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“So, I won’t need to create a distraction?” asked East.
“Nope. You’d need bat hearing to hear the dogs digging. Once they’re close, we can send a radio-controlled car through with a communication device, or I can tie it to the dogs. They’ll hear us and know what we’re doing. Then we can send equipment to them. If they can make the tunnel wide enough, I’m slim enough to slide through.”
“Alright. I need someone to blow another tunnel tonight. Something that says I’m on your tail, and you’re scared. What’s next?” asked East.
“Here,” said Cowboy. “We blow the tunnels near the dry cleaners. It’s far enough away from the women and children and the zoo.”
“Alright, let’s go,” said East. He turned to see Brooke staring at him. Glaring was a more accurate description. Definitely glaring.
“Let’s go, Brooke,” said Cowboy, saving the day. “You’re with me.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yep. Come on. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Brooke kissed East on the cheek and happily followed Cowboy out of the room. East took off, pretending to look for the tunnel bandit, while the others made their way toward the sewer entrance.
In the dark alley, Matt and Tanner removed the sewer cover and then stepped back to allow Sniff down first. Using safety lines, they lowered the dogs into the tunnel. He’d brought Zeus, Thor, and Zilla, short for Godzilla. All three were Burmese Mountain dogs, mixed with German Shepherd.
With everyone safely in the tunnel, they gently replaced the cover and turned on their lights. The damp smell of water and sewer drainage had everyone covering their nose and mouth, but the dogs didn’t seem to mind.
Taking a turn toward the Sutton compound, they followed the concrete tube until they hit a dead end.
“This is where we have to start digging,” said Matt.
Using sledgehammers and picks, they broke the end of the tunnel and then put the dogs to work. By Sniff’s command, the three looked as if they were having a great time.
“Is this too much for them?” asked Bogey.
“No,” said Sniff, shaking his head. “They know this a job, but it’s also fun for them. They have treats at the end, a good bath, and a steak.”
“I’ll take that gig,” laughed Mo.
“We’re lucky the dirt is pretty packed,” said Sniff. “If it started to collapse in on them, we wouldn’t be able to continue. Just keep placing the two-by-fours around the dig, and they can keep going.”
Shortly after three a.m., the dogs came back, almost smiling at the group. Sniff crawled on his belly to the end, realizing that the dogs had, indeed, broken through. The women and children were sound asleep, having not heard a thing from them.
The hole at the end of the tunnel was only about ten inches in diameter. Not enough for a man to get through, but enough for equipment. Sniff placed the small device through the hole with a note attached, then whispered softly.
“Please don’t be frightened. If you can hear me come closer to the sound.” He repeated it three times before he saw a glimpse of someone moving.
“Wh-who are you?” asked a small voice.
“I’m here to help you and get you out. We’re working on a plan. What’s your name?” asked Sniff.
“Alex.”
“Alex,” smirked Sniff. “That’s my name too, but my friends call me Sniff.”
“Sniff? That’s weird,” said the boy. Sniff chuckled softly, nodding his head.
“It is weird, but they call me that because I train dogs. The same dogs that dug this hole so we could get to you. Where are the guards?”
“They’re outside the door. They don’t come in here because the other man ordered them to leave us alone except to bring food.”
“Have they hurt you?”
“Not yet, but they want to. You can tell,” said the boy. “He makes us work on something that Miss Gerta says is bad, but she says we have to do it. We keep making mistakes on purpose, but it’s really easy. Don’t tell the bad man.”
