Doorways to Everywhere (Tourist Trap Book 2)

Chapter 34

They hurriedly set about recruiting help for their efforts against the Warlord. Dr. Octavius put the word out through his connections in the scientific world. Sarah got in touch with Michelangelo through Squinch's Saloon and he rounded up a tough gang of bandits, including a familiar looking saber-toothed tiger who went by the name of Daedalus. Max riled up a bunch of belligerent drunks at a nearby bar. Bobby and Timmy brought in some friends from their poker game. Esther rounded up a few more chickens. Maurice didn't really know anybody, but he felt he had done a good job already by introducing everyone to Lothar.

Once they had gathered up a crowd of about forty people, Dr. Octavius gave everyone one of his patented boxing-gloves-in-a-gun to use as a weapon. He also found a little bit of itching powder, which he poured into balloons and made makeshift itch bombs. One of them exploded all over Timmy as he tried to load it up and he fell to the floor, scratching himself maniacally for fifteen minutes until the fit passed.

Lothar led them back to the warehouse in question, but insisted on hanging near the back of the crowd as they got near to it, lest he be spotted and tortured. Dr. Octavius was in the lead and he held up one hand to tell everyone to halt. He pulled out his pocket periscope and peered around the corner. "I see two chihuahuas in front of the building. No other guards are immediately visible. We need to take them out without them raising the alarm."

"How are we going to do that, Doc?" Max asked. "You need me to sneak up behind them and use some of my unparalleled ninjitsu skills to knock them out?"

"That won't be necessary," Dr. Octavius said. "It just so happens I have a plan. I've observed that our chihuahua friends seem unable to resist the urge to steal things. To that end I've tied a piece of string to an empty purse." He flung the purse around the corner towards the warehouse.

He peered around the corner with the periscope. Both chihuahua guards tilted their heads questioningly and sniffed at the air when they heard the purse land. It didn't take long before they both had abandoned their posts and ran towards it. Just as they were about to reach it, Dr. Octavius yanked the string pulling the purse a few feet away from them. They chattered at each other and scratched their heads. Shrugging their shoulders, they attempted to grab the purse again. Once again, Dr. Octavius pulled it out of their grasp. This continued on until he pulled the purse around the corner. The chihuahuas followed it and were conked over the head by Bobby before they had a chance to react. They both collapsed unconsciously to the ground. Sarah tied them up with some bungee cords she had found at the lab and stashed them behind a dumpster.

"Quickly, let's go," Dr. Octavius waved everyone forward. They charged across the street and threw the door open.

Hundreds of chihuahuas stopped what they were doing and stared at the angry mob that was rushing into the warehouse. They let out a collective shriek and then they quickly threw doors against the walls and jumped through them. The doors vanished into thin air behind them. The warehouse now stood empty except for a large stack of crates in one corner.

"That wasn't precisely the result I was hoping for," Dr. Octavius frowned. "Still there must be more here than meets the eye." He turned to Lothar who had slinked in after everyone else. "Where was the room in which they kept you imprisoned?"

"I came out from a trapdoor in the floor somewhere," Lothar said. "I was in such a rush to get out of this place, I'm really not sure what part of the warehouse it was in."

"Everyone fan out and search the floor. It's got to be around here somewhere. But be careful. We haven't encountered any of those larger demons Lothar told us about. They're the really dangerous ones."

Max whipped out a magnifying glass and began looking closely at the floor. As he neared the stack of crates he noticed a faint noise. He peered around the boxes and spotted a chihuahua sitting on the floor wearing a pair of headphones, bobbing its head along to the music and taking a large swig from a familiar looking flask.

"You little bastard," Max shouted. "Give that back!" He pounced on the chihuahua and pinned him to the ground. He wrestled the flask away from the chihuahua as he sat on its chest. "There'd better still be some of my booze left in here or you're really going to be sorry." He shook it back and forth and heard the satisfying sound of liquor sloshing around.

Sarah came over to investigate the commotion. "Hey everyone, Max has got one of them over here!" She ran over and pulled the headphones off the chihuahua's head. "Where's the trap door hidden?"

It responded by baring its teeth and growling at her. Dr. Octavius ran up with a rolled up newspaper and smacked it on the nose. It let out a little whimper and pointed at the stack of crates.

"It must be under here," Dr. Octavius said as he attempted to move the boxes. With some help from Bobby and Daedalus they managed to scoot the crates over enough to reveal the outline of a trap door.

"I'm going down to investigate," Dr. Octavius said. "Don't let that one get away."

"Don't worry, I won't," Max said as he took a drink from his newly recovered flask. "Damn it, this tastes like dog breath." He considered for a minute and then shrugged his shoulders and took another gulp.

"I'm coming with you," Sarah said as she followed him down the stairs. Bobby and Daedalus were close behind in case there was any need for muscle.

They emerged in a small room that was dominated by a long worktable. Several doors lay scattered across it and a few more leaned against the corners. One door was upright against the wall and standing wide open. Every few seconds either a woman or a chihuahua would materialize in the entrance and then disappear through it.

"That must be the infinite loop door. Be very careful around that one. Whatever you do, don't go through it. As for these other doors, let's gather them up and take them with us. They could prove useful."

There didn't appear to be anything else of note in the room. There were no other guards or prisoners to be seen. They gathered up ten doors of various shapes and sizes and made their way back up the stairs.

Max was still sitting on the chihuahua, drinking from his flask, and attempting to entertain the others with a tale of one of his exploits. "And that was how I single-handedly saved the Roto-Bus wash from closing down. Well, with the help of a bunch of bikini-clad coeds, of course."

"This place looks empty," Michelangelo said when he saw Dr. Octavius emerge. "Are we done here?"

Dr. Octavius looked at the chihuahua who was trapped under Max. "Let's see if we can squeeze any more information out of him. Excuse me, young man. Can you tell us anything about the whereabouts of the one known as the Warlord?"

The chihuahua let out a feeble growl.

"Don't make me pull out the rolled up newspaper again," Dr. Octavius frowned.

The chihuahua whimpered again and pointed to its left.

"It's pointing at the wall," Max said. "Great, that's really helpful."

"I don't think it's pointing at the wall," Lothar said. "I believe there's an invisible door here."

Dr. Octavius walked over to the wall and began feeling around. His hand fell upon a knob, which turned in his hand. The wall swung open revealing a dimly lit room behind it. The light seemed to flicker, sending long shadows dancing around. The faint smell of brimstone wafted out of the entryway.

"Be ready for anything," Dr. Octavius said. "I don't know what exactly awaits us in this room. But I'm pretty sure we've stumbled upon the Warlord's hiding place."