“Good. I’ll send the families a letter of condolences for the loss of their loved ones.”
“Very good sir.”
“What else do you have?”
“Well, this is a land line and I do not know how secure it is. I know you have the ability to scramble on your end but I don’t. I think I should fly back and talk to you in person,” Eller replied.
“I think that would be an excellent idea. Today is Tuesday, when do you want me to send a plane to pick you up?”
“I think tomorrow would be just fine. After we talk we can decide regarding our next step,” he said.
“Good. I’ll have a jet standing by for you as soon as you are ready to leave. I assume they will pick you up at the Janet Terminal?”
“That will be just fine. I look forward to talking to you in person Mr. President.
“The same goes for me. See you tomorrow, Raymond.”
Eller hung up the phone and started reviewing his notes from the past two weeks. He wanted to have a concise report ready for the President along with a better definition of his authority. At 6:30 p.m. he went back to Bay — 5 and found Dr. Yurris. They decided to just eat in the cafeteria at S-4 rather had having her cook for him or driving to the main base to eat in the dining hall. They sat and chatted as they ate.
“Well, it was filling but nothing like last night,” Raymond said when he had finished.
“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lynn said, smiling.
“Tell me, what exciting things happened today?”
“The first part of the day we had to have a meeting about what to do next, if you can believe that. I guess we had never discussed it. We were always working on getting it working and suddenly, it is. Anyway, we started building the platform for the reactor to bolt on to. It is going to take a little longer than I thought. Then we have to devise the fly by wire hookups and program the commands. I doubt if we will be ready to try our first test in less than a month. Still, considering we couldn’t even get the reactor to work until you came along, we are making significant progress,” she said.
“Don’t start that again. You deserve the credit. I told the President it was your project and you deserve the credit for the breakthrough. He is sending you a citation for your accomplishment,” he said, smiling.
“Raymond. That wasn’t necessary. I am embarrassed to claim the credit. It should be you that gets credit for setting us straight,” she protested.
“Too late now. You’re just going to have to live with your new fame. Listen, another thing. I’m heading back to Washington tomorrow to meet with the President. I need to bring him up to speed,” he said.
She looked at him with a slight frown, “How long do you think you will be gone?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. It will be up to the President. He will be the one to make that call. I could come right back or he may decide that I have finished here for a while.”
“What would that mean, exactly?” she asked.
“It means I could be stuck in Washington for several months,” he told her.
“I see. Well, I guess that was inevitable. I
still don’t have to like it,” she replied.
“What? With all these men around here?”
“Don’t be coy. You know I have enjoyed having someone to talk to besides my team members and the other eggheads here,” she said, looking straight into his eyes.
“I’ve enjoyed it as well. You have been a burst of sunshine down here,” he said.
He was just about to say something else when General Devin came walking towards their table.
“Mr. Eller. Doctor Yurris. Nice to see you both,” he said, sliding into the booth without waiting to be asked.
“General. Good evening,” Lynn said.
“I would like to talk to you when you get a chance, Mr. Eller,” the general said.
“Certainly. As soon as we finish, I will be more than happy to look you up. Any idea where you will be?”
“I think I will hang around here until you finish. I’ll go get something to drink while I wait,” he said.
“Don’t bother General,” Lynn said, “I need to get back to work anyway. Mr. Eller, thank you for sitting with me at dinner. It was much more pleasant than eating alone,” she said standing.
The General got to his feet and Raymond stood as well.
“My pleasure. I hope to run into you again sometime,” he said.
He watched as she walked out of the cafeteria before sitting back down. He had so much more he wanted to tell her but it would have to wait for a more appropriate time.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” the general said smiling.
“Just some small talk.”
“She is quite a looker.”
“She seems very nice,” was all that he would say. “Now, you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes. I understand you’re leaving us tomorrow. Back to the grind in Washington. I was just wondering what your initial impressions are now that you have had some time to look around.”
