Riley took one of the guards’ rifles from Alani. She checked the clip for ammo and shouldered the gun.
“What about you?” Alani asked Emerson. “Do you want the other rifle? Do you know how to use it?”
“Sure,” Emerson said. “I read about it in a book.” He pointed at the barrel. “This is the end where projectiles exit, right?”
“Maybe Riley should be in charge of firearms,” Alani said.
“Emerson don’t need a gun,” Vernon said. “He can do all kinds of lethal stuff. You should see him do the Vulcan nerve pinch.”
“There’s no such thing,” Alani said. “That was made up for Star Trek.”
“Excuse me, but that is a total load of baloney,” Vernon said. “I’ve seen him do it. We were in this fight at the Pig ’n’ Whistle bar one time, and I saw him do the pinch. You probably don’t believe in Bigfoot either.”
Alani did a gigantic eye roll. “You are so gullible,” she said to Vernon.
“Yeah and you are so—”
“So what?” Alani asked.
“I don’t know. Actually, you’re kind of pretty.”
“Oh jeez!” Alani said.
“Anybody got a Snickers?” Vernon said. “I really need a Snickers.”
Emerson pulled a roll of antacids out of his pack. “This is all I’ve got,” he said.
“Good enough,” Vernon said. “Hand them over.”
“We’re losing time,” Riley said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
TWENTY-FOUR
Emerson and Riley walked into the tube. Almost immediately they came to a large diesel generator that hummed and buzzed, providing power to the flickering electric lights lining the slick black rock walls.
“I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but this is even spookier than the fog,” Riley said.
“I rather like it,” Emerson said.
The tunnel opened up into a large man-made cavern with a poured cement floor. The SUV was in the corner of the room, parked next to several Ford F-150 pickups, a bunch of ATVs, some heavy machinery, and a military transport like the one at Sour Creek Dome.
Riley inspected the SUV. “Looks like we found the bad guys’ secret hollowed-out volcano parking lot. But where are the bad guys?”
Emerson pointed to the other side of the cavern. “The lava tube continues that way.”
Riley crossed the cavern with Emerson and peered into the adjacent tunnel. There was a heavy-looking steel double door blocking their path and muffled voices on the other side. She put her ear to the door.
“It sounds like someone is crying and calling for help,” Riley said.
Emerson carefully opened the door and peeked inside. “It’s a bunch of jail cells lining one side of the lava tube. There’s a woman in one. I don’t see any sign of Tin Man or the guards.”
“If we’re caught, there’s nowhere to run. We’re trapped in this tunnel,” Riley said. “We’ll end up in one of those cells.”
Emerson pushed the door open wide enough for them to squeeze through and closed it quietly behind them. The woman in the cell was standing at the bars and sobbing hysterically.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked.
The woman scrambled away from them into a corner of the cell.