Arctic Fire (36 page)

Cain stood with Mallory by his side. “Any
questions?” With none asked, they both disappeared.

As they left, Pike was having a hard time
reading Cain’s expression. He couldn’t tell if he was upset or if
he accepted his judgment. But being unreadable, Pike figured, was
how Cain got to be where he was. Still it made him feel a little
uncomfortable not knowing where he stood with his boss.

As soon as Cain and Mallory left, Pike ordered
another pot of coffee; it was going to be a long meeting.

“
What’s your gut
reaction? Do you think
Gabriel will postpone entry?” Cain asked Mallory as the two of them
walked toward his office.

“Gabe is a good man and dedicated to his job.
Whatever decision he makes, I’m sure he thinks it will be in the
best interests of the public, but not necessarily in ours. Gabe has
come a long way in understanding things outside his slide-rule
world but he still doesn’t grasp the real big picture and what you
are trying to accomplish here.”

Cain reluctantly nodded and sighed. “I’m afraid
you’re right. I’m going to go talk to Miles and see what the status
is on the repairs to the towing tower. What are you going to
do?”

“Oh, I’m going to have much more fun than you
are. I’m going to pay a visit to our favorite senator and try and
talk a little sense into him. If I can find out what’s bothering
him then maybe I can reassure him. Then maybe he could talk some
sense into Gabe.”

“Keep me posted, and be careful. Pug’s been
acting a little strange lately, but with this whole explosion
thing, it might just have pushed him over the edge.”

“If I’m not back in an hour, send in the
Marines. He’ll need them.”

Chapter Thirty
Eight

“Come in.” Thornton said, hearing a knock on the
door.

“Hi Robert.” Mallory said, stepping through the
door.

“Hey Beth, good to see you.” Thornton said as he
stepped out from behind his desk to shake her hand. “What brings
you here?”

“After our conversation yesterday, I wanted to
talk to Pug myself to see if we can straighten this whole thing out
and put his mind at ease.”

“Bobby!” Williams yelled as he stepped out of
his office. As soon as he saw Mallory, his entire demeanor changed.
“Well, well, to what do I owe the distinct pleasure of your company
Ms. Mallory?”

“I came by to see how you were doing after the
explosion and thought we could discuss a few things.”

“By all means, please come in.” Williams said,
stepping aside and motioning her to come into his office. As she
walked by, he turned to his aid. “Bobby, make sure we are not
disturbed.” As Williams disappeared into the office, Thornton could
have sworn he saw a leer flash across his boss’s face.

“Please sit down,” Williams said, pointing to a
large plush chair. As she sat down he went over to the bar and
poured each of them a brandy.

“Your concern for my wellbeing overwhelms me,”
Williams said, “I didn’t know you care so much.”

Mallory felt her stomach churning as Williams
flattered himself by thinking that she actually cared about him.
“Senators often get roasted on Capitol Hill, though not quite so
literally. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t too well
done.”

“Well you can poke me with a fork but this old
bird ain’t done yet,” he laughed. “Now as much as I would like to
think that you really did come here to check up on my health, we
both know that’s only partly true. Now tell me Beth, what really
brings you to my lair?”

Mallory took a sip of her drink. “That’s what I
like about you Senator, you always have good liquor and you’re
always straight and to the point.”

Williams smiled and raised his glass.

“What’s bothering you Pug?” Mallory continued.
“Why did you send Robert on that fishing expedition? If you have
any concerns, why not just talk to Nigel or myself in person?”

“Bobby’s an idiot.”

Mallory shook her head. “You should give him a
little more credit than you do; he’s not as incompetent as you
think.”

“Thank you, Dr. Phil.”

Mallory frowned. “Okay Pug, what gives?”

Williams put his drink down and leaned back in
his chair, crossing his legs. “I don’t think this is working for me
anymore.”

Mallory tilted her head, “What isn’t
working?”

“This!” He said waving his arms around, “This
monstrosity Cain has created. I’m not buying his ‘help for
humanity’ crap any longer.”

