Ten minutes before the attack was launched, Jenkins led a team of eight officers into the tunnel.
The walls were cold and lumpy, but the bumps and ridges were oddly smooth. Jenkins ran a hand along the side of the tunnel, inspecting it with her flashlight, and it occurred to her that out of all the Hounds that Kinzel had, he probably had at least one that could spit acid. She shuddered and hoped that whatever had made this tunnel wasn't down here anymore.
And boy was the tunnel long. If it curved at all, it was impossible to tell. Could it be they were headed out of Bricksburg? By her reckoning, they were headed south, which would mean they were going to end up in the Old West. Why there?
She stopped suddenly, and Stibbons bumped into her, and Yancy bumped into him. "Isn't there an Uncharted Territory near the Old West?" she asked.
"Yeah," Yancy replied. "It's a pretty small one, though." Then he caught up to her train of thought. "You don't think…?"
"Kinzel came out of the Territories," Jenkins said. "He's bringing us to his home field."
"If that's the case, we're going to need more backup," Stibbons pointed out.
Jenkins nodded. They didn't get reception this far underground, so she shone her flashlight over the other officers following her. She pointed to the one at the very rear. "I need you to go back and gather reinforcements while we continue ahead," she said. "Hurry!"
The officer nodded and began to jog back the way they'd come. They'd already been walking for about a quarter of an hour. It was going to be at least forty-five minutes until reinforcements arrived, maybe even an hour since she planned on continuing to walk.
Jenkins pinched the bridge of her nose. The Uncharted Territories were the sections of land that Business had failed to gain control over. There was a point near the beginning where the Master Builders had tried to seek refuge in the Territories, but had found themselves very unwelcome. There had only been one exception – Cloudcuckooland. Princess Unikitty thought of their Territory as a safe haven for anyone in need, and if that sanctuary hadn't been provided, the Master Builders might not have lasted nearly as long against Business as they did.
All the other Territories were dangerous, in varying degrees. There was no telling what Kinzel was leading them into.
But there was nothing for it. "Come on," Jenkins said, and began to walk again.
It got very easy to lose track of time as they travelled through the tunnel. Jenkins took to periodically checking her watch. Half an hour since sending for backup. An hour. An hour and a half. Shouldn't help be arriving soon?
As the two-hour mark approached, a puff of fresher air brushed over Jenkins' face, and a dim light was visible from around the first turn that the tunnel had made so far. She flicked off her flashlight and raised her gun, gesturing to the others to do the same, and cautiously led her team around the corner. The tunnel opened up into another room, but the walls were made of fat wooden slats and the floor was smooth concrete. Jenkins could see the foot of a flight of stairs against the far wall. She crept forward, the rest following close behind her. There were several crates stacked around, but they were all empty. Slowly, she climbed the stairs, cringing internally as the old wood creaked under her weight.
At the top, she pushed open the door and peered out. There was an empty hallway beyond, with a once-plush maroon rug stretching along the wood floor and aging off-white walls. Once she was sure there was no one around, she stepped out and gestured for one half of the group to go one way down the hall while she led the other half the opposite way.
The direction she took brought her to another flight of stairs going up. It was quickly becoming clear that the house they were in had been once grand, but had long since been abandoned. These stairs creaked, too.
Then she froze when she heard voices, grip tightening on her gun. The conversation was to far to pick out the individual words, and so she hoped that would be enough to mask the creaking as she and her team ascended.
They made it to the landing (the beginning of another hallway) without drawing attention, and now she could hear the voices coming from behind the door at the far end of the hallway.
Out of all the other doors lining the sides of the hallway, only one other had a crack of light beneath it. It was about halfway down the hall, and she slowly made her way towards it, her team spread out behind her. Jenkins tested the knob, but it was locked, and she glanced towards the far door.
"Cover that door," she whispered, pointing to it, and waited until they'd taken up position between it and her before stepping away from the door in front of her and assessing it. Opens inward, probably solid core wood, weakest near the knob. No problem. She drew her leg back and placed a well-practiced kick just below the knob – the wood splintered and the door slammed open with a resounding crack.
There were immediately shouts from down the hallway, but she paid it no mind. Her team could deal with it. Instead, she stepped into the room, quickly scanning it and making sure the corners were clear.
Emmet was sitting, tied to a chair, in the middle of the room. As soon as he saw her, his face lit up. "Jenkins!" he exclaimed.
Gunfire erupted in the hallway, and Jenkins hurried over to him. "You're looking well," she murmured, pulling out a knife and sawing at his bonds.
Emmet gave her a lopsided smile. He had a black eye and a split lip, and there was a small trail of dried blood under his nose. "My hair's a bit mussed," he replied as his hands came free. He flexed them experimentally as Jenkins began cutting his ankles loose. "Is Lucy okay?"
Jenkins finished up and helped him to his feet. "Yeah," she said. "She's helping Bad Cop and Benny look for Good Cop."
Emmet sighed with relief. Outside, one last shot was fired. Stibbons backed into view and gave her a thumbs-up. Jenkins returned the gesture and helped Emmet hobble on unsteady legs out of the room. She handed him over to Stibbons and began to make her way down the hall. Her officers had taken the Duplos by surprise, and had outnumbered them as well, and so there was minimal injury to her side. The officers had gone ahead and swept the room.
Yancy hurried out and met her halfway. "You should see this," he said breathlessly.
Jenkins followed Yancy into the room, and he pointed to the table in the middle of it. There were maps and papers spread out all over it. She walked over and picked up the first document that caught her attention. After a brief moment of reading it over, her eyes widened, and she looked to Yancy. His face was set in a grim expression.
She put the paper down and shuffled through the others. Everything pointed to one conclusion.
"We need to warn Bricksburg," Yancy said.
Jenkins put a hand to her forehead. "I think it's probably too late for that."
The time was 2:30.