Arctic Fire (14 page)

It was a glistening white block, floating in an
ocean that was the deepest blue he had ever seen, adding all the
more to the contrasts and richness of the colors. If you would have
shown him this scene in a photograph he would swear that colors
could not be this vivid and bright without being airbrushed; yet
here they were.

Pike wiped the window with his sleeve for a
third time as he pressed his face against the glass for a better
view. Just like in the model, he saw the three tugs surrounding the
massive block of ice, but as the helicopter circled, he saw
something on the back corner of the iceberg that caught his
eye.

“Is that the
Yankee Clipper
down there?”
Pike asked, turning to Cain is disbelief.

Cain smiled, “Sure is.”

“But how? Why?”

“The how was easy. Right after you landed, I
called your boss and explained what I wanted to do and he loved the
idea. I called in a favor from a General friend of mine at the
Pentagon and the Army was kind enough to loan us a Chinook to haul
her out here. The why, that’s easy too. Can you think of a better
way to inaugurate this project than to have you take off in your
jet in the middle of New York harbor?”

“How am I going to do that? You didn’t turn the
Clipper
into a Harrier did you? Concern laced Pike’s
question, afraid that Cain had modified his beloved plane.

Cain noticed the concerned look on his quest’s
face. “Relax Gabriel. Again the solution is the blending of
technologies. In the 1950’s during the Cold War, military planners
knew that airfields would be a prime target for the Soviets if war
ever broke out. Test flights were conducted to determine the
feasibility of launching aircraft without the use of conventional
runways from mobile launchers, the experiments were called ZEL or
zero length launch. The concept was really pretty basic. They
simply attached a rocket engine to the fuselage, pointed it into
the air and launched it. After it was airborne the aircraft’s own
engine took over. We’ve modernized the system but being it’s
attached to The Blast from the Past’s airplane,” Cain smiled at
Pike, “the equipment is as ascetically close to original looking as
we could get it.”

Pike nodded in approval, satisfied that his
plane was still in one piece. He quickly fell back into his
child-like wonder as he gazed back out the window. “Is that a pool
down there?

“Yes, warmed to a balmy 85 degrees. And at the
stern, that green patch there is a driving range. Being at 25 plus
feet above the ocean will make anyone’s drive look like Tiger
Woods’. Do you play golf, Gabriel?”

“When my Dad retired, he took up golf in a big
way and played for about ten or twelve years. I played with him
occasionally, but the few times that I managed to hit the ball
straight weren’t enough to keep me playing. I figured why pay good
money to chase a stupid little white ball around and get myself
frustrated. How about you?”

“In the corporate world, the golf course is
often used as the boardroom or the negotiation table so you could
call it one of the job requirements. I can hold my own but at 6-4;
I’d rather pick up a good game of hoops.”

“Please take your seats, we’re preparing to
land,” the pilot announced.

Cain sat down beside Mallory but Pike stayed
where he was and continued staring out the window. They slowly
descended and swung out wide and came in over the stern of the
iceberg. “I’ve been out here over a dozen times during the
construction yet I never get tired of looking at it.” Cain
said.

Pike was amazed at the small city Cain had
constructed on top of the giant slab of ice. It looked like a
miniaturized version of Las Vegas. The main casino building was
fitted with mirrored plate glass that reflected the sky and ocean,
giving an almost transparent look to the building. The gambling
hall was also covered with the obligatory neon lights that flashed,
blinked and pulsated. In front of the casino, were the living
quarters and office spaces, all decorated with splashes of color
reminiscent of an art decor painting by one of the Masters.

The most dominant feature of the skyline was the
three-story monolith that rose from near the bow. It was white,
with black stripes running around it, giving it the appearance of a
New England lighthouse. It added all the more to the planned oddity
and yet familiarity of this mini-Vegas, where on one intersection
of its larger namesake, you have a medieval castle, across the
street from an ancient pyramid that was kitty corner to a miniature
replica of New York City.

