Page 76 of Twice Missing

Before taking a seat, Noah glanced at the wall.

"Big operation you have going on here."

"Yeah, it's been quite the endeavor."

"I heard you hit a lot of roadblocks to get approval.”

"Par for the course. People are resistant to change but change has always been the way forward for humanity. What we are trying to do here is to create new forms of energy and lead us away from using fossil fuels into solar and wind. We are currently in thirty states and two provinces in Canada."

"Certainly creates a lot of jobs."

"That it does," Abel said proudly.

"I imagine that brings a lot of challenges with it too," Noah said.

"What business endeavor doesn't?"

"You've experienced a lot of pushback from the Native community?"

"Them and eco-friendly advocates. Once they see that what we are trying to do here is eco-friendly, they will eventually come around."

"Eco-friendly, but not people-friendly?"

Abel laughed. "Yes. I see what you mean there. We have bumped heads with many people but we are hoping in time they will see the benefits."

Noah took a seat. "The trailers outside. Those are all offices?"

"No, that's where our workers sleep. A temporary housing solution. It's easier that way. You avoid a lot of delays. Time is money."

"Like the man camps in the oil and gas industry," McKenzie said.

"Exactly. Housing shortages, the cost of motels, it all adds up. Though we don't like to use the phrase man camps, many of our workers are women as well."

"Are they?" McKenzie said. "How forward thinking," he added sarcastically.

Abel looked at him as if he didn't know how to take his sarcasm. Most didn't. Most ignored him; some simply got angry. Noah just filtered it out as white noise.

"I imagine at the end of a day, after a hard day at work they must go out of their mind looking for ways to blow off steam," McKenzie said.

"The casino is nearby, there are bars, they find ways."

"I bet they do," McKenzie remarked.

Noah quickly shifted the topic away for a moment before Abel took offense and closed up. "We were told you frequent the annual Pow Wow. What takes you there each year?"

"Establishing relationships with the Native people is critical to what we are doing here. Clear and supportive communication is at the heart of any operation. It's easyfor people to villainize us when it's just a corporation that they are dealing with. So I go there every year and make connections, talk to the people, answer questions, show an interest in their culture, and so forth…"

"Does that include showing an interest in their women?" McKenzie asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"What my partner was trying to say," Noah said, glaring at McKenzie, "was what was your relationship with Selena Lightfeather?"

"Friends."

"Friends with benefits?" McKenzie asked.

If there was ever a time Noah wanted to muzzle him, it was then.