Steve Sidel at that moment realized for sure that this was his future wife.
"No. I was over by the doors. I'm just so glad that it wasn't you."
Steve had placed his arms gently around Kathy's very small waist and he hugged her with
an intensity he hadn't known existed five minutes before. They were still in a very tight embrace when Kathy suddenly loosened her hug for a moment and said to Steve.
"Oh. I almost forgot." She gestured behind her with her head. "This is Tyrone. He is a security guard here and we have been hiding until we could tell what was happening."
"Well Tyrone, as far as I know some people were trying to rob the place when the roof caved in, so that must be the people with the gun."
"Steve. I lost my memory for a while but, I think I have regained most of it back. I vaguely remember being hit on the back of the head by a petite blonde so she must be part of the robbery plan. I have a gun so maybe we can catch them off guard."
"I'm really happy to hear that you have a weapon. It might be the edge we need but, I suggest we stay put until we can figure out what exactly is going on. We might need the element of surprise to make a difference in what is going on."
June 14, Saturday 2:44 p.m.
In the hole
Kevin Backlin and Bill Forham had just reached the door to the kitchen when they heard the shot. They had helped several couples up from the floor that were disoriented and told them where the opening was to get out of the hole. They figured most of the guests were probably under the north end of the building and from what they could see, that part of the lobby's roof had collapsed. The north end of the lobby was the cocktail bar area and most people had been gathered in that area when the sinkhole started. From their limited field of vision the entire north side was totally under a mass of building parts and dirt and it would take shovels and heavy duty lights, that the firemen carried, to rescue the people trapped in that area. That is if there was any left to be rescued. They had concentrated their search area to find the people that could be rescued quickly because they knew the whole place might become submerged by the lake and saving a few was better than rescuing people that might not be alive anyway.
When they heard the shot, they decided immediately that the robbers were behind it and they stopped their search to decide on a course of action.
"Listen Bill. I don't know about you but, I think it would be very stupid for us to walk right back into the arms of those gun toting maniacs and let them either shoot us or take us hostage. I think we should maybe try to find another way out of here and then we could take anybody we ran across out the new way so we could avoid those criminals."
"I couldn't agree more Kevin but, do you really think there is another way out?"
"Remember those sound testings we did three years ago? This place was honeycombed with caverns. I think if we concentrated on the outer walls of the lobby we just might run into one of those passage ways that would connect with this building since we are below ground level anyway." "You know Kevin. That's really a good idea. If we found a cavern it would probably lead toward another collapsed building and we might find an opening we could use. We could lead everyone out the back way and get them away from the threat of the robbers. Let's go see what we can find."
The two men headed toward the closest wall that they knew was an outside wall and started shining the light from the floor to the ceiling. They traveled the length of the wall until they came to a doorway and Kevin pushed on the locking bar that ran the width of the door. In the direct beam of the flashlight they could see a sign that said "Push in case of Emergency" and they both nodded thinking to themselves that this was definitely an emergency. The door would not budge from its closed position and Kevin shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Bill to continue working their way down the wall. They continued down the wall for another twenty feet and they ran into what looked like an interior door.
"I thought this was an outside wall." Questioned Bill. "Why would they have this type of door leading to the outside?"
"Maybe it's some sort of maintenance room. You know for brooms and mops and stuff. They have to have some sort of storage area around here."
"Well, try to open it Kevin. We won't know till we try."
Kevin turned the knob and felt no resistance but when he tried to push it open it would not budge.
"I think it's just stuck because of the way the building settled Bill. Give me a hand and we can try to force it open."
Kevin and Bill both put their weight against the wood center of the door and it slowly started to push open. A large pile of dirt fell through the top portion of the door and they kept forcing it further open with their body weight. When it was three quarters of the way open, they stopped and Bill shined the light through the opening. They could see through the beam of the flashlight a small computer room obviously set up for running the lighting in the lobby and the automated parts of the kitchen and office areas. Kevin forced his way past the partially opened door and saw an outside door on the back wall in the beam of the light that Bill was flashing past him. The door was an opening inward door and he turned around to face Bill.
"Let's give that one a shot. We can pull it open so maybe we will just see a big dirt or stone wall or maybe it will be a way out."
The two men walked over to the cream colored door and both held their breath as Kevin put his hand on the knob and slowly turned the handle. They both had a sudden feeling of total failure when the opened door revealed a solid limestone wall that filled the entire doorway.
"Damn." Shouted Kevin as he banged his fist on the soft crumbly stone. "We have to find a way out of here."
Kevin and Bill turned around to walk back out of the computer room when they heard a sound behind them. They both turned quickly around just in time to see the entire limestone wall vanish out of sight. They walked quickly back to the doorway and peered into the opening. A well-formed cavern was behind where the boulder had stood and there was a gap about five feet wide in the floor of the cave where the boulder had disappeared.
"You must have dislodged it when you banged on it Kevin. It sank out of sight like the rest of the stuff around here. Look. I see light down the tunnel. It must lead to another collapsed area. Let's go see what we can find as soon as we make some kind of bridge to get over this hole."
