by S. S. Segran
“Alright, good. Jerry, Dr. Bertram, Dr. Tabrizi and Luigi are here with me.” Black looked at his watch. “It’s nine-thirty. Let’s get started. Vlad, give us a status update.”
“I’m assuming you received my weekly report?”
“I did, but we need to know what the latest situation is.”
“Well, as you are aware, we have run into several challenges over the last few weeks. We’ve been having problems with the equipment and getting parts. The weather has been unpredictable and the visibility has been horrible some days, so much so that we can barely see past our noses up at this altitude. It’s hard to get a chopper to fly out to us from Mayo.”
Li jumped in. “But we’re willing to pay the premium to get the flights out. Why can’t you convince them to bring it in?”
“Out here in this godforsaken land, not everything is about money. This place is buried in thick clouds most days. We’ve tried talking to different companies, but it’s hard to find a pilot who will fly in.”
Black rubbed his forehead. “We can’t just sit on our hands and wait for something to happen. We’re running behind schedule as it is . . . and you know the Boss doesn’t take these things lightly.”
There was a moment of icy silence. Finally, Ajajdif sighed. “Trust me, it’s not like I haven’t been trying. We are in the middle of this remote place and our options are limited. Which reminds me, Dr. Tabrizi? We’re running low on the leaching compounds at the mining site. Without those chemicals, the mineral extraction comes to a standstill.”
Dr. Tabrizi was stunned. “I sent two hundred barrels and you’ve already run out? How much do you need to extract the fenixium?”
“There are about fifty barrels left in Mayo that the pilots won’t fly out to us, but even those will not suffice. The mined surface here soaks it up like a sponge and we’re getting ridiculously low yield of the mineral.”
“I thought you said this place was supposed to be saturated with fenixium, Vlad,” Black said sharply. “And you and your team were supposed to be in and out of there within a hundred-and-twenty days. Ninety days have gone by and you’ve only extracted six kilos. At this point you should be at nine.”
“I only report what my geologist tells me. And yes, we were planning to complete the mining operation within four months, but I need one month’s extension, just to be safe. Listen, I’ve got a great team of mining engineers and crew who are willing to put in their blood, sweat and tears to get back on schedule—and believe me, some of them literally have—but . . .” Static crackled over the intercom, cutting Ajajdif off.
Black sat up straight. “Vlad? Are you there?” He was answered by more static. “Vlad?”
“Did we lose the connection?” Dattalo asked.
A few seconds later, their colleague’s voice came back on the intercom, agitation and a hint of anger in his tone. “. . . you just need to get me the tools I need and I’ll get the job done.”
Black leaned back and rapped the table with his knuckles. “Dammit. Alright, I’ll give you another month. But that’s it. No more extensions.”
“Thank you.”
Dattalo cut in. “Vlad, Luigi here. Look, I know you and your team are putting in your best effort, and I know this mineral is extremely difficult to extract, but I need you to understand that, at the Defense division, we are invested heavily in making sure our research and production moves along as scheduled. Without the mineral, we simply cannot proceed.”
“Da, no pressure there,” Ajajdif responded. The sarcasm was unmistakable.
Trying to deflect the tension, Black asked, “What about the supplies for your crew? I know it’s tough running a group of eighty-five people on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Is there enough food and supplies for them? And how’s the morale?”
“Yes, and they’re fine,” Ajajdif answered curtly.
“Speaking of being out there,” Dr. Bertram said, “Dr. Deol at Biotech wants to know what you thought about the hybrids that she sent.”
“God, those beasts are unbelievable.” Ajajdif sounded almost eager for the first time in the call. “Thank the good doctor for me, will you, Al? And let her know that all five of her babies are just fine. The Marauders have been a great benefit here. We’re happy to be their first testing ground outside the Sanctuaries. Just the other night, a grizzly wandered into the camp and two of them brought it down within minutes. I had one of my guys cut the grizzly up, and you can trust that the Marauders fed like kings.” He chuckled. “There’s enough meat from the kill to feed them for the next couple of days.”
