Read Online Into the Devil's Underground by Stacy Green - Free Book Online Page A

with mildew. “Drain’s over there.” He shined his tactical light on the flood map. “To the right.”
    The temperature dropped as they entered the large drain. Darkness engulfed them.
    Chris’s whistle cut through the eerie stillness. “Wow. It’s a hell of a lot cooler in here. Place smells like feet, but I’ll take what I can get.”
    Nathan shined his light on the walls. Colorful graffiti decorated the concrete. “Someone’s a talented artist.”
    The darkness thickened with each step. The odor grew increasingly foul.
    “Jesus, I can taste the stench in my mouth.” Chris gagged and spit into the dirty water.
    Nathan didn’t respond. He was too busy fighting the pain in his arm and trying to keep the contents of his stomach down. How did the people who lived in the tunnels stand the smell and the constant dangers? The drains provided relief from the sweltering desert heat and free housing, but they were death traps. Large portions ran directly underneath the city streets, and inhabitants risked carbon monoxide poisoning and the frequent threat of flooding. Nathan grew up poorer than many in North Las Vegas, but he couldn’t imagine having no other alternative than to live minute by minute.
    “We shouldn’t run into any camps,” Johnson said. “They’re deeper in. One of the biggest is right under the Strip.”
    “You know we aren’t going to find shit,” Chris choked out. “It’s too dark. Guy planned this for months. He knows his way around. Nate, you need to get that arm stitched up.”
    “It’s clean and bandaged,” Nathan said. “It’ll hold.”
    Silence fell over the men as they moved farther into the stinking drain. Something hard crunched underneath Nathan’s boots. He nervously shined his light into the black water. Crawfish swam around his feet, probably on their way to the Las Vegas Wash. A mushy white glob looking suspiciously like used toilet paper floated by, and he focused his light away from the stream. Better not to know what I’m stepping on.
    A loud splash ahead brought all three to a halt.
    “You hear that?” Johnson asked.
    “Sounds big.” Chris stepped in front of Johnson and raised his Glock.
    “Las Vegas SWAT,” Johnson shouted. “Identify yourself.”
    Nothing.
    “Maybe it was an animal,” Nathan said.
    “That’s even worse than a junkie,” Chris said. “With my luck, Cujo’s man-eating cousin will show up and give me rabies.”
    “They have shots for that now.”
    “No shit, Sherlock.”
    A second loud splash was followed by the distinct sound of footsteps sloshing through the water.
    “That’s no dog.” Chris sprinted after the runner with Nathan and Johnson closely following. The beams of their lights flashed haphazardly against the walls making the tunnel even more ominous.
    A strange brightness glowed several yards ahead of them. Their quarry came into view. He was too short and stocky to be their man, but he could have information.
    Chris tackled him just as the group emerged into the moonlight.
    “Get off me. I ain’t done nothing wrong!”
    “Settle down, then.” Chris yanked the man to his feet. “We just want to talk to you.”
    Nathan inhaled the semi-fresh air and looked around. They stood in an open-air channel, with tall, raggedy weeds and swarms of bugs. “Why’d you run?”
    “Don’t like cops.”
    “We’re not here to arrest you.” Johnson flashed his badge. “Las Vegas SWAT in pursuit of a fugitive. He tried to rob WestOne Bank this afternoon and nearly kidnapped a woman. You seen anyone suspicious tonight?”
    “Just me around here.”
    Nathan offered him a bottle of water. “What’s your name?”
    “Blaze.” He chugged the water and pointed to his bright red hair.
    “You noticed anyone out of the ordinary down here?” Nathan asked.
    “You’re kidding right, kid?” Blaze snorted. “No one down here is ordinary.”
    “Yeah, but you all know each other, right?
    “So?”
    “So has there been anyone around