June 14, Saturday 2:54 p.m.
In the hole
"You bastard. Why did you shoot the deputy? He looks no older than a kid. I hope you have a conscience because you really did a number this time."
"Shut up you dumb broad. You saw him reach for his gun. I didn't really have a choice."
Paula Howard glared in the weak light at Frankie Medford. "You didn't have to aim for his heart. I saw the bullet strike him in the chest. You could have shot him in the arm or leg. You just wanted to kill him."
"Who cares? He was a cop anyway and I hate cops. If he dies, he dies. Tough luck."
Frank Medford stuck the gun in Paula's back and said.
"Come on. We're gonna to use you for bargaining power. Nobody wants to see a sweet looking blonde like you get hurt. You're our ticket to freedom"
Frankie walked Paula over to the ramp leading up and yelled up out of the hole.
"Hey you up there. I have the desk clerk as a hostage. If you want to see her alive again you better do as I say. I heard a helicopter fly over. I want a helicopter to fly us out of here so arrange for one pronto.
"Frankie backed out of the opening and motioned for Carrie to come over to where he was standing.
"Listen. Go see if you can find Stretch. I haven't seen him since the roof caved in. I just want to know if he is dead or alive. It might make a difference on our split of the take. The last time I saw him he had a gun in Dilford Bailey's back, right when we were robbing the front desk. They were standing over by the center of the building and Bailey looked really shook up." Carrie Petr
ingelo lit his butane lighter and tried to see in the direction of the center of the building.
"Hey Frankie. It's dark over that way. I can't see a thing and besides who cares about Stretch. Let's just get out of here."
"Do as you're told. You’re whimpering as bad as one of these bitches around here. Just go see if you can find him."
Carrie started slowly walking toward the center of the building flicking his lighter every few seconds. Frankie watched Carrie walk away and then turned his attention back toward the blonde, Paula Howard.
"Well, Miss Desk Clerk, we should be out of here in a few minutes. After the helicopter drops us off at a very secluded spot I think you and I are going to party. Wouldn't that be fun?"
Paula cringed backwards from his words and started praying softly to herself. Frankie looked at his cheap watch in the light shining from the crack in the roof and yelled up at the sheriff who was still tending to the fallen deputy.
"Come on sheriff. Get the lead out. I want to hear the sound of the helicopter landing out front."
"Listen." The sheriff replied in a very shaky voice. "The helicopter can't come any closer than the main road. When it flew over before, it started more caving in of this sinkhole. It is way too dangerous to try that again. The whole place might sink into the ground. You are going to have to climb out of that hole and walk over to where it's parked if you want to fly out of here. We can't even get a vehicle over near this opening because the road is caved in. Please be patient and we might can work out some kind of deal for you."
"Deal, smeal. I want to hear that helicopter landing over here. I don't care if the whole place sinks out of sight. I am going to be long gone before that happens so just get moving, you hear me?" Steve Sidel whispered to Tyrone Washington is a barely audible tone.
"Man we have to do something. That guy is totally nuts. If they bring that helicopter over here, everybody down here is going to die. I need to go over and see if I can reason with him."
"Don't take that chance. He is just stupid enough to shoot you if you try to talk to him. We have to figure some other way to stop him."
"I have an idea." Kathy Santos enthusiastically replied after following their conversation. "He won't suspect I know what is going on if I just stumbled over toward him and pretend I am trying to find my way out. You could let me have your gun and when he is not suspecting it, I could get the drop on him."
"Look Kathy." Steve Sidel replied in a very somber tone. "I just found you in my life. I am sure the hell not going to take a chance in ever losing you again. We'll have to find a different way."
"But Steve, it might catch him off guard and we could get that gun away from him."
"Absolutely not. You are way too valuable to me now." He reached over and planted his lips softly on hers. "You are now in my protective custody."
"He's right Kathy." Tyrone added. "We can't take a chance with him. He sounds like he is absolutely insane."
"Well I do have another idea." Steve suggested. "That Stretch he mentioned must be my outlaw brother. He visited me about a month ago and when he left I noticed a set of plans for the security system and a floor plan was missing from my office. I didn't think he would have been stupid enough to try to rob a place like this but I had heard him mention a cell mate of his named Frankie. The coincidence is too strong. My plan just might work. Let me explain a few ideas I have. My brother and I have always sounded very much alike and when we were younger, people would always mix the two of us up on the phone. If I can pretend to be my brother I might be able to distract him enough so Tyrone could come up behind him and get the gun.
Anything at this point would be worth it."
"You know Steve. That just might work." Tyrone added. "If he's convinced you're your brother, his guard would be down. What are you going to say to get his attention?"
"Okay listen. I think this will really work." Steve Sidel began explaining to Kathy and Tyrone what he thought would fool Mr. Frankie Medford.
June 14, Saturday 2:57 p.m.
Computer room
"Look in those drawers Bill. We need some sort of tool like a screwdriver." Kevin Backlin was eyeing the interior door that led to the computer room. "I need something to pry up on these door hinge pins."