As the two conversed, Black leaned over to Li. “Do you know if our two Ospreys are back from their assignment in Asia?” he asked quietly.
Li nodded. “One of them arrived this morning, actually. I spoke with the pilot and they’re not scheduled for any activity for the next week.”
“Good. If those bush pilots out in Mayo won’t get the job done, we’ll do it ourselves. I want those birds heading to the mining site ASAP. They’ll be delivering the chemicals and spare parts.”
Li nodded again and turned to his computer to confirm the request. The V-22 Osprey, built by Bell and Boeing for the United States military, was capable of vertical takeoff and landing. A variant of the aircraft had been recently made available for the commercial market, and Phoenix had seized the opportunity to purchase two units. At sixty feet in length and with a cargo capacity of twenty thousand pounds, the plane was an obvious choice for the outfit’s operations in remote locations.
Black interrupted Ajajdif’s and Dr. Bertram’s conversation. “Vlad, I’m arranging to send one of our planes out to you with all the supplies. They’ll also do a loop to Mayo to get the remaining compounds.”
“Sounds good. How many more barrels will I get?”
All heads turned to Dr. Tabrizi. “I’ll have another hundred prepared before our plane takes off from here,” he assured them.
“Thanks. So when can I expect the—” A distant boom sounded over the conference system, bringing the meeting to an abrupt halt. Someone could be heard calling out to Ajajdif in the background. When Ajajdif’s voice came back on, he sounded rushed. “I think we’ve had an accident here. I have to go. Just send everything as soon as you can.” There was a click, and then silence on the other end.
The men were stunned at the unexpected end to the call. “Should we try dialing back?” Li asked.
Black ran a hand through his dark hair. “No,” he said. “Let him deal with the situation. I’ll call him later. In the meantime, let’s get things in motion over here.”
“You got it, chief.” Dr. Bertram led the way out of the boardroom, leaving Black alone. The CEO waited a moment before calling out to Dattalo as soon as the others were out of sight. Dattalo came back in, curious. “Yes?”
“I got a call from the Boss yesterday.”
Dattalo stared as Black patted the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead with a handkerchief. “What happened?” he whispered, as if afraid that someone was listening in.
Black rested his head in a hand and closed his eyes. “I was told in unmistakable terms that we need to get this whole thing back on schedule immediately. I need to know if you have everything under control at Quest Defense.”
“I can assure you that we are set to go on my side,” Dattalo replied, shoulders pulling back confidently. “We just need to make sure that the mineral gets here on time. The amount we’ve received from the mining operation so far has been barely enough for tests alone. To move into production, we’re going to need a whole lot more.”
“Alright. Let’s get it done, then.”
33
As soon as Ajajdif ended the call, he grabbed his black trench coat and threw it on, hastening out of his office to investigate the source of the boom. He headed for the tunnel where a group of workers in orange coveralls and hardhats peered into the entrance of the shaft.
“What’s going on?” Ajajdif barked, coming up behind his employees.
“The
re was an explosion!” one of the workers called out.
“What?” Ajajdif shoved his way past the gaggle and into the tunnel, grabbing a couple of workers to go with him. They turned on the lights attached to their hardhats and jogged along the steel tracks that the tunneling machine used. Thick dust and smoke hung in the air. Two hundred feet into the tunnel, they found that the machine had been thrown off its track.
The large diesel-driven engine with massive rotating drills was designed to dig through the toughest material. Painted bright red, it had all the capabilities of a standard tunnel-boring machine, only it was smaller, about the size of a Greyhound bus; it was designed to be mobile and used in remote areas.
Coughing from the smoke, Ajajdif instructed the workers to inspect the damage. They obliged, and one of them called out. “Sir! The machine operator’s assistant is here! He’s got burns and he’s unconscious!”
