Robert Weinberg - A Logical Magician

“The network even ducked beneath the Chicago River and supplied stores on the near north side as well. It stayed in service until the early 1930’s, when shipping by trucks replaced most railroad deliveries.”

“The tunnels were closed and abandoned,” said Hazel. “The owners shut off the power, but otherwise left the system intact and undisturbed. During World War Two, I recall talk of opening them up and using them for POW camps. What a crazy idea. Later, in the 1960’s, an alderman proposed they be converted into giant bomb shelters. Happily, no one took him seriously.”

“A few years ago,” said Jack, “as a result of a series of bureaucratic blunders centering around bridge repairs, a hole was punched in the top of the tunnel passing beneath the river. Water rushed into the system and flooded the basements of half the buildings in the Loop. It knocked out electricity throughout the near north side. The accident nearly shut down the entire city, and things didn’t return to normal for weeks. Among other problems, the flood forced the closing of the subway.”

“That I remember,” said Cassandra. “I thought they plugged up the system with cement.”

“Not really,” said Jack. “The city engineers closed off the section beneath the river, but the rest of the network remains open. And von Bern and his captives are down there.”

“Any idea where?”

“Megan mentioned a huge chamber. The only place that fits that description is the old central shipping depot. According to the city librarians, the center resembles a gigantic amphitheater a hundred feet beneath the streets. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect arena for conducting a blood sacrifice to an ancient God?”

“I’m convinced,” said Cassandra. “How do we stop it?”

’Tonight we raid the campus and get the necessary equipment for my secret weapon,” said Jack. “It’s all stuff available only in laboratories. Tomorrow, we go shopping. There’s a bunch of things I want to buy for additional protection.

“After that, we head underground. The sacrifice is scheduled for May Day Eve. We’ll attack during the daytime, when the forces of darkness are at their weakest. Still, I suspect von Bern and his Border Redcaps are expecting us to show up. They’ll be ready and waiting no matter when we arrive. But this time, we’re going to be the ones with a few surprises.”

They arrived on campus shortly after midnight. Cassandra drove, with Jack in the other front seat and Simon and Fritz Grondark in the back. Dark clouds hid the moon and stars, shrouding the laboratories in blackness.

“You two know exactly what I want?” Jack asked Simon for the tenth time.

While he trusted his allies, there was no time left for mistakes. After the affair at the math building, he suspected Benny Anderson had tightened campus security. Stealing what they needed might prove to be difficult. There definitely wouldn’t be a second chance.

“Nothing to worry about,” said the changeling. “We’re looking for the battery pack belts used in the film classes run by the photography department. The type that the TV news stations power their minicams with. I never used one, but some of the girls I dated produced their own films for class, so I’m real familiar with the belts.

“It shouldn’t take us too long to find them in the photo lab. They keep the expensive equipment locked up but Fritz assures me that he can open anything.”

The dwarf flexed his huge fingers. “One way or another, we’ll manage the task.”

“Try not to cause too much destruction,” said Jack. “Dealing drugs on campus is old news. Nobody cares much. Stealing college property gets you in trouble with the Dean’s office. That’s a black mark on your transcript you can’t erase. Someday, I still plan to obtain my degree.”

“Stealth is my middle name,” proclaimed Simon. “Where are you heading?”

“Cassandra is going to park the car by the chemistry building,” answered Jack. “Then the two of us will visit the labs upstairs. I’m pretty sure they have what I need in one of them.”

“Which is?” asked Simon.

“Order to fight chaos,” said Jack, smiling. “Light to battle the darkness. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Simon and Fritz, resembling a very odd Mutt and Jeff, departed a few minutes later. Neither of them carried a weapon, though Fritz’s monkey wrench dangled from his belt. The dwarf, who had trouble entering doorways unless he turned sideways, didn’t need anything else. Though Fritz refused to brag about his fighting prowess, Cassandra respected Grondark’s skills, which was testimony enough for Jack. Once Simon and Fritz obtained the battery belt pack, they planned to rendezvous with Jack and Cassandra in the chemistry building parking lot in forty minutes.

Watching the pair amble down the path to the photography department, Jack murmured a silent prayer. Simon meant well, but his mischievous nature played havoc with the best-laid plans. Tonight, they couldn’t afford any mistakes. The fate of civilization rested on their shoulders. Jack’s back ached from the weight.

A padlock on the front door of the chemistry building made it quite clear that security on campus had been tightened. After checking carefully for wires indicating alarm systems and finding none, Cassandra casually snapped the lock with her new staff. Von Bern had cut one walking stick to kindling, but the Amazon had a half-dozen replacements in reserve.

“There’s no way of protecting a building this size,” she said to Jack, walking into the main hall, “without using trenches, barbed wire and extensive electronic surveillance equipment. And, even then, a trained, determined professional can, in most cases, infiltrate and compromise any location.”

Smiling, Jack nodded his head. It required no guesswork to substitute Cassandra’s name for that of a trained, determined professional. Over the course of history, he suspected the Amazon had experienced enough adventures to fill an encyclopedia.

With four chemistry labs on the second floor, they decided to split up to save time. Jack described in great detail to Cassandra the objects they were hunting. After agreeing to meet in the center in twenty minutes, they started searching.

Jack found the device five minutes after he walked into the first lab. He also discovered trouble. Benny Anderson, armed with a police special, was hiding in the shadows of the room, watching and waiting for Jack to make a wrong move. Picking up lab equipment obviously met that requirement. Seconds after Jack pulled the long tube off a storage shelf, the security chief stood up, making his presence known simply and effectively.

“Freeze, drug-scum,” he announced, his voice a harsh whisper. Though the lawman’s body trembled with emotion, his gun hand never wavered. It remained fixed in a direct line with Jack’s crotch. “Make one false move and I’ll blow off your balls.”

Jack froze, the black rectangular tube clutched close to his chest. “Take it easy, chief,” he said loudly, hoping Cassandra was within the sound of his voice. “I’m unarmed. And this isn’t as bad as it looks.”

“Sure,” said Anderson, motioning with the gun for Jack to lower his prize to the shelf. “First it was selling drugs. Now you’re stealing school property.”

The chief’s voice rang with contempt. “Your kind make me sick, Collins. Always whining how unfairly you’ve been treated. Damned pampered rich kids don’t know how tough life really is. Try earning a living the hard way—honestly. Then tell me stealing isn’t as bad as it looks.”

“I’m neither pampered nor rich,” began Jack, then closed his mouth, realizing he was wasting his time. No matter what he said, the chief wouldn’t believe him. Anderson had made up his mind and there was no way Jack could convince him otherwise.