Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) (40 page)

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Murphy took a deep breath.
Well, Methuselah said to "Search, search, search and find."

Murphy spent the next four hours in the county Hall of Records, mostly working his way through the endless red tape and the frustration of government bureaucracy He had to invoke the Freedom of Information Act with a number of different people before he finally got to look at some plans.

He gradually realized that the names of streets on the old maps were not the same as the current ones. He asked one of the clerks to assist him.

"Mr. Murphy, as far as I can tell, Lakewood Park used to be located between what is now called Lakeview Street and Norwood Drive to the north, Parkway Avenue to the east, and Parkside Drive to the south."

"Do you have any idea what is now in that area?" asked Murphy.

"Well, my map indicates an electrical substation and what looks to be about ten warehouse units where the lake was. They are north of Parkside Drive. There are now four large warehouse buildings south of Parkside. They would have been outside of the lake."

Murphy smiled. "I get the impression from these old building plans that the fun house that Mr. East and Mr. Kalance were supposed to build would be located under one of those new warehouses. Right?"

The clerk examined the 1929 plans. "I think you may be correct. Look over here on the west side of the fun house. It looks like a shaft was to have been dug into the ground. If they did build it, that's how the workers got in and out while they were digging out the area. It was to become the entrance from the casino down to the fun house."

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"Do you have any idea if they ever completed the project?"

"That was about seventy-five years ago. I wasn't even born yet," said the clerk as he sifted through some old and yellowing papers.

"Here's a note from one of the inspectors, a Mr. Fritz Schuler. He indicates that most of the project was completed. All they had to get was a final inspection, but it was put off due to insufficient funds to complete the project."

Murphy smiled to himself.

"That seems to be all the information we have. I hope this has been helpful for you, Mr. Murphy."

"Yes, you've been a great help. Thank you for your time and patience."

CHAPTER TWO

MURPHY DIDN'T FIND anything that looked like an entrance to a shaft around the four warehouses south of Parkside Drive. He clenched his jaw and struggled to restrain his mounting frustration. Patience was not one of Murphy's redeeming qualities.

Maybe they built the warehouses over the shaft.

He pulled out the crude map he had drawn of the area while at the Hall of Records. To the west of the last warehouse was a grove of trees. He surveyed the area, trying to imagine where the dance hall and casino might have been located in 1929. He then looked again at the grove of trees.

I'll bet that's it
, he thought.

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The ground under the trees was layered with fallen leaves from countless autumns. For a half hour he searched the area, finding nothing. He ran one hand through his hair, while the other pulled out Methuselah's card.

"Seek, seek, seek like a mouse"--If Methuselah has been here there will be some sign.

Murphy crisscrossed the area, trying to envision where a shaft might have been located.

It would probably be in some type of clearing. They would need to have a road to bring in equipment.

He noticed a large open area in the grove of trees, wide enough apart for equipment to pass between them. As he reached the center of the clearing, he saw that the matted tangle of leaves there had been disturbed. He began to kick back the leaves, revealing old eight-by-eight-inch timbers. He kept removing leaves until he saw the hinges to some kind of door. He cleared away more leaves, until he spied a latch and what looked to be a fairly new padlock.

Methuselah.

Murphy was glad that he had loaded his backpack. He removed a hatchet and chopped away at the wood around the latch and lock. It took him about ten minutes before he could loosen the latch enough to pry it off the wood. He pulled up the door, revealing a set of stairs, about ten feet wide, disappearing down into the earth.

East and Kalance must have been very close to finishing their fun house. You sure you really want to go down there?

Murphy put away his hatchet and took out a large flashlight. He started down the winding stairs into the darkness. Alongside the stairs was a cast-iron hand railing. The wood on top of the railing was weathered and covered with a growth of moss. Running the flashlight beam along the railing, Murphy could see a number of places where the moss had recently been knocked away. It was as if someone had grabbed on to the

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railing to steady himself. He shined the light on the stairs, revealing innumerable footprints in the dirt and dust. Murphy guessed he was about two stories underground.

Methuselah
, he thought,
what are you up to now?
He squinted into the darkness.
I'll bet there's more than one entrance to this place.

