Starfall

Chapter 4 - The Hunt

Pacifica thoroughly enjoyed listening to Mabel and Dipper tease and playfully bicker with one another. In some small way, it made up for the crushing loneliness that encompassed her solitary childhood. Pacifica spoke up now, "Hey Mabel, how have you been girl?" Mabel squealed with excitement. "Dipper why didn't you tell me it was Pacifica!!!" Dipper muttered darkly, "I might have if I could have got a word in edgewise."

Pacifica laughed while Mabel barreled onward, "How was your graduation"?!? Did your parents even go? Speaking of terrible people, they haven't tried to sell you as a bride to some Arabian prince or something yet? OH! Oh! I saw you at the game on TV! You sang so beautifully I cried. I hugged waddles but I would have rather hugged you."

Pacifica laughed and smiled. While many may have found Mabel's forthright nature abrasive she found it refreshingly genuine. Especially after all the posturing and pretenses of boarding school. She shuddered thinking of how wealth and power made even the finest of minds arrogant and tyrannical. If she never saw another domineering, imperious, self-vindicating aristocrat it would be too soon. No someone like Mabel Pines, even with her faux pas, was a breath of fresh air.

Pacifica smiled, "I missed you too Mabel." Just then Pacifica heard Ford's voice as he picked up a second headset. "I'm back. Stanley made dinner and you know it never agrees with me. Let's just say it came back for revenge." Dipper cleared his throat in embarrassment, "Uh, Great Uncle Ford, I should tell you I picked up Pacifica on my way through downtown. Say Hi Pacifica." Pacifica said, "Good evening Mr. Pines." Ford muttered something incoherent, then said, "Sorry about that Miss Northwest. You will have to pardon me. I didn't expect anyone else to be online, besides Mabel that is."

Then he shifted gears. "Dipper after you told me you lost the signal I wasn't surprised. I have been researching the history of Downtown Portland for a few years now. I took a special interest in the Shanghai Tunnels. They connect to many other places throughout the city but only a handful of people alive even know about those extra tunnels. The main underground tunnels were used to allow people to trade smuggled goods. There was illegal gambling, prostitution, opium dens, and even kidnappings would happen on a very regular basis. Smugglers would drug men and women and then sell them as bondservants to work on boats for years just to earn their freedom. Portland's history is rather sordid, to say the least."

Ford sighed, "The point of my little history lesson is that those tunnel walls were made with lead in the bricks. It's how the anomaly was able to drop off the detection grid even though it should have been within detection range. The lead-infused bricks shielded it from detection."

Dipper said, "I knew it didn't seem right that the creature just vanished! Excellent work great uncle Ford!" Ford continued, "I have been mapping the tunnels and most of them have either been paved over or filled in for highrise construction, but a few have survived. Given the anomaly's affinity for electricity, I have chosen the abandoned power plant not far from Chinatown as the most likely candidate. I'm sending you the coordinates to your on-bike GPS. Follow the prompts."

Pacifica could now see a map overlay on a small screen that had been mounted to the bike. Dipper took a left at the next intersection and then the following as he doubled back westward to cross the river again now that they had a proper heading.

Ford continued. "The problem is the tunnel is partially collapsed. However, I have a workaround. You will take an adjacent route through one of the other tunnels until it crosses over through a small access shaft. A few years back AT&T decided to use about seventy feet of the tunnels but had to drill an access shaft to port power and fiber optic cables from one tunnel to the next. The tunnels were never intended to connect, but thanks to AT&T looking to save a buck we can now access the tunnel to the abandoned power plant once again. It's a narrow shaft. With the power and fiber optic cables in the way, there is probably less than a meter of clearance. Roughly just over two feet."

Dipper whistled in surprise and affirmation. Then he replied, "I can make that...but...Pacifica. It's probably filthy down there. You can stay on the surface with the bike. I would never expect you to follow me down there."

Pacifica narrowed her eyebrows, "Think again Pines. If I left you down there by yourself you'd probably start taking geological samples and get lost. I'm going with." Mabel snickered near Ford and the microphone. Dipper sighed, "Are you sure? I just don't want you to get hurt." She could hear the gentle concern in his voice but spoke anyway. "I thought that after surviving almost being cleaved in two by a ghost bent on murdering me you would have realized I'm not like my parents. I'm cut from a more durable fabric. If you still want me on the team I can pull my own weight." Dipper put a hand on her shoulder briefly acknowledging her before returning his hand to the throttle. "I can respect that," he said with simple resolve. Pacifica breathed out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Ford continued speaking after a brief respectable silence. "The equipment has now been properly field tested. I ran the data through the computer and got the results back. I spent the last half hour updating the software. I discovered a way to boost the gain of the signal you are tracking. Without getting too technical the QWARK tuner basically hones in on weirdness by pinging the area with quantum radio transmissions. I found a way to boost the gain of the signal by harmonizing it with other known local weirdness emissions. It allows us to greatly expand the range the device can detect weirdness. Mind you it still can't track through lead bricks or similar materials."

Dipper replied, "I can't wait to see the new range booster in action." Dipper pulled into a parking lot and found a place to leave his bike. He told Ford he would call him back on his mobile when they entered the tunnels. He ended the call. Next Dipper helped Pacifica dismount the bike and stowed both their helmets. Dipper pointed down the street and they started walking. Dipper said, "Technically speaking the tours are closed by now as it's after hours. However..." He smirked toothily. "I'm sure that won't stop us. Grunkle Stan has been teaching me how to pick locks. I'm a rookie at it compared to Mabel though...." Dipper's eyes turned wild as he turned to her and said. "Don't tell her I said that!" Pacifica chuckled but the humor was short-lived as she paused to reflect on something. "I read about this place. Isn't it supposed to be one of the most haunted places in the US...no doubt on account of the grizzly tales Ford told us regarding human trafficking and all?" Dipper cringed slightly. "Yeah a lot of innocent people died down there, but if it really comes down to a ghost bothering us I have confidence in my diplomatic skills to avoid trouble. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to barter a diplomatic solution with ghosts". Pacifica raised an eyebrow. She was none too convinced. Besides Mabel had filled her in on the sordid details of the twins would be adventure turned nightmare at the Dawn2Dusk convenience store while trying to gain street cred with Wendy and her friends. It's not that she doubted his heart or resolve here, but there were too many unknown variables, and this time they would be completely alone...half buried in the earth...a tunnel that could just as easily become their tomb. To be truthful a seed of fear had entered her mind like a splinter. Not that she would admit it out loud...not after her fiery speech about pulling her own weight. That option was now off the table. Oh Pacifica she sighed to herself silently. How do you get yourself into these situations?

Dipper began to pick the lock to the entrance while Pacifica kept a lookout. The entrance to the Shanghai tunnels consisted simply of a flat door that was flush with the sidewalk. When opened it would swing up and back onto the sidewalk on a hinge revealing a stone stairway into a particularly creepy-looking tunnel. She had seen a video of a tour a few years ago. The disturbing images still had not left her mind. She bit her lip in hesitation. The lock snapped open with a click and Dipper unlocked the heavy bolt and ushered her in. Even the hinges of the door seemed to protest and bewail their disturbance. As they descended the dusty stone stairs the darkness threatened to envelop them. Everything about this place felt forbidden and portentously foreboding. The last of the luminous rays of the waxed moon faded as Dipper closed the heavy door loosely behind them with a thud.