Arctic Fire (18 page)

“How can I help sir?”

“That’s it.” Williams said, snapping his
fingers. “I’ll work through channels on my end and I can have you
play the end game with Beth.”

“Beth?

“Beth Mallory, Cain’s assistant. I want you to
work that angle. I want you to get as much information out of her
as possible. You know, one subordinate to another, that sort of
thing, it may get her talking.”

“Anything in particular you’re looking for
sir?”

“I don’t trust our benefactor as far as I can
throw him. This iceberg thing has to be a cover for something else.
No one goes through this much time and expense just to help their
fellow man.”

“That’s a sad thought sir.” Thornton blurted
out.

Williams looked at him with a disappointed
scowl. “You’ve got a spark of potential, Robert but don’t let
misguided, useless emotions make decisions for you. This is the
real world here. Lead, follow or get out of the way. I intend to
lead. If you want to sit in the big chair, you’ve got to make the
tough calls. Politics is like a giant game of chess. You’ve got to
know who to sacrifice and when in order to win the game. Sometimes
you sacrifice people you just met, sometimes it’s friends you’ve
known for years; remember, the end justifies the means.”

Williams looked long and hard at his aid. “Well
Bobby, are you a pawn or something bigger?”

“I’ll take care of it.” Thornton replied with a
conviction that made Williams smile.

“Excellent my boy, excellent. Now then, you said
I missed some phone calls?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well let’s get the mundane duties of running
this country out of the way so we can get to the real fun and see
what our friend Mr. Nigel Cain is really up to.”

It was 6:30
by the time Pike realized he
had worked through lunch and dinner, his growling stomach
confirming that fact. Pouring over the plans, he had formulated a
workable timetable that should allow for a thorough inspection and
yet leave enough leeway to get into New York harbor on time. Pike
was amazed at the simplicity of Cain’s idea yet impressed with the
complexity it took to bring it to life.

He stood and stretched then grabbed his coat and
was heading out the door to grab a bite to eat when the phone
rang.

“Hello?” He said, grabbing it just after the
third ring.

“Hey Gabe.”

“K.D.!” Pike said excitedly.

“Have you done any work yet or are you still
having caviar and oysters?”

“Ha ha, very funny. I’ve been studying the
schematics for this place all day, besides, you know I don’t like
oysters. You should see this place K.D., it is absolutely amazing.”
Pike spent the next several minutes describing the barge and the
day’s events.

He paused and finally took a breath. “Hey, what
time is it there? Isn’t there like a six hour time difference
between here and there?” He glanced at his watch. “So what, it must
be close to one in the morning there? How nice of you to stay up so
late to call.”

“Yeah, it’s about one…in the afternoon, so don’t
flatter yourself hot shot, I’m not losing any beauty sleep over
you… and no wise crackers either.”

“Yes dear.” Pike replied in mock obedience.

“But yes,” she replied in a softer tone, “It’s
good to talk to you too.”

“How’s everything back at the office? Does
everybody miss me?”

“Things are fine and everyone is jealous and
hates you, though Nate is busy designing your new baseball action
figure. You’re wearing a Marines uniform with a white scarf and a
leather flying helmet. He wanted to have you wearing your leather
flight jacket but I told him that was stupid.”

“Well thank you for that.”

“Yeah, besides everyone knows you could never
throw a baseball with that thing on.”

“I’m going to hang up now. And just for that I’m
not going to give you that coffee mug I bought you in the airport
gift shop at Reykjavik.” They both laughed.

“Okay, I gotta go now. This call is on the
company’s dime and you know how Marilyn likes to watch her
pennies.”

“Well thanks for calling.”

“No problem. Take care of yourself hot shot, and
don’t slip on the ice.”

Pike smiled as he hung up the phone. That’s
twice K.D. had called. After a couple of years working side by
side, all of a sudden was a long distance romance shaping up? He’d
definitely play this by ear but it was worth thinking about.

