by Mark Lemke
CHAPTER 54
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Marti put the phone down after talking with Nick.? She just couldn't stop thinking about him.? It was all happening so fast, though, and under unusual conditions, but she wasn't sure she cared about the reasons for the attraction.? All she knew was that she was drawn to this man and would very much like to see where it could go.?
She shook her head to clear it.? She had to focus.? Maybe things were starting to go their way.? She hoped so, anyway.? They still had some hurdles in front of them, but Nick was here, and that gave her a lot of confidence.?
She grabbed her hardhat and safety goggles and headed out to the control room to talk to Dave.? She frequently went there, so her appearance shouldn't arouse suspicion-although almost anything tonight would seem unusual.? It depended on who was watching.?
It only took her a few minutes to cross the huge turbine deck and get to the control room.? Once there, she followed the process for entry and pushed the heavy door open.? Inside, she gave a cursory nod of her head to the control room operators who turned to see who was coming in at this time of night, then headed for the shift manager's office located off to one side of the room.
She was all smiles as she entered the office and saw Dave sitting there, sullen and looking wrung out. ?She knew the news she carried would lighten his mood considerably.? She fairly burst into his office, startled to see an armed responder sitting in a chair opposite Dave.? The man's posture, looked casual to her, and he looked like he was there to provide some extra security for the control room.? His presence took her aback for a moment, but on reflection, seemed reasonable to her, given that the plant was under a verified security threat.?
Dave looked up at her, and said, "Ms. Callahan, you shouldn't be in here.? Perhaps I can call you later?" It wasn't really a question.
Marti looked at him and said, "But I have some great news you're going to want to hear."?
Suddenly something about the armed responder bothered her. ?It was the same feeling she'd had when she saw those six men coming down from the warehouse earlier tonight.? It wasn't that she recognized him, but she felt something akin to a cold shiver when she looked at him more closely.? Something wasn't right.? It put her on guard, and she wasn't sure she should speak in front of him.? It also occurred to her that she had never seen an armed responder in the control room before.? She wasn't even sure it was authorized to bring weapons in there, security force or not.?
"Could I speak to you in private for a moment?" she said to Dave, no longer smiling.
Dave looked at the armed responder and then back at Marti.? "I'm afraid I'm busy right now.? Perhaps you could come back later?" he said, with insistence in his voice this time.
Despite her misgivings, Marti pressed on for a second time.? "What I need to discuss with you will only take a moment.? It's important."
"I understand you're the NRC, but I told you I'm busy.? Now please leave the control room!" Dave commanded.?
It was inappropriate to treat the NRC resident that way.? He knew that, and was sure she did too.? Under normal conditions, he'd get in a lot of trouble for doing that, but he was trying to get her out of there, and fast.?
Marti hesitated, turned and looked again at the armed responder.? He wasn't smiling; he was staring at Dave.? She suddenly had a sinking feeling in the hollow of her stomach and wanted to leave immediately, feeling an overwhelming urge to get out of there.?
"I'll come back later then."? She dropped her head, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone, as if doing so would give away her suspicions.?
As she turned to leave, the armed responder got up, moved in front of her, and gently closed the door to Dave's office.? He looked at Marti and said, "sit down."? It wasn't a request.
Immediately on the defensive, and frightened, she said, "I will not!? I'm the senior resident here and I will be leaving now!" ?
The armed responder reached out and grabbed her by the arm, led her to a chair, and pulled her arm down roughly until she was seated.
"You'll be quiet and do as you are told," he said as he moved in closer to her.? In almost a whisper, he said, "Do you understand?"
Marti's eyes were wide open, as was her mouth.? She looked at Dave-who had a resigned look on his face-perhaps for comfort or support.? She received none.
He looked back at her dejectedly.? "I suggest you do as you're told.? This man is not who he appears to be."
It was very early in the morning, and Marti had been awake for a very long time, so her ability to process information was somewhat impaired, but she put the pieces together quickly. ?The man was not a member of plant security, which meant he was one of the terrorists.? And if that was the case, the security of the control room had been compromised.? My God, she thought to herself!? The control room has just been taken over by a hostile force!? What's more, it had been done very quietly.? It didn't appear as if any of the control room watch-standers were even aware of it.? To them, it probably looked like it did to Marti initially-that he was there to protect them.? He certainly looked the part, being dressed the way the station security staff dressed.
All the elation Marti felt ten minutes ago vanished.? The plant was technically in a General Emergency, the highest of the four categories of emergencies at nuclear power plants.? The plant was under siege and nobody but Dave.? And now she knew it.