Page 32 of Reset

“Why jackpot?” Sarah stuck to his side.

“This one is wired. Which means there has to be a relay close by. You couldn’t use Wi-Fi for more than a meter or two, at most, down here before the signal dropped. You’d need another way to get the camera feed out of the tunnels to whoever’s watching us. See how this camera unit is bigger than the ones without the wires?” He held out a palm with a few of the cameras they’d collected.

Sarah picked a smaller one and examined it. “These ones are transmitting to the bigger one?”

“Yeah, and the bigger one is connected to a system that has to have been hardwired into the mine.”

Her eyes snapped to his. “If we follow the wire, will it take us out of here?”

“Stats.” He softened his tone as his expression filled with sympathy. “This only leads to the relay box, and we already know where the wiring from that leads.”

And there it was, confirmation that her IQ was dropping with every minute she remained underground. Suddenly, all those smart women making stupid decisions in every horror movie she’d ever seen made perfect sense. “Straight through the unbreakable gate.”

“Yeah. Although, it isn’t all bad news. If we can find the relay this is wired into, we might be able to tap into it with our phones, hijack the feed, and get a message out to my team.”

“Do you know how to do that? Because I don’t.”

“Elle’s the real expert with this kind of thing. Usually, I keep her supplied with caffeine and Snickers bars, and do what I’m told when she gives me an order.” He smiled wryly. “I’m the grunt of the team. All I can do is try my best to make it work.”

Oh, she didn’t like him referring to himself as only a grunt. Later, when they were out in the fresh air, she planned to set him straight on that issue. “That’s good enough for me. Let’s look for that relay box.” She paused. “Do you think they’re still watching us?”

In a flash, the easygoing persona she was used to disappeared, only to be replaced by a man who practically vibrated with cold, contained fury. His eyes darkened, making it clear that he was more than capable of following up on any threats he might make.

“I hope so,” he said thinly as he lifted the wired camera until it was eye level. “When we get out of here,” he said to whoever was watching, “and we will get out, we’re coming for you.” It was a promise dripping ice.

As soon as he was done, he bashed the camera against the wall. All they needed was the wire.

Sarah shivered. “You can be really scary, you know that?”

His smile was the one he’d used to get her into bed. “Never to you, Stats. That’s all that matters. Now, let’s see where this wire goes.”

Was it worrying how quickly he could move between anger and amusement? Had he always been like this? Or was this a leftover from his brain injury?

She had to ask. “You were furious a second ago, now you’re back to easygoing charmer. It’s like you have two personalities. Should I be worried?”

He barked out a laugh. “I love how you just come out and say what you’re thinking. And no, you shouldn’t be worried. I already told you, I’m good at compartmentalizing. There’s no split personality; I just focus on the appropriate emotion for the appropriate situation and bury the rest.”

“I’m not sure that’s normal, Ryan.”

“I’m not sure anybody’s normal, Stats.”

He had a point.

They continued to follow the wire, which instead of heading toward the gate as she’d expected, disappeared into the rocks blocking the other end of the tunnel.

“Crap.” Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “I was worried about this. If there are other rooms beyond that cave-in, then they’re all probably wired into the same relay. It’d only take one per tunnel, and I’m guessing the one for this tunnel is on the other side of these rocks.”

“We can go back and see if there’s another wired camera in the other tunnel.” Although, searching the rooms with dead people didn’t appeal. It felt like they were desecrating their graves.

“Couldn’t see any wiring, and believe me, I looked.” He examined the rocks. “Maybe we could move enough rocks for me to slip through and find the relay.”

Sarah didn’t want to shatter his hopes, but the rocks were tightly packed into the space. Even if they managed to remove some, the chances of the rest falling on them were high. Instead of being negative, she stepped up beside him and started scanning the wall for a place to start.

“There are some big stones here.” She pointed at a space close to the floor. “See how they make a kind of bridge? Maybe we can dig out under it, without bringing the rest of the ceiling down on us.”

Ryan crouched down to study the spot. “Might work.” He handed her the phone. “Keep it pointed here, and I’ll see what I can get out.”

“Be careful.”