“What
are
you talking about?”

“You and Cain are up to something here and I
don’t want to be a part of it. In fact, if you or your boy Pike try
to sign-off on this thing and cover up all the things wrong with
this giant ice cube, I’ll launch an immediate investigation and
have this thing sitting outside the harbor so long that by the time
the dust settles, you’ll be able to bring it into port in a wine
glass.”

“Why are you doing this, Pug? What has gotten
into you?”

Williams rose out of his chair, his face burning
red with anger. “What’s gotten into me? That’s a good one! The
question is, what’s gotten into you? Why did you and Cain try to
kill me?”

“Try to kill you?” Mallory stared at the Senator
in disbelief.

“Don’t play coy with you. You tried to kill me
in the tunnel and make it look like an accident with that
‘unexplained’ explosion.”

“No one tried to kill you, Pug,” Mallory said
shaking her head, “if you remember, Nigel was standing right next
to you and Gabe saved you both.”

“Your boy just missed when he dove, accidentally
taking me with him when he tackled Cain.”

“Just listen to yourself, you’re as bad as Gabe
is with all his conspiracy theories. We have no reason to kill you,
you’re our partner. We’re all working together for a common
goal.”

“Are we?” Williams said cynically.

“Yes we are. Could Cain accomplish his goals
without you? Yes he could, but it would be much more difficult and
time consuming without your help. But more than that, you both
share a political view, a view of the future and how this country
should be run. How it should be back at the forefront as a world
leader. You are both great men and together you can accomplish
great things.”

“And a chicken in every pot.” He said
sarcastically. “But you see, I too can achieve my goals without
Cain’s help, though as you said, it will take more time, effort,
and yes, money. But the glory I obtain will be mine and mine alone.
I won’t have to answer to anyone else or fear anyone trying to pull
my strings.”

“No one is trying to kill you or to undermine
your political objectives, Pug. We are all on the same side
here..”

“I know that you believe in Nigel and in his
work, and it would be a great shame for him to be humiliated like
this. I want to believe you Beth, I really do.” Williams said as he
moved closer and sat down on the corner of the desk, his voice
taking on a more conciliatory tone. “I need assurances, Beth, that
this isn’t just a game that your boss is playing.”

“I can assure you Senator, that this is no game,
that Nigel is sincere in his beliefs and goals.”

“Can you assure me?” Williams said, as he put
his hand on her shoulder. “Can you show me
your
sincerity?”

Mallory slowly stood and placed her hands on
Williams’ shoulders and looked into his eyes. “I guess there is
only one way,” she whispered softly.

The lustful smile beginning to form on Williams’
face never matured but was replaced in an instant with a look of
horrible pain as Mallory’s right knee smashed into the Senator’s
groin. Before he could collapse in pain to the floor, Mallory
shoved him back so hard he hit the chair and both he and it went
flying over backwards. She walked around to the other side of the
desk and placed her knee against his throat.

“Now you listen to me you arrogant and pompous
little ass,” she said in a calm but assertive voice. “How dare you
think you can stand in the way of Nigel’s greatness or question the
worthiness or sincerity of his dreams? And how dare you think that
I would lower myself to sleep with you if you promised to protect
Nigel when we both know you had no intention of following through
on that promise.”

Williams struggled to speak but Mallory just
drove her knee harder into his throat. “No one was trying to kill
you in the tunnel you idiot, it
was
an accident. Now listen
and listen to me good. You will continue on just as you have been
in supporting Nigel and his projects and he will continue to
support you. And don’t you even think for one moment that you can
double-cross me. I have so much dirt on you that I can grow enough
food in it to feed your home state of New York. And after the media
wolves have torn you apart and your wife has left you and your life
lies in ruins, I’ll start all over again.”

She stood and immediately Williams rolled over
and started coughing. “Life can continue happily along or you can
follow your own delusions of grandeur and face the very unpleasant
consequences.” On her way out she grabbed her brandy, “thanks for
the drink, Pug, I enjoyed our little talk. We’ll have to do it
again some time.” She finished the rest of it then set the glass
down, and calmly walked out of the room.

