Michael Devaney - The Elisha Pool

“We totally should,” Andria said, her face aglow with excitement.

Finn gave her a thumbs up, delighting in her enthusiasm.

“Did he mention a time frame for coming up with the names?” Andria asked.

“No. Just wanted us to be thinking about it for now.”

“Noted,” Andria said.

Finn took the container from Andria — a circular glass container about the size of a paperback novel — and deposited the paw into an open slot at its top.

“Did Andrew say what we’re to do with this now that it has the Paw artifact locked inside?” Finn asked, closing the slot and holding up the container.

“Yes. He’s coming down in a few minutes to take us to the “Crypt.”

“The Crypt?” Finn questioned.

“Yes. According to Andrew there’s a highly secure, on site, underground labyrinth system designed to store and protect all the artifacts collected by The Powers Group’s agents.”

Finn snapped his head around. “Whoa. Really? Sounds cool.”

Andria nodded in agreement. “That it does,” she said. “And scary. If the artifacts are anything like the two we’ve come across so far, it could prove to be an interesting afternoon.”

Finn stared down at the container holding the Monkey’s Paw, as a curious expression settled on his face. “I can only imagine.”

An hour later, Andrew stuck his head through the doorway. “You two ready to see the Crypt so we can log the matching Monkey’s Paw into our catalog next to the other one?”

“You bet,” Finn said, speaking for the both of them.

“Then follow me.”

Andrew turned and led them to an elevator at the end of the hall then turned to face them.

“Before we go any further,” he said. “I want to tell you both how impressed I was with your work on this case.”

“Thank you, sir,” they said in unison.

“In addition to that,” Andrew continued, “I was also instructed to pass along the sincere gratitude of “the Boss” for your diligence and out-of-the-box thinking. He was exceedingly pleased with your performance. For him, the all-powerful, but never seen Wizard of Oz of The Powers Group, to mention you personally is significant. It’s a considerable feather to be placed in both of your caps.”

“Wow!” Andria said, exchanging a stunned glance with Finn. “That’s flattering.”

“Just doing our jobs, sir,” Finn said, modestly. “But please express our appreciation. It’s always great to receive recognition.”

Andrew bowed his head. “I’ll return your sentiment to him,” he said. “Now, back to our task at hand.”

He turned to face the elevator and pulled a magnetic badge from his shirt pocket. He swiped the badge across the front of the elevator, then leaned down and centered his right eye in front of an optical scanner. After a brief delay, the elevator opened with a “whoosh” inviting them to enter.

“Open, Sesame!” Andria announced, grinning to herself. Neither Andrew of Finn acknowledged her.

They each followed elevator custom and entered the open door single file. After a few seconds the door “whooshed” closed. Andrew pressed his right palm against a clear glass surface and waited. A backlight illuminated the area behind the glass followed by a thin, green horizontal light which scrolled from top to bottom capturing a scanned contour on his hand. A few seconds later, a hidden metal cover beside the backlit glass slid away to reveal a number pad. Andrew momentarily studied the number pad then punched in a four-digit code. When he tapped the last digit, the elevator started its decent.

When the elevator reached its destination, it stopped and all three exited into a small, cave-like room. Craggy bedrock was exposed across the entire area. A dozen overhead lights revealed metal shelves along each wall, each contained several items on display.

“One moment, please,” Andrew said, stepping sideways a few paces to the left.

Next, he did an about face, turning his body one hundred and eighty degrees, walked forward and inserted some sort of key into a hidden hole in the rock. Instantly, the elevator door re-opened and he motioned for Finn and Andria to follow him back onto the elevator. “This way,” he said.

Finn and Andria exchanged a confused look then re-entered the elevator behind him.

“That is a “dummy” room,” Andrew said, pointing toward the elevator door. “And those were “dummy” artifacts. It’s a decoy intended to make someone think they’ve reached the vault room in case there’s ever a security breech.”

He punched in a different code into the keypad and a second hidden panel revealed itself inside the elevator.

“This is a DNA reader,” Andrew said, pointing to the panel. “It’s accurate to one-millionth of a percent.”

He licked his finger then swiped the saliva across the center of reader. Within seconds a faint BEEP sounded and the elevator doors closed prompting a deeper ride into the earth.

“Almost there,” Andrew said.

“That’s gross!” Andria exclaimed. “You don’t know whose spit you just touched.”

Andrew smiled.

“She’s a germaphobe,” Finn joked, tilting his head toward Andria.

“Not to worry my dear,” Andrew said. “That reader is automatically sanitized after each use. As soon as these doors open and we step off the elevator an internal cleaning mechanism goes to work. The entire process only takes about ten seconds. Aside from being sanitary, it’s also a safeguard against someone getting back up to the top floor without the proper clearance. For instance, if someone were to find a way to stow away inside the elevator shaft and hitch a ride down on top of the elevator, they wouldn’t be able to return to the surface and would therefore be trapped.”

Andria created a circle with her thumb and forefinger. “Thanks. That makes me feel loads better,” she said.

The elevator descended for several seconds before bumping to a stop. When the doors parted the group stepped out into a large, cavernous room. Rows of tall metal shelving, between twenty and thirty feet in height, were incased in thick glass. Each row was situated back-to-back so that they faced each side of multiple corridors. The shelves formed an elaborate maze as far as the eye could see. Above the main entrance into the room, a large screen displayed the temperature, humidity and barometric pressure in red, two-foot-high digital characters.

Andrew looked up to acknowledge the screen. “A safety measure to protect the integrity of the artifacts,” he revealed.

Finn and Andria remained silent, taking in the vastness of the room. “This is mind-boggling,” Andria said.

“It is impressive,” Andrew replied. “Especially the first time you lay eyes on it. I’m not sure how many artifacts are stored down here, or can be stored, but it’s a colossal number. Everything is cataloged and filed for quick, easy access. To run this kind of operation and keep it secret is quite a trick, but that’s what we do. Now, you two are also included in that mission.”

“Who exactly pays for all of this?”

“The Powers Group is one of the world’s oldest and most powerful clandestine organizations in the world. As you might imagine, that title also comes with unlimited access to resources.”

“I’m speechless,” Finn said.

“It’s understandable,” Andrew said. “It still amazes me and I’ve been down here dozens of times. Now, if you’ll please hand over the container, we can continue.”

“So the same process we are following now will accompany every artifact we find?” Finn asked.

“Precisely,” Andrew confirmed. “And, for security and quality control purposes, it always requires at least two members of The Powers Group to log each artifact. It also takes at least two members to research and retrieve an artifact for study or any other reason with one caveat.