As the chopper made its final approach, Pike
could see the reporters standing under the palm trees. Palm trees
on an iceberg Pike thought, shaking his head. “I see the lions are
here.” Pike said pointing at the reporters. He recognized the young
female reporter from the airport and a couple of other reporters
from all the press conferences he’d attended during the last few
days and then he saw his archenemy, Toupee Man.

“Isn’t there anything more newsworthy for them
to cover?” Instantly Pike cringed at his words. What Cain was doing
with this iceberg truly was newsworthy; how conceited of him to
automatically think they were here just to talk to the great Blast
from the Past. They were here to talk to Cain about his amazing
project.

“I’m sorry Mr. Cain, I didn’t mean…”

Cain smiled and raised his hand. “It’s alright
Gabriel, I know what you meant. The press can be tiring but we need
them on our side. And besides, they had better be here; I paid for
all their airfares.”

“You’ve come a long way in handling the press
Gabe,” Mallory said, “but I know you’re still uncomfortable with
them. Don’t worry, you’ll still have to field a few questions but
Nigel and I will handle the bulk of the interviews.”

“About the interviews,” Pike began, “I have an
idea I would like to run by you later.”

Cain looked at Pike, a coy smile coming to his
face. “I don’t know what you have in mind Gabriel, but from the
look on your face, I like it.”

Just then they felt a soft jolt as the wheels
touched down. “We’ll talk more on this later, but for now, it’s
show time,” Cain said as he put on his practiced smile and threw
open the door.

Chapter
Fifteen

Pike felt his breath being sucked away as he
stepped out of the helicopter, going from the warm, 75-degree heat
of the cabin to the frigid 28-degree cold of the arctic air. The
small crowd of reporters looked like a group of chain smokes as
wisps of stream rose with each breath, creating their own fog
bank.

Cain walked up to the small stage and podium
that had been set up and Mallory and Pike followed, standing off to
his right. He waited until the last swoosh of the rotor blade
stopped before he greeted the reporters.

“Thank you all for coming,” he started out, “but
then again, I suppose you had better be here since I paid for your
tickets.” Despite the cold, laughter filtered through the crowd.
“I’ll try and keep this brief and field just a few questions as I’m
sure everyone is tired from their long journey. There will be
plenty of time later to answer everyone’s questions.

“Mr. Cain,” one reporter shouted out, “Now that
you’re standing on your dream that has finally become a reality,
can you tell us how you feel?”

“I said I wanted to keep this short.” Cain
replied, smiling. He stood there, silent for a moment, taking a
deep breath before he answered. “I have been very blessed and have
had many milestones over the years, but I would have to say that
this will be, no, this is,” he corrected himself, “my crowning
achievement.”

“Mr. Cain,” another voice rang out. “We all know
that the safety inspection on this project is just a formality.
Isn’t Mr. Pike’s being here just another one of your famous
publicity stunts?”

Pike was busy watching a pair of seagulls
fighting over a small fish and not paying much attention to the
questions until he heard his name being mentioned. He immediately
snapped back to the moment and focused on the question and the
person who asked it, Toupee Man. Pike wondered what he had ever
done to the man for him to have such a grudge against him?

“I don’t know?” Cain said, then turned and
looked at Pike. “Gabriel, would you like to answer the question of
why you are here?”

Pike reluctantly stepped up to the podium and
faced the crowd of reporters. “Safety is never a just a matter of
formality.” He began, trying to keep his tone civil. He hated it
when people took public safety for granted and thought that it was
a given that everything was done right the first time and done with
their best interests at heart. “There has been a lot of hard work
put in by a lot of different people to make this project come to
life. I don’t just read the construction reports and take it as
gospel and repeat everything word for word, then rubber-stamp it.
It’s my job is to make sure that all these separate compotes come
together into one safe unit, not to take what someone else has said
and just repeat it. A wise man once said; ‘trust but verify.’ That
sir, is my job.”