Chapter Thirty
Nine

“This is either a really late lunch or a really
early dinner,” Pike said as he sat down.

“I don’t care what you call it, I’m starved.”
K.D. replied.

The pair was seated in the Crystal Palace
overlooking the ocean. They watched the
Alyssa B
. as she
gently rose and fell, riding the slow moving swells, followed by a
squadron of seagulls.

“You look, ah, different today.” Pike said,
sipping his water.

“Different how? Different good or different
bad?” Slight misgiving floated in her voice.

“Oh, different good, definitely good.”

She smiled shyly.

“Hello Mr. Pike, Miss.” The waiter said as he
came up.

“Hi Brad, I think I’ll have the fish-n-chips and
a root beer please. K.D?”

“I’ll just have a small chicken salad
please.”

Brad nodded and left.

“What do you think Marilyn will do?”

“What do you mean?” Pike asked.

“I mean with our recommendations. Do you think
she’ll take them for what they are and recommend we hold off on
entering the harbor until the safety issues can be addressed or
will she whitewash our findings?”

“We’re engineers, that’s our world. Marilyn
isn’t, but she knows enough to see that we’re right. However there
are political ramifications here that I don’t think we understand
but she does; that’s more her world. To us it’s black and white, to
her; she can see some gray.”

The food arrived and the conversation waned as
they both began eating. After several bites, K.D. continued. “Let
me ask you this Gabe: while we discovered major safety issues, do
you really think them significant enough and a great enough threat
to public safety to keep the iceberg out of the harbor? Couldn’t
you let Cain have his day then fix the issues later?”

Pike put down his piece of cod and sighed. “I’ve
been giving that a lot of thought lately. We’ve all heard the
expression, ‘if this law or this feature can save just one life,
then it’s worth it.’ My question is, is it? It sounds good but in
reality it is seldom the rule and more often than not the
exception. You’ve seen the statue of Lady Justice, a scale in one
hand and a sword in the other?”

K.D. nodded.

“Our jobs are like that statue, a balancing act.
We weigh the value of the dollar against the value of public
safety. Sometimes the scales are heavily weighted one way or the
other, making our jobs easier. Other times the scales are nearly
balanced, making our decisions very difficult. At that point we
have to become Vegas bookies, trying to determine the odds as best
we can to justify our decision.”

“Wow, I was just looking for a basic yes or no
answer.” She smiled.

Pike laughed. “I know I tend to over think
things at times, my only flaw in an otherwise perfect personality,”
he added smiling, and looking at K.D. who just rolled her eyes.
“But seriously, you and I both know that if the iceberg is allowed
in the harbor, it’s not moving, they won’t tow it back out for
repairs. The biggest danger is not letting it into the harbor, it’s
allowing it to stay.

“When the meltdown process starts, that’s when
the danger magnifies. Without proper bracing, once the ice starts
to melt I can almost guarantee you that the towing towers will
collapse. What if a commuter ferry or a service barge is too close
when a tower falls? What would happen to a work crew inside the
berg if the anchor pops out, dragging tons of steel chain behind
it? But the biggest unknown to me is what caused the explosion?
Everyone from Miles to Mallory to Cain himself has assured me that
the juice being pumped through this thing like blood is not the
cause. Then what is?

“But at the end of the day, if something does go
wrong, it’s my name on the report. I will be blamed if something
happens, if someone dies. Saying I protested it being brought in
will only go so far in court… and with my conscience, I’ll have to
fight tooth and nail to absolve either one if I feel that strongly
about it.”

“Do you?”

“Despite what Mallory and Cain think, I really
do see the big picture here, and surprisingly, I’m leaning toward
letting it in
IF
they can provide me with a reasonable
explanation for what caused the explosion and their assurances that
it won’t happen again. That is the deal breaker for me.”