Manhattan by Steven Henry

Author:Steven Henry [Henry, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clickworks Press
Published: 2019-03-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The heavy D-cell flashlight felt comforting in Erin’s hand. She shone the beam in a slow circle, taking in the storm sewer. She and Rolf were in a long, low tunnel. It was one of the older sewers in Manhattan. A roof of red brick arched above an artificial underground river. The water was almost up to her knees. Rolf was belly-deep in the stuff, and she knew it would take more than one bath to get the smell out of his fur.

She had two directions to choose from. Would Rüdel have gone toward the East River, or upstream?

“Rolf, such,” she said.

Most people assumed a dog couldn’t track through water. While it was true water could carry scents away, it was also true that smells lingered in the air above it. If the quarry had passed recently enough, a good dog could track them. And Rolf was very good.

The Shepherd didn’t know who he was supposed to follow, so he cast about for the strongest, most recent scent in the tunnel. He turned to his right, tail wagging, and splashed toward the subterranean heart of Manhattan.

Erin knew she should call in an update, let Webb know where she was going. Rolf’s leash was in one hand, her flashlight in the other. She shifted the light to her opposite hand and fumbled out her phone. There was no signal. That wasn’t surprising. She was insulated from the cell towers by twenty feet of brick, dirt, blacktop, and concrete. She put it back in her pocket.

All kinds of crazy shit floated around her and protruded from the floor of the tunnel. Plastic bottles, soda cans, discarded shirts and shoes. She recognized the metal cage of an overturned shopping cart. Erin and Rolf had been vaccinated against most urban diseases. They probably wouldn’t get sick from anything down here.

Something bulky and metal loomed in front of them. She blinked. Was that a refrigerator? The tunnel was wide, there was plenty of room to go around it, but she had no idea how it had gotten down there. Rolf gave it a cursory sniff, then ignored it and kept going.

While they waded through water and urban litter, Erin was thinking. Rüdel’s crew must have brought a boat, probably an inflatable motorboat, and used it to move their cargo. It was a clever idea, and it gave them the freedom to move a big pile of explosives almost anywhere under the city. Knowing that didn’t tell her where they’d gone, though.

Rolf was excited. Being underground didn’t bother him a bit, and he had a good scent to follow. He pulled Erin as quickly as she’d let him. They took a right turn, then a left, then another left. Erin tried to remember the exact route. Getting lost down here wouldn’t be any fun. If she did get turned around, probably the best thing to do would be to find the nearest surface access and get topside, rather than try to retrace her steps.

Rolf paused an instant, then angled hard right, making for a gap in the brickwork.

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