Even at this early hour, as Pike entered the
casino, he was greeted by all the usual sound of the Vegas strip.
The machines beeped and buzzed, the Keno numbers flashed across the
screen and there were the occasional whoops and hollers from
someone winning big. From the number of people playing and the
stacks of chips sitting on the tables, it looked like Cain was
winning back the airfares he paid to get these people here.

He was hungry and wanted to decompress a little
after pouring over the schematics so he went past the small diner
and entered the Crystal Palace. It was a first class restaurant
where he hoped he could enjoy a quiet meal away from all the noise
and glitz.

The Crystal Palace was decorated in a frosty
winter theme with ice sculptures scattered about. The tables were
made to look like chunks of ice supported by large pillars and were
surrounded by glistening, crystallized chairs. The bar was a huge
slab of acrylic ice, complete with frozen creatures captured
inside. It reminded him of the ice hotel in the James Bond film,
Die Another Day
.

When Pike walked in, he was disappointed to see
that the place was packed and that he wasn’t the only one with the
idea of a quiet meal. He was just about to turn around and head
back to the diner when he saw the maitre d’ approach and call his
name. “Mr. Pike, I have a table right this way if you please?” He
half expected him to have a stuffy French accent but instead, he
had a pleasant, slight southwest drawl . He didn’t question the
special treatment as he nodded and gratefully followed. The maitre
d’ led him to a table that was in a semi-private room, thankfully
quiet and with a magnificent view of the ocean. Apparently he still
had a few seconds left on his 15-minute fame clock.

He had just sat down when he heard a voice
behind him. “Care for some company?” Pike turned around and saw
Mallory standing there. “I was at the bar when I saw you come
in.”

He stood and pulled out her chair for her.
“Please, I’m use to eating alone but I always enjoy good company
whenever I can get it. Have you eaten yet?”

Mallory shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Then please join me, my treat.”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

After dinner was ordered, Mallory continued the
conversation. “So how did your first day on the job go?”

Pike nodded. “It went very well. I studied all
the schematics to get a basic layout and tomorrow I’ll meet with
Dean again to get the invoices to check on the building materials
to see if everything meets environmental standards.”

“Don’t bother.” Mallory said as the waiter
brought the salad. “I’ll save you a trip to the underworld. I have
all the invoices and rec forms in my office as I did all the
purchasing of materials for the barge.”

Pike looked at her funny when she called the
iceberg a barge. She read the expression on his face. “Don’t worry
Gabe. I know Nigel doesn’t like it being called a barge, but who do
you think named it that in the first place?” She smiled.

Pike just smiled and shook his head as Mallory
continued.

“I also have the lists of construction firms who
have worked on the project and their background checks along with
every state and federal license and permit needed. And I can answer
any question Dean can, short of extreme, engineer techno
babble.”

“Excellent. That will save me a lot of time and
trouble and having to bundle up like Nanook of the North.”

Just then the waiter came and delivered their
dinner and the conversation lulled as they both concentrated on the
meal. As Pike ate the last piece of his porterhouse steak, he let
out a satisfied moan and pushed himself back from the table and
ordered some coffee.

“I have a favor to ask of you and Mr. Cain.”

“You know, it’s okay to call him Nigel, he
doesn’t mind.”

“I know, but it just feels uncomfortable.”

“He can be a little intimidating but I’ve been
with him so long he doesn’t faze me any longer. Anyway, what’s this
favor?”

“You know I don’t share the same affection for
the news media as Mr. Cain does, but there is one reporter in
particular that has ruffled my feathers.”

“Oooo, revenge on the high seas, I like it.
Brad?” Mallory called to the waiter. “Please bring me another glass
of wine, we’re going to be here a while.”

Chapter
Nineteen

Pike arrived at Mallory’s office the next
morning at 9:00 am sharp. He was greeted by Mallory who took him
into a side conference room where he was met with four stacks of
papers on the table that were large enough to be icebergs
themselves.

“What’s all this?” Pike asked.

“I knew you would want to do a thorough job so
here are all the files we were talking about last night. I’ll have
some coffee and pastries brought in, in a little while.”

