Inside the tubeway, Zack’s van rounded a turn too fast. Directly ahead, an overturned tractor trailer rig blocked the road, with a car and a pickpanel truck stopped between the van and the wreck. Zack used psi-link to hit the brakes hard, a fraction of a second before the automatic collision sensor went on, taking control of the brakes and steering away from him. The van skidded and scraped a guard rail on the right, then came to a stop with its nose against boxes that had spilled out of the wreck.
Men were shouting, and they opened the driver’s door of Zack’s vehicle, letting in cold air. At the head of the group a young man with shoulder-length red hair asked, “Are you all right?”
Zack said he was. He felt his safety harness disengage.
“Truck driver’s dead,” one of the men said.
Looking up, Zack saw that a large cedar tree had fallen on top of the tubeway, but had not broken through the tough material. The impact of the tree might have startled the truck driver and caused the accident.
As Zack surveyed dents and scrapes on the side of his van, the men said warning markers were needed on the turn, and they hurried off to do what they could. Traffic was continuing to pass in the other direction, separated from the eastbound lanes by a high median. There was no way for Zack to get around the overturned tractor trailer.
After moving his van into line behind the car and pickpanel, Zack carried a red towel back to the turn, to wave down any approaching vehicles. None were in sight yet. He stood shivering in a howling, cold tubewind, a tubeway engineering problem in some places. He wished he had worn his parka, but it was back in the van. He sneezed, and lamented the bad luck that placed him here.
In a compartment of the wrecked truck, the men located electronic emergency triangles, which were set up at intervals on the tubeway and began to flash orange.
After half an hour in the frigid tubewind Zack returned to his van and put on a parka, which was insulated. Remaining inside his vehicle, he began to feel warmer but sneezed repeatedly, cursing after each at the potential affliction that could weaken him when Meredith most needed him.
No tow truck was in site, and no Tube Patrol. It would take a big rig to move the sprawling accident out of the way, and he muttered to himself angrily, “Come on, come on. Hurry it up!”
He thought of the dead driver, but felt more concern for his ex-wife. It was nearly 10:00 in the morning, and he was an hour and a half behind schedule.
Through the windshield he watched a green and white Tube Patrol hovercraft fly inside the tubeway, with its blue emergency beacon flashing on top. The craft flew over him and landed. A big cop in a green jacket got out, then disappeared into the truck cab for several minutes. When he emerged he looked grim.
It occurred to Zack that he might appeal to the officer, describing the emergency with Meredith and how he had to reach her. If a tow truck didn’t show up soon, he would do exactly that. Maybe the patrolman could radio for someone to come in from the other side of the wreck and take him to Sun Under, or fly him there himself.
But how would I explain my feelings to the police? he wondered. I only suspect something is wrong, with no proof. He’d think I was wasting his time.
But a powerful sense of foreboding told Zack that Meredith really was in danger, terrible danger. With this accident blocking the road, the forces of evil were aligning against him, preventing him from reaching the only woman he had ever loved.
~~~
Looking around, Meredith was impressed by the immensity of the cavern. While the heliplane had kicked up considerable dust and dirt in the descent, it was from the ramp of dirt that led from the cavern floor to the hole in the ceiling. She saw comparatively little soil on the bottom of the cavern, which appeared to consist primarily of volcanic rock, on which foundations for buildings were being laid.
Sam explained that excavation was nearly complete (except for the periphery where the high-rise hotel rooms would be), and while much dirt had been removed the remaining cavern was primarily rock. The site had been selected by a team of geologists for its potential cavern dimensions and stability. Much of the rock ceiling had been reinforced with ceramcrete.
Sam talked proudly about the ongoing construction, while pointing out various features. Surrounding the shopping village and other amenities on the ground level, first-class hotel rooms would be constructed around the perimeter of the immense chamber, vatorcar-accessible structures that would rise like cliff-dwellings on sheer rock surfaces. The rooms would feature state of the art electronics and amenities found in the leading hotels of the world.
“They’re about to begin hotel construction now,” he said.
As they walked across the floor of the cavern Sam showed his excitement when he described everything. A large natural indentation, with a man-made sandy beach, would soon be filled with water, simulating a tropical beach and ocean. No expense was being spared. His only regret that there was not enough space to create big artificial waves, so that his guests could surf.
“I could do it if we didn’t have much else on the main level,” he said. “We’d have to excavate the natural indentation more, bring in a lot more sand, and set up the wave-making machinery.” He nodded. “It could be done, but would not be practical. I like the decisions I’ve made. It’s just that my imagination is always envisioning more, so many marvelous possibilities.”
Meredith jotted notes on an electronic etchpad she’d brought along. She asked questions about costs and projected completion dates, to make sure he was carrying adequate property insurance, including course-of-construction coverage.
“Based upon what you’ve told me in the last few minutes,” she said, “I can see that a number of coverage increases are necessary. I’ll need more information, and then I’ll transmit it to the insurance company right away. I also need to scan for safety issues, the risk-management side of my duties.”
“You’re going to be busy,” he said.
“Yes, I will. I think I’ll need to tell Johansen I need an extra day... three instead of two.”
Upon overhearing this, a gaunt construction supervisor said the wi-spectrum system was out of order, a frequent occurrence out here. The bad weather was the cause, he said, and communication could be out for a day or more. He spoke to Sam of the need for his own private system, with ground and satellite transmission units that were independent of big corporations or the government. It would be expensive, but he could afford it.