At the bottom he shined his light around. He could see a large archway about fifteen feet wide. Above the arch was an old signboard with faded colored paint. It read:

WELCOME TO THE LAKESIDE FUN HOUSE

COME IN FOR THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

As Murphy stepped under the arch, dim lights came on. He shined his flashlight back toward the arch and located a pair of sensors. He could see that he had broken a beam of light that must have activated the power for the fun house. He then heard the whir of some kind of machinery going on.

That old man must have money to spare to fix up an old fun house buried underground.

As he pressed on, there was a startling sound. Shining his light upward, he saw a large mechanical clown with its head rocking back and forth in laughter.

It's not funny yet, Methuselah.

He moved through a doorway under a sign that read:

HAVE A BARREL OF LAUGHS.

The only way forward was through a series of three large barrels that were lined up on their sides in a single row, like a tunnel. Each barrel was about eight feet in diameter and fifteen feet long. The first barrel was rolling to the left, the second barrel to the right, and the third barrel to the left. Grinding motors and chain drives made the barrels roll over and over.

Murphy remembered another fun house he had gone through when he was ten years old. It was in Denver, Colorado, and also had rolling barrels. His father had shown him that the only way through was to walk in the opposite direction

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from the roll of the barrel, like being on a giant treadmill. Otherwise, you would end up rolling around the inside of the barrel.

The dim light illuminated the inside of the fun house, so Murphy put his flashlight away in the backpack. He held the pack in his left hand to balance the impact-resistant case that contained Laser in his right. Murphy took a deep breath and entered the first barrel, walking in the opposite direction of the roll.

As Murphy reached the center barrel, an Asian figure in a black ninja outfit entered the third barrel. He resembled a young Bruce Lee and moved toward Murphy with the agility of a cat. He did not look too friendly.

Okay, here's where it gets interesting
, Murphy thought.

A quick glance behind Murphy revealed another Asian, dressed in a dark brown outfit. He had entered the first barrel after Murphy and was quickly gaining ground.

Oh, great! Double the fun. That's all I need.

Murphy also glimpsed a shadowy form lurking at the entrance to the first barrel.
Could it be
...
?
A moment later, the familiar cackling laugh of Methuselah confirmed his suspicions.

"This will be fun to watch, Murphy!"

Murphy was not going to allow Methuselah to distract him. The two Asians looked like professionals. Fast, confident, deadly. And out to do him some serious harm.

The man from behind was almost upon him.
Divide and conquer
, thought Murphy. He turned and ran in the same direction that the barrel was rolling, rising quickly up the side. As Murphy felt himself starting to lose the battle against gravity, he shoved backward as hard as he could. All of Murphy's one hundred and ninety-five pounds dropped down on the man in brown and drove his head hard into the thick wood.

One down
, thought Murphy. The fall knocked his backpack and impact case out of his hands, and they began to tumble on
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the floor with the unconscious Asian. Murphy had just regained his shaky footing when the impact case ricocheted into his midsection, knocking the wind out of him. He fell again, gasping for breath and struggling unsuccessfully to get to his feet.

The assassin in black leaped over his unconscious partner and landed a kick on Murphy's shoulder. Murphy rolled with the blow, still trying to catch his breath. He scrambled to his feet just as the assassin sprang through the air, kicking Murphy in the chest, and again knocking him to the floor.

"Bravo! Bravo!" shouted Methuselah with a laugh.

Murphy knew that he could hold his own if he could ever catch his breath and get his feet under him. His aptly named impact case kept rolling against his body, making it difficult to get up.

The man in black came in for a third attack, aimed at Murphy's head. Instinctively he grabbed the impact case and swung it in front of him, knocking the assassin off balance. He went down on his back next to Murphy. Murphy brought his elbow down as hard as he could on the side of the Asian's head. Murphy finally rose to his feet. It was all over except for the tumbling of two bodies, one backpack, and an impact case.

He gathered up the backpack and Laser, and stumbled out of the last barrel. He looked back at the two bodies tumbling over and over like rag dolls in a washing machine. Methuselah had disappeared.

BABYLON RISING: THE EUROPA CONSPIRACY

A Bantam Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Bantam hardcover edition published October 2005

Bantam trade paperback edition / August 2006

Bantam mass market edition / August 2007

Published by

Bantam Dell

A Division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents

either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is

entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2005 by Tim LaHaye

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005053550

Bantam Books and the rooster colophon are registered trademarks

of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-307-41746-6

www.bantamdell.com

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