He got theStar Warsreference. He’s awesome.
Loud impacts reverberate through the vault door. Itshouldhold, but I’m not interested in waiting around to find out. I throw the crowbar down the hole and jump in after it.
It’s about a ten-foot drop, and I hit the ground hard. Cold, stale air assaults my nose.
“Careful. It’s a long way down,” I say, cupping my hands to project my voice.
Aiden jumps in after me and winces when he hits the ground.
I take the flashlight from my backpack and flash it around. A narrow tunnel of rough rock and dirt stretches out in both directions. Thick beams of wood support the sides and gird the roof.
Aiden looks up at the hole leading back to the vault. “What’s the story behind this?”
“A couple years ago, some guys figured out that this old mine shaft ran under the bank. They spent months digging the hole up to the vault floor. Got away with fifty thousand cash.”
“Wow. Like a regular heist movie.”
I laugh. “Lucky for us, they hadn’t fully repaired it yet.”
“Yeah, our lucky day.” Aiden smirks.
I grab the crowbar and turn to Aiden. “Give me a lift?” I cup my hands.
Aiden hoists me up high enough to swing at the rebar, propping up the steel plate. As I strike it, the rebar clatters away. The plate lands hard on the floor above us, making a massive slamming noise reverberating through the mine.
“No going back that way,” I say as Aiden lowers me to the floor.
“For more reasons than one.”
I turn left and lead us down the mine shaft, knowing exactly where to go. Before long, we come to a fork in the tunnel. Without hesitating, I take the right fork and continue.
“You’ve had this all planned out for quite some time, haven’t you?” Aiden asks.
“When you’ve had a year to yourself, you spend a lot of time making contingency plans.”
We come to a spot where the entire right side opens up into a deep ravine, extending downward into inky blackness. With each footstep, the path gets narrower. Our shuffling feet send pebbles tumbling into the darkness.
“Watch your step here,” I warn Aiden.
“No shit.”
With delicate steps, we make our way past the treacherous edge. When we’re on the other side, we exchange glances of relief. After a few more minutes, the mine shaft opens to a large natural cavern. Several shafts fan out in different directions. A metal ladder anchored to the cavern wall heads upward to a small outcropping. We climb the ladder and find a naturally occurring cave extending into darkness. The cave goes on for a couple of hundred feet before daylight shines ahead of us. When we get to the cave entrance, I poke my head out of it.
The sunlight is blinding, so I let my eyes adjust. We’re in the woods north of town. The forest is quiet. I hop out of the cave with Aiden right behind me.
“That vault door should hold them for a while,” I say. “But when they get through, they’ll probably trace us back to here. We’ll want to be long gone by then.”
“Sounds good. Where are we headed?”
I smile at him. “For my last surprise, I know where we can get our hands on a car.”
Chapter Ten
A Walk in the Woods
AIDEN
After we leave the mine, we hike directly through the woods for a while. It’s turning into a beautiful day. Sun-dappled leaves create flickering shadows on the ground. Eventually, we meet up with a trail. Zach pauses for a moment, then turns left.
