Atlas stopped to question something he saw on a monitor, and Joseph indicated Cam should move to another area. “Security is this way.” They moved into a large room that Cam imagined must have once been a dining room. The setup was equally impressive. Two men sat at L-shaped desks with three monitors on each.
Joseph continued the tour. “Security cameras are located at various checkpoints in the tunnel systems. There are also emergency phones and safety boxes throughout, containing everything from first aid kits to fire extinguishers. If a box is opened, a notification comes here, and the foreman dispatches security to investigate.”
Cam listened along. Joseph gave him a probing look. “I don’t imagine you have any experience with this sort of thing.”
“I do,” Cam countered. “Señor Sava's compound was well-guarded. I handled security when it was required.”
“I see.” Joseph nodded, impressed. “I get the feeling many of your talents have yet to be revealed.”
Before Cam could contemplate the comment, Atlas joined them. “Ready to tour the mines?”
“Yes,” Cam replied.
Atlas led them into the mouth of the mine, and again Cam marveled at the clean, bright space. As if reading his thoughts, Atlas remarked. “It gets a bit more claustrophobic the farther we go. Some of the tunnels are quite narrow.”
They stepped into an elevator just slightly smaller than a standard building elevator and descended. “You can walk this way as well; the tunnels lower in elevation as they move away from the mountains. The elevator is just faster.” Atlas commented.
Cam carefully mapped the maze they walked as Atlas and Joseph pointed out oxygen saturation devices and security cameras as well as the safety boxes and emergency phones Joseph had mentioned earlier. Atlas spoke with pride about ore extraction and new methods of transport. Cam couldn’t muster the enthusiasm Atlas seemed to expect, but he rationalized that Miguel Ramirez was nothing if not inscrutable. Finally, they rounded a corner and arrived back at the elevator.
“Here we are.” Atlas dusted off his hands. “So, Señor Ramirez, have I impressed you?”
“More than impressed,” Cam replied.
“Excellent. Let's head back to the villa for a late lunch.” Atlas clapped him on the back and walked into the elevator car, Joseph falling in step.
“Sir,” Cam halted the men, holding the door open with one hand. “If it's all right with you, I’d like to stay and observe, maybe look around a bit.”
Atlas grinned, “Of course, of course. Take all the time you need. Keep track of where you are; I don’t want to discover you lost and starved in a week. To the left, toward the shore, are currently unused tunnels and storage. Keep to the right, and you’ll see a lot of work.”
Cam stood stoic as the elevator door slid closed and, like the smoke from a magician's flash paper, all that remained of Atlas March's presence was a cloud of expensive cologne.
Cam turned and headed left. Something he had seen on the tour had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He wound through empty shafts, passing a break room and a storage room that was actually a cave. They must have broken through into a cave system while excavating the mine. A few yards past the storage area, a tunnel was chained off. A sign hung from the middle:
No Entrar. Perill.
Do Not Enter. Danger.
Cam wouldn’t have looked twice, but for the man he had seen look around carefully, then duck under the chain and disappear. Shielded by the break room door, their group had gone unnoticed by the man, but Cam had noticed him. Stepping over the barricade, Cam wandered through the empty tunnels until he came to a locked steel door, a digital keypad on the wall.
Turning back, he filed the information away, made note to keep an eye on that area, and continued exploring the mine. Hopefully, there were no more surprises.