Catalyst (6 page)

"Are you going to back to her?" Courtney
inquired.

"No. Not now. Our marriage was finished anyhow."

"So why is she coming here?" Renee asked.

"I have no idea but it could be the chance to get her
name in the media. You know, the anxious wife waiting for her
entombed husband."

"So what else have you done?" Courtney added.

"Not a lot. I spent more time with the firm. Of
course, that could be another reason for Nikki's reappearance.
Epsilon Products
picked up that massive order for the
aircraft door latches and we never looked back. She has shares in
the company."

Renee studied the man sitting with them. "And I
wouldn't mind betting it was your effort that made your factory so
successful," she said in a quiet voice.

"Could be. A bit of being in the right place, too. I
did a business degree and brought in some innovations we had
learned, things the Japanese did twenty years ago but we are only
starting in this country."

"Tell me about it. I'm interested."

"I know it's the middle of the night but I'm
famished." Courtney gave Renee a sideways grin and slipped away.
"I'll get us something to eat."

"Oh, there were problems," Lem started. "It's often
harder to change people's attitudes than physical things..."

****

Lem arrived at work to find the foreman waiting in
the office. Mike Mackenzie was with the firm when he took it over
and was one of the old school, efficient and conscientious but
hesitant to change.

"We have a problem with the new assembly unit, Lem,"
he stated in his usual blunt manner.

"People or machinery?" Lem asked. "I thought you were
pleased with both."

"Oh, I am," the older man said. "The three operators
took their training to heart and are great. I only hope they stay
with us. The trouble is we are too efficient."

Lem almost laughed but saw his manager's serious
face, so instead he sat and waited for Mike to continue.

"We are putting through seventy units an hour. That's
more than one a minute. The old speed was one every minute and a
half."

"So? Isn't that why we invested in the new
machine?"

"Yes but as you know, the assembled units go on to be
tested for stress or faults. The tester can't cope with the speed.
We have a huge backup of units waiting and the pile is getting
bigger. They're stacked on the floor."

"I see," Lem replied. "I'll come and look."

The Asian girl sitting in front of the console smiled
at Lem when he arrived at the new assembly unit. It was completely
self-enclosed and looked more like a television studio than a
factory floor. Five monitors showed various states of the
production, while other screens filled with data showing speed,
stresses, temperatures and a host of other information.

"Mike said we're too efficient, Suzi."

"We are, Mr. Erksberg. We've been operating two hours
and the tester has just finished yesterday's back load."

"So we're churning out over a thousand units a
day?"

"One thousand two hundred and five went through
yesterday's two shifts," Suzi said. "But only six hundred and
eighty made it through the tester."

"And the failure rate?"

"Almost zero."

"So why don't we bypass the test?"

"We can't," Mike cut in. "The Boeing Company insists
on it being carried out."

"Fair enough," Lem said. "So what is the output with
this bottleneck slowing production?"

"Up twenty percent."

"So overall, we're still better off than before."

"Yes but there's still the bottleneck," Mike
grumbled.

"Run this assembler for sixteen instead of eighteen
hours a day. That'll give the tester time to clear the back
load."

Mike's face darkened, while Suzi appeared
apprehensive.

"What about Suzi and the other girls?" the foreman
said. "They'd lose an hour or more in wages."

"Is the end product as good as it was?"

"Better," said Suzi.

"So your efficiency hasn't dropped and we'll still
make our forecast profit on each unit."

The young woman nodded.

"Right," Lem said. "We'll pay you full time but when
you've produced enough in your shift to keep the tester at full
speed, you can go home. You and Mike work out the exact time."

"Gee, thanks, Mr. Erksberg. If I can pick up my kids
an hour early, it will save me babysitter money."

"You can't do that," Mike growled.

"Why?" Lem turned and glowered at the man. "You said
yourself we're producing more units with less failures."

"But the other workers?"

"As long as efficiency doesn't drop, the same can
apply to everyone."

