building."
Stepping inside, she took a quick glance at the dust-covered receptionist's desk and pitiful little waiting room. "You owned Medtronics?"
"Not exactly. My uncle Jonas did. After the Pulse, naturally, he couldn't give it away.
When I offered him a pittance for it, a while back, he sold it to me without even a question. Glad to be rid of any real estate attached to Terminal City." "I hear that."
Moving to a door to the right, Logan said, "Come on, Max—you too, Joshua."
Logan produced a small flashlight, as the building was windowless and dark. His penlight's small beam was the only illumination as they walked down a long, narrow flight of stairs.
In the basement, he gave the flash to Max. "Hold this a minute, will you?"
She pointed the light at a stack of heavy boxes against the wall where Logan had moved. "Give me a hand, Joshua?"
The two of them moved the stack out of the way and, to Max's surprise, their efforts revealed a door with a lock, but no knob.
Inserting another key, Logan pushed the door open, flipped a light switch, and Max found herself at one end of a long tunnel with fluorescent lights strung from the ceiling every thirty feet or so. Still, it seemed dim. The concrete walls had been painted a very pale green, and the tile floor was about the same color. Unlike Medtronics, this area was free of dust, even clean. With the lighting, the effect was of a hospital, or worse, Max thought, a morgue.
"Where does this lead?" she asked. "If I'm right about my directions, we're at the back of the building." Logan nodded. "Tunnel goes under the parking lot." "We're beyond the fence?" "Yes. This passage leads under the street—and the police barricade and National Guard—and comes up in a building in the next block."
She struggled to see Logan's face in the dim light. "A building outside Terminal City?"
"That's right," he said with a small self-satisfied smile. "Outside Terminal City."
"How did Logan know about the tunnel?" Joshua asked him, eyes tight with the desire for knowledge.
Another matter-of-fact shrug. "My uncle built it. There are things like this in a lot of buildings he's owned. He'd always been a little paranoid, and after the Pulse, he felt vindicated. I knew the tunnel was here when I bought the building, even though my uncle left it off the blueprints and any other documents filed with the city."
"You knew this tunnel was here," Max said, the significance slowly dawning on her,
"when you bought Med-tronics."
"It's why I bought Medtronics—the building this leads to is part of Medtronics too, actually. The borders of Terminal City weren't established until the containment fences went up."
"Are you telling me you anticipated this siege and—"
"Of course not. But with the influx of transgenics into Terminal City, I thought it might be an advantage to have some real estate nearby. Plus, it was only a matter of time until Eyes Only was going to need a new home anyway."
"A point Ames White drove home," Max said, referring to the discovery and destruction of Logan's penthouse Eyes Only headquarters. Logan had been squatting himself, lately, in Joshua's old digs, an abandoned house.
"I started looking for new quarters a while ago," Logan said.
"So you own both these buildings."
"Yeah. The remains of Medtronics."
She frowned. "In your name?"
He shook his head. "Dummy corporation. Called Sowley Opticals."
Now it was her turn to smirk. "That's a little cute, isn't it? Nobody'11 ever figure that one out!"
Joshua was frowning. "Figure what, Max?"
"Nothing," she said.
Logan said, "Eyes Only has a friend in the Records department at City Hall. The records show that Sowley Opticals owned this building from the day before the Pulse.
Maybe it is too cute, but in an area of medtech companies, it will actually look legit."
He stepped into the tunnel. "Come on, take a walk with me, Max—and take this, you'll need it. I've got my own." He handed her the key to unlock the knob-less
Stepping inside, she took a quick glance at the dust-covered receptionist's desk and pitiful little waiting room. "You owned Medtronics?"
"Not exactly. My uncle Jonas did. After the Pulse, naturally, he couldn't give it away.
When I offered him a pittance for it, a while back, he sold it to me without even a question. Glad to be rid of any real estate attached to Terminal City." "I hear that."
Moving to a door to the right, Logan said, "Come on, Max—you too, Joshua."
Logan produced a small flashlight, as the building was windowless and dark. His penlight's small beam was the only illumination as they walked down a long, narrow flight of stairs.
In the basement, he gave the flash to Max. "Hold this a minute, will you?"
She pointed the light at a stack of heavy boxes against the wall where Logan had moved. "Give me a hand, Joshua?"
The two of them moved the stack out of the way and, to Max's surprise, their efforts revealed a door with a lock, but no knob.
Inserting another key, Logan pushed the door open, flipped a light switch, and Max found herself at one end of a long tunnel with fluorescent lights strung from the ceiling every thirty feet or so. Still, it seemed dim. The concrete walls had been painted a very pale green, and the tile floor was about the same color. Unlike Medtronics, this area was free of dust, even clean. With the lighting, the effect was of a hospital, or worse, Max thought, a morgue.
"Where does this lead?" she asked. "If I'm right about my directions, we're at the back of the building." Logan nodded. "Tunnel goes under the parking lot." "We're beyond the fence?" "Yes. This passage leads under the street—and the police barricade and National Guard—and comes up in a building in the next block."
She struggled to see Logan's face in the dim light. "A building outside Terminal City?"
"That's right," he said with a small self-satisfied smile. "Outside Terminal City."
"How did Logan know about the tunnel?" Joshua asked him, eyes tight with the desire for knowledge.
Another matter-of-fact shrug. "My uncle built it. There are things like this in a lot of buildings he's owned. He'd always been a little paranoid, and after the Pulse, he felt vindicated. I knew the tunnel was here when I bought the building, even though my uncle left it off the blueprints and any other documents filed with the city."
"You knew this tunnel was here," Max said, the significance slowly dawning on her,
"when you bought Med-tronics."
"It's why I bought Medtronics—the building this leads to is part of Medtronics too, actually. The borders of Terminal City weren't established until the containment fences went up."
"Are you telling me you anticipated this siege and—"
"Of course not. But with the influx of transgenics into Terminal City, I thought it might be an advantage to have some real estate nearby. Plus, it was only a matter of time until Eyes Only was going to need a new home anyway."
"A point Ames White drove home," Max said, referring to the discovery and destruction of Logan's penthouse Eyes Only headquarters. Logan had been squatting himself, lately, in Joshua's old digs, an abandoned house.
"I started looking for new quarters a while ago," Logan said.
"So you own both these buildings."
"Yeah. The remains of Medtronics."
She frowned. "In your name?"
He shook his head. "Dummy corporation. Called Sowley Opticals."
Now it was her turn to smirk. "That's a little cute, isn't it? Nobody'11 ever figure that one out!"
Joshua was frowning. "Figure what, Max?"
"Nothing," she said.
Logan said, "Eyes Only has a friend in the Records department at City Hall. The records show that Sowley Opticals owned this building from the day before the Pulse.
Maybe it is too cute, but in an area of medtech companies, it will actually look legit."
He stepped into the tunnel. "Come on, take a walk with me, Max—and take this, you'll need it. I've got my own." He handed her the key to unlock the knob-less
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