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Chapter 1
“Paige, there’s been an accident.”
“Neal, what happened? Where’s Father?” she said sitting up in her bed and glancing at the clock. The three a.m. glowing from it told her whatever it was, wasn’t good.
“There was a problem down in the mine last night, your father, Ed, Sam, and…Joel, all went down to help get some trapped men out,” Neal explained.
“Joel’s down there so there’s no one to help up top?” Her heart raced wildly hearing that, anxious for it to be untrue.
“Along with your dad and the others, yes. Paige, I know you said you’d never come back here to the mine, but we need you. We need your help, none of us know what to do.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She slid out of the bed and tossed on an old pair of jeans as she pulled out the go-bag she hadn’t touched in almost four years. “Go to the computer and try to pick up their GPS signals. See if you can pinpoint their location and call Jerry Hart. He’ll be able to survey the damage before I get there.”
“You’re coming home?” The shock in his tone would be amusing in any other circumstance, but not knowing her family was trapped in the mine.
“I’m coming home, and I want every single person who’s not part of the crew off the property. Medical personnel, police, firefighters are fine but I want a perimeter set up around the entire, and I mean entire, area. Once reporters are on the story it’ll be hell getting anything in or out around them. Neal, I mean it if they’re not outside of the gate you’ll hear it from me.”
“Don’t worry there won’t be anyone here,” Neal promised.
“I have to call the pilot and have him bring me there. Keep me posted on what Jerry says,” she stated hanging up on him. She let out a sigh as she walked down to the helipad dialing the number for her pilot, he wouldn’t be thrilled with her waking him at this time of day, or night as it really was.
Twenty minutes later, they were in the air, and she prayed she’d get there in time.
∞∞∞
“Wait,” Paige said as the pilot began to head to the landing pad, “go around one more time something didn’t look right back there.”
“Paige, they’re waiting on you down there,” Caleb stated.
“One more pass, it’s getting lighter and I just want to make sure it wasn’t a shadow, it could mean the difference in success in getting them out and potentially killing them Caleb.”
“One more pass,” he agreed.
“Crap,” she groaned noting the caved in ground as they swung around again. She pulled out her camera and took some shots knowing they’d come in handy. “Let’s put her down.”
“You’re the boss,” Caleb told her.
He set the helicopter down without a jolt and she was out before the rotors had begun to completely slow. She took her bags and hurried over to Neal, her father’s assistant, and asked for a progress report.
“We’ve gotten coordinates from their trackers, they haven’t moved since we started watching,” he warned as she strode into the building and straight into the conference room taking over a computer. She uploaded the photos of the cave-in she took before locating the trackers.
“What did Jerry say?” she inquired.
“Shaft’s completely blocked love,” he answered coming in behind her. “I’m so sorry sweetheart,” he added hugging her tightly.
“Nothing to be sorry about yet Jer. The trackers haven’t moved because they haven’t Neal, it doesn’t mean they’re dead. What equipment did they take with them last night?”
“I’m not sure, they were all wearing helmets and had air tanks with them but I’m not sure what else,” Neal admitted.
“You were with them while they got their things?” Paige asked trying not to choke the man. He knew nothing about the company despite the years of being her father’s assistant. He was brilliant in organizing, but awful at anything mechanical.
“I was.”
“Then show me what they took,” she stated heading towards the prep room down by the front entrance of the mine. Neal began pointing to what they’d taken, and she felt a tiny sliver of hope form.
“You’re positive they took these?” she asked holding up the older set of walkies that were hanging there.
“Your dad wanted to take the others but, uh, Joel insisted,” Neal explained.