Bill Forham got lucky on the second drawer he opened and produced a letter opener. "Will this work?" He shined the flashlight at the dull metal knife he was holding in his hand.
"That's perfect." Kevin took the opener out of Bill's extended hand and started prying up on the pins that held the door in place. "There, that's the last one. Give me a hand with this door will you."
The two men carried the door over to the large hole in the hallway and placed it solidly over the opening. Kevin tested his weight on the wooden door and decided it would hold them if they crossed one at a time.
"Come on Bill. Let's see if we can find our way out of here."
The two friends quickly crossed the makeshift bridge and started down the long cavern passageway. They saw several tunnels leading off to the right and left but continued straight ahead toward the light source. It got brighter as they progressed until Bill could turn the flashlight off. They started squinting in the bright light that filled the cave and looked up when they got to a large circular room. The blue sky above their heads brought a smile to both of the men's faces and they started looking around the floor of the room. The floor of the room was actually a tile roof and they both recognized it as the roof of the corporate headquarters. It was the only building in the complex with a brown tile roof. All the rest were bright white.
"Now that we are down here. How are we going to get to the surface?" Bill questioned his friend. "It's a long way up to the surface."
"Hey!"
Both men looked up and could see a grinning fireman looking over the rim of the hole at them.
"I thought I heard voices coming out of the ground." The fireman shouted down. "Your voices sounded like a megaphone up here. We were going to give up on this hole because we saw no sign of life. Where did you guys come from?"
"We walked down a tunnel from the main lobby." Bill yelled up. "There are a lot of people trapped in there and a couple of crazy gunmen won't let them out so we decided to find another way out of there."
"Okay you guys. Hang tight and we'll lower a ladder down. Then we'll see how many people we can sneak out the back way."
"Thanks. I guess I will donate to the firefighter's fund next time they come collecting."
June 14, Saturday 3:04 p.m.
In the hole
"You know, that just might work." Tyrone Washington said. "Since it is dark enough down here, you and Kathy might just be able to pull it off."
Steve Sidel looked admiringly at Kathy Santos and replied.
"If I don't put her in any danger then I believe we can do it."
Steve slipped his suit jacket off and began untying his silk tie.
"I need to look like Stretch would look after he had been knocked out for a while." He ruffled his hair and reached down and ran his hand across a pile of dirt that was lying near his feet. He streaked his face with the grayish dirt until his facial features resembled anything but the clean cut Steve Sidel from Datafuture. Tyrone handed him the revolver and patted him on the back.
"You two be really careful but, you have to hurry in case that albino finds your brother and brings him back."
Kathy started walking slowly toward the opening with Steve directly behind her. They stopped about ten feet away from where Frankie was still holding a gun on the desk clerk but, they were still pretty much in the shadows.
"Hey Frankie. It's me Stretch. Boy do I have a surprise for you." Steve yelled over at Frankie Medford and Paula Howard, trying to imitate his brother's voice. "I have a real hostage for you. Somebody that will make us a whole lot of money. Not like that cheap desk clerk whose family probably doesn't have a red cent." r />
"What are you talking about Stretch, and where have you been? I sent Carrie looking for you to see if you were dead or alive. I was really worried about you."
"I doubt if you were really worried about me. You probably were just wondering if I was still going to be around to split the money you and Carrie got out of the safe. Never mind about that. You know the governor was supposed to be here for the grand opening but he couldn't make it for some reason or another. Well, guess who did show up. His wife, and I have her right here." He shoved Kathy forward a little and waved the gun at the side of her head. "You know the governor will pay big bucks to get his precious little wifey-poo back."
"You, you criminal you." Kathy replied a very indignant tone. "My husband wouldn't pay ransom to a low life like you. I demand you set me free this instant."
Steve stayed in the shadow behind Kathy and prayed that Frankie wouldn't see that Kathy wasn't the governor's wife. He had noticed a very close resemblance the minute he set eyes on Kathy. They were both dark haired, heavily tanned, about the same height and build and both extremely attractive. That resemblance plus the fact he sounded a lot like his brother and that both had similar physical features had given him the idea for this plan and he just hoped he could pull it off. Kathy was playing her part perfectly and he thought they had a better than fifty percent chance of fooling Frankie.
"Stretch. I think that will really work but, I thought it was the governor's wife who was sick and that's why he wasn't here."
"Oh no Frankie. It was his mother from what I heard. She is really sick with cancer and he didn't want to leave her side so he sent his wife here to represent the state. Right bitch?"
He prodded Kathy in the neck with the gun but, very gently.
"How dare you talk to me like that you ruffian? Just because my mother-in-law kept my husband from being here doesn't give you the right to treat me like one of your kept hussies. I will have you and your friends thrown in jail and they will throw away the key. You will be sorry. Really Sorry."
"Okay Stretch. As soon as Carrie gets back, we'll take her and show her to the sheriff and make our ransom demands. Why don't you bring her over here so I can get a good look at our new bankroll?"