Then it hits me. I don’t care! I still want her. I text, “Open the door,” and go outside. When I get to her place the door is open and I walk t...hrough. Brenda’s standing in the living room, tears running down her face. Not wanting to meet my gaze, she looks away. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to…” I move closer but she shy’s away. “Please don’t be mad.” “I’m not.” I get close enough to put my hands on her arms and hold her still. She looks at me for the first time and says, “I thought you and. .. the shelter is real?!?" Yup," his mom said, grinning at him, "and Gretchen has the key."It was legend.Myth, even.Long ago, back in the 20th century, there had been mining outside what were now the eastern suburbs of Buffalo. Gypsum, mostly, dug out of the ground by extending a shaft down a hundred feet and sending out tunnels. They were everywhere ... well, except where houses were now built, in theory. Nobody would be stupid enough to put a housing development over these now abandoned and. He didn’t smile as he greeted her. “Senator Feldman. I trust you enjoyed your flight.”“I did. Can I help you?”“I was just wondering if you’ve had a chance to check your email since you landed.”Rachel’s brow furrowed. “No. Why?”“You might want to do that,” said he.Rachel retrieved her phone from the table and found a new message in her inbox. The sender’s email address was encrypted and there was no subject. When she opened it, there was no body either, only an attachment. She tapped it and. ‘Come sit by me, I don’t bite.’ She said, patting the sofa at her side. For some reason I sat where she wanted me. My training has taught me to not lose control of the situation, and I had become good at scene setting when it came to interviewing people, but she had wrested that control from me in a way that her brother would not have been capable of. ‘I heard Father when he contacted the slug, talking about your interview with him, something about his collection of Bentleys, but that isn’t the.