CHAPTER 4


   “You didn’t tell me,” came the sassy little voice with more than a hint of anger. “You think you could have told me.”
Barbara looked over her shoulder to the other side of the room that she shared with her daughter. Shannon was pouting but, at least, she was still packing her bag. Barbara had already been up for a while and was ready to go. Her bag was already zipped up and laying on her bed. She was already dressed in a flight suit with her thermals on under it. It was in stark contrast to the desk fan that she had blowing on her at full strength. The sun was not even up yet and it was already too warm for normal clothing, let alone what Barbara had on. Going from the Arch to the Valley was like going from fire to ice. Once you adjusted to either it was tolerable but, that in between part could be quite uncomfortable.
Barbara would have liked to have already been gone but, there were just too many last minute changes that she had to get a handle on. It irked her far more than her daughter. They knew this trip was coming. They had known since last year, and the year before that, and the one before that, simply because this was an annual mission. How could they not be ready for it!
Unfortunately for Shannon, she was close by and making herself a ready target. Barbara commented, “I wasn’t aware that I had to tell you anything.” Then as Barbara thought about it some more she put down her pen and looked back at her child, “and besides. I thought you loved going up to Valley Station. You used to beg me to take you on these trips.”
Shannon simply glared at her mother with a face that spelled out, “and I was five.” She did not say it though. She simply locked eyes with her mother, violently threw a shirt down in her bag, zipped it up, and then stormed out of the room. Barbara was very confused, “I just don’t get her sometimes.”
No sooner had her child vanished out the door when another came walking in with a plate full of food. The only difference here was that Chuck was fully grown even if he acted less mature than Shannon, most of the time. At least he was smiling. Barbara ignored him and went back to looking over her charts. Chuck did not return the favor. He finished swallowing some eggs and then tossed a thumb over his shoulder, “you guys are topped off and ready to go.”
“Thank you Chuck,” Barbara said with no great enthusiasm.
He did not go anywhere. He simply stood there watching her. When Barbara looked back at him he asked, “did you get some food? Tell you what, that April chick can cook.”
“Yes I did, thank you for the update Chuck,” Barbara replied sternly. Chuck was almost six feet tall and had arms that rippled with muscles. When he was not working up at the helipad, which was most of the time, he was lifting his home made weights. To this day, Barbara had never quite figured out why he was so in to that. Nothing else about Chuck ever struck her as the health nut type. He was not overly promiscuous and, despite the fact that he could easily pass for your average beach bum, Barbara had never seen him get in the water that was not fifty yards from the old bunker he lived in.
“Do you want something Chuck?”
Now the guy looked kind of nervous. He shuffled his feet in place. He looked at his toes. His shoulders drooped. “I know this might, kind of, be a bad time Barb. It’s just… well.. I talked to Henna yesterday.”
Barbara gulped. She put the pen down on her papers and took a deep breath. She knew this day was coming. She tried to sound apologetic when she told him, “Chuck, look, I am truly sorry but, I didn’t say anything because I don’t really know anything for sure.”
“It’s cool Barb,” Chuck told her and sounded sincere enough. He also sounded a bit hurt, “look, I owe you everything so don’t think I’m trying to pin anything on you. I know how he was and, truth be told, I kind figured this is was coming. Why do you think…”
Barbara stood up and walked over to Chuck. She put a hand on his shoulder and told him, “you’re a good hearted person Chuck. I do have to apologize. I should have told you when I first suspected but… I didn’t want to hurt you. Not when there was a chance.”
“Told you,” Chuck let her know again, “no sweat. It’s just…“ There was something else troubling him and Barbara was not sure exactly what. She suspected but, she hoped she was wrong. Then, after he composed himself, Chuck asked, “you think it had anything to do with that night. You know the one I’m talking about.”
Barbara had to take a breath before she answered that question, “yes Chuck. I know exactly which night you’re talking about. He may have been a lot of things but, I guess, I owe him for that night, sort of.”
Now the mechanic got confused, “I don’t understand.”
Barbara did not really want him too either. She just let out the breath she was holding in and tried to relax while she asked, “you haven’t told anybody about that night?”
Chuck put up his hands and waived them, “oh hey, no way. Not me. I did just what you said. You know me Barb. I don’t get too deep in things, you know?”
Barbara gave him a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder when she told him, “I’m counting on you to keep it that way Chuck. You know what’s riding on this. Now you know a little bit more is too.”
Chuck’s eyes blinked, his nose twitched, and then he suddenly had that look of revelation, “whoa. I never thought about it like that. Are you serious?”
Barbara kept her answer short, “very.”
Shannon came back in about fifteen minutes after Chuck left. She was still in a mood so Barbara said nothing beyond, “take your stuff out to the commissary please.” Shannon snorted, grumbled, and even hissed but, at least she complied. Then Barbara finished up with the work at her desk before gathering up her own things. She turned her computer off, turned off the lights to the room she shared with her daughter, then closed the door behind her.