Pike knew he should have stopped there, but he
just couldn’t, then he looked directly at Toupee Man. “But I might
ask you the same question sir, why are you here?” Pike tried, but
he just couldn’t keep a little sarcasm from slipping in. “Surely
there are enough reporters here telling the same story that you
don’t need to be here too do you?” Pike said, gesturing to the
crowd. “Why do you need to tell
your
story? Aren’t you just
going to say the same thing everyone else does, repeating the same
facts? No, sir,” Pike said, shaking his head, “I suspect our jobs
are very similar. We both see what’s on the surface and then dig
deeper to check to see if all the facts add up. At least that’s
what I do.”

The only sound heard was that of the wind
whistling around the helicopter blades. Pike knew he had pushed it
and shouldn’t have thrown in that last dig, but it felt so good. He
thought he had actually heard Mallory gasp at his comment but he
wasn’t going to turn around to find out. He stood as steely as he
could, facing the crowd. He would brass it out and hope he wasn’t
going home in the morning.

Suddenly a middle-aged woman wearing a bright
blue ski parka called out, either feeling sorry for Pike and
helping him out by breaking the awkward silence or else just taking
advantage of it to call out her own question. “Mr. Cain, we heard
rumors that Senator Williams will be accompanying you, all of us,”
she said waving at the crowd, “on this voyage and that there is
speculation that he may be helping you with your own political
ambitions?”

Cain smiled looking at the group of reporters
and was about to speak when he stopped and looked over their heads.
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” He said, pointing out over the
horizon. “That’s his chopper coming in now.” As everyone turned to
watch the helicopter circle the iceberg and prepare to land, Cain
finished speaking.

“Thank you all once again for coming. We will be
keeping you informed with regular updates. Now as the Senator
lands, please give him your attention, you know how he loves a
captive audience. The crowd’s laughter was drowned out by the roar
of the landing helicopter.

Cain, Mallory and Pike quietly slipped off the
stage and entered the main building. As soon as they were inside,
Mallory opened up on Pike. “What were you thinking Gabe? Attacking
a member of the press like that. Like it or not these people have a
lot of influence that can either help us or hinder us on this
project.”

Pike hung his head low. “I’m sorry Beth, Mr.
Cain, but something about that man just sticks in my craw.” Pike
let out a big sigh, “I’ll make a public apology whenever you want
sir.”

Cain looked at Pike with a solemn face, then
suddenly burst out in a huge smile. “If I thought I could get away
with it, I’d give you a big kiss right now.”

In shock, Pike looked at Mallory who was just as
surprised as he was. “My boy,” Cain continued, “you’ve just done
what I haven’t been able to do for the last twenty years; put a
member of the press in their place.”

“But Nigel…” Mallory started to protest, but was
stopped by a raised hand from Cain. “What you said put him in his
place and I loved it, but please don’t do it again. All the other
reporters out there know he had that coming and they’ll let it go
this time, but if you attack one of their own again, even him, then
they’ll see you as a threat and start labeling you as an arrogant
S.O.B who is full of himself. And that, is something I cannot
afford.”

Pike nodded his head, “yes sir.”

“Now if you will excuse me,” Cain said, “I’d
better get back out there before the Senator says something that I
will regret.”

As soon as Cain left, Pike turned to Mallory.
“Sorry Beth, I didn’t mean to embarrass you or Mr. Cain today.”

Mallory just shook her head. “It’s okay, but
don’t push your golden boy status. The press made you and they can
break you just as fast.”

Pike nodded his head. “Is there anything else on
the official agenda for today? If there isn’t, I’ll go to my room
and strap on my muzzle.”

Mallory laughed, “No, that won’t be necessary.
The rest of the day is clear so you’re free to wander around and do
whatever. Enjoy yourself because playtime will be over as you start
work tomorrow. It’s time to start earning those big bucks.” Mallory
said smiling at him.

“Thanks. I’ll think I’ll just get something to
eat in my room and lay low and relax. I need to be bright eyed and
bushy tailed for my first day on the job tomorrow.”

“Good idea.” Mallory said as she turned and
started to walk away. “Let me know if you need anything else,” she
threw in over her shoulder as she rounded the corner.