outcome will be,” Rollo said. “There’s no way out. After all, thi
s isn’t your mansion, riddled with hidden doors. We’re bound to catch you in the end.”
Relief swept through Riley. Emerson was all right. Not killed. Not captured.
“Oh, I know, you think if you drag this out for as long as possible, something will come up,” Rollo said. “Someone will come in to help you. Someone like that girl hiding behind stack number 55.”
Security cameras, Riley thought. The place was probably lousy with them.
“Come out right now and I won’t hurt her,” Rollo said.
I have just six rounds of ammo, Riley thought. I have to make them count. She was a good shot. The best in her family. She hunted with her dad and her brothers. Ducks, deer, wild pigs. This was different. This time she was the hunted as well as the hunter. This time she would be firing at a human being. Not something she thought she would ever do. She’d have to sight and fire fast, and retreat. She took a quick look and saw that Rollo was walking directly toward her, limping slightly. He was maybe five stacks away. He had a big Band-Aid on his forehead, a Band-Aid over his nose, and a black eye. And he had a gun in his hand.
“Miss Moon,” Rollo said. “It doesn’t look like Mr. Knight is going to sacrifice himself for you. That leaves me no choice but to shoot you. Perhaps you would be so kind as to step out into my field of vision again.”
Showtime, Riley thought. Take him down. She took a calming breath, sprang out from behind the stack of gold, imagined a bull’s-eye over Rollo’s heart, and fired. His eyes went wide with surprise and he fell to the floor. Riley put her hand to the wall of gold for support. Breathe, she told herself. Breathe!
Emerson rounded the corner of Stack 55, ran the length of it, and reached out and yanked Riley behind the wall.
“Holy cats,” Riley said. “Holy cow!”
“There’s a freight elevator halfway down the room on the far wall,” Emerson said. “Run for it.”
Riley ran flat-out with Emerson inches behind her. They reached the elevator, and Emerson lifted the gate and got in.
Riley hesitated. “Where does this go?”
“Somewhere else,” Emerson said.
He pulled her in, slammed the gate closed, and punched the UP button. The elevator rumbled and began to move.