Page 71 of An Epic Voyage
“That’s crazy,” Evangeline said.“I’m amazed you found it.”
“It was a long shot based on a television show I’d seen a while ago.There’s a long corridor that ends at an elevator.It opens to a cave on the north shore of the island.”
“Perfect way to get smuggled goods in and out without being noticed,” Jackson surmised.
“Our thoughts too.Griffin realized the only places we haven’t searched are the elevator and the cave.We’re heading there now.”
“You don’t have much time now that the storm is passing,” Jackson cautioned.“Be careful.”
“I always am.”
“Keep us posted as soon as you find something,” Evangeline told her.“Even if you don’t, make sure to check in later today.”
“I will.”
Indy disconnected, Jackson’s warning playing in her head.Van Houten would want to return as soon as possible to check on his cache of ill-gotten goods.With that thought in mind, she walked to her makeup kit and stashed a couple of items in her pockets.
“Ready?”Griffin asked.
“Yes.”
After climbing through the refrigerator opening, they jogged down the corridor to the elevator, which they had decided to check first.Griffin pushed the button, and it opened.He activated the stop feature as soon as they entered.While he felt along the walls for a latch, she studied the operating panel.A tiny scratch on the sticker explaining the weight limit had her running a fingernail along the edge.It flipped up to reveal a button.She pushed it.Griffin jumped out of the way as the back wall opened.
“I’ll be damned,” Griffin muttered as they stepped out and came up to a reinforced steel door that looked like a bank vault.
A lockbox covered a keypad.Indigo slid on a pair of latex gloves, took out a lock-picking kit, and went to work on it, popping it open quickly.
“Excellent,” Griffin praised as he also pulled on a pair of gloves.He punched in a series of numbers, and a click sounded.With one tug of the handle, the door opened.“His birthdate.The guy is nothing if not predictable.”
“Imagine if he’d used a biometric lock,” Indy mused.They would’ve been screwed.
“No kidding.He does in his Los Angeles mansion.”Griffin looked around.“We need to prop something in the door so we don’t get locked in.”
He found a chair and stuck it in the opening.The vault was large, climate-controlled, and filled with a vast array of valuable items.There was a painting that resembled an original Picasso, antique furniture, jewelry, trinkets, and other assorted items.
Indigo brushed a finger over a vase, which looked very old and extremely expensive.“Where do you think he got all of this?”
“I wouldn’t be able to venture a guess,” Griffin responded.“But I bet it’s all been reported as stolen.And here’s the laptop.”
Indy barely heard him.She was staring at the heavy-duty padded case that could be used for transporting a small nuclear weapon.She flipped open the latches.
“Bingo.”
“You found the nuke?”
“I did.”
She needed to call Evangeline and Jackson to let them know.They would have a team here to confiscate it within hours.
“How in the hell did you find this room?”
