“No, no. That isn’t the problem. Mark and I asked each other if we had ever really sat down and explained exactly what we were going to do in the tunnel,” Randal told him.
“Well, I guess I just assumed you were going to try to bring that mining machine up and anything else we found down there,” he replied.
“And therein lies the problem. Mark was right. He thought you might be thinking along those lines when you were talking about how much the cable weighed.”
“And?”
“And all we want to do is get someone down there to tell us what they see and if they find any indication of the source to gather a small sample and bring it out of the hole,” Randal explained.
“That’s all?”
“That all.”
“No drilling machine?”
“Nope. We couldn't care less about that,” Mark added.
“Well I’ll be damned. Here I was trying to figure the load factors, tensile strength of the cable and all the stress factors. All you want to do is drop a guy down so he can poke around a little bit.”
“That’s pretty much it,” Mark replied.
“Well hell. How much does this sample weigh?” he suddenly asked.
“A few ounces if that.”
“Son of a gun. Boy, I have been wasting a lot of time trying to come up with a device that could haul up tons and here you wanted only a few ounces. Yeah, we definitely should have had this conversation earlier. We probably could have had your sample by now,” Buck lamented.
“Our fault entirely. We are the ones who thought you could magically read our minds. I just feel bad that we wasted so much of your time. You are the one who has been beating his head against a rock trying to come up with an answer. We definitely dropped the ball,” Randal replied.
“Boys, I've got some work to do. It is still a lot of weight just using cord wrapped wire but it’s a heck of a lot easier to use and doesn’t weigh a tenth as much. Now if there isn’t anything else?” he asked.
“Nope. That’s about as much stupidity as we can handle at one time,” Randal said.
“It isn’t entirely your fault. Mark here tried to question me and I just blew him off with a smart assed remark. I caused as much of this as anyone. I guess there is enough blame to go around,” Buck said.
“Well, at least we are all on the same page now. I guess I should say, the guy will be wearing a full bio-suit and probably a rebreathing apparatus.”
“All I’ll need is the total weight,” Buck replied.
“We'll get it to you as soon as we can.”
“Now if you will excuse me, I have a rig to design and build,” Buck said.
When he was gone Randal said, “Boy do I feel like a dummy.”
“We both should but since you're already feeling that way I guess I can keep my conscience clean.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
“No problem. Always glad to help,” Mark quipped.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Acting President Andria Toll was sitting in the Oval Office looking out at the lawn. She adjusted her mask as she stood and walked over to look out at the lawn and sky. It was a beautiful day except for the fact that another million people would probably die today.
Her phone buzzed softly and she reached back and picked it up.
“Yes Maria?” she answered.
“Madam, Senators Long and Neilson are here and would like a few moments of your time.”
“Sure, what the heck, nothing much going on except for people dying. Send them in,” she said.
She refused to look at her hair or makeup to be sure she had lipstick on. She wasn’t going to primp for them, that was for sure.
The two men were shown into the office by a Marine Guard.
“Senator Long, Senator Neilson. How very nice to see you both. I’m actually very glad you dropped by. I have been meaning to contact you.”
“About the closed session meeting?” Long asked.
“Well yes. That was certainly an unusual event. It seems the press is going a bit crazy trying to find out what was so important to keep them out. You know how they are. They can’t stand someone not including them in so they can spin it in a way to sell more papers.”
“Yes Madam President. That is exactly why we restricted the session to just the members of the Senate. I know all about the Freedom of Information Act but this is one time we felt it was essential to talk to you before the press every got any information,” Senator Neilson said.
“My goodness. That will send them up the wall for sure. A secret in Washington. It just doesn’t happen very often in this city.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Senator Long replied.
“I’m sorry gentlemen, would you care for anything? Coffee, water?” Toll asked.
“Coffee if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother,” Neilson replied setting his briefcase on the floor.
“Senator Long?”
“Maybe a Coke if one is available?”
“Certainly,” she said and pressed the intercom and ordered the beverages for the Senators and tea for herself.
They made small talk until the beverages were delivered and then they got down to business.
“So Senator Long, Senator Neilson, I assume this meeting is to discuss what took place in the Senate closed door session a few days ago.”
“Yes Ma’am. The purpose was three fold. The first was to discuss President Thornburg. It was the most pressing issue and most of the time was spent on that. As you can well imagine, eighty-six Senators all wanting to be heard at the same time was… challenging. Of course we did say a prayer for our deceased members from this damn virus,” Senator Long told her.
She just waited. Senators. They can never just get to the point. They have to drag everything out. No wonder it took so long to get anything done.
“After deliberating, we unanimously agreed that the prudent thing to do was announce that you would be replacing President Thornburg due to health considerations. You will assume the office of President and be sworn in at the earliest convenient moment. You will fulfill the duties of the Office of the President for the remainder of the term.”
“He meant to add if you agree to serve,” Senator Neilson added smiling.
It was about as fake as any she had seen since watching Caylee Anthony’s mother on television.
“I certainly appreciate the vote of confidence. I would be more than happy to serve the American people. I am deeply saddened by the mental condition of former President Thornburg and look forward to working with Congress the remaining time I am in office,” she replied, smiling the same fake smiles as the Senators.
“Excellent. Then we will make the announcement immediately and have the swearing in ceremony at the Capital Building if that suits you, Madam President.”
“That would lovely. When are you considering this taking place?”
“This evening if that is convenient for you. We will notify the press so they will have ample time to cover the event. Four o’clock would give them time to get it on the five o’clock news,” Senator Long replied.
“That would be excellent. I will make the necessary arrangements to be there.”
“Wonderful,” Neilson added with another bogus smile.
“You said the meeting was three fold. May I ask about the other two items on the agenda?”
“Oh, yes. I almost forgot,” Long said.
She remained stoic knowing full well they would rather not have discussed it but now they were trapped.
“Madam President…”
“I’m still just the acting President at the moment,” she reminded him.
“A mere formality. As I was saying, the second item was how to better facilitate the handling of citizens that have contracted the Ebola virus.”
“What do you have in mind?” she asked, frowning slightly.