LITMIR.BIZ

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as Mr. Lasnikov said. It must be down there,” said Alexa.

      Grandpa worked the soil with the pointed tip of his spade until he pried the box loose. Rachael leaned into the hole and pulled out the jeweled container.

      “Why bury such a beautiful thing, just to hide a key?”

      “Our friend Lasnikov had a grand way about him when it came to such things, Alexa. He wanted to make an extravagant to-do over this,” Grandpa said.

      “Knowing him, I bet that he even stole this box from the Fromme house,” said Rachael. She brushed the earthen residue off the top of it and discovered a latch.

      “Well? Open it, Rache.”

      She did what her sister ordered and pulled back the lid. There--in a sunken compartment of soft black silk--lay the key they sought. A rather ornate object to unlock a factory door.

      Alexa could not wait. She reached in and snatched it.

      “Hey! What is your hurry, Lex?”

      “You were taking all day and we have got to move on. I thought YOU were the one with all the speedy moves in our family.”

      “I was about to do it. Give me a chance.”

      Both girls stood up, but then they paused.

      Were they suddenly afraid to move on?

      Grandpa finally said it. “Time, kids. We must see if we can find this guy.”

      Cautiously they ventured into the reception area of the musty office. Alexa shivered as they entered the noiseless room. “Walking in here brings back the memories of just a few days ago...and not good ones.”

      “Do not think about it, Lex. Keep moving,” Rachael said.

      They faced the room of desks, probably where the company transacted day-to-day business: sales, accounting functions, buying, and much more. As before, they saw nothing on the surfaces except for undisturbed dust and grime. At least it appeared no one had touched the area since last time.

      A larger cubicle beyond--a conference room--showed more of the same: the smelly filth of an unused work space. Even in daylight they found the eeriness unsettling.

      “Oh Rache. Must we keep going?” Alexa paused, then touched the knob on the next door.

      “Not to worry, Lex. Mr. Lasnikov is gone, and he will not be back.”

      This was the manager’s office where the evil Dunbro Lasnikov’s presence shocked them days ago. Their nemesis sat there smugly behind the huge desk meant for the company leader. Lasnikov then proudly announced that he was the founder of a new movement, something he called The League of Young Superpowers. Instead of a rescue mission for Isaac Fromme, Lasnikov tricked them so they would serve in this alliance of certain evil.

      “I know, Rache. Only a flashback I had.”

      Grandpa understood their fears. In the last visit while the girls listened to Dunbro’s rants, he lay unconscious outside, powerless to rescue them from the clutches of Lasnikov. At first. “Why not move on and forget that room for the moment.”

      “Good idea,” Rachael said quickly as they passed that unopened door.

      Continuing on, they stopped at the end of the hall. To the right was the door to the factory itself. Straight ahead they remembered seeing a sliding panel cleverly disguised as--well--just another wall, to the unsuspecting visitor.

      “Hmm. This is where we saw it,” Grandpa said.

      “The blue door? The portal? Yeah, it had to be right here,” said Alexa.

      “If someone did not want anyone to know it was there, they would find a way to conceal it. Like with a secret panel in those old spooky houses you see in the movies,” Rachael said.

      “There is no fireplace or bookshelf to hide the opening device, Rache.”

      “We see ornate oak paneling with seams. Look for joints where the sections butt together,” said Grandpa.

      All three searched and they did indeed find the seams, but there was no way to move a portion of the wall. No switches or levers--nothing. Finally, Grandpa took the initiative.

      “I hate to do this, but I think we have got to look in the manager’s office. On the other side of this hall, girls.”

      “Must we?”

      “Alexa, I think that is where we will find the answer. If it is a problem for you--well--let me go it alone.”

      “Good idea, Grandpa. Alexa and I can wait for you here.” That room scares me, too.

      Their grandfather ventured into the office which still remained the same as their last terrifying visit. He saw those distinctive marks in the dust on the desk where Lasnikov slammed his silver-tipped cane--for emphasis, to make a point--when he spoke. Grandpa Maguire immediately turned right and walked to the wall just on the other side of the hallway. He pressed on nooks and crannies that might release that segment hiding the concealed great blue door. He found nothing at first. Grandpa then looked along the wall parallel with the one in the hall. Nothing there but a single light switch. For his own amusement he flipped the switch. With no result, of course. Hmm. Why have a light switch way over here? There is one beside the entrance door.

      Suddenly he figured it out. With the switch in the “on” position he noticed that the entire plate could now move. So he pulled on the plate itself. It was hinged at the bottom. With the plate at a ninety degree position he sensed a loosening of the entire wall, and beyond. A locking mechanism gave way with a dull thud.

      “Grandpa? What did you do?” Alexa yelled from outside the room.

      He rushed to the hall and discovered that the panel had begun to slide left. “I do believe we have revealed the mystery to the Great Blue Door, kids.”

      With the catch released, a six-foot section of wall slid effortlessly. It revealed the door they sought. Alexa produced the key and slid it into the keyhole of the rusted lock.

      “Just like Mr. Lasnikov said. Our next adventure awaits,” said Alexa quietly as she turned the key.

      CHAPTER 5

      THE PORTAL

      As Grandpa gave a mighty pull on the leaden door the hinges made a loud creaking sound that could literally wake the dead. Perhaps the undead. “That thing could use a little lubrication, kids.”

      The three peered into the abyss. A long flight of wide stone steps led to a lower room, as best they could see in such faint lighting.

      They listened. Nothing. “Quiet as a tomb.”

      “Twice as spooky too, Rache,” Alexa added.

      “I guess nobody paid the electric bill lately down there,” said Grandpa as he spied a barely lit oil lantern hanging on the wall at the top landing. “They left just a bit of lighting so visitors will not fall and break their stinking necks on the stairs, I guess.” He removed the lamp and adjusted the wick, to make it burn brighter. “That is more like it. Shall we move on?”

      Rachael answered his question by taking the first cautious steps. “Be careful, Grandpa. These stairs are slippery.”

      “No need to tell me twice. It is quite damp.”

      They descended nearly twelve feet into the cavern, much more than a normal flight of stairs, to a basement floor. Grandpa examined the walls as they worked their way down. “Quite a feat, what somebody did to build this chamber under a dilapidated factory. Why would they go to all this trouble?”

      “Maybe we are about to find out,” Rachael answered.

      He ran his fingertips along the stone walls. “You realize that the soil in this area is quite sandy. For somebody to excavate and carve out these rooms, how could anything stay in place?”

      “Do

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