Chapter 8

The second anniversary of the beginning of construction on the island was approaching and Brad wanted to begin annual physicals for everyone. Vicky had a list of all the people who had been accepted to be citizens of Initium Novum, and as he looked over the list there were over one hundred fifty physicals to give and about fifty of them being children. Brad was going to have to look for a pediatrician and possibly a pediatric surgeon, as operating on a small child was a task he would only do as a last effort.

Marion Evans was struggling with bouts of depression as Brad informed her that annual physicals would be conducted over the next few weeks or as long as it took. Brad asked her if she knew pediatricians that could be considered to join them, and it would be really good if the Doctor had some surgical experience. Marion said that she had some friends that had their own pediatric clinic. They were childless and this is how they coped with the problem of not having children. Their practice had closed down as the small town they lived in had the last manufacturing facility close and there were only three patients left in town. Brad called Injerd and asked if a G650 or something was available to interview two pediatricians. Injerd said a plane would be ready when he was.

Brad, Maddy and Marion were on their way to Joplin, Missouri, after Marion had called her friend. They were driving from Gravette, Arkansas, about an hour's drive. They had already had their office packed and ready for shipment, they just did not know where yet. As the G650 taxied to the private terminal there was some excitement, as not too many G650s ever landed there. Marion, Brad and Maddy walked into the office as Mary Richards ran to meet Marion.

Walter Richards was slowly walking up to the group with an inquiring look on his face. He asked Maddy if she had ever done any work in Little Rock. She said that she had done a couple of operations on some men returning from Iraq two or three years ago. There was one of the men that she had wanted moved to Stanford Medical Center as the injuries on his leg needed additional surgery. The Air Force said the officer had turned down the offer. Walter looked surprised, as he said that he was never offered the opportunity to have additional work on his leg hence the cane and the limp.

As they sat and talked, the opportunity was explained to Mary and Walter. Brad said there were about fifty kids under the age of eighteen, and another large bunch on the way. As the Medical Director, he was looking for a pediatrician and a pediatric surgeon. Walter said his residency was in pediatric surgery, but the Air Force had him on a Medevac schedule when their aircraft was downed as they were landing in Afghanistan. So he was capable of cutting on anyone if it did not take too long, as he could only stand for a couple of hours. Maddy suggested that they get the show in the air and see if they could convince these two to join their crew.

As they took off, Injerd came back, reclining in a big seat for a few minutes. Brad looked at her asking what was wrong. She said that she had not had not had any trouble flying with Milka, but this new baby was giving her fits every time she flew. Brad asked her what month she was in, and she told him her seventh month. Walter told her as a certified flight surgeon she was grounded, and if the person in the right hand seat could take the aircraft to home base that was fine, but Injerd was not to return to the cockpit. Everyone was surprised at Walter's statements. Injerd said that Elisa was two weeks farther along than she was and was not having any trouble. Walter asked her if she had read the medical qualifications for pilots lately. Injerd said that the FAA regulations did not apply to her, as she was trained in Finland and was a registered pilot in Finland and Initium Novum. Maddy went to the cockpit and asked Elisa how long to home base and how long to Palo Alto. The information was 105 minutes to Palo Alto and 180 to home base.

Marion was examining Injerd when Maddy returned and told Marion the times. Marion said she would rather go to home base. Maddy returned to the cockpit telling Elisa to take the left seat, as Injerd had been grounded by the flight surgeon. As Maddy sat in the right seat she said this would be a good time for her to continue her instruction. She asked if there was enough fuel to make home base at plus Mach 1. Elisa did some quick calculations and said they had thirty minutes to spare as long as the head winds did not increase. She then called flight control and requested an altitude of 41 thousand feet and an airspeed of Mach 1.2. ATC requested a reason for the change. Elisa told them they were trying to avoid a medical emergency with the wife of the Monarch of Initium Novum. They were granted the changes and given information of aircraft in the area as they climbed to the new altitude.

