The call seemed completely routine. Another blockage in the city’s sewer system—nothing unusual. Such reports came in regularly, and most of the time the cause was trivial: trash, branches, construction debris. An unpleasant but familiar job.
As he went underground, the worker immediately felt that something was wrong. The air was heavy and damp, with a sharp, unfamiliar smell. The water in the tunnel was unusually high, almost reaching the edge of the concrete channel. Normally, this never happened in that section.
He moved forward, lighting the way with his flashlight. The walls were wet, streaked with moisture, and from deep inside the pipes came a dull, oppressive sound, as if the water was pressing against something and couldn’t get through. That made him uneasy.
He stopped, crouched down, and looked into the main pipe. In the beam of light, something strange appeared. Inside, blocking the passage, was a huge, dense mass. Its surface was uneven and wrinkled, like fabric soaked with moisture. The color was a murky green, with dark patches in places.
At first, he thought it was some kind of unusual debris. Perhaps bags compressed by the current or some unknown industrial waste. But the longer he looked, the less it resembled an ordinary blockage.
The object looked too uniform and too perfectly fitted to the diameter of the pipe, as if it had been placed there intentionally. The water was pressing against it with full force, but it didn’t move even a centimeter.
He tried to hook it with his tool—without success. The surface was elastic and slightly springy under pressure. It was definitely neither wood nor plastic.
An unpleasant feeling tightened his chest. In all his years on the job, he had seen many things, but never anything like this.
It was an inflatable plug. Professional equipment. Such devices are used only during serious operations and are installed according to strict regulations.
But no work should have been taking place there. And at that moment, the routine call stopped feeling routine.
From then on, events unfolded far too quickly…
The thought that the plug had been installed deliberately sent a chill through him. He immediately reported the find to dispatch, and soon police officers arrived at the tunnel.
An unpleasant surprise awaited them. There were several such plugs in the pipes—they blocked the system’s branches, as if someone were deliberately controlling the movement of the water… or of people.
Moving farther along, the group entered a spacious underground chamber. Normally, it was empty. But not that day.
Inside was expensive equipment: monitors, cables, devices. Everything was connected to the city’s power grid. Images from street cameras flickered on the screens, and diagrams and routes lay on the tables.
It became clear: someone had been operating beneath the city for a long time.
At that moment, footsteps were heard. People entered the room. They spoke quietly about whether the route was ready and whether everything was sealed off. From their conversation, it became clear they were planning robberies—shops, banks, jewelry stores.
The sewer system was their secret route.
That’s how an ordinary worker uncovered a serious crime.
