a treasure.
"It's for your first day of school," Kadir said.
Halima looked at her father. There was no mistaking it. Her father was finally happy. She slipped her hand around his waist and snuggled into him. His breathing was slow and rhythmic. She felt something she had never felt before.
She felt safe.
Click here to go beyond the story, experience and learn more about characters, events and places in One Child and join the discussion online.
Chapter
36
Day 19 - 8.14.10 - Morning News
Moscow, Russia
The water in the labyrinth of tunnels under Moscow was a few degrees above freezing. The sun never penetrated the layers of concrete and dirt above, where people walked and cars drove. The damp air cut through their clothes and chilled Trey and his team to the bone. Locating the electrical lines necessary to cut the power to Luzhniki Stadium was turning out to be quite the ordeal.
Petr was wearing knee-high waterproof boots as he slogged through ankle-deep water carrying a new set of plans for the sewer system. It was early Saturday morning and the constant rumble from the cars and trucks overhead was considerably less than usual. Behind him, Trey held two flashlights, one illuminating the drawings and the other focused on the twisting section of tunnel ahead of them.
"Is the new set better?" Trey asked.
Alexi had secured a new set of drawings of the underground sewer system that showed the original tunnels and many of the changes up until 2004. On the same set were the electrical conduits, which usually ran immediately adjacent to the sewers, with openings in the concrete at specific intervals to access the junction boxes. No new plans had been drawn inside the last six years, and if they had, they were not available.
Petr nodded. "A bit. Alexi was very resourceful to get his hands on these, but even with them it's difficult. Many of the things we're looking at are not the same as the drawings indicate."
"It's frustrating," Trey agreed, keeping the lights pointed exactly where Petr needed them.
"This way," the stocky Russian said, motioning to a narrow tunnel that forked sharply to the left.
The section of tunnel they entered was crumbling in on itself. Chunks of old bricks and mortar, slippery with algae and slime, had fallen into the water, making their footing unstable and dangerous. The tunnel was too narrow for them to walk side-by-side, and Trey passed one of the lights to Petr, who alternated between checking the plans, his handheld GPS and their position in the tunnel. Trey, also dressed in waterproof boots to stay dry, followed behind, rubbing his hands and his chest in a vain attempt to keep warm. They reached a fork in the tunnel and Petr chose the right track. The width was even narrower and his broad shoulders touched both sides as they waded through the stagnant water. Thirty meters into what was beginning to look like a dead end, Petr turned to Trey and shone the light on his own face. He was smiling.
"Look what I found," he said. He angled the light so it illuminated the tunnel ceiling a couple of meters ahead of them. A newer metal conduit, sandwiched amongst two dozen other older ones, disappeared into a large junction box.
"Is that what you need?" Trey asked.
"I'd say it is. I'll know in a minute, but I think this is one of the places I can splice in and kill the power."
He removed some equipment from a harness on his chest and went to work on the box. Trey kept the flashlight focused as Petr removed the cover. Inside was a mass of wires and Trey was suddenly very glad he had chosen the Russian for the job. He had no idea what any of them were for.
"This is a pull box," Petr said as he set about determining whether the wires inside the newer conduit were the incoming service to the stadium.
"What's a pull box?" Trey asked.
"You can only pull so much wire through a conduit before friction and weight make it impossible. Then you need to cut the conduit and start fresh. When you do that, you
"It's for your first day of school," Kadir said.
Halima looked at her father. There was no mistaking it. Her father was finally happy. She slipped her hand around his waist and snuggled into him. His breathing was slow and rhythmic. She felt something she had never felt before.
She felt safe.
Click here to go beyond the story, experience and learn more about characters, events and places in One Child and join the discussion online.
Chapter
36
Day 19 - 8.14.10 - Morning News
Moscow, Russia
The water in the labyrinth of tunnels under Moscow was a few degrees above freezing. The sun never penetrated the layers of concrete and dirt above, where people walked and cars drove. The damp air cut through their clothes and chilled Trey and his team to the bone. Locating the electrical lines necessary to cut the power to Luzhniki Stadium was turning out to be quite the ordeal.
Petr was wearing knee-high waterproof boots as he slogged through ankle-deep water carrying a new set of plans for the sewer system. It was early Saturday morning and the constant rumble from the cars and trucks overhead was considerably less than usual. Behind him, Trey held two flashlights, one illuminating the drawings and the other focused on the twisting section of tunnel ahead of them.
"Is the new set better?" Trey asked.
Alexi had secured a new set of drawings of the underground sewer system that showed the original tunnels and many of the changes up until 2004. On the same set were the electrical conduits, which usually ran immediately adjacent to the sewers, with openings in the concrete at specific intervals to access the junction boxes. No new plans had been drawn inside the last six years, and if they had, they were not available.
Petr nodded. "A bit. Alexi was very resourceful to get his hands on these, but even with them it's difficult. Many of the things we're looking at are not the same as the drawings indicate."
"It's frustrating," Trey agreed, keeping the lights pointed exactly where Petr needed them.
"This way," the stocky Russian said, motioning to a narrow tunnel that forked sharply to the left.
The section of tunnel they entered was crumbling in on itself. Chunks of old bricks and mortar, slippery with algae and slime, had fallen into the water, making their footing unstable and dangerous. The tunnel was too narrow for them to walk side-by-side, and Trey passed one of the lights to Petr, who alternated between checking the plans, his handheld GPS and their position in the tunnel. Trey, also dressed in waterproof boots to stay dry, followed behind, rubbing his hands and his chest in a vain attempt to keep warm. They reached a fork in the tunnel and Petr chose the right track. The width was even narrower and his broad shoulders touched both sides as they waded through the stagnant water. Thirty meters into what was beginning to look like a dead end, Petr turned to Trey and shone the light on his own face. He was smiling.
"Look what I found," he said. He angled the light so it illuminated the tunnel ceiling a couple of meters ahead of them. A newer metal conduit, sandwiched amongst two dozen other older ones, disappeared into a large junction box.
"Is that what you need?" Trey asked.
"I'd say it is. I'll know in a minute, but I think this is one of the places I can splice in and kill the power."
He removed some equipment from a harness on his chest and went to work on the box. Trey kept the flashlight focused as Petr removed the cover. Inside was a mass of wires and Trey was suddenly very glad he had chosen the Russian for the job. He had no idea what any of them were for.
"This is a pull box," Petr said as he set about determining whether the wires inside the newer conduit were the incoming service to the stadium.
"What's a pull box?" Trey asked.
"You can only pull so much wire through a conduit before friction and weight make it impossible. Then you need to cut the conduit and start fresh. When you do that, you
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