As they were landing on the island there seemed to be something amiss, and as they taxied to the hangar Maddy noticed the engines died and had not been shut down. She asked Elisa when she realized they were so low on fuel. Elisa said that just after they reached the point of no return she pushed the throttles a little harder because of headwinds. As she re-figured the available fuel she realized that they would be on fumes when they landed. Then pleading, she said please do not tell Robert. All Maddy said was tell Robert what.

As they were heading for the hospital, Injerd told Marion that she was in a lot of pain. Marion just nodded as she picked up her phone telling the OR nurses to prepare for an emergency C-Section. Over the two kilometers, Marion talked to Injerd and kept her calm. Arriving at the hospital a gurney was waiting for them and they made a dash for the OR. Marion led the way, and was striping off street clothes and was handed scrubs as she started to get ready for surgery. Someone must have called Robert, as he came right in where Marion was scrubbing up and wanted to know what was going on. Marion looked at Robert and told him to get out as he was contaminating the area.

Brad took Robert by the arm and guided him out to explain that his next child was about to be born by C-Section. Brad was not sure of all the complications, but the child would be two months premature and Marion knew what she was doing. Besides they had returned with a pediatrician to take care of the baby after the C-Section.

Ten minutes after landing, Injerd was under and Marion was starting to cut. Mary was scrubbing up and putting on scrubs as she wanted the baby as soon as it was separated from the mother. Marion had just opened the womb when she saw the problem, the baby was not premature but was trying to breech birth. Both doctors were amazed, as Injerd kept saying she was only seven months pregnant. Even with the ultra sounds it appeared that she was seven months along. Then Marion remembered that when Injerd was pregnant with Milka she did not look pregnant. They were going to have to watch her in the future, as she never looked pregnant. Mary turned the baby girl up and swatted her behind receiving a satisfying yell. As Marion was finishing closing up the C-Section she realized that she had been very rude to Robert.

Marion left the OR to find Robert and the rest of the family. They were gathered in the waiting area and Marion asked how many knew that Injerd was pregnant. The other seven wives said they did, but they thought she was only five or six months along. Marion surprised them telling that the baby was a full term baby and was trying to breech birth. Looking at Robert she apologized for yelling at him, however he must never enter that area without the proper scrubs on. Then she said as soon as she found a pilot pregnant and could confirm they were in their second trimester they were grounded, and she expected him to sign an order stating so. Turning to Sarah, Robert said to make it happen today.

Tom Fitzgerald came to see Robert, wanting to purchase ten Antonov An-124 cargo jets. He was going to offer the Russian Air Force two million each for the planes and work from there. Robert asked how soon they were needed and if he could wait a week or so before approaching the Russians. Tom said within a month their land based warehouses would be at capacity, and they would have to lease space on a daily basis. Tom said that Sheila said that a Russian submarine would be here within a week, and the people on that ship could possibly provide information as the best way to purchase the planes and how to obtain the lowest prices. Tom agreed that was a good strategy and he would wait as long as he could.

Tom and Sheila were in his office when the control center called for Sheila. She was told that a woman was asking for her but spoke very little English. Sheila and Tom went to the control center and Sheila took the microphone. When contact was made, a Russian voice said it was Counter Admiral Larisa Masorina with a package for Sheila. Sheila said that a motor launch would be at sea in one hour, and asked for the coordinates of the package. When that was determined, Sheila and Tom left for the harbor and the power boat. When the power boat reached the GPS coordinates there no package. Minutes later a conning tower broke the surface. The boat never broached the surface except for the conning tower. As Sheila and Tom eased next to the conning tower Larisa looked over the edge to see Sheila's smiling face. Sheila grabbed a rung on the aft ladder, climbing aboard. The two women talked for a few moments when Sheila turned toward the power boat waving at Tom. As the powerboat headed for the harbor, Sheila gave Larisa the first heading to enter the harbor. Soon they were passing the first landmark and the second heading was provided. After the turn, Sheila suggested that the boat be raised to full surface depth, as the satellites could not track through the rock cover. The control center had the paths of all orbiting satellites, and with their paths logged this harbor was a completely hidden harbor from all nations. Within an hour RFS Arkhangelsk TK-17 was docked outboard of the USS Mississippi CGN-40.

