Chương 73: Book 3 - Chapter 9 B

"Thanks, Matt. Excellent work. I'll be here all night, go ahead and get my bags packed. Security will drive me to the airport in the morning. Meet me there," I told him and hung up. Stepping out of the office that now also had a coffee pot and a trash can thanks to the ever efficient Ms Marks, I found the design crew waiting.

"Good news, we have a 747 to transport the cargo."

"That is good news, Dr Cook. We had a question about durability."

"Go ahead," I told the engineer.

"What kind of corrosion resistance are we prioritizing for the metal? We have naval alloys, but transport weight..."

"Weight is a factor, but this is a one year lifespan, not a twenty-year one," I replied.

"Use what will last long enough and is light weight. Cost is not the first consideration, rapid construction and air delivery is."

"Understood. We're sending twenty complete steel frame kits for the generator inlets and one for the spillway frame."

"You got the information you needed already?" I asked.

"We did. With the final material specifications complete our job will be done in an hour or two."

"Your job will be a bit longer than that," I told them, instantly getting their attention.

"Once you have the design and construction blueprints finished it'll need to be translated."

"We can't translate," he objected. I nodded in agreement.

"I'll do that. Russian and Ukrainian. What I need from you is simple, large and idiot-proof diagrams for assembly and deployment. This isn't just about creating and crating the equipment, it's providing a turnkey custom solution for Ukraine, that they can install themselves. I won't have the room to bring an installation crew."

"I think we can do that. You're right we hadn't considered that step."

"Have you ever built a LEGO set?" I asked. There were two nods among the group of six engineers.

"I'm thinking we need something that even an illiterate farmer turned soldier could follow."

"I understand Dr Cook. We will get that done and send the instructions to you so you can translate. Once we have the translation we can run the whole thing through the blueprint copier so there will be a set of instructions for each section."

"Double that. The guys who do the work will need a copy, as well as the guy who supervises them."

"Yes sir," he said with a grin. I ate the last bite of fried chicken that Ms Marks had brought in for dinner washing it down with a cold Dr Pepper. My office coffee pot was now gone, running in the corner of the lab space and available to the workers cutting and welding the graphene felt. Replacing the coffee pot in my office was a mini fridge full of Dr Pepper cans. The walls were covered in blueprints and a topographical map of Kiev. The woman was a marvel. I sat back down to finish the translation work.

Russian was finished, and the Ukrainian version was almost complete.

"Hey boss," Matt said, as he stuck his head in the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I brought you a change of clothes," he said, lifting a paper bag.

"There's a shower and other facilities here. I figured you'd need it by morning."

"And you are a marvel too," I told him. He just smiled and stepped into the room, looking at the maps and posters.

"So you'll be here all night?" he asked, his tone painfully trying to be light. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Yeah. I'll sleep some. The top of the desk is just big enough to act as a bed." He put his hands out as if he was measuring the desk, then held a hand up at about my height as if comparing the two distances. I just chuckled at his tease.

"There's fried chicken around here somewhere if you're hungry."

"I'm good, I ate. Have you called your Mom yet?" he asked, then he laughed when he saw the expression on my face.

"Better to ask for forgiveness than permission?" I offered. He shook his head.

"If you don't call her I have to. It's one of her rules about you leaving the country." I sighed.

"Okay. I'll call her. I just need to finish this translation work."

"Alright. I'll be around to make sure you don't forget."

"I'll do it, Matt."

"I know," he said, and stepped back out of the room to see what everybody was working on. I waited for the perfect moment before dialing home.

"Hi Dad," I greeted as he answered.

"Hi Johnny. How's San Diego?"

"Wonderfully warm. How's Tulsa?"

"Rain last night, but clear today. Beautiful spring day. I think it got over 75. What's up? I know you didn't call to talk about the weather."

"I've been on the phone with the White House. They want me to do an emergency supply run of water filters."

"Really? Where to, and why you?" he asked.

"Ukraine, it's in Eastern Europe. They want me to do it, because it's my invention. It's part of the Soviet Union so they can't help out directly without a lot of diplomatic trouble, if it comes from a private citizen it can get there faster."

"But they know you're going?" he asked.

"Yes, they are even sending someone from the State Department to ride along."

"That's pretty cool," he said. How long will it take?"

"The guys here at General Atomics are getting the stuff crated up for me. It'll be a long flight on a cargo plane. Then a few days getting the water filters installed, then a long flight back. Maybe a week altogether."

"Any danger? It is the Soviet Union."

"No. It'll be too public of a trip. I doubt they'd try the usual wine and women trick to encourage me to defect. I'm a bit immune to both," I told him. His laugh was loud and long. Finally it stopped and he caught his breath.

"So I'm guessing you want me to tell your Mom for you?"

"Yes. Yes I do," I said emphatically, which brought another chuckle.

"Sure I'll do that, but you owe me a favor in the future."

"I'd do it even if I didn't owe you Dad."

"I know, but this way I won't feel like I'm taking advantage of my kid."

"Fine. Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome. You're bringing Matt and security?"

"I am."

"Then have fun and be safe. Keep an eye out on Matt," he said with a chuckle.

"He's not as immune as you are." I laughed as he expected.

"Alright, I'll be safe and have fun and keep an eye on Matt. Have a good night."

"You too, John. Love you."

"Love you too, Dad." I woke at about 4am. Ms Marks had found blankets to pad the top of the desk with and one really nice and soft one to sleep under for a few hours. I tossed off the blanket and headed out to see what was going on. I found almost everybody working in the shipping dock as the last of the items were being packed away in wooden boxes.

"Dr Cook. Good morning," Dr Davies greeted.

"Morning, Dr Davies. How's it going?"

"Excellent. The last items are getting boxed up now. The trucks to take everything to the airport will be here in about an hour."

"It's all going to fit on one plane? We're underweight?" I asked.

"It will all fit, and we are well within weight limits. It'll be a long flight, but you should get there without issues."

"Excellent," I told the man.

"Anything new to report?"

"It's just the skeleton crew left. Most everyone else went home when their job finished. Linda is still around somewhere, as is at least one of her assistants."

"That's fine. I'll need to find her. I'll want to organize a party for when I get back."

"That's not necessary," he said politely.

"It is. This wasn't something I could throw together on my own. It took everybody working together. You guys will get used to me eventually, but for now, just accept that I like to reward people who go above and beyond."

"Thanks, boss," he said. I groaned.

"Matt hung out here for a while didn't he?"

"He did. Massively impressive guy. He helped us move some of the heavier items onto a transport-dolly. He had some funny stories to tell."

"I'll bet. Just know that among friends like yourself, I prefer John."

"Matt said you'd say that," he said with a big grin.

"Alright carry on. I'm going to go find the amazing Ms Marks. I'm sure she's managed to prepare a hot breakfast for me somewhere," I told him.