Heather’s envelope on Thursday morning requested an overview of the country’s relationship, over the next decade or two, with a small nation that had nuclear weapons.
She expected lots of topics like this. They would allow her to impress the team with knowledge of things they thought were top secret, build a track record by predicting events in the near future, and slowly introduce more concepts they needed to know. And such topics focused on the remainder of that century, which was naturally more interesting to the military than the distant future.
By noon, she was completely prepared for the following day’s session.
The craftsmen ate lunch as if nothing special was happening, but everyone could see the big truck parked in front of the facility. Maria could hardly stop humming a happy tune as she tended the make-shift serving line.
After lunch, the four men, with barely-hidden smiles, sauntered around the newly-tiled kitchen, rubbing their chins and exchanging opinions.
Heather finally called their bluff. “Okay, guys, are we putting in kitchen equipment, or redoing more walls?”
They
grinned.
Maria let out the breath she had been holding.
They brought up a powerful electric winch, then covered the stairs with a thick sheet of steel. Ben and Matthew changed into work clothes, all six men
NEBADOR Book Nine: A Cry for Help 86
put on leather gloves, and the first refrigerator was carried into position at the bottom of the stairs.
Wide cargo straps were carefully placed by the craftsmen and attached to the winch cable. Everything was checked and double-checked.
“Gosh,” the foreman said when all appeared to be ready, “we need one more helper, someone smart enough to press the green button when I say go, and red button when I say stop. No delays, no back-talk. I wonder who could handle that critical task . . .”
Heather grinned as she stepped to the winch. “Would you explain that again, Sergeant? It sounded pretty complicated.”
The room erupted with laughter.
Once everyone got serious, the foreman checked the straps again, made sure all observers were safely out of the way, and said, “Go.”
As the huge refrigerator seemed determined to twist sideways, the process had to be stopped half a dozen times before the thing was finally upright on the second level. After the straps were removed, the six men made quick work of moving it to its new home in the kitchen. The foreman took measurements, the refrigerator was nudged into position, and Maria took over to prepare it for operation.
The second refrigerator, with glass doors, took even longer, and Heather was forced to put the winch into reverse a couple of times.
Finally, they brought the big stove to the base of the stairs. Heavier than the refrigerators, the winch moaned and groaned, but the big appliance stayed on course.
All six men collapsed onto chairs or couches, extracted their sore hands from leather gloves, and gladly received the cold drinks Maria brought out.
“That was the worst of it,” the foreman said. “The rest will be child’s play.”
They all grinned at Heather.
She
blushed.
Once everyone was refreshed, they brought up the three tall pantry cabinets, bulky but light, and the counters and work tables. Padding was placed on the stairs so the round dining tables could be rolled. Real wooden
NEBADOR Book Nine: A Cry for Help 87
chairs with soft upholstery came next, followed by several wheeled kitchen carts.
Maria was so excited by the new furniture and appliances that she almost forgot to take the dinner casserole out of the oven. After everyone ate and most of them departed, she stayed for hours more, moving food into the new refrigerators and making sure everything was working perfectly.
When the cook finally went through the exit procedure at nearly midnight, the security guard made sure the electric gate was secure, then dashed upstairs to make himself a snack in the brand-new kitchen.
Heather presented her memories of the future on Friday morning. The new philosopher, Doctor Larry Bo-leden, explained why one event that always followed another was not necessarily caused by the first event. They could just as easily both be caused by something else, with one coming to pass more quickly than the other by its nature.
Heather and Lisa did the lunch dishes as the craftsmen prepared to lay tile in the dining room. It went so quickly, with Heather’s help, that by mid-afternoon the five had moved on to refinishing the little clinic tucked away in the far corner of the building. The girl was visibly excited, as this was the first of three rooms that would soon become her private suite.