That night the crew of the Arkhangelsk was at dinner with the Callahan family. Robert was amazed that two Russian Admirals, two university professors and an intelligence officer were at his home for dinner. Robert asked Larisa how he was to pay for the submarine and who to transfer the funds to. Larisa and Lenoid chuckled, telling him that he had purchased 24,500 tons of scrap metal that had been delivered to the steel smelters a week ago. With the price just over $3.30 per hundredweight, he owed 1.6 million dollars. He needed to transfer that amount to the Zvezdochka State Machine-Building Enterprise in Severodvinsk, Yagra Island, Russia.

Larisa turned to Sheila, wanting to know why she was so determined to obtain a very large submarine. Sheila told her that Robert was the best person to answer that question. Robert asked their Russian friends to close their eyes and imagine eight years into the future. Everyone could see the expressions change on their faces, and a few tears from the ladies' eyes escaped. Robert said that the island could accommodate five hundred adults plus any children. There would need to be several diverse occupations to feed the population and to maintain the technology available today. In four years the medical community will start to warn the governments of the world that carbon emissions needed to be cut by 75% almost immediately. Of course, the governments in their wisdom will not listen, and the rise in radiation poisoning would start to climb. About eighteen months after that is when the Islamic extremist would decide that the world must be cleansed of all infidels. When the calculations were made there would be mistakes; too much would be released, and the trade winds would not be taken into consideration. The time for the release of the biological germ was six years in the future. Robert then told them that the ozone was depleting faster than the scientist realized. The reason for the boat that they brought was to bring the astronauts to the island after the biological germ had done most of its damage.

Lenoid asked if all had been identified, and how people that would be a benefit in the future could be recommended. Robert told him that only just over a hundred adults had been identified. A committee had been established to review all recommendations. A recommendation could be a written one, or an oral one presented by the recommending person. Looking around the room, Robert said that since most of the storage area was complete and the cold storage area should be completed soon, they needed to start looking at families to meet the adult requirement, and get housing built.

Robert wanted to meet with all of the people he now considered citizens of Initium Novum. The nine of them were relaxing after a hard day at their offices when Robert broached the subject. Telling them what he wanted to do, he said that it would really be great if they could have a big BBQ, and then he could have a meeting with everyone. Sarah said she had a better idea than a BBQ, why not have Giovanni, Roberto, and Jose from the Mezza Luna prepare the dinner. There was a holiday coming up on the weekend, and Mezza Luna is normally closed on Sunday so they could have the entire restaurant to themselves. Sarah could have new passports from Initium Novum ready for the people from Russia so the US Government should have no issues with them coming. If Lenoid and Larisa agreed, she might Anglicize their names so that neither Russia nor the USA would pickup on who they really were.

Sarah asked Robert when he was going to talk to Giovanni, Roberto, and Jose and their families about joining them on the island. She knew that every time they went to Mezza Luna, she could see that he wanted them as a part of the island citizens. Robert said that of that group, all but Giovanni's wife Jena would be great. Jena was a prima donna as she thought herself above all other women and most men. Sarah said that Robert should take a look into her subconscious and see if there was an underlying problem that he or Dr. Amy could help her with. Robert called Giovanni and asked him if he and Sarah could have lunch with him, Roberto, Jose and their wives. Giovanni said that today would be a good day. Robert invited them to the condo for lunch.

When everyone was there, Sofia served French Onion Soup with open faced roast beef sandwiches. The three chefs were delighted to have a meal prepared for them, and when Jena started to say something negative Giovanni just looked at her and she became very quiet. Robert looked into her mind and was shocked to see a very insecure woman cowering in the back corner of her memory. As Robert looked around and started probing he saw what might be a reason for the insecurity. Her mother had died before Jena was two years old. She was raised by her Mother's maiden sister, and was always blamed for her mother's death. On the other hand, her Father always put her on a pedestal as his memorial to his dead wife, giving her everything she wanted. Jena had never been able to resolve the conflict in her mind and finally took the attitude of a prima donna. Robert made some mental suggestions that would help her see a path to happiness. He also planted a strong suggestion that she would want to spend time with Dr. Amy and develop a friendship that that would allow Jena to shed her demons.

