The box

The worst part about these newer tu

“These tu

Albert nodded agreement. “I know. Thiscity’s not that big. It seems like overkill.” The steam tu

“I’ve always heard rumors about old tu

Albert glanced at her, curious.

“There’re supposed to be miles and miles ofthem. Real old. Some people say they’re haunted.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. There’s lots of stories. Witches andvoodoo. That sort of thing. Some people say that the city’sfounders were into witchcraft. Used to scare the shit out of mewhen I was a girl.” She was looking around, uneasy at the thought.“I haven’t thought about those stories in ages. I figured they wereall made up.”

“Sometimes there’s truth behind myths.”

“Yeah. I heard a friend of my parents tellthem once that some of the tu

Albert smiled. “Sometimes stories like thatare comforting. Some people have a hard time believing that therearen’t any more mysteries left in the world. I guess I’m one ofthem.”

Brandy looked at him and smiled. “That’skind of romantic.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah.” She turned and looked down the darktu

Albert laughed. “Of course. I won’t bring itup again. But you have to promise to tell me more about thosestories when we get out of here.”

“It’s a deal.” She smiled at him and he felta sort of warmth flow from her. He couldn’t help but wonder whatshe was thinking.

They turned right and found a set ofconcrete steps descending deeper into the earth. At the bottom wasanother iron gate, this one different from those back in theuniversity steam tu

“Where do you suppose that goes?” Brandywondered aloud.

Some basement was Albert’s guess. Or maybethe basement of a basement. But he wasn’t interested in the door.There was obviously no way to open it and it wasn’t on the map. Heshrugged and set his eyes on the left side of the room, where arusty railing separated them from a twelve-foot drop. Another rustyladder led down into the lower space where another open gatewaited.

Brandy crossed the room and studied thedoor. It was bolted shut so tightly that it didn’t even rattle whenshe pushed on it. It could have been nailed shut, for all she knew.She put her ear to it and listened for a moment, but it was silenton the other side.

“It’s one o’clock in the morning,” Albertsaid. “Unless it opens right into the party room at one of the frathouses, I doubt you’ll hear anything.”

Brandy shot him a curt look. “There mighthave been machines or something.”

“That’s true,” he admitted.

“Thank you.”

“Come on. We’re getting closer.”

They descended the ladder and continued on.Left at the bottom of the ladder. Right some distance beyond that,past one intersection and then right again at the next.

“So what do you think we’re going to finddown here, anyway?” Brandy asked as she lit a cigarette.

Albert shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You haven’t even imagined?”

“Not really.” It was the truth. He spent somuch time trying to solve the puzzles and figuring out how tofollow the map, that he really hadn’t thought much about where itmight lead them, only that it must lead somewhere. He hopedit would be something fantastic enough to make all this worthit.

Brandy paused to mark the wall again andAlbert glanced back at her. “You’re the one who was so intent oncoming down here. Tell me what you think we’ll find when we getthere.”

“I really don’t know.”

“Humor me.” She turned and set her soft eyeson his. There was playfulness in her expression, but there wassomething else there as well. Albert thought she was testing him,trying to feel him out for something. A lie, perhaps.

“A treasure chest?” he offered. “Someancient scrolls? A big X and a shovel? Regis Philbin and a studioaudience?”

Brandy smiled, but he could tell she wasn’treally amused. “Come on. What is it you really want to finddown here?”

Albert frowned. What did he want tofind? What kind of question was that? Did it really matter whatthey found?

Brandy stood and watched him for a momentwhile she smoked, waiting for his answer.

“I don’t know,” he said again.

“Really?” She continued to watch him for amoment. Albert watched her watch him, unsure of what else to say.He’d already told her he didn’t know. Finally, she looked off downthe darkened tu

Albert nodded. “I think I do.”

“It probably sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all.” It was the truth. There wassomething very sweet in her ability to imagine such a thing. It wasfar fetched as all hell, of course. To begin with, somebody sentthem the map to get them here. Why would they pass the credit forsuch an incredible discovery to them? But there was no doubt in hismind that such a place could exist. A mobster gu