Chapter 5 - The Underground Cathedral
The Pilsen cathedral was a crumbling monument to a forgotten age,
its stone walls stained with soot and time.
But beneath its cracked floors lay a world I never knew existed.
Roman led us down a series of narrow,
winding stairs,
deeper into the cold,
damp earth.
The air smelled of incense and wet stone.
We emerged into a massive,
vaulted chamber,
lit by flickering lanterns and high-tech monitors.
It was a command center hidden within a tomb.
“Welcome to the heart of the Callahan ghost,”
Roman said,
his voice echoing in the vast space.
Lily looked around in awe,
her fear momentarily forgotten.
“It’s a cave,
Mommy!”
she whispered,
reaching out to touch the cold stone walls.
Roman gestured to a small room carved into the rock,
furnished with a bed and a few crates.
“It’s not the mansion,
but it’s impenetrable.”
“The walls are six feet of solid granite.”
“Even a bomb wouldn't shake this room.”
I sat on the bed,
feeling the weight of the city above us.
I looked at Roman,
who was already conferring with his tech team.
He looked like a man who had finally found his natural environment.
“How long do we have to stay here?”
I asked,
my voice small.
“Until I find the ledger,”
he said,
without looking back.
“Caleb left a clue,
didn't he?”
“In the photos I found in his files.”
“There was a repetitive pattern in the background of the shop photos.”
He pulled up a digital image on one of the screens.
It was Caleb,
working under the hood of an old Mustang.
In the background,
on a pegboard,
was a series of wrenches arranged in a strange,
non-sequential order.
“It’s a code,”
Roman said,
his eyes lighting up with a grim intelligence.
“It’s a map to where he hid it.”
“He knew I’d be the only one to recognize our father’s old cipher.”
He turned to me,
his expression softening for a fraction of a second.
“He was always smarter than I gave him credit for.”
“He wasn't just hiding,
Maya.”
“He was setting a trap for the Syndicate,
and he was waiting for me to spring it.”
I looked at the image of the man I loved,
feeling a surge of pride amidst the fear.
Caleb hadn't just been a mechanic,
he had been a protector until the very end.
“Then go,”
I said,
my voice gaining strength.
“Find it.”
“End this.”
Roman nodded,
checking his sidearm.
“I’ll be back by dawn.”
“Stay in the room.”
“The guards have orders to shoot anything that isn't me.”
As he disappeared back up the stairs,
I held Lily close,
the silence of the cathedral pressing in on us.
May you like
We were buried alive,
waiting for a miracle or a massacre.
