Midnight Sun (73 page)

Fifteen
miles
in
length,
the
pipe
consisted of
thousands
of
four-foot
segments
bolted
together
at
flanged
seams.
Flow
control
and
pressure
-
release
valves
jutted
from
the
pipe
at
every
tenth
section
,
allowing
for
repair
or
replacement
within
the
forty-foot
-
long
segment.

The
trio
had
entered
the
tunnel
from
an
access
port
on
the
park
strip
and
walked
half
a
mile
on
each
side
of
the
area
where
the
p
resident
and
his
guests
would
be
appearing.
From
the
starting
point
of
their
inspection,
several
blocks
north
and
beneath
downtown,
Warner
had
been
tapping
each
four
-
foot
segment
of
pipe
as
they
passed
it.
The
rhythmic
“tink”
sounded
the
same
on
every
pipe
the
entire
length
they
traveled.
As
they
came
to
a
point
under
the
center
of
the
park
strip
,
Tomer
stuck
his
fingers
in
his
ears
and
wiggled
them
irritably.

“
Warner,
do
you
have
to
keep
hitting
that
pipe
every
few
steps?
”

“
Yes,
as
a
matter
of
fact
.
.
”

“
Why?
”
Tonia
asked
.
“
You're
giving
me
a
headache.
”

She
rubbed
her
temples
with
her
highly
manicured
fingernails.
The
nails
were
not
excessively
painted,
as
that
was
against
agency
dress
code,
but
they
were
immaculate.
Just
like
Tomer's.

“
Sorry
to
interrupt
you
two
love
birds,
but
I
am
inspecting
the
pipeline.
”

Tomer
flushed.
Tonia
looked
sideways
at
Warner,
then
sheepishly
looked
away.

“
I
don't
know
what
you
’re
talking
about,
”
Tomer
sputtered,
“
but
you
have
hit
that
pipe
at
least
a
thousand
times
and
it
’s
driving
me
nuts.
It
has
made
the
same
sound
every
time
you
’ve
hit
it
for
the
past
two
miles.
”

“
Actually
,
I
’ve
only
hit
each
segment
of
pipe
once.
We
have
passed
six
hundred
and
forty
-
six
segments
of
pipe
,
which
means
I
have
struck
that
many
times.
And
yes,
every
segment
has
sounded
the
same
so
far.
”

“
You
counted
every
pipe?
”
Tonia
said,
a
look
of
disbelief
on
her
face.

“
Of
course,
”
Warner
replied.
He
pointed
to
the
pipe
beside
him.
It
was
labeled
with
a
string
of
numbers
and
letters.
“
JPF-3526-b
s
tands
for
Jet
Propulsion
Fuel,
segment
number
three
thousand
five
hundred
twenty
-
six
. The number
is
the
measurement
in
yards
from
the
source
,
which
means
we
are
about
two
point
seven
miles
from
that
source,
assuming
that
all
the
segments
are
four
feet.
The
'b'
indicates
it
has
been
replaced
at
some
time
in
the
past
,
as
other
,
older
-
looking
pipes
are
all
designated
'a'.
We
started
at
one
thousand
eight
hundred
eighty
and
have
only
passed
six
hundred
and
forty
-
six
segments,
which
also
means
we
have
only
come
about
half
a
mile.
The
fact
that
every
pipe
sounded
identical
up
to
this
point
indicates
that
it
is
less
likely
any
have
been
tampered
with.
I
have
also
taken
a
cursory
look
at
each
of
the
shutoff
valves
and
pressure
-
bleed
ports
along
the
pipe
to
see
if
any
had
recently
been
used
by
maintenance
crews.
”