Ajajdif made his way around the machine. The two workers were crouched beside a man who lay motionless. Ajajdif knelt on one knee and carefully removed the unconscious worker’s dust-covered safety goggles and singed respirator mask. He gently patted the man’s cheeks. “Can you hear me, Jackson?”
The worker didn’t move. Ajajdif tilted the man’s head back to open the airway and placed his ear close to the man’s mouth, watching for the rise and fall of his chest. “He’s breathing,” he confirmed. “Get a stretcher and get him to the medic right away.”
One of the workers rushed out of the tunnel, the sound of his steel-toed boots echoing into the distance. Ajajdif motioned to the other worker. “I want you to find the operator.”
He stayed with the unconscious man while waiting for the stretcher. A few minutes later, he heard the worker call out. “I found the operator, sir, but I think he’s unconscious too.”
Ajajdif hastened to the support platform at the back of the drill and found the operator slumped over a railing. When the worker removed the operator’s safety goggles and hardhat, they saw blood matted over his entire face. Ajajdif gingerly checked for the man’s pulse. He felt nothing. He tried a few more times but there was no change. Ajajdif was livid. “How did this happen?” he spat.
The worker, pale with the realization that his colleague was dead, stammered, “T-there was an explosion, sir. I-I don’t know what caused it.”
As Ajajdif examined the dark tunnel through the lingering haze, he began to piece together what might have happened. Guilt sank like claws into his chest.
Judging from the damage, there had been a gas explosion. Ajajdif’s chief geologist had warned him of methane buildup from carbonaceous rocks and insisted that the miners check for danger regularly. Ajajdif had provided his men with two handheld gas detectors but both were broken. He had requested replacements but was yet to receive them.
He turned to look at the dead operator and vehemently badmouthed his company, though he knew he was to blame for pushing his workers to keep going in hazardous conditions.
Scowling, he snapped at the man beside him. “Take care of everything here!” He stormed out of the tunnel. “Someone get the equipment engineer over here, now!”
The workers scrambled to find the engineer, and when they did, they shoved him at Ajajdif, almost as if to say, ‘Here, take him and spare us.’
The equipment engineer peered down at his shorter boss. “Yes?”
“I want that machine brought out and repaired. That’s the only one we have, and it’s crucial that we get it fixed as soon as possible.”
“Sir, I took a quick look earlier. The machine is deep into the tunnel, and we’ll need to devise a way to put it back on its tracks first before it can be pulled out. That’s going to be tough with the limited equipment we have.”
Ajajdif poked the engineer’s chest. “It needs to be fixed. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done. We are way behind schedule and if we don’t clear this mess up, things will go to hell in a hand-basket very quickly.”
Taken aback, the engineer assessed his options. “Well . . . we have winches and cables. Throw in a couple of blocks with tackles and with sheer manpower we might make it work.”
“Then get to it already.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Ajajdif spun on his heel and headed toward his office, he shouted over his shoulder, “And tell the workers to keep at it! They can use shovels to load the ore onto the conveyor belt if they have to!”
The moment he entered his office, Ajajdif told his assistant to page his geologist and chief mining engineer. She scuttled off to put the call out. Ajajdif hung up his coat and ran his hands over his face into his wavy auburn hair, then took a sip of his coffee, now cold after the call with Black. He sank into his chair, silently cursing all his bad luck in his mother tongue.
While he spoke Russian fluently, he’d never learned his father’s language. He’d never even met him. The deadbeat of a man had taken off before Ajajdif was born, moving back to his home country of Algeria. Ajajdif’s mother was left to rear their son on her own in a poor eastern Russian town while bouncing from job to job.
Ajajdif spent the first seventeen years of his life in his place of birth, roaming the streets with gangs after dropping out of school at an early age. Sometime after his eighteenth birthday, his mother had pleaded with him to move to America so he could start his life anew and prosper. She gave him the money that she’d been saving and, after some arguing, Ajajdif reluctantly agreed.