“I did ask for this didn’t I?”

“Yup.” Mallory replied then closed the door
behind her.

At 12:30, the door to the conference room opened
and a blurry-eyed Pike stepped out.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Mallory
joked as she was putting a file away in the cabinet.

“Remind me next time to just take your word for
it that everything is in order.” Pike said as he stretched. He
threw his head side to side and rubbed the back of his neck. “One
question-does Cain even know this thing exists?”

Mallory looked at him funny. “What do you
mean?”

“You signed literally every piece of paper that
had anything to do with this project. I found Cain’s signature on
only one piece of paper, the one authorizing you to oversee the
construction of this place. Heck, you could have bought a villa in
the south of France and Cain wouldn’t have known. He must really
trust you.”

“Thank you, and he does. I’ve worked for Nigel
for a long time but don’t let that fool you. Even though you don’t
see Nigel’s signature anywhere, you can bet he knew what was going
on. And besides, I prefer the Australian outback to the French
coast.”

Pike tipped his head in thought and nodded
slightly. “Yeah, you know what? I think I can see that. Anyway, I’m
going to go to the diner and grab some lunch then go on deck to
clear my head, do you wanna come?”

Mallory shook her head. “No, but thank you. I
have a meeting with Nigel in half an hour concerning our
conversation last night.”

Pike lowered his head a bit, as if embarrassed.
“I really appreciate it. I know it may seem childish and petty but
the man irks me.”

Mallory grew a big smile. “You are the great
righter of wrongs.” Mallory teased. “After I briefly ran your idea
by Nigel, he instantly fell in love with it. We reviewed all the
tapes we could find and we saw you were right. You know Nigel, he
sees this as one of his cause and effects things he’s so fond of.
But remember, you have your part to do too. Be in Nigel’s office at
3:00 this afternoon.”

“You can count on it. Thanks again.” Pike said
as he left her office.

“This is Tabatha Amies reporting to you live
from the Cain iceberg. Some call this floating deep freeze a modern
miracle and hail it as an instrument that will save thousands of
lives. Others call it a colossal waste of time and money, just
another publicity stunt by a bored billionaire.” The scene changed
from the close up of the reporter to an outside view of the
iceberg.

“This reporter has been granted an exclusive
first time look into the bowels of this frozen beast. Later in the
program I will have an exclusive interview with the visionary
billionaire himself, Nigel Cain and a rare chat with the man who
has jumped to the forefront of the national media attention with
his crime stopping prowess, Gabriel Pike, better known to millions
as The Blast from the Past.”

The view changed again to a stock shot of Cain
in a business suit flashing to Pike standing in front of the Yankee
Clipper.

“We’ll begin tonight’s segment with a press
conference that took place earlier today on board Nigel Cain’s
iceberg.” The image again changed to a view of a conference room
crowded with reporters with Cain standing in the front behind a
podium.

“Okay, here it comes.” Mallory said, almost
giggling like a teenager.

Cain, Mallory and Pike were in Cain’s office
sitting in front of the billionaire’s 52 inch LCD big screen.
Mallory was still in her business suit from the press conference
but Cain had changed into a
Catalyst
T-shirt, a pair of
faded Levi’s and Converse tennis shoes. Pike was wearing his khaki
pants and leather jacket from his interview. Mallory handed each of
them a bowl of popcorn then she sat down at the end of the
couch.

They were watching the special news report that
had been recorded earlier that day. The screen went from the close
up shot of the woman reporter to Cain standing at the podium in the
room where Pike had spent the morning sifting through papers. Cain
fielded several questions with the camera panning back and forth
between Cain and the reporters asking the questions.

“It’s right after this question.” Mallory said
with glee, tossing popcorn into her mouth. The camera went from
Cain to a reporter sitting in the back row with his hand raised.
When Cain called his name, the man stood slowly. Just as he did, a
waiter walked by with a large silver platter containing
wineglasses. The reporter’s head hit the platter and the whole
thing came tumbling down with a loud crash.