Sink: Old Man's Tale (14 page)

“Aren’t you coming?” Graham said.

“We have to rebuild,” Chief Digger 138 said. “It’s the only home we’ve got.”

“You’re not going up onto the surface?” Jeremiah said.

“We will,” Chief Digger 138 said. “But not right now. Better to be somewhere you know than somewhere you don’t. Plus, I’ve got a family to be getting back to.”

“And a people to lead,” Jeremiah said.

“If they want me,” Chief Digger 138 said.

“You’d get my vote,” Jeremiah said.

High praise indeed from a man such as Jeremiah.

“It’ll be strange carrying out new duties,” Chief Digger 138 said. “It only took three hundred years to get my first promotion.”

“What’ll you do now?” Graham said.

“I don’t know,” Chief Digger 138 said. “We’ll just have to find our way somehow.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” Graham said.

“I’ll come dig up your garden sometime,” Chief Digger 138 said.

And he left.

“Now what?” Graham said.

“Now we head home,” Carlos said.

“We’re in the Outback,” Jeremiah said.

“Are you sure?” Carlos said. “We could be anywhere on Earth.”

“I’d recognize old man saltbushes anywhere,” Jeremiah said.

“Which direction shall we head in?” Carlos said.

They peered around at their bleak surroundings. It looked the same from every direction.

“Anyone want to choose?” Jeremiah said.

“We’re seriously just heading out into a desert in a random direction?” Carlos said.

“We’ll find something eventually,” Jeremiah said. “Even if it’s nothing.”

“We’ve got a long way to go yet before we get out of this desert,” Carlos said.

“It’ll give us time to get to know each other,” Graham said.

“Depress me even more, why don’t you?” Jeremiah said. “I already know more about you than I’d ever want to.”

“You old flirt,” Graham said.

“All’s well that ends well,” Carlos said.

“We don’t yet know the effects on the surface,” Jeremiah said. “For all we know Leader’s plans might have worked and a city somewhere has sunk.”

“Fingers crossed it’s Darwin,” Graham said.

He reached into his jacket and took out Jeremiah’s deeds.

“Here,” he said. “Keep them. I couldn’t give them to my boss anyway. He’s a son of a bitch.”

“But you’re not, suddenly?” Jeremiah said.

“I am,” Graham said. “But not that much of one. You should keep your house.”

“I don’t know,” Jeremiah said. “I’ve been thinking about going into a home lately. It might be nice, socializing, meeting new people. Activities. I’ve been on my own too long.”

Graham looked into the middle distance.

“Maybe there’s a way you can have both,” he said. “Keep your home, as well as socialize.”

“You’ve got that dangerous look in your eye,” Jeremiah said. “You’ve got an idea?”

“I do,” Graham said. “And it’s a doozy. Do you remember when we were in prison and I said I had a way for you to keep your house? It’s pretty simple. You set up a business that will be of benefit to the people who will end up living in the new homes around you.”

“What kind of business?” Jeremiah said.

“Anything,” Graham said. “It could be a playground for the kids, a wildlife reserve, a park. Anything that the locals will enjoy.”

“Won’t your building plans already have those things?” Jeremiah said.

“They do,” Graham said, nodding. “But if we found a lenient judge we might be able to convince her you’re offering a better service than the property company can provide.”

“I don’t have the kind of money I’d need to set up a business like that,” Jeremiah said.

“Don’t worry,” Graham said. “I’ve already thought of what it’ll be. And it’s fully self-funding. But you’ll need a decent project manager…”

“The job’s yours if you can provide everything you say you can,” Jeremiah said.

Graham ran back to the tunnel, got to his knees, and shouted into it.

“Chief Digger 138!” Graham said. “Wait!”

Silence answered him.

“Chief Digger 138?” Graham shouted again.

“Yeah?” Chief Digger 138 shouted back.

“Don’t go anywhere!” Graham said. “I’ve got an answer to all your problems!”

“I’ve heard that before,” Jeremiah said. “And it never fails to disappoint.”

“
It’s been a
week since the quake and few feel safe in their homes. The earthquake has, quite literally, shaken the Adelaide population to the core. There were no deaths, but plenty of speculation as to what caused this natural phenomenon in an area not renowned for seismic activity.

“The quake has sparked growing interest nationwide in geology and seismology. Here in Alice Springs a new tourist resort has opened up that hopes to capitalize on this newfound interest. Tourists enter the huge tent to discover the world right beneath their feet, educated by a tribe who call themselves the Manu. Exciting? Yes. Eccentric? Certainly. This reporter has already booked her ticket and looking forward to the voyage of discovery. This is Pamela Abbey for ABC News.”

Graham switched off the news app and tucked his earphones in his pocket. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. He passed the lucid ‘Righteous Brothers’ sign and proceeded down the narrow corridor to the large office at the end. The secretary rose to greet him, but she was cut short by Graham’s raised hand. He pushed the door open and entered.

Mr. Pearson looked up from his desk. It was cluttered with paper. He looked like a frog collecting pebbles to impress a new mate.

“Graham!” he said. “I wondered where you’d got to! I thought you’d slipped off the face of the Earth! I gave your desk to Dwayne. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Why should I?” Graham said.

“Did you get the deeds?” Mr. Pearson said.

“Yes,” Graham said.

Mr. Pearson blinked in surprise.

“You did?” he said. His expression brightened into a grin. “Of course you did! I knew you could do it! You just needed the right motivation, that’s all.”

“I returned them to Mr. Witness,” Graham said.

Mr. Pearson’s unibrow frowned.