Gayle and Dr. Amy were sitting in a room observing an interview with Ann. The two women were intent on the questions and Ann's body language. Gayle could see a fragile woman that could break at the slightest provocation. Dr Amy could see that, but also saw a determination to get her life back on track and find her sister. When the interviewer asked Ann what her deepest desire was, Ann said to find Gayle and beg forgiveness. Dr. Amy pressed a signaling button ending the interview. The interviewer told Ann that would be all for now and she had done very well. In a few minutes the interviewer came into the room where Gayle and Dr. Amy were. Dr. Amy greeted the man, introducing him as her mentor in her psychiatric residency and he specialized in cases like Ann's. Dr. Amy then asked Dr Gifford what were the chances that Ann was pulling a fast one to just get back at her sister. Gerry said the chances were one in several million in his opinion, as he had had her under hypnosis several times and saw no evidence of that. Dr. Amy and Gayle had a decision to make and it must be made now.

Gerry phased out for a moment and had a horrified look on his face. When he found his voice he said this can not be true. Dr. Amy assured him it was true and it would come to pass. Gayle called Nancy and she appeared immediately. Gayle introduced the two and asked Nancy her thoughts on Ann. Nancy went into a long explanation about Ann's mental health. Then summarizing she confirmed GG's assessment that all Ann wanted was to find Gayle.

With that, Gayle went to find Ann and begin their bonding. As Gayle opened Ann's door, the look on Ann's face was a mental overload, and she passed out. Before she could hit the floor, Gayle grabbed her and lowered her to her bed. Gayle wet a face cloth and begin washing her face. As Ann came around she began to mumble not another dream, please, not another dream. Gayle assured her it was not a dream, and she was here to take her to her home and to meet her husband and all her sister wives. Ann laughed, asking how many sister wives she had, and when Gayle said seven right now, but they were expecting more. Robert had eight sons and daughters that she would have to be an aunt to. With that, Gayle told Ann it was time to blow this place and go home. Ann looked embarrassed as she said she had no clothes. Gayle took off her coat and gave it to Ann, telling her that would do until they got to Neiman Marcus. With that the two sisters headed for the front desk and to check out. An administrative clerk told them that Ann had not been released. About that time Dr. Amy and Dr. GG walked up, with GG asking if there was a problem. The Admin said none of the release paper work had been done and that normally took two days. GG asked whose name was on the front of the hospital, and the woman said Gerry Gifford. He then asked her to ask her manager to see him, NOW. The woman was beginning to realize she may have screwed up. As the Administration Assistance's manager came in she threw her arms around his neck, he wanted to know how come it took two days to generate discharge papers. The manager pulled a form pointing to a line for his signature asking the reason for discharge. He said treatment complete. Gayle handed the manager her Visa. The manager said the invoice would take a while to generate, when Gayle said to run it for a maximum of a million dollars, and if it exceeded that to let her know. The manager swiped the card and put in fifty thousand dollars, almost immediately it came back approved. The manager said an itemized statement would be at her home or office by noon tomorrow.

Gayle, Dr. Amy and Ann headed for the car when Dr. Amy asked if Ann was wearing Gayle's coat. Gayle responded that Ann had to wear something to Neiman Marcus. When they left Neiman Marcus, Gayle's card was about five thousand dollars lighter until the bank realized it and replenished it. As they pulled up to the general aviation hangar, Eija and Katariina were the ferry pilots. When asked where Injerd and Elisa were, the two women smiled saying that Robert had grounded them for flying an overloaded aircraft again. Gayle shook her head wanting to know when they were going to learn. Katariina laughed as she said never. Eija asked Dr. Amy if she knew a Dr. Gifford, as he was on his way to the airport wanting go with her the to the island, and he was bringing his harem with him. Dr. Amy said it was fine as long as the G650 was not overloaded. Eija said not on her flight, and began loading the cargo hold. Looking at Gayle, Katariina asked her if she left anything for the other customers. Gayle said to Katariina this was all Ann's. With that they all broke up laughing when a small Subaru drove in and GG asked where to park. Gayle said leave the keys in it and the attendants would take care of it as she handed him a card to put on the dash. With that GG and three ladies in their late thirties or early forties piled out and boarded the plane along with everyone else.

