Primed: A Kayla Madison Story

Primed Part 26

 SIXTEEN: BASEMENT REVELATIONS

Jake had us meet along a side street. As we approached his mansion, even the cobbled roads were smoother than the rest of Coronado. Of course, I still managed to trip on one of them. Fortunately, Michael steadied me as we made our way to the back entrance.

I hadn't questioned why I was riding with Michael. He was, after all, my protector. But then, my Dad was here, and I think my interest in Jake was mutual. Plus, it wasn't like Michael needed my help to get the carriage to work. Still, it somehow made sense to me that I'd ride with him.

On the back corner of Jake's house, there was a small covered porch where discarded fruit and vegetable peelings were in an open cloth bag. It sat near a white wood chair and table. I guessed the cooks prepared food outside when the weather was nice. I hoped they wouldn't be back anytime soon.

I pointed the items out to the group and motioned for them to go faster.

We followed Jake through the door. It opened into an alcove between the kitchen and the dining room. There was a paneled white wood door matching the wall perfectly except for a tiny knob and keyhole.

Jake unlocked the door and we went down into the basement. The walls were also paneled in wood and painted white. Thank goodness for electricity. The basement was well lit, and we didn't need to fiddle with any gas lamps.

I was impressed with the scale and organization of the basement. Calligraphy labels dotted the shelves to ensure everything was well-stocked and in its place. Whether it was preserved food, boxes labeled for Christmas supplies, miscellaneous maintenance equipment, or various types of linens, it appeared the Wu's could probably survive for a year without outside provisions.

"Is this all?" Michael walked through the shelving area.

"This basement isn't enough for you?" I asked.

Michael motioned toward the finished walls. "This section is too polished and regularly frequented to have people preparing for a war on the council." Michael turned to Jake. "Is there another section of your basement?"

Jake nodded and led us past the shelving to a door opening into an unfinished portion of the basement. It was still clean and well organized but filled with tools and woodworking equipment instead of household supplies. In the far corner was a large metal stove with a tank of water above it. Next to the stove was a pile of wood with a scheduled on the wall behind it so servants knew when to add more wood to the fire. I couldn't believe I was envious of their hot water heater. I planned to appreciate modern conveniences more when I returned home.

"I do not see a tunnel entrance here." Jake stood in the center and examined each wall.

Dad and Michael walked over to the stove and tank of water. They seemed to be communicating with each other without speaking as they pointed and moved a few things around.

Michael tapped the water heater. "I thought you said there was an arrangement with the headquarters for electricity and water pumps. Why do you need a water heater when I would assume you also get hot water from headquarters as well?"

Jake shrugged his shoulders. "I assume the water cools down too much by the time it gets here."

Dad pointed to the ceiling where there were various pipes and wires above our head. One end of each pipe went up to the rest of the house in various locations but, the other ends of all of them went through fitted holes. Since the basement ended, it wasn't clear where they went. "Note how the pipes join together and disappear behind this wall. These pipes should lead us to the Headquarters."

That particular wall had a counter at waist height with boxes under and mostly empty shelves above it. Tools were hanging on nails on the wall under the shelves. Michael motioned for Jake to come closer and examine it. While Jake was busy looking at the cabinets, Dad and Michael slid boxes over toward me. I shoved them to the other side of the room.