“Come again?” he said.

“I had the deeds, and then handed them back,” Graham said.

“Then you’re out of a job,” Mr. Pearson said. “Get out.”

He bent back over his documents. He looked up when he realized Graham hadn’t moved.

“What?” he said.

“It’s a felony to coerce someone into carrying out illegal activities,” Graham said.

“And who’s going to believe you?” Mr. Pearson said.

“Dwayne does,” Graham said. “He’s actually a very nice guy when you get to know him. He was in the car when you gave the order, if you’ll recall.”

“He doesn’t have the balls to do something like that,” Mr. Pearson said.

“He wouldn’t, normally,” Graham said. “Except that he is very ambitious. I’d say he would do just about anything to get ahead in his career. Even sabotaging others’. As you say, he’s got the nose for it. That’s how you got to your position, isn’t it? By betraying others?”

Mr. Pearson pressed a button on his phone.

“Come into my office,” he said.

A moment later, Dwayne entered.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” he said.

“Is what Graham tells me true?” Mr. Pearson said.

“About the coercion?” Dwayne said. “Yes, sir.”

“Get out,” Mr. Pearson said.

“Yes, sir,” Dwayne said.

“It would be your word against mine,” Mr. Pearson said.

“I’m sure we can find more people to testify against you,” Graham said. “I hope they give us the big court room. We’ll need it.”

“What you’re doing is entrapment,” Mr. Pearson said.

“Maybe,” Graham said. “But right now it’s just you and me and no ambitious witnesses.”

Mr. Pearson sighed.

“I wish you’d grown a spine sooner,” he said. “I could have used you then.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t much like being used,” Graham said.

“What do you want?” Mr. Pearson said.

Jeremiah took
a sip. He grimaced. He’d added too much coffee again. He added a little more milk. He needed smaller teaspoons. He turned to the coat stand by the door. His shoulders were bunched up. He relaxed them. He didn’t need to walk like that anymore. His home was clear, free of the newspapers and other detritus. The sinkhole had taken care of that. His cleaner took care of the rest.

The little men were terrific builders. They moved like a single unit, passing materials to one another, often without looking at what they were even passing, or who to, like it was choreographed. They rebuilt Jeremiah’s floor within a few hours, and then offered to do the whole house. But Jeremiah kindly refused. Every hole and scratch and mark was a prod to a memory. At his age he needed as many prods as he could get.

He put on his ragged coat and stepped outside. He was instantly assaulted by the murmurings and excited squeals of families queuing up. They were standing outside a huge tent that covered almost the entirety of Jeremiah’s land.

“Please follow us inside, ladies and gentlemen,” a little man said, shepherding the people into the tent. “And prepare to be amazed!”

“Will we really go down, Dad?” a little girl said. “Will we really go deep down?”

“Of course we will,” her father said with a smile that showed he didn’t really believe that.

The families filed into the tent, revealing a pair of figures watching from the other side of the field.

“How are we doing?” Jeremiah said.

“Booked up for the next two months,” Graham said.

“People seem to really enjoy it,” Chief Digger 138 said.

“What happens if interest dries up?” Jeremiah said.

“Oh, I’m sure we can rustle up a little two-pointer when the need suffices,” Chief Digger 138 said with a grin.

“You haven’t gone down to see the show yet?” Graham said.

“No,” Jeremiah said. “Not after we got stuck down there. Maybe later.”

“It’s a history of the little people, where they came from, how they lived underground,” Graham said.

“I read the pamphlet,” Jeremiah said.

“Just let me know if you change your mind,” Chief Digger 138 said. “I’ll get you some VIP tickets. Well, I’d better get this show on the road. He approached the tent. “You’re about to enter a world of surprise and intrigue, ladies and gentlemen. If you’ll take a seat we’ll begin descending deep into the Earth. But first let me tell you a little about our past. You see, we weren’t always nice people. Once upon a time we were led by an evil leader called, appropriately enough, Leader…”

The tent door closed, blocking Chief Digger 138’s voice.

“You’re off to the tree again?” Graham said to Jeremiah.

“I am,” Jeremiah said.

The two men rounded the huge tent to the back of the property, to a small space the tent did not reach. They took a seat on a protruding eucalyptus tree limb.

“Did you call your son?” Graham said.

“I did,” Jeremiah said. “He was surprised to hear from me.”

“I’ll bet,” Graham said. “How’d it go?”

“I explained to him why I did what I did, how it was his mother’s wish,” Jeremiah said. “He says he’s going to come visit. He’ll bring his wife and son.”

“Excited?” Graham said.

“Terrified,” Jeremiah said. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

“He’s guaranteed not to like you,” Graham said. “Just act cool.”

“I might recruit some little men kids to distract them,” Jeremiah said.

“That’ll work,” Graham said.

Jeremiah smiled. It was warm, not the cold frightful thing he usually gave to annoy someone, or to show how spiteful he was being, but the kind Graham remembered seeing on mornings when he would cook them a hot breakfast of sausages and eggs.

“Thank you,” Jeremiah said.

Graham’s cheeks flushed. He felt mildly embarrassed.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

They looked out at the sprawling red bleakness of the Australian Outback. It was starkly beautiful.

“Sinkholes have occurred through the entire history of the Earth,” Jeremiah said. “If one sinkhole buried this small tribe, then how many other nations and peoples and creatures could there be beneath our feet?”

“The thought makes my head hurt,” Graham said.

“Thinking again?” Jeremiah said. “I warned you not to do that.”

“With you throwing around philosophical questions like that, how can I not?” Graham said.