“That is correct. But I’ve developed additional uses for this space. I found a hidden trap door that has a ladder leading down to space in the basement that I did not even know existed until I did a little exploration a few months back.”
“Interesting. Where did it come from?” Jack asked. The three of them squeezed into the narrow passage behind the bookcase and Diesel pushed another button to close them in.
“As near as I can figure, my office was the original office used by the first person who ran the Big Bang Truck Stop when Alphas came to Arkansas looking for bauxite fuel.” Diesel went three or four steps, squatted down, lifted up a rug and tossed it aside to reveal the trapdoor. He opened the hatch wide to access a sturdy-looking ladder lit by ambient light from below.
“Alienne Greenly?” Jack asked as Madelaine and Diesel climbed down the ladder into a section of basement beneath his brother’s office. Jack had to carefully hand Madelaine the cardboard box through the hatch before going down himself.
Alienne Greenly founded the town when the Alphas arrived in Arkansas. The town was supposed to be named after her, but the last E in her name got dropped in the official paperwork, which was how they ended up with Alienn, Arkansas.
“The very same. When Alphas came here over a century ago, they bought up quite a bit of land, starting here and extending past the bauxite mine. As time went on, the leadership purchased even more land in the area, including Old Coot and Skeeter Bite. However, the very first structure that was built was the Big Bang Truck Stop, although that wasn’t what it was called.”
Jack said, “Wasn’t it just Alienne’s Gas Station?”
Diesel nodded. He flipped on a brighter light once all three of them were down the ladder.
The room was nearly three times the size of Diesel’s office. It looked very much like an old timey office. Bookshelves lined the walls. Two old desks were strategically placed in the room, along with a circular table and four chairs, as well as a good-sized overstuffed sofa with a coffee table in front of it. The floor looked like concrete covered by a few rugs scattered here and there.
The most surprising thing was that it smelled clean, like lemon-scented furniture polish and floor cleaner.
“Is my package down here?” Madelaine asked, speaking for the first time since they left Diesel’s office upstairs.
“Yes, it is. And this space offers us more privacy than clearly my actual office ever will.” Diesel walked to one of the bookshelves and pulled an unremarkable wooden box from the top shelf. It was slightly smaller than a bowling ball and square, of course. He swiped his hand over the top of the box, although Jack didn’t see any dust, and handed it to Madeleine.
Usually, Jack and Madeline would sequester themselves to look at the package’s contents and read the enclosed parchment letter, but Diesel didn’t give her any parchment. Perhaps it was inside the box.
Madelaine opened the lid, which seem to be hinged on one side. Jack didn’t immediately see what was inside the box until Madelaine pulled out what looked like a roughhewn oval silver nugget.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
Diesel was the one who answered. “That is what’s called a silver bauxite nugget.”
Jack nodded. That must be what Winslow was talking about when he told Madelaine she had to turn the silver nugget right and then left to deploy the Solution.
“Is the parchment inside the box?” Jack asked Madelaine.
She glanced inside as if to make certain and shook her head. “Nope. Only the silver bauxite nugget, nestled in a crushed velvet receptacle. Fancy.”
Madelaine turned to Diesel, who looked uncomfortable. What was that about? Jack wondered.
“Do you have a piece of parchment paper or an envelope for me in addition to the silver bauxite nugget? Or maybe just a verbal message?”
Diesel closed his eyes for a minute and crossed his arms as if he were trying to think of a suitable answer because the only one he had was something she wouldn’t like. Jack had seen that stance before.
“Unfortunately, I do not have anything else for you, although I know I’m supposed to,” Diesel said.
Madelaine sent a panicked look to Jack. “What are we supposed to do now? We have all of the parts to assemble some sort of device that is supposed to be the solution to something very important galaxywide. But we also need the location of where to deploy it and there must be further instructions for what we’re specifically supposed to do.”
Diesel nodded. “Yes. Everything you just said is absolutely true. In addition to the silver nugget, I was supposed to provide a location for you. Unfortunately, I do not have it. And the worst news is, no one does.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Madelaine felt squishy all over, like her legs and body didn’t want to hold her up. She needed to sit down before she fell down. She walked across the room and sat down hard on the sofa, hoping it was as clean as the room smelled.
A plume of dust did not encircle her as soon as she plopped herself down on it, so it must’ve been. That was the only good news she had going for her at the moment.
She thought of the phone tucked in the hidden spot in her waistband. The Secret Keeper. She pulled it out and hit Send, which dialed the Secret Keeper, before realizing that she was in a basement bunker of some sort and the call likely wouldn’t go through. But it did.
“Madelaine. Where are you?” The Secret Keeper sounded alarmed and relieved to hear from her.
