Stone Age by ML Banner Read Free Book Online

eggs.”
    “Damn, I would love to, but I’ve got some business inland with Miguel.  Rain check?”
    Bill shook his head in the affirmative, “ Of course, but you get to explain this to the ladies.”  Bill followed through Max’s open patio door.  Max spun around and curiously closed the blinds behind them and then both walked through the living room, stopping to face a handcrafted, locally made, wood bookcase, positioned at an angle between the dining room and kitchen areas.  It was the showpiece of Max’s home.  Bill figured Max must have paid a fortune just to get it into the house.  So large and heavy, it took a crane to lift it over the house from the street and a large group of workers to get it through the patio and into the living room/kitchen area. 
    “I’ve always loved this bookcase.  Did, you get a new art piece or book?” Bill asked, glancing over each of the shelves for something new he didn’t recognize.
    Max said nothing, reached behind a book on the top shelf with his right hand and pulled something that made a clicking sound.  Then he knelt down, reaching into the bottom shelf with his left hand and once again pulled on something that also made a clicking sound.  The whole bookcase appeared to shift slightly.
    “No one knows about this, not even the workers who built this house.  The few that knew of or considered its existence thought that this area is one of those safe rooms that Gringos hide in when the crap hits the fan.  But, you’ll see why the secrecy in just a moment.”
    With this, Max pulled out on the right corner bookshelf molding and all six hundred pounds of bookshelf and its contents swung open like a door to reveal another regular looking door behind it.
    From around his neck, Max withdrew a 3-inch metal rod with delicate silver teeth-like objects at its end and slid it into a hole in the door, just below the door handle.  He turned it clockwise until a smooth, but solid sounding lock disengaged.  He turned toward Bill, “This door looks mostly normal, but it weighs 500 pounds, because like the walls, it’s reinforced steel, making it impenetrable to everything but a tank and C4, neither of which we’re likely to ever see in Rocky Point.  However, it was procuring and installing the locking mechanism that was nearly impossible in Mexico.  These latches are masterpieces of craftsmanship.  Made of titanium, they slide up into the frame, also steel, and down three feet into the floor.  Unless you have the key, there is no way to get in.”
    Max pushed the door in and they both stepped through.  A flickering neon light twinkled for less than 5 seconds and then flooded the hallway they were in with light which ended in what looked like a large unlit room.
    “Now once in,” Max paused to make sure Bill was paying attention, “to make sure no one sees the doorway, you simply grab this latch on the back of the bookcase and pull in until the latches engage on the outside.  Then just push this button here to unlatch the bookcase from the inside and push it open. You’re not saying much, my friend.  Are you in shock?”
    “Uh, yes, I think I am.  This really is amazing, Max.  I can’t believe how you did this without anyone else knowing.”  Bill was doing his best to take it all in.  He had been throughout Max’s house hundreds of times, and he never would have suspected the secret passageway, hall, and the long looking hallway before him, although his interest was mostly in the unlit room beyond.
    “It did take a lot of mordida, but mostly it was because I used different workers from different trades, each of whom had a different job, so that no one really knew this existed.  It took loads of money, planning and patience too,” Max said as he walked past Bill and headed down the hallway to the dark room.   Motion sensors caused the lights in the room to flicker and go on in similar fashion to the  lights in the hallway.
    “I cannot wait to show you