Robert, Carolyn, Rodney and Gayle were discussing the latest security breach attempts when the topic of the Russian Mafia came up. Rodney reminded them until the biological release, that the Mafia would keep coming after them. Any place like Initium Novum would be an ideal location to control the world's organized crime cartels. Robert thought a moment and asked if Larisa could join them, all agreed. When Larisa sat down and heard the topic of discussion, she hung her head and a tear dropped to the table. She said that this was one of the largest stains on the Russian peoples and country. Robert asked what it would take to mortally injure these people. Larissa said that they would have to start with Prime Minister Piton and most of his cabinet. Then the heads of the military might be able to rise up and clean up the mess. But as long as Piton and his henchmen are in power there would be no clean up.

Robert said it was not possible to go after the government officials, but it might be possible to throw some fear into them. They set up a sting that would cause the crime bosses to meet in a place for a video conference. When they were gathered, the doors would be secured and a mysterious gas would be introduced and they would cease to exist. That might take the heat off of Robert and direct efforts to rebuilding the organization. There would be a lot of fights for power, and more of the criminals would no longer be players. Then messages could be sent to Piton and his henchmen to let them know they were next. Rodney said that he knew just the group of five men to make it happen. Robert said he wanted to meet with these men and understand the operation. Both Larisa and Rodney said no, the less people that know the less chances of a leak to the enemy. Robert agreed, but stated that their families would be relocated to Initium Novum before any action was implemented.

Rodney's beeper went off, and as he looked at it he said another boat was trying to land on the south shore and it would be taken care of. With that he stood and left, asking Larisa to accompany him. As Gayle was leaving she asked Robert to recommend Ann for citizenship and getting a condo. Laughing, Carolyn told Gayle that Ann had already been processed through the committee and accepted. Robert said she was family and had a suite of rooms on the third floor. Gayle broke down, hugging them saying thank you over and over.

Tom Fitzgerald and his staff reviewed the supplies on shelves, supplies on order, and supplies yet to be acquired. The lights suddenly went out and darkness was abound in the underground. Richard Baylor ran for the generation facilities. Upon entering he saw both generators were off line and the log showed a higher than allowable drain on the generators. Richard went to the charts to see which group was requesting the highest drain and was not surprised to see it was the construction crew. Opening all the breakers, he closed the main breaker and began closing the individual breakers, beginning with the hospital, followed by the condos and the main house.

After he left he went to find Elizabeth and Julie Wilson. When he located them he wanted to know how long before the Mississippi or the Russian sub could be brought on line, as the land based generators were maxed out and he had to shut down power to the construction areas. Elizabeth said he could not do that, as it was the most critical operation to their survival. Richard said to call a meeting of all department heads and let them decide which areas can be shut down and when.

As everyone was seated around the table, Richard explained the power situation and that everyone but the construction crew were fairly equal on consumption. The construction crew's demand was eight times the total of every other department's demand. The Mississippi alone could meet the total demand with one generator and allow periodic switching for maintenance. Richard told them the situation was at a critical stage, and the land based generators were showing signs of wear and would fail soon.

