Cole had no idea where they were headed, but Zach walked with determination. The whole time, Cole was running the conversation through in his head, over and over, until he felt slightly more confident in his ability to lie. He was sure he would never be as confident as Zach, but practice was the only way to improve, and there was nothing quite like being thrown into the metaphorical fire as a first test.
Zach and Cole went over the plan as they trenched through the dark tunnels, satchels thrown over their backs, and a few shovels in hand they had picked up back at the barracks. The satchels would be tough to explain, but it would be much harder to explain if they didn’t have shovels at all.
They finally arrived at an opening in the tunnel and Zach stopped and leaned against the wall. “You sure you don’t want me to handle the enforcer?”
Cole nodded. “You know Oliver, I don’t. He’ll trust you, and with the small window of time we’ll have, it’s the only way.”
Zach patted Cole’s shoulder. “You’re right. You’ll be fine. I’ll wait here for the signal.”
The two men nodded toward each other and Cole walked for the door on the other side of the wall. He reached for the handle and swung it open.
“Whoa!” He said. “What are you guys doing here?”
The enforcer turned. The shoveler, Oliver, stopped shoveling. Cole took a step forward. “This is my new part, right?” He said.
The enforcer stood. “Who are you?”
“Newly-promoted shoveler. Who are you?”
“You’re at the wrong part,” the enforcer said.
“Well hold on now, I was very clearly told to come here.” He rubbed his chin, thinking it would make his acting more convincing.
“I wasn’t told of any change,” the enforcer said.
“How about we talk about it outside?” Cole tried to keep his poker face upfront, but this was it, either the enforcer agreed, or their plan was all for naught.
The enforcer paused and stared. The seconds seemed like hours. Cole gulped.
“Keep shoveling,” the enforcer said to Oliver. “I’ll be right back.” He followed Cole out past the door.
Cole made sure to arrange the conversation in such a way that the enforcer’s back was to the door. Once outside, he coughed into his hand twice, and watched Zach sneak into the room. Cole pulled out a piece of paper to distract the enforcer.
“Now I got these directions just this morning, up in the new barracks, you know?” The enforcer leaned in, but Cole snatched them away and pretended to read writing that wasn’t there. “Yep, right here, new level because of my promotion. Said I’d meet my enforcer here too. You’re not him, are you?”
The enforcer shook his head.
“Well, hm, this is a pickle, isn’t it? You know, with all the new changes going on, I’m sure this won’t be the first time there’s some confusion, right?” Cole chuckled, but the enforcer, as all enforcers are known to do, showed no emotion.
Reaching for his radio, the enforcer said “I have to call this in.”
“Yeah, yes. Please do,” Cole said, even though he knew this was the riskiest part of the lie. He eyed the door, hoping to see Zach before he had to go further into the lie.
A voice came through the other end of the radio. “Command,” the voice said.
“Yeah, I got a situation here. Shoveler was sent to the wrong spot.”
“Name?” The voice said.
Cole leaned in and whispered, “Fred.”
“Fred,” the enforcer repeated.
“Hold please.” The sound of shuffling papers echoed through the line as Cole and the enforcer stared at each other. Every so often, Cole flicked his eyes to the door. “Our records for Fred indicate he isn’t working for another hour. That’s all we have.” The line went dead and the enforcer pocketed the radio.
“You’re in the wrong spot,” the enforcer said.
“Hm… I mean, I trust them and all, but…” His eyes darted to the door just in time to see Zach slipping out. “I guess I was the one confused, not everyone else, huh?”
“Guess not,” the enforcer said. “I have to get back to the room.” He turned just as Zach slipped behind the wall.
Cole unclenched his teeth. “Thank you,” he said, as the enforcer disappeared and the door slammed. He ran over to the wall to find a sweating, panting Zach.
They exchanged looks. “Well?” Cole said.
“You’re not going to like this.”