‘How big do you think it is?’ Hattie was determined to rekindle his enthusiasm.
‘No idea. The shaft in the picture is as big as the others. If there is a cave here … maybe the same size as the other caves.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Find some tools,’ said Alphonse, already squeezing his way back past the shelving. ‘Be right back.’
He returned clutching a large lump hammer in one of his meaty hands and a heavy-duty chisel in the other. He shot Luc a smirk. ‘This is man’s work,’ he said, hefting the hammer.
‘You can put more weight behind it,’ replied Luc. ‘I’ll give you that. Try not to demolish the whole place. I’d suggest knocking a few bricks out so that we can get a light through and see what’s there.’
‘Okay.’ There wasn’t much room in the small space between the wall and the back of the shelves so Alphonse couldn’t swing the hammer too far at the chisel that he’d inserted at chest height into the brickwork. He chipped away round the edge of one brick before pausing to try and push the brick through. It didn’t budge. He tapped at it with the hammer but it still didn’t move.
‘Hit it a bit harder,’ suggested Fliss.
‘I wouldn—’ Luc’s words were lost as Alphonse swung back the hammer as far as he could in the limited space and landed a mighty blow on the brick. There was a shudder and the brick and four surrounding ones all vanished with a crash.
‘See.’ Alphonse turned round to face them, grinning. ‘That’s the way to do it.’
Even as he spoke there was a series of cracking noises like pistol shots and Jacob’s-ladder fissures began to appear, running stepwise through the brickwork. A doorway appeared before their eyes.
‘Well, that was easy,’ said Alphonse, dropping the heavy metal hammer on the floor with a triumphant thud.
There was an ominous creak and a loud groan. The entire wall began to shudder.
‘Wha—’ said Alphonse.
‘Get back,’ said Luc, grabbing Alphonse by the sleeve and pushing Hattie through the gap between the shelves. He and Alphonse ducked down and rolled across the shelving as Fliss bumped up against Hattie.
‘Merde!’ yelled Alphonse, stumbling backwards. The four of them, now standing on the other side of the shelving unit, watched as in slow motion the wall began to collapse, bricks tumbling down one after another like unruly dominoes. They all turned and ran as a black cloud of dust enveloped them, small explosions of debris filling the air as the wall crumbled.
Dust scoured Hattie’s eyes, the taste of dirt filled her mouth, and she felt a film of fine grit on her face. She blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the tiny particles, and beside her Fliss began to cough.
‘Merde!’ yelled Alphonse again, pulling Fliss into his arms as Luc did exactly the same to Hattie, shielding them from the growing dust cloud. The four of them ran on towards the exit coughing and spluttering, racing up the stairs to ground level. They emerged into the sunlight, doubled over, gasping as they tried to wipe the dirt from their faces.
‘What the…’ wheezed Alphonse.
‘Fuck,’ said Fliss, her eyes white and wide in her blackened face.
‘Here.’ Luc turned on an outside tap and they all reached to dash handfuls of water into their faces. Behind them there was silence but a cloud of dust filled the cellar building.
‘Bloody hell,’ said Fliss. ‘Someone doesn’t know their own strength.’
Alphonse grinned at her.
‘It wasn’t a compliment, you pillock.’
Hattie sniggered.
‘Peellock?’ Alphonse asked.
‘Idiot,’ said Fliss, rolling her eyes at him.
He shrugged. ‘It worked, didn’t it?’
‘In the immortal words of Michael Caine, “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off,”’ she drawled.
‘I’m not sure it translates,’ said Hattie, seeing Luc looking confused.