Before Barbara walked down the hall she closed the outside door latch and then slapped a combination lock on it. It kind of seemed silly when you thought about it. The latch and lock were both stronger than the door and if somebody really wanted in they would have no problem smashing the door to bits. Nobody seemed to realize that, for Barbara at least, that was kind of the idea. If something had happened to her then somebody would need to get in her room and she did not want to turn it into a fortress.
As she walked down the haul, towards the commissary, she noted a slightly opened door on her left. The room was darkened except for the haul lights shinning thru the crack. It was Danni’s room and Barabara could see that the girl was sitting in there on her rack, in the dark, doing absolutely nothing at all. Barbara thought it was kind of strange but, far from the strangest thing she’d seen around here. She pushed the door a little more open until she could see the young girls face. Barbara then told her in a motherly kind of way, “get your things sweethheart. We need to get going.”
It seemed like it took Danni a few moments before she even realized that she was being talked too. When she finally did acknowledge Barbara’s presence, Danni simply looked up and formed a smile. After another few seconds she said, “yeah. I’m ready.”
Barbara wondered about that, “are you?”
Danni blinked and then she stood up. She seemed cheerful and her usual self, “yeah. I told you that last night. I’ve been ready. Thank you for reinstating me. I know that…”
Barbara did not have time for this right now. She simply raised her hand and told the little girl, “Not now Danni. Like I said, you came thru during that whole PBS thing. You earned it so, get your bags and lets get moving.” As Barbara began walking again she noted that Danni looked almost frozen in place. Barbara stopped at the commissary door and looked back down the hall. Finally, the girl came out with her bags and seemed normal enough. Barbara simply shrugged and turned to enter the commissary.
Barbara walked right into Jake who was headed in the other direction. He was also yawning, and rubbing his eyes. The entire situation resulted in a collision. Barbara snapped at him, “will you watch where you’re going!” Jake seemed to have barely even registered what happened as he finished his yawn. Barbara had to pick up the bag that she dropped. She was angered and he was numb. Then Barbara wondered, “what are you doing up so early? You’re not going.”
Jake stretched a little and said, “going where?” Then he slapped his face and continued, “oh yeah. You’re going up the Valley today. What was that for again?”
Barbara pushed him aside as she continued on in to the commissary. She told him as she did, “vaccine run, you know? I sent you a memo.”
“Oh,” Jake looked confused, “those emails you keep sending my phone. I put them all in a special folder. I plan on getting around to reading them one day.”
Right then Danni also pushed her way past and Jake. She smiled and playfully poked him in the chest as she passed. She also gave Jake a perky little, “moring sleepy head.” Unlike Barbara, who had stopped at Calvin’s desk, Danni walked right out the screen door. Jake just stood there for a moment and when he was sufficiently convinced that Barbara was going to continue ignoring him he figured to count his lucky stars and head for his room.
After Barbara heard a door shut, presumably Jakes, she stopped discussing business with Calvin, and looked to the hallway. She then asked Brandt, “how long as he been up?”
Calvin simply shrugged, “how should I know. He just got here.”
That made Barbara wonder. She was normally asleep at this time of the morning. If he was going to stay out all night then why would he come wandering in so early? She dismissed the question for now and then asked Cal, “everybody else head for the pad?”
Cal tossed a thumb towards the screen door, “out in the parking lot. Chuck’s standing by and waiting to drive you all up there.”
Barbara was almost afraid to ask the next question, “Tony?”
Cal was afraid to answer, “he’s Tony.” That caused Barbara to sigh in frustration and then Cal added, “I think he was a little miffed about two flights going up this year. It almost wounded his personal honor. Like you don’t trust him or something.”
Barbara knew two things about that. The first was that they did not have any choice in the matter. They were carrying a lot more vaccine this year. It was not a great deal more but, it was enough. They had been pushing the range of their birds with the normal amount. What they had loaded up now had increased the weight which, subsequently, decreased the range of her birds beyond the limit of what Barbara judged as safe. The second part was that she knew his attitude had very little to do with anything as trivial as crashing in the ocean due to lack of fuel.
Cal did point out in Tony’s defense, “you know, he does kind of have a point Barbara. I’m not so sure that extra vaccine is even worth the bother. It’s not like those people are going to take it.”
“That is not our concern Cal,” Barbara replied as her eyes focused on the stairway to ops. She then noted, “and I don’t think it’s Tony’s either.” That was not a subject that Calvin was even willing to touch right now. He saw where Barbara was looking, he knew who was up there, and he understood exactly what she meant. Of course, Cal did not have to say it since Barbara did it for him, “and I am getting sick of their bullshit.”