Spy School Viva Vegas

Chapter 18 - SMUSH

Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
June 14
1630 hours

Unfortunately, we didn't have any way to contact the others. So Erica and I were on our own. And, we still didn't know exactly where Murray and Hayden were hiding out.

We ran across the pedestrian walkway that bridged the different buildings and entered a new maze of rooms.

"Where do we go now," I asked, and my shoulders slumped.

"We need to find a map of the layout of this place," she said.

I wasn't feeling great. I was really starting to doubt we would be able to find Murray in time. There were just too many places to check, too many rooms, too many buildings, and too little time. We were lost, and really didn't have enough information.

I kept thinking about how low I felt, which gave me an idea, "We need to get to the lowest spot."

"What?"

"We need to get down as far as we can," I said. "I mean he didn't start drilling from up here. We need to find a maintenance room or something at the bottom."

"Good thinking," Erica smiled.

We were close to a set of stairs and went down those to get to the lowest levels accessible to conference attendees. We went past the main level where everyone enters from, and down to one of the lower levels. Erica jumped the last four steps and bolted down the hall, still looking for a map of the layout. I did not do this, and stopped when I got to the ground. Something felt strange beneath my feet, like the subtle vibration when a car with loud speakers passed by my parents' old house. 

"Erica," I called out. She turned around and looked at me, annoyed that I was delaying her search. "Feel this." She looked at me skeptically. "No, I mean do you feel the vibration over there?" She stood still for a moment, and then shook her head. "We're closer to them over here."

She ran back and confirmed I wasn't making this up and then we both scanned the room. There was a door hidden underneath the staircase that said 'Authorized Personnel Only' on it. Erica pulled out her favorite lock picking set. I wasn't sure how she had hidden that from Murray, but maybe Murray didn't check us too thoroughly, which wouldn't have surprised me.

Erica quickly unlocked the door, and, as quietly as possible, opened it. Beyond the opening was another set of dimly lit stairs that led down to what looked like a utility tunnel. Every thirty seconds or so, the metal stairs made a clanking sound as the vibration passed up them.

"I think this is the right place," I murmured. Erica pressed her finger to her lips and started to slowly descend the stairs. I thought it was best to wait for Erica to give the all clear signal, since there was no way that I could match her silent tread. 

She paused at the bottom, looking around, then waved me to follow. The tunnel was constructed of cinderblocks and painted a bright white. The floor was some sort of linoleum, painted with yellow strips along the edges. Above us there were pipes that followed the direction of tunnel, and branched off in different directions at random places. Some were marked with a 'Danger Electricity' sticker. It wasn't exactly the safest place for us to be in. If Murray had henchmen laying in wait, we would have been pinned down with little in the way of protection. Erica picked up her pace, not wanting to stand around and get trapped.

The vibration became heavier as we moved down the tunnel, and there was even a low moaning sound. As we were about halfway, I noticed that the vibration had lightened. I grabbed Erica's arm to stop her and leaned in close to her ear. 

"I think we're moving away from the drill. It's not as loud here," I said.

She nodded and we went back towards the direction we came. The vibration was heaviest on the outside of a door. I looked up above it and saw a sign that said, 'Loading Zone,' and frowned. We should have seen that earlier. It had to be the only way for them to get a drill down to this level.