Second Chances (118 page)

------*------

“This is too much. We've got to do something about it,” the colonel said, shaking his head.

“About what?”

“Chambers. First his base, then the industry, the meetings...now the rockets. Next the balloons...and remember he's got a damn clone! So he'll pass it on to his kid...” Miles paced, punching his tightly clenched fist into his left hand.

“Well, he has made some enemies,” Ciara said.

“I know that. Don't tell me shit I don't know,” Miles growled. He paused when he realized he'd stepped over the line a bit. “Sorry,” he muttered, head down.

She sighed, getting to her feet. She'd thought about having another child with the colonel but had so far managed to put pregnancy off. She had come to realize he was most compliant with her when she was slim and desirable; he tended to look around when she was fat and pregnant.

She saw Chambers as an obstacle, but she wasn't sure what to do about him. Well, there was one way...but direct confrontation could be messy. Miles was the direct type, she thought, eyes narrowing in concentration. The problem was they'd need another way to remove him. It was too bad they couldn't arrange an accident...

After a moment she shook her head.

“What?” Miles said distantly, breaking her out of her thoughts. “I know that look. You've got something,” he accused.

“Well, you said he's an obstacle. One that should be removed. We just have to find a way to do it that doesn't lead back to us,” she said slowly.

He cocked his head frowning. She pouted a bit. “After all, he has friends like the chief and others, we need them to be on our side. To rally behind our flag and not have them as enemies,” she reminded him. Slowly Miles nodded.

“Friends,” Ciara mused, turning that idea over. It lead to another, a scapegoat if necessary. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We've got a friend nearby, one who is an established enemy of Chambers. I wonder if she'd be willing to come here early to...discuss the situation? And maybe bring some...things to help in our problem?” She asked.

Miles frowned, puzzling that out. Ciara smiled. “Don't worry dear, I'll arrange everything,” she said, stroking his arm. “You need to go check the herds I believe.”

He sighed and nodded. They'd had a few Rex encounters; one pack had gotten into the Barox paddock. And just a week ago one of those damn raptor packs had come sniffing about. He'd spent all day chasing them off, then the next two making sure they stayed gone.

“All right. But be careful what you say over the radio,” he warned.

She nodded. “Little ears are listening. Yes I know dear. I'll be discrete,” she said with a surreptitious smile. He nodded.

------*------

The annual spring conference was delayed by a series of spring storms that turned the dirt roads and dirt airfields into quagmires. Mitch wasn't surprised when Dunn declined the honor of playing host once more, but then complained because the honor fell to Capital Base.

Two days after the planned start of the event the last of the delegates arrived. Mitch and Anne were given gifts for the first time, Anne seemed touched. Mitch was amused at first, but then he realized the good colonel as well as a few of the other people were using the gifts as a way to hock their wares. They were basically offering free samples, then working on closing the deal for trade. Cynicism coursed through him as he tried a piece of spicy beef jerky from Dunn's rancheros. It was way too hot for his liking. He was given a sugary fruit drink from Bob to wash it down. Bob mumbled something about getting it from Ciara. Mitch turned and nodded politely to the woman while fighting to keep a straight face. He didn't understand the woman's enigmatic smile as he lifted it to his lips. He took a couple sips then hid a grimace. He nodded politely as she left.

The drink was warm; apparently the ice had melted or something. He didn't like it; there was a mix of different fruits that turned his stomach. He wanted to dump it but not in front of everyone. That wouldn't be diplomatic. “Can you get rid of this?” he asked Vance.

“What's wrong with it?” Vance asked, wrinkling his nose.

“It is the nastiest shit I've ever had,” he said, handing her the cup. He recognized it as one of their cups and wondered how Ciara had gotten it. Possibly it had been an export, he wasn't sure, though Bob might have had them poor the goop in his own cup. Apparently Bob hadn't liked it either he thought. He didn't care; he shrugged the thing off putting the idea out of his mind.

“Let me try; I don't mind your germs,” Vance said, taking the cup. Vance took a sip, then another. “Hey, it's different. Not bad. Odd flavoring though,” he said smacking his lips. His girlfriend came over and snatched it to try the drink. She grimaced and passed it on to a couple of other teens first Tisha Giles' older sister, who then passed it on to her current beau Jaden Smitty. They each took a turn before passing it on in a circle until it was all gone.

Mitch snorted. It was like that redneck joke about how something stunk so bad you just had to get others to sniff it and confirm it, he thought. He shook his head and went back inside.

------*------

“Oh my god!” Bob said, practically frantic in his horror. “What the hell are we going to do now?” He demanded, aghast and appalled by what he'd just been a part of.”

“Collateral damage,” Dunn said gruffly.

“Collateral...” Bob stared at the other man, as he threw his hands apart. “Are you freaking kidding me?
That's
what you freaking call
collateral
damage??!? Four kids get that shit too and...I should have never let you talk me into this!” He ran a shaky hand through his oily hair.

“Bob, relax. It's done and over with now; we can't take it back,” Ciara murmured soothingly. She felt bad, but she'd come a long way since they'd been dropped. For instance that crap that had happened to that stupid bitch Rozerita hadn't made her bat an eye. She'd seen power, tasted it. She wanted it for herself and her kids. Real power, which was right here in Capital Base for the taking. Miles had been right; it was their people that mattered. She intended for them to have the best, by any means necessary. “We've got it arranged so that Tariq will be called back home due to an emergency in a day or so. Neal will take her place. He's in the dark so he's safe.”

“But those kids...”

“I grant you it is bad,” Ciara said, grimacing. “But we couldn't have planned it better. This works to our advantage; it allows it to look like an accidental outbreak not a targeted assassination. Chamber's death will be one among many,” she said.

