Page 66 of Statler

Blue wasted no time, running back to the truck for the gear they’d normally save for working on the steel frame once it reached heights that OSHA considered dangerous.

By the time she got back, Statler was already on his belly, holding his phone light so he could see a bit of what was below.

“It looks pretty large,” he said, getting up and brushing himself off.

They secured Blue’s line to a steel beam that was already in place, and with everyone giddy with excitement, they lowered her down.

“Shit, boss.” Her voice echoed up to them almost immediately. “This place is fucking cavernous.”

Statler actually grinned. Now that the initial shock had worn off, this was exactly what they needed to find.

“That’s good news,” he called down to her. “Dimensions?”

“The same as what we’re looking at, above,” she confirmed, her voice sounding hollow.

She’d reached the concrete floor below, and they could hear the tap-tap of her boots as she walked around. “They already have provisions for their own electrical and plumbing in place, but there’s nothing else down here,” she yelled.

“Because they’re waiting for us to be finished before they cut in an access panel that only Flazer and his minions will know about,” Hazard guessed.

“Tricky people, but not tricky enough,” Pipes chuckled. “They probably thought we’d just overlook the few inches that these conduits were off.”

“Most crews would,” Sherbert put in with a satisfied nod. “But we’re not most crews.”

“So, now what?” Dizzy asked.

“Can you chat about it, later?” Blue’s voice shouted up. “I’d like to get out of this hole, please.”

They quickly pulled Blue up—she was holding the square of metal they’d need to hide—and after a short bit of pondering, decided that they needed to put things back exactly the way they had been, and not move the erroneously located pipes. They’d work around the misplacement, instead.

Just in case anyone on Flazer’s secret payroll came snooping.

It would take a little bit of finesse, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle.

To be extra safe, while the crew employed welding tools and mixed concrete, Tonka positioned himself at the apex of the access road to make sure no one stumbled upon them “fixing shit”.

It took several hours, and by the time the hole was filled, the slab looked exactly as it had before, and it was time to pack up for the day.

“Well, this was certainly a productive afternoon,” Statler stated satisfactorily as they finished.

He was pleased for two reasons. One, they had solid intel, now, to share with General Dark, and two, he hadn’t thought of Eliza once while they’d been discovering the hidden perfidy below.

Now, however, all bets were off where that woman was concerned.

His mind filled with her.

In a good way.

There had been no cancellation, which meant Eliza planned to show up.

It was time to go home and see what she had to say for herself.

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, Statler was showered and sitting on Blue’s front porch, his feet up on the railing; a cold bottle of brew sweating in his hand.

The grill was waiting, ready to be lit when Eliza showed, and the rest of the crew were just emerging from their cottages to join him.

Tonka’s first words before he took a seat?