The Midas Code

G aul unlocked the explosive belt from Stacy’s waist and gave her one of the small metal flashlights. She turned to face Tyler. Several times during the walk through the tunnels, she had thought to protest Orr’s accusation of treachery, but she had no explanation for how he had known their movements, and she worried that her denials would ring hollow. But before she dove into the pool, she had to say something.

“Tyler,” she said, “I want you to know that I’ve never deceived you. Carol’s safety is my only priority.”

Tyler didn’t say anything, but his lip curled upward ever so slightly and he winked at her.

Stacy felt a rush of relief. Somehow he knew she hadn’t betrayed him. Suddenly she had a glimmer of hope that they’d get out of this mess. She had an almost overwhelming urge to embrace Tyler, but if she did, she knew that she’d lose control and cry like a girl.

Orr missed the wink. “Go,” he commanded. “That flashlight isn’t waterproof, so it may not last long. We’ll shine our lights into the pool from up here.”

“When you get down there,” Tyler said, “look around but don’t touch anything. Come back up and tell me what you see.”

“What am I looking for?” she asked.

“Some kind of plug or lever.”

She sat and put down the flashlight to take off her shoes and socks. She swung her legs around and dipped her toes in the water. A chill shot up her spine, and she shivered.

“Quit stalling,” Orr said, and shoved her in.

Stacy tumbled forward, and the sudden dunking nearly made her inhale in shock. She kicked to the surface and fought the impulse to climb back out of the frigid pool.

“Bastard!”

“They say it’s better to go in all at once,” Orr said.

“Just give me the damn flashlight so I can get this over with.”

Gaul handed it to her. He, Tyler, and Orr leaned over the pool and held the lanterns above it. The illumination penetrated to the bottom, but she couldn’t tell how far down that was. It was well over five feet, because her feet couldn’t touch.

Stacy wasn’t an Olympic swimmer, but she had spent many days swimming in the lake near her parents’ farm. She wasn’t worried about a little pool.

She took a deep breath, dove under, and kicked down. She played the flashlight around the walls, but the surface looked identical to the walls of the room above.

When she reached ten feet down, she saw the bottom of the barrier suspended above the floor of the pool. Just as Tyler said, the ends were inserted into grooves at each end to guide it up and down. Six feet below the bottom of the barrier were stops where the barrier would come to a rest.

Nothing looked like a lever or a plug, so she turned around. There was a dark spot on the wall directly under where Tyler had been. She swam over to it.

It was a square cavity six feet on each side and three feet deep. She shined the flashlight inside and got a glimpse of a stone lever jutting from the wall. Next to the lever was a flat round disk the diameter of a beach ball.

A small black notch was cut into the rock above the top disk. Stacy put her hand over it and felt her palm sucked onto it. Water was flowing through. This was the control valve.

She was out of breath, so she pulled her hand away and made for the surface.

“Did you find it?” Orr said.

Stacy sputtered water. “I think so.”

“What does it look like?” Tyler said.

She explained the mechanism to him.

“It seems simple enough,” he said. “You’ll need to pull the lever. That should swing the disk aside to allow the water to flow through the drain.”

“Got it.”

“Just be careful. The suction could be strong. You don’t want to get stuck.”

“I can handle it.”

She dove back down. When she reached the cavity, she shined the light on the lever again to get her bearings, but it flickered out five seconds later, succumbing to the water leaking in. Still, it was enough time for her to put her hand on the top handle and brace herself with her back against the side wall of the cavity.

She pushed, and the lever moved an inch. The rush of water increased. She pushed again, and it moved a little farther. Now the outflow was a torrent. She heaved, swinging the disk to the side. Almost out of breath, she kicked against the bottom of the pool, but her foot was swept into the hole.

Her foot plunged in, and the water rushing past threatened to pin her there indefinitely. Terrified at the thought of drowning that way, she gathered her strength, turned over, and pushed her free foot against the wall with every bit of power she had. She extracted her trapped foot and swam out of the way of the flow.

By this time her lungs were screaming for air. In a panic, she flailed her arms to reach the surface. As she broke through, she cried out for help.

A pair of powerful hands grabbed her shoulders and lifted her out of the pool. Tyler laid her down gently, but she didn’t let go. He responded by pulling her toward him in a tight embrace. The warmth of his body felt wonderful, and she buried her face in his chest so they wouldn’t see her sobbing.