When his plane touched down in the new land, Ajajdif found himself on the streets of San Francisco, doing odd jobs just to survive. With his keen mind, he learned English quickly enough to improve his condition but old habits die hard and soon was caught up in the life of petty crime again. It was at the point of turning from minor to more serious criminal activities that he’d been rescued by the most unlikely person—whom he later found out to be Phoenix Corporation’s founder and boss—who’d seen his innate talent for leadership and organization.
It had been a long journey, but he had been well taken care of by the company and owed his allegiance above everyone else to the Boss.
“Sir?”
Ajajdif looked up. His assistant stood at his door with two other people. He thanked her and as she left, addressed the others. “Sit.”
They took their seats on two chairs in front of Ajajdif’s desk. Arianna Abdul, the chief geologist, swapped apprehensive glances with the mining engineer, Francis LeChamps.
Ajajdif went straight to the point. “The head office isn’t happy with our pace. We are way behind schedule and they’re accepting no more excuses from us.”
“We’re doing our best with what we have,” LeChamps answered tentatively. He tapped his tablet computer. “The conveyor belt has broken down three times in the past week alone. The bearings need to be replaced, as do two of the motors, but we are out of spares and the makeshift repairs we’ve done to patch it up won’t hold for much longer.”
His eyes scanned as he scrolled down his notes. “Of our Bobcats, only two are currently working. We need parts to fix the others, and we don’t have them.” He looked up at the head of Quest Mining to assess his reaction. “We placed an order three weeks ago but still haven’t received them. Also, we’re running drastically low on the leaching compounds.”
Ajajdif rubbed his face again. “I talked to Adrian an hour ago and explained our situation. He managed to track down the Ospreys and will be sending one out to us with the parts and chemicals.”
“When?”
“He said as soon as he could. What else do I need to know?”
LeChamps scratched the top of his head. “Well, nothing else at this point, except for our extreme disappointment with the yield that we’re getting from all our effort.”
“What do you mean?” Ajajdif asked.
“You know. The quantity of the ore that we’ve been able to extract is nowhere near what we were promised by the geological reports.”
Ajajdif raised an eyebrow at Abdul as irritation flitted across his face
. The geologist knew what was coming and shrank in her seat.
“You and your team searched all over the world and, having spent millions of dollars, came to the conclusion that the mineral was in abundance here, in this very mountain.” Ajajdif’s voice rose an octave as he fought to control his temper. “Explain to me.” His eyes pierced her. “Explain to me why we are not seeing the yield we were promised!”
Abdul, though fearful, defended her position. “This is not perfect science. We did our best. We tested, we studied, and we sampled. This still remains the best place to extract the fenixium.”
“You tell that to HQ,” Ajajdif snapped. “We were supposed to be in and out of here in four months, and we’ve already spent two—nyet, three months here now. In case you’ve forgotten, speed is essential. We’re not licensed to mine, only to explore. If the Canadian government gets wind of this, it’s game over. So much is riding on this ore, you have no idea. It would cost us more than you can imagine if we don’t get the required amount.”
LeChamps actively avoided eye contact with Ajajdif.
Abdul, winding her red curls around trembling fingers, said, “I . . . I understand your frustration. I’m sorry that we aren’t finding as much as we should. All our tests were conclusive. This mine is the only site that is capable of producing the ore in the quantity we need. It may be slow getting to it, but rest assured, it is there.” She waited a few heartbeats before adding gingerly, “There is something else that I’ve been concerned about.”
Ajajdif’s brow furrowed. “And what might that be?”
“It’s the indiscriminate use of the leaching compound outside of the standard process. It’s supposed to only be used inside the vats so that it can be properly contained and disposed of.”
“Using it in the tunnel cuts the processing time, so we can get to the ore faster.”
Abdul exhaled hard through her nose, face growing red. “But if the compound finds a water source, it would have devastating effects on the environment! This is cyanide we’re dealing with, sir, not a benign chemical!”
