The Wire Hanger

Chapter 36

We wound through unfamiliar tunnels, sometimes coming so close to the surface that I swore I could hear footsteps. But I took my cues from Jezebel, who was unconcerned, marching close behind Obadiah and his powerful headlamp. After a while he stopped short and said, “We’re nearly there. Could use a visual. Coby?”

            I looked at him blankly.

            “Climb this ladder,” he said, gesturing to a metal ladder bolted to the wall that I hadn’t seen until he pointed it out. It was dank and grimy and therefore blended in perfectly with the dank and grimy wall. “Think of it as a submarine.”

            He didn’t offer any more information, so I automatically did as I was asked. As I got to the top of the ladder I realized why they’d asked me – it narrowed considerably, so that an adult would have had a hard time fitting their shoulders through. And Noah, of course, would rather keep his feet on the ground.

            At the top of the ladder I popped my head into what seemed like a large metal helmet. There was a narrow rectangle of cloudy glass in front of me, and I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the dim natural light filtering through. Twenty feet ahead of me was a hulking building framed in glass and steel, with an above-ground tunnel leading into it from somewhere behind me. I supposed this kept them from having to cross the busy street between me and the building, which, I noticed, had a street sign labeling it Queen.

With a jolt I realized that Lower Queen must not be that far off, and that I was looking at the Centre. It was lit up from within, shining brilliantly out onto the street, and Protectors kept crossing into it from the tunnel above. At this hour there weren’t any civilians out and about, so it was only uniforms, everywhere I looked, and the grand and imposing entrance of the Centre, with a small door off to the side marked Visitors. As I watched a van pulled up to this entrance and a lanky man was hustled through the Visitors door, feet kicking out every which way. I began to suspect “Visitors” was a euphemism.

            The van stayed parked outside, with a Protector leaning lazily against it. At the back was a platform that seemed designed to allow Protectors to stand at the back, on the outside of the van, and look intimidating as it drove along. Nothing seemed to be happening, so at a tap at my shoe I descended the ladder and reported what I’d seen. “What was I looking through?” I asked.
            “Defunct mailbox,” said Jezebel. “It’s been slated for removal for years and years, but they just never seem to get around to it. One of those things people’s eyes slide right over. So we commandeered it.”

            The image of my head and shoulders cramming through a mailbox while letters rained down on my head struck me as hilarious and I squelched a giggle.

            “How many guards at the main doors?” Obadiah asked.
            “Two. Regular, not elite.”

            “How busy was the skyway?”

            “The what?”

            “Above ground.”

            “Oh. Um, pretty busy, I guess. Usually about ten people walking through it.”

            “Not too bad,” said Obadiah, as if to himself. “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re crossing under the street, but not too deep, because Esau’s being kept on the main level, right?”

            “Right,” said Noah, frowning at his tablet.

            “It’s a tight entrance, through one of the bathrooms. We really, really cannot be followed. Noah and Coby, you stay in the tunnel, ready to snap the door shut on us if you hear them coming.”