Читать книгу Ten Days - John Sheppard - Страница 15

Sam was surprised to see several people enter the east entrance of the Annex. Three had entered as she rounded the corner from the square, and another four or five entered before she traveled the city block from the square to the door. She could see more people apparently heading toward the door from various points within her field of vision. What’s going on? she thought to herself.

No sooner did Sam have that thought than she noticed they were all carrying instrument cases. Was there a concert coming up? As she mentally reviewed the museum’s schedule, she couldn’t think of any formal use of the Annex; after all, most of the government was in exile.

“Good evening,” greeted an older gentleman as she reached the door, and he held it open for her. Sam’s self-appointed doorman was thin, almost to the point of being gaunt. The idea crossed Sam’s mind that maybe she should hold open the door for him, but he seemed to enjoy the opportunity to be of help. The man had a full head of hair which was snow white, and fell neatly groomed to his shoulders. Sam knew of a dozen women who would be jealous of his mane. Sam started to reach for her badge, but it didn’t appear that anyone else had shown one, and this gentleman wasn’t going to ask to see her ID.

“Thank you very much, and good evening to you too,” she responded cheerfully. Sam was grateful. The door was massive, made of thick oak planks. While it wasn’t nearly the size of the front doors of the former cathedral, Sam appreciated the thoughtfulness.

Once inside, she was a little taken aback by the grandeur and detail. It had not been expected in a back hallway. She had been in the main area of the Annex many times and had just assumed the non-public areas would be less grand. The hallway was very wide, maybe eight to ten feet. The floor was slate, the walls limestone. A great deal of the limestone was carved. Some of the carving appeared to be purely ornamental, while other carvings were possibly of some religious nature.

She followed Dr. Spencer’s instructions, taking a left here at one intersecting hallway, and a right at the next. With the keen eye of an archivist, Sam noticed some details that others might have missed. It was apparent that in some locations in the various hallways, placards had been removed, or empty niches. In other cases, something had been sandblasted away. While Sam was curious, she was also on a mission and might investigate later.

Dr. Spencer had boxes of documents and all types of other artifacts moved to the Annex, as his team determined what should be placed in the vault. These items had all been rejected; while they might have been deemed important in another time, there just wasn’t room for them in the vault.

The basement of the Annex actually had three levels. While it had been built on the surface levels to be a neo-Gothic church, the basement levels housed more modern devices, like HVCA units, huge electrical panels, and a maze of storage rooms. Looking for her proof might be a little daunting, but at least Dr. Spencer was a man who believed in organization. The various sections were labeled “A,” “B,””C,” etc., then by aisle number and shelf number. He had told her that he thought what she was looking for was between section “JJ” and “MM” on the second level. With that information, Sam should be able to limit her search to a reasonably small area of the complex.