"What about our collective contract?"

"Change it," Lem replied angrily and stalked off.

****

"He never appreciated that under the old rules, the
company would have gone bankrupt years ago and he wouldn't have a
job," Lem concluded. "Anyhow, it worked out well and Suzi goes home
an hour early on most days."

"And Mike?" Renee asked.

"Oh, he's still complaining, almost in spite of
himself. He's a good worker, though. He has his moan but when new
ideas come in he follows them through and has added a couple of his
own innovations."

"So you're from Seattle, too?"

"Yes. By the look of those stickers on your backpack
I reckon we must have booked our trip here through the same travel
agent. I can't remember you on the chartered flight, though."

"I didn't fly in," Renee replied. "I drove across."
She glanced at her companion. "I'd love to see your factory
sometime."

"And I'd love to show you around." Lem squeezed her
arm. "How's the ankle?"

"Fine. There's no pain. You're as good as any
doctor."

"Well, look at the splendid patient I have," he
whispered, caught Renee's eyes and flushed bright red as he stood
up. "I'll see how our young friend is getting on with that
snack."

****

Although there was continuous darkness in the cavern,
Renee's biological clock told her morning had arrived, that and the
sharp shake on the shoulder.

"Phone call for you, sleepy head," Courtney said. "My
God, can you snore."

Renee glanced at her watch. Eight-thirty. She sat up,
rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Well, are you coming? You're wanted."

"Can't you or Lem take it?"

"No."

"Okay, then." Renee found her crutches, crawled out
of the tent and hitched herself up. A moment later she was by the
microphone.

"Hello, Renee here."

"Sweetheart," came the voice. "How are you?"

"Daddy?" Renee gasped. "What are you doing in
Wyoming?"

"As soon as I heard I flew out, Sweetheart." Even
though the speaker crackled, Renee recognized a shake in her
father's voice. "You took a bit of finding, you know. How are you
coping?"

"Fine, Dad."

"But with a damaged ankle?"

"I have great friends down here looking after me
Dad." Renee grinned at Courtney. Lem appeared with a towel hanging
around his neck. "I'm all strapped up and it's warm down here. Now
that we're found it's just a matter of waiting to be brought out,
isn't it?"

"Oh, Sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay."

"You look after yourself, Dad," Renee said. "I'll see
you soon."

"Right..." Jack's voice rambled on for another five
minutes before he signed off and Stephanie came online.

"It will be awhile before we can get to you all,
Renee," she said. "We're sending more supplies to you soon so get
ready for another frankfurter chain."

"Okay," Renee replied and switched off to see
Courtney gazing at her.

"Your Dad sounds like a nice old guy."

"He is."

"You're lucky, damn lucky. I wish my Dad was out
there."

****

Sergeant Gary McKnight was impressed with Jack
Bonnett and glanced at Stephanie as the elderly man limped outside.
"I didn't want to alarm him but we have a problem. It's a bit of a
time bomb down there."

"How come, Sergeant?"

"I've been talking to some professor at a university
in California who's been studying the infrared photos of the caves.
That large red blob our friends are in is more than a cavity. He
pointed to a copy on the desk. See how the color changes to a
deeper red?"

Stephanie leaned over the sheet. "I can see a slight
difference," she said. "What does it mean?"

"This particular readout measures density. The colors
are reversed for clarity. The darker the color, the less dense the
ground layers. Red areas show gaps in the strata. In other words,
the caves."

"Okay. I understand. That's how we found this lower
cavity."

"But it shows more." McKnight grunted. "That slightly
darker mass below them is yet another cavity. See the thin cream
line?"

The officer nodded.

"That's the floor of the cavern they're in."

"But it's only halfway. They aren't at the
bottom."

"Exactly but worse still. The scientists I talked to
said the lower cavern is not filled with air but another gas."

"What sort?"

