Page 4 of Shakedown in Savannah

Despite Pete’s obvious advantage, being both taller and stronger, Elvira held her own. Whack. Whack. Whack. Another fifteen minutes passed.

“Let’s see what we have.” Elvira set her sledgehammer aside, pulled a flashlight from her pocket, and turned it on. “I’m getting close.”

Pete picked at a chunk of concrete. “I’m making progress as well.”

With renewed vigor, they swung and chipped, creating a sizeable hole.

Elvira, with beads of perspiration dotting her forehead and dripping down the sides of her face, tossed the tool aside. “I can work with this opening.” She rummaged around inside her bag and pulled out a stick of dynamite.

Pete stopped swinging and propped his sledgehammer against the wall. “What is that?”

“A stick of dynamite. We can save some time by setting this baby off.”

He shook his head. “No way.”

“I agree,” Wembley chimed in. “We never discussed using explosives.”

“You guys are afraid of this little bitty stick?” Elvira taunted.

“Put it away or leave,” Pete warned.

She mumbled under her breath and reluctantly placed it back inside the bag. “This is gonna take forever doing it the hard way.”

“Hand Luigi your sledgehammer.”

Luigi, a bulky bruiser, flexed his muscles. “Let me at it.”

“My pleasure.” Elvira stepped aside.

With both men working together, it didn’t take long for them to finish carving out a sizeable hole. Pete, now breathing heavily, dropped the hammer. “Let’s have a look.”

“Me first.” Elvira elbowed Luigi out of the way.

Anticipating the move, Pete easily blocked her. “You are getting on my last nerve.”

“Sorry. I’m just excited.”

“Let’s have a look.” Pete motioned for Carlita to join him.

She gingerly picked her way over the piles of rubble and grasped his hand.

Adjusting Elvira’s spotlight so it beamed into the opening, the couple ducked down and peered inside.

Carlita blinked rapidly, giving her eyes time to adjust to the lack of light. “Will you look at that?”

Chapter 2

“What is it?” Elvira, completely disregarding Pete’s warning, muscled her way in next to them.

The others all gathered around, gazing into the opening.

“We need to take a closer look.” Elvira turned her headlamp on and made a move to climb over the wall.

“Hold on.” Wempley stopped her. “You need to use caution.”

“Caution smaution,” she said. “I’ve been patient long enough. It’s time to get to the good stuff.”

The others followed her, crawling over the wall and entering what could only be described as one of the largest entirely enclosed spaces Carlita had ever laid eyes on. “It’s huge.”

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