Bob shook his head no. “I don't know how you talked me into this,” he said, mind spinning.

“Relax. You'll get your job when you return with us to the fortress. You'll like it there,” Dunn said.

“Rozerita seemed to have thought differently,” Bob muttered, now realizing he was in over his head. And if he wasn't careful he could lose his head. “Pass.”

“But we've got the ladies lined up to meet you,” Ciara said suggestively.

“No. If it's just the same for you I'll stick it out here,” Bob said, shaking his head has he backed to the door. He bumped into it and then opened it and left hastily.

“He's a problem,” Miles said bluntly.

“That much is obvious,” Ciara said, frowning thoughtfully. “What to do about it is an issue.” She played with her lower lip.

“We have to keep him quiet. He knows too much.”

“Not now. We can't...we can't draw attention to him,” Ciara said slowly. She'd come to learn her partner's strengths and weaknesses. He was a direct action sort of person.

“He'll crack. He's pissing himself now.”

“He's got as much to lose as we do. If he talks he's dead meat too,” Ciara reminded him.

“I can arrange an accident here. I know a bit of the chemical works they showed to us the past couple of times...”

“No. Not now. Let's just see how this plays out honey,” Ciara said, rubbing Dunn's shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his ear. “We'll have to think of a way to stay here to fill the power vacuum once Chambers is...out of the picture. Do you know who's in line to take over if he's out?”

“No.”

“Find out. Later,” Ciara said. She hugged her husband and then ruffled his short hair. “I'll look into it from my end.” He nodded as she blew him a kiss and left the room.

------*------

Mitch was impressed that the other community delegates had put more effort in their wardrobe and appearance during the evening welcoming ball. Sandra still out shined them all he thought, smiling to her in her gorgeous red gown and snow white fur stole. Her eyes twinkled as she took his arm.

They held it in one of the four new massive greenhouses on the other side of the air field. Vance, Sam, and the construction crews had worked all out to get the structures up before the conference. Sam's road crews had delayed their departure to expand and improve the roads in order to help.

Hejira had been all for the project at first, across the road was the vegetable plots. She wasn't happy about the location, the airfield was right next door, but it got her precious plants away from the solar farm.

But there had been a tradeoff, they'd used three of her old greenhouses to make the first building, then move on from there. That had meant a great moving about of her plants and dark muttering when a few wilted or died.

Still, she was happy with the new buildings overall; they could now grow massive quantities of vegetables and other plants year-round. Each structure was climate controlled, automated and had high peaked roofs to shed the snow. She was so busy settling in to the first three buildings she hardly noticed when Vance and Mitch ordered a temporary floor put in and fixtures to turn it into a conservatory. They had assured her when she finally did twig to their shenanigans that it would all be temporary.

Mitch looked about, smiling as he noted the beautiful starry night on the other side of the glass. It had worked out quite well, the venue was dazzling their guests and his own people. And by moving the ball to the new building it had allowed them to expand the guest list.

Anne, Janet, Jean, and their helpers pulled out all the stops in decorating the building and making the gourmet food. A few like Yuri, Mitch, John, and a couple others had simple pallets, they preferred a simple hearty barbeque. But with the women present more sophisticated dishes were on the menu, giving the ladies a chance to peck at each other and preen.

Anne made certain the party was open to everyone on the base, a change from the previous conferences. Mitch was amused by the change but realized it would allow him and others to slip out early if they felt the need arise. The extra bodies lent themselves well to camouflage. It also gave many in the community an excuse to party...and some of the delegates a chance to look them up and chat various subjects and ideas in an informal session.

“My god, Mitch, when you go all out, you go all out,” Evan murmured in appreciation as he looked about.

“It's about the size of a super Walmart right?”

“Bigger. Nearly twice as big for some of the buildings, though the really narrow one is probably on par with the square footage when you compared them. Hejira showed me some of the images of similar greenhouses on Earth. Some farmers have gone this route for both quality control and to farm year-round.”

Evan smiled and nodded. “We're doing that with our greenhouses too but on a much smaller scale.” He shook his head wryly, then saluted Mitch with his wine glass. “I approve,” he murmured. Mitch nodded.

They'd gotten a shipment of wine glasses in from Dunn's fortress last year; he hadn't understood why Anne had ordered them. They weren't the best in the world, definitely not crystal. But he did appreciate the effort Anne had put into using them, and whoever had cast them had tried their hardest to get it right. He looked over to Dunn's woman, Ciara. She was in an elegant gown of red, daringly cut. She cradled her glass and even pointed it out to Helen when she had the opportunity. Mitch snorted.

“I heard you've improved your copper yield what, tenfold?” Evan asked. Mitch turned to see him talking with Jack. Jack looked over to his wife talking with Ciara and then back to the professor.

“I think it's about that, more or less,” he said. He caught Helen looking at him. His wife winked at him. He snorted. “We're not just grinding the ore up anymore. Most of what was on the surface had been exposed to the oxygen so it wasn't efficient to just grind it up. Now we've got drums, grinders, and water baths to float off more of the copper, then smelt it down.” He shook his head. “Steve Austin said we'll be sending back ingots and anodes 99 percent pure this year,” he said, nodding to Mitch. Mitch returned the nod. “So you'll have to do less refining on your end. But we'll still need to trade for acids, parts, and chemicals,” he said wryly.

Evan chuckled. Mitch merely smiled politely.

“This year we're shooting for electro-refining on a mass scale to finish the process,” Jack said, sounding determined. “That will allow us to have proper electrical quality products to improve our own exports,” he said. “I think we can do it,” he said.

“How...” Even wrinkled his nose as he thought furiously. “The electro-refining uses a lot of power. And time. You'd need to put the copper anode in an acidic solution then run power through it and a cathode for weeks for it to work. Can your community sustain that?”