"We don't know but the guess is methane. It appears
from successive readings that it is leaking into their cavity. A
worse scenario is that it could be compressed and if disturbed
could ignite to blow up the whole cavern. A spark from drilling
equipment or electrical gear could ignite it."

Stephanie whispered, "So what do we do?"

"We're monitoring the air content. Their morale is
good, so we don't want to do anything yet. Meanwhile, a route in
has been found. It will take a day or more to reach them and as
long to bring them out." Gary nodded grimly. "Our job, Stephanie,
is to keep their morale up. Let Jack Bonnett talk to his daughter
whenever he wishes."

"And the other two, Sergeant?"

"Lem Erksberg's wife is coming but we have not been
able to trace the girl's parents. It seems she was a runaway who
has been in the state only a couple weeks doing casual work in a
motel."

****

The day that followed became an anticlimax with the
trio having to bide their time and wait. More supplies were
lowered, including oxygen cylinders with accompanying masks.

"Just in case," Gary McKnight replied when Lem
inquired why the oxygen was needed.

It was well into the night and Courtney was snoring
when Lem rolled over in his sleeping bag and saw Renee was also
awake.

"I think I'll go for a stretch and look at the
glowworms," she said.

"Can I come?" Lem replied in a hushed voice.

"I'd like that."

Lem held Renee's crutches, while she used her bottom
to slide her sleeping bag out the front of the tent. She accepted
his help, staggered to her feet and placed the crutches under her
armpits.

"Thanks, Lem. It's good to be mobile again."

"Take it carefully," Lem replied. "Remember, your
ankle is probably broken."

Renee smiled and nodded.

They moved slowly across the hard floor with Renee
manipulating her crutches successfully. Their world was silent and
within a few moments the light faded into the distance like a foggy
streetlight. They stopped and Renee dropped the crutches aside,
leaned against a massive stalactite and reached for Lem's hands.
Without a word he moved forward, tucked his massive arms around and
hugged her close.

"Lem," she whispered. "Will we really get out of
here?"

"I think so."

****

She was so close he could smell mint toothpaste on
her breath. Without thinking he bent forward and found soft lips
pressed against. That first kiss became frantic as she wriggled
into him and he could feel soft breasts rubbing against his
chest.

His body immediately responded.

But he knew how lonely he was. He wanted this young
woman. More than anything in the world he wanted her. It was more
than physical attraction he was sure but something that he hadn't
felt for years.

Expecting a sharp rebuff, he moved a hand up and
placed it on her breast.

"Oh, Lem," she whispered but did not move away.

Nervous fingers lifted up the sloppy jersey she wore
and whether it was by design or luck he did not know but her blouse
came with it. He could see heaving white breasts hidden by a scanty
black bra. She kissed him again, an almost violent French kiss.

Now Renee was helping. With a shy smile she undid his
shirt buttons and tugged it off. Nothing was said but her warm eyes
of passion focused on his as she wriggled back a step, undid her
bra and let it drop to the ground.

He reached forward and slowly ran his open palms over
her breasts and held her nipples between his fingers. By now they
were on the ground with redundant clothing and all pretense thrown
aside.

While her fingernails scratched his bare back, she
moved against him with passion Lem found difficult to control. My
God. All thoughts to hold back and relish the moment were
overridden by the sperm that bloated his organ. He held onto her
quivering buttocks, moved forward and entered her in gigantic,
frenzied thrusts.

****

"Your ankle?" Lem looked worried as they redressed
and he searched for the crutches. "I hope I haven't hurt you. I
should have stopped."

"Why?" Renee said with a smirk.

"It's just that..." He held the crutches out and
helped her to her feet.

She put her arms around his neck. "I believe we
needed each other and it happened. I'm proud what we did, not
ashamed."

He bent forward to kiss her soft responding lips.

They walked hand in hand back to the light of the
camp, found their sleeping bags and slipped in beside the still
sleeping teenager.

****

CHAPTER
6

It was almost eight o'clock when Renee awoke to see
Courtney staring at her in the dull light from the outside
bulb.