Heather frowned at the folding metal chair in the general’s office. “George won’t be in ‘til one, right?”
“At the earliest. He’s looking for enough security staff with the proper clearance, and is coming up short. He just might have to qualify some new ones.”
“Be right back.” She dashed out, and returned a moment later pushing Colonel Ba-kerga’s plush rolling chair. After moving the folding metal thing out of the way, she installed herself across the desk from the general.
He looked at her. “Something tells me you’re going to get your way in this negotiation.”
“Yes, but I have to be reasonable because without you, I’d spend the rest of my life . . . you know . . . hiding under bridges.”
He nodded. “So we need each other. Where do we start?”
“I’ve decided this place is usable, but it needs lots of work. Paint, carpets, hardwood floors, tile, curtains, light fixtures . . . and that ridiculous suspended ceiling has to go. All new equipment in the kitchen, lots of comfortable furniture, and a whole bunch of plants. Some artwork, pillows, a few other details. I’ll have complete lists, organized by phase, in a day or two.”
“We can get most of that done by enlisted craftsmen, but the equipment and furniture will be expensive.”
“I’ll be blunt. God is trusting us to do a little bit of the work He usually has angels do. We can’t hope to do that if our environment makes us feel like we’re in prison.”
NEBADOR Book Nine: A Cry for Help 37
The general rubbed his chin. “Interesting way of looking at it. You don’t want to tear out any walls or stairs?”
“No, the building is great. It’s just had all its beauty covered up for a long time.”
“Good. Which sleeping room do you want?”
“Neither. In fact, it’s okay with me if you continue to have safe-house people once in a while. My digs will be the recreation room and patio, my dance floor will be in the old conference room, and I’ll use the toilet room in the clinic.”
He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t expecting that. But I can see how they all form a suite . . . except when the clinic’s in use.”
“That’ll be rare, and when it is, I’ll use the staff toilet.”
The general made some notes. “Keeping it available as a safe house will help justify the expense . . . we’ll need a protocol for announcing when someone’s in the building without umbra clearance. Okay, what’s next?”
“Food.”
“Lunch is being brought in.”
She smiled. “No, I mean I want most of the food here to be several notches better than the usual military . . . um . . . stuff. Lots of vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, organic whenever possible, you know. So that means we need an open-minded cook willing to work with me.”
“Okay . . . Major Ma-soran is looking for the cook, so talk to her. Staffing a safe house was easy compared to this umbra level. Next?”
“I get any medical care I need or want, paid for by the military.”
“No problem. You can get almost anything done at the air base.”
Heather shriveled her nose for a second, but the general didn’t notice.
“Next?”
“I get Lisa or some other young, open-minded lady as a facilitator to drive, help me do banking and other business, go skating, whatever, during my free time. Priscilla Ka-mentha.”
“What?”
“My new, public name. Made it up last night at about three in the morning. I’ll need I.D.”
The general made notes. “Next?”
NEBADOR Book Nine: A Cry for Help 38
“Sixty
thousand.”
“I only make sixty-five!”
“Yeah, I wanted to be . . . reasonable.”
He wrote, but wore a wrinkled brow.
“And I have complete freedom to spend it, save it, invest it, give it away, burn it, anything I want.”
He looked at her for a moment, then continued writing. “Next?”
“Only to share what I think a good work schedule would look like.”
“I
was
hoping we’d get to your part in all this.”
She smiled. “Like I said last night, this won’t be quick and easy. Knowing the future is only part of the job, the part I can do. Figuring out what to do with that knowledge, if anything, will almost be harder. That’s where the team comes in.”
“I sense that, and I’m already looking into some highly-respected people from the University.”
“Good. So here’s my idea. You give me a topic in the morning. I take the rest of the day planning my presentation, maybe reading some background material. Then I sleep on it. The following morning, the team meets from nine to noon, the time most people are thinking best, and I share what I’ve got. Discussions will often continue through lunch and into the afternoon, and finally I’ll unwind, probably by going skating or dancing or something.
The next morning I get another topic. It’s a two day cycle, so three topics a week.”
The general looked at the seven-year-old girl and rubbed his chin. “I like it. It’s relaxed, but contains some discipline. You get topics Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, the teams meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Saturday, I’m completely free. I do this three weeks on, one week off, during which I usually get out of town with my facilitator, go camping, sightseeing, whatever.”
“That’s nine, almost ten topics a month. So each look into the future will cost us about five hundred, plus benefits.”
“Reasonable?”
He was silent for a long moment. “Reasonable.”