After the supervisor left, Sam said to Meredith, “We’re using fire-resistant construction materials everywhere, making a total fire loss virtually impossible.”
“It looks good,” she said. She grinned. “I should say, so far it looks good.”
Sam looked away, seemed to be watching a young woman who was performing some sort of inspection on a nearby building. The woman carried an unusual piece of equipment, like a hoop with a central, illuminated viewing screen on it, and lighted icons around the screen.
He said to Meredith, “Excuse me for a minute,” and walked over to the woman. They talked for a couple of minutes, and then Sam brought her back with him.
“This is Tatsy Cosmo,” he said, “a seismic expert. The two of you have things in common, the inspections you’re doing here.” He said to Cosmo, “Meredith is my risk-manager and insurance agent.”
“Interesting,” Cosmo said, nodding. Her tone and expression were cool, distant.
Meredith thought she was quite pretty, with short black hair and large, blue-green eyes. There seemed to be something familiar about her, but she could not quite place what it was.
“Have we met before?” Meredith asked.
Shaking her head, the woman said, “No. I just arrived from Los Angeles on this assignment, and when I’m finished here, I’ll be off to another one in Portland.”
“Is that a scanner of some sort?” Meredith asked, nodding toward the hoop device.
“One of several I brought,” Tatsy said, seeming to be uncomfortable at the question. “There’s a potential problem with the seismic design, and I’m here to resolve it.”
Meredith nodded, “You must have quite an education to do that, engineering degrees, and all.”
“I do.” She looked away, appeared ill at ease.
Meredith said to Sam, “It’s a specialty I don’t have, something we need to bring others in to do.”
“The two of you will have to compare notes,” Sam said.
“It would be nice to talk shop with you,” Tatsy Cosmo said to Meredith in a haughty tone, “but I’m sure you understand, I have a lot to do.” She smiled stiffly, looked at Sam. “Please excuse me?”
“Of course,” Sam said, “but let’s all get together this afternoon, and I’ll show you Sunny, my pride and joy.” He pointed up at the artificial sun. “I’ll be your tour guide, and answer as many risk-management and earthquake questions as possible.” He smiled. “We’ll do it all at once. Does that sound OK with you ladies? Can you find things to do on your own until then?”
The women exchanged glances, then agreed to meet him.
“I have to meet with the general contractor right now,” Sam said. “Afterward I’ll meet you ladies topside, in front of the vatorcar dome. At 3:00, all right?”
“Topside?” Tatsy Cosmo said. “You mean out in that awful weather?”
Sam laughed. “Being from Los Angeles, I can see you’re not used to weather like this. But you have a raincoat on, and there should be a heavier one in your room. You’ll be fine. Three o’clock sharp, all right?”
She nodded.
As Cosmo left to continue her work, Meredith still thought she’d met her somewhere before, but was drawing a blank.
“Unusual personality,” Sam said, when she was beyond hearing range.
“Maybe she’s introverted, so dedicated to her work that she doesn’t socialize much.”
“Or she got into a fight with her boyfriend.” Meredith had noticed that she wore no wedding ring.
“She’s very pretty,” Sam said. “Almost as pretty as you.”
Meredith smiled thinly. She liked Sam, but comments like that made her uncomfortable.
Rivulets of mud were streaming down the dirt ramp. Sam looked up at the open hole at the top, said, “The storm’s getting even worse.”
Construction workers teamed up to clear drainage at the base of the ramp. Others pushed the heliplane out of the way. But rainwater was flowing into the village that was being constructed.
“No problem,” Sam said, “we have secondary drains, and the buildings are all designed to withstand this sort of thing.” He smiled. “You’ll be happy to learn, Meredith, that we have established contingency plans.”
She noticed that the water, while sweeping out into the village, was not rising around the buildings, so it was being carried away efficiently.
Sensing something, Meredith looked around for Tatsy Cosmo, and saw her standing on a low platform, staring at her with a hard-edged expression. No sign of friendliness at all.
Behind the woman, a vatorcar arrived and the doors opened. She stepped aboard. Through the glass walls of the car, Meredith could see her inside, heading for one of the higher levels.
Sam started to leave, then said, “Oh, when you were on that Saturn moonlet Vanni, you inspected a robotics factory, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but why do you ask?”
“Because I have an agent ready to go that moon now, as soon as the fighting is over and that petty general has been arrested, executed, or exiled. I’m going to see what’s salvageable—hopefully that factory, and maybe the hotel and a cocktail lounge with a roller coaster—”
“Montaña Rusa?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s it. I just wanted to mention it to you, because the legitimate owners—the Kaster family—have decided they want to sell after General Neron is driven away. They’re going to open the property up for bidding, but before I make my offer I’d like you to be on the inspection team I send in.”
“I’m sorry, but I’d rather not go anywhere near that place. Too many bad memories.”
He looked disappointed.
“I’ll check with Piers when I get back to the office,” she said. “I’m sure he has someone qualified to send.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” He turned to go. “You go ahead and look around here on your own now, like Tatsy is doing. I want you to be careful, though. Watch your step, or you could get hurt. What am I saying? You’re a risk manager, so you know all that stuff.”
“I’ll be careful,” Meredith said.