Robert turned to Tom Fitzgerald asking where they were in obtaining the fuel for the Mississippi. Tom told him that except for the one trailer load of nuclear rods, every avenue they had explored had turned up dry. Larisa asked what size rods were required and how many. When the specifications were stated and the number required, Larisa dialed a number waiting. When answered, she asked if this was a secure line and was assured it was. She then asked if the stockpile nu879 had been destroyed. She then said that they were to be moved today by ship to the deep north for deep storage. "If this happens today there will be thirty million rubles in your Swiss bank account." The Sinegorsk departed the Port of Vladivostok for the Siberian Port of Pevek; unfortunately the ship was lost at sea with all hands. The crew had a deal with the Iranian military to deliver the nuclear fuel for a lot of money. So the lives lost were thieves and murders. A strange ship appeared in the harbor and Larisa was notified of the arrival. When she inspected the cargo she realized it was the total stockpile of nu879. Then there was enough to refuel the Mississippi three times over. Julie and Elizabeth decided to store the excess at the bottom of the harbor.

The Russian cargo ship would have to be scuttled as soon as it was unloaded. The first priority was to fuel the Mississippi and get a generator on line. Then unload the remainder of the fuel. Six technicians appeared in suits, heading for the cargo hold they started to count rods. They needed approximately 234 rods to an assembly, and 146 assemblies to load the reactor, so when they were sorted out and inspected two were rejected and two others selected. Julie looked around insuring there were no unauthorized people on the pier. Julie put her radiation head cover on and asked if they were ready for the lift. She was given the OK; she had the crane operator lower the hook. Another hand signal and she directed the operator to raise the load then swing it over the open hatch doors on the Mississippi. Each assembly weighed about 3700 pounds and the total load was 547 thousand pounds. As she walked from one ship to the other, the operator held the load in position. Finally Julie had the load lowered to the deck. The two techs were immediately at work readying the rods to load into the reactor. The lights dimmed and went out. Jerking off her head gear Julie hit the pier running heading for the generator facilities, as she hit the door Richard was resetting the breakers. Richard said the Mississippi was the cause of the overload.

About that time Mike Osborn walked in, hearing the discussion he asked why the Mississippi was not using the diesel generator on board. All US Naval nuclear ships had backup diesel generators. Picking up the phone Julie dialed Tom Fitzgerald's number. Lenora answered the phone and Julia asked her if there was a diesel generator on board the Mississippi. Lenora laughed and said of course, all nuclear powered ships had backup diesel generators. She said she thought everyone knew that. Overhearing the conversation, Tom said he would have a thousand gallon bladder on the pier in two hours, Lenora said no, set it on the fantail where the fuel could be drained into the fuel tanks. Julie said thanks, then turning to Richard she said to keep the Mississippi off-line, and as soon as he could, go to the pier and open the breakers to shore power.

Walking, Julie was muttering what they really needed was an experienced engineering officer from the Virginia Class cruiser. That got Mike Osborn thinking that his cousin was an engineering officer aboard the USS Arkansas. Going back to his condo Mike called his cousin. Colin Osborn answered, and when he heard Mike's voice he was glad, as when he had moved from Baltimore and left no forwarding address he thought he had disowned the family. Mike asked how long it would take to get Lisa and the kids to the airport to come to California for a month's vacation. Colin said to hold a minute and there was discussion in the background. While he was talking, Mike called Rodney asking where the G650s were. Rodney said one was in New York and one in Dallas. The New York one was Robert's, and the Dallas one was general use but packed. Mike thanked Rodney and asked him to have Malissa, Julie and Tom Fitzgerald join him in his condo, stat. Also he asked that the G650 in New York be held until Malissa talked to Robert.

Mike returned to Colin and said they could be ready in an hour and Lisa would meet them at La Guardia international, and there would be six of them with the kids' teacher, Mike said get there. There was a knock on the door then it opened with Dr. Amy leading the way, she asked Mike what was going on. Mike said patience, love, you will like it. Turning to the other three he asked if any of them knew Colin Osborn. Julie Wilson and Tom Fitzgerald both nodded, then the lights went on in Julie's head. Looking at Mike she said he was in New York heading for the G650, if they could get a hold of Robert before he left, it would go a long way toward solving their electrical power problems. Malissa was dialing when she was told if she got Sarah first, tell her that Lisa Osborn was a lawyer for the UN and could be hired.