Page 14

Yes, Mother.

McGuire announced he had the computers up and running. DRB ordered, “Map of the area. One that’s got topography with elevation. All roads, paved or not. And I’m not talking Google. I want state survey maps.”

“I’ll get it,” McGuire said with a who-the-hell-is-this glance to Tolifson.

DRB’s binoculars now scanned Misfortune Row. “South side of the spillway.”

McGuire nodded like he got it but he didn’t.

“I want to blow it from twenty feet past the levee to that big oak tree there.” She was pointing.

“You mean…”

“The oak. The big one!”

“No, you mean, ‘blow’? With…explosives?”

A glance his way. “Whoever did your public works did a crappy job with the levee and a good one with the spillway. But it’s not made for this volume. It’ll start to overflow. You’ve got an hour before the water reaches that power substation.” She pointed to the large metal shack bristling with wires. “Maybe less. We need power for as long as we can. Communications, medical. I know a demo man but he can’t be here in time. It has to happen now. So? You have any dynamite?”

Tolifson was about to say, Not on me, but knew that DRB would not appreciate the slightest hint of humor.

McGuire said, “There’s the mine.”

“Well, it’s private. We can’t just use civilians like that.” Tolifson was frowning. “Not with explosives. Can we?”

Ed Gutiérrez had joined them. “What mine?”

Tolifson explained that the Redding copper mine was a mile or so west of town. Most such mines were open pits but this was a traditional shaft mine and used explosives to break up the rock at theface, deep underground. Every couple of weeks you could hear the warning whistle then feel the thud beneath your feet.

Apparently DRB believed that onecoulduse civilian explosives with no problem. She said, “I want a dozen sticks of dynamite, with a weight strength of at least sixty percent. Make it eighteen sticks. Gelatin would be even better.”

Tolifson was pausing. DRB glanced and he lifted his phone. “I’ll see.”

“And rock drills too. With fresh bits. You’ll burn through them fast but tell the owner or manager, whoever you’re calling, you’ll reimburse him the cost. It won’t be much.”

Easy for you to say…

Tolifson called the mine and got through to Gerard Redding.

The gruff voice: “Hanlon. I heard about the levee. What’s going on?”

He explained about the partial collapse and said the rest of it was holding for the time being. But they needed some explosives to divert runoff.

A pause. Redding asked, “From us?”

“From you, from somebody.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Han. I don’t do that myself. I use an outside company.”

“You have dynamite or something called gelatin there?”

“No. When we’re blasting, the company comes in, sets the charges and blows it, then leaves. Takes with them what they don’t use.”

“Thanks. You safe there?”

“I shut down. Got some volunteers sandbagging the perimeter fence. Man, I want to keep water out of the shafts. If it’s more’n two or three feet, I can say goodbye to the pump bearings. What’re the odds the whole levee’ll give?”

“I don’t know. It’s not looking good.”