Си Бокс - Dark Sky

“Aloft, Inc. is in the planning stages to build the largest server farm in North America. It’ll cover miles and miles of ground, and the whole thing will be powered by the biggest single renewable energy project—wind, solar, all that crap—in the world. It’s a multibillion-dollar venture.

“What Aloft and Price haven’t determined is where to locate this monstrosity,” Allen said. “Everyone assumes it’ll be Texas, Nevada, California, or Washington State, but the determination hasn’t been made.”

“You’re thinking it should be here,” Ewig said.

That’s what Joe had concluded as well.

“Damn right,” Allen said. “We’ve got the land, we’ve got cool temperatures to keep those servers running, we’ve got cheap labor with all our unemployed energy workers, and we’ve got . . . me ! I’ll do just about anything to land that project, with or without our do-nothing Cowboy Congress.”

This would be his big win , Joe thought. This is what Allen thinks might propel him to reelection, despite his unpopularity.

“We need to get this state on Steve Price’s radar,” Allen said. “We need him to love us. Most of all, we need a commitment to get those construction dollars and new jobs before the peasants decide to revolt or the legislature shows me the door.”

Allen said to Joe, “I asked Rick for a recommendation on who should take Price elk hunting. I said I needed someone rock-solid. Despite my well-known feelings about you, he said your name. I know you have a ton of elk in those mountains of yours.”

Joe said, “There are plenty of actual hunting guides I could recommend. Good ones.”

“I thought about that,” Allen said. “Then I dismissed it. I don’t like the idea of some local rube taking him hunting. What if the local says he doesn’t like the Internet? Or what if he says this server project is ridiculous? That could screw up our chances. No, I need someone who works directly for me. Someone who’ll say nice things about me and the state and be totally accommodating.”

“Someone you can fire if it doesn’t work out,” Joe said.

“Exactly. And not only fire, but defund his entire state agency in these dire days of budget cuts.”

Joe glared at Allen.

“Could you live with the knowledge that your actions resulted in the unemployment of hundreds of colleagues?” Allen asked.

Joe felt his face burn.

“There are plenty of yahoos in the legislature who would support cutting entire state agencies,” Allen said. “Especially ones that some people feel have gotten too big for their britches.”

Joe closed his eyes and reopened them. He had a real urge to throw himself across the desk and throttle Colter Allen. Unfortunately, what the governor had said about some lawmakers wanting to defund state government had more than a grain of truth.

“We don’t really have a choice here, Joe,” Ewig said softly. Now Joe knew why the director hadn’t clued him in beforehand.

In the hallway after the meeting, Ewig asked Joe for a moment. They ducked behind a standing mount of a huge grizzly bear, stepping out of view of the receptionist’s desk that led to the governor’s inner office.

“I’m sorry, Joe,” Ewig said. “I’m sorry to put this all on you. It isn’t fair.”

Joe shrugged. His boss was correct.

“Don’t do it for him,” Ewig said. “Don’t do it for me. Do it for all of your colleagues and the state.”

“That’s a lot to ask,” Joe said.

“I know it is. But when the governor asked me for a recommendation for a guide, I couldn’t help but think of you. You’ve got elk experience, and you know how to keep your mouth shut. I needed someone I could trust to do this.”

“Thanks for that,” Joe said, looking away. “But what if the hunt goes pear-shaped? Weather could be a factor, or maybe we just can’t find the elk. Or Price gets a shot and misses. Or worse, he wounds an elk and we spend three days trying to track it? You know how it is in the mountains. Anything can happen.”

Ewig put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I hope you can minimize the risks. I hope you can get this done and get everybody down safely out of the mountains with an elk and nobody hurt.”

“I hope so, too,” Joe said. “I don’t like being away from my district for a week during hunting season. It makes me nervous.”

“I’ll assign somebody to cover it,” Ewig said. “Maybe I’ll even do it myself.”

“It’s five thousand square miles,” Joe said with skepticism.

“I’m aware,” Ewig said.

“What about licenses and conservation stamps for Price and his crew? What about him passing a hunter’s safety course?”

All hunters in Wyoming had to have a valid hunting license for the correct area as well as an annual conservation stamp. In addition, hunters applying for the elk license drawing were required to have completed a hunter’s safety course.

“We got a license from the governor’s allotment,” Ewig said. “I bought the guy a conservation stamp myself—all he has to do is sign it.”

“Hunter’s safety?” Joe asked.

“Price took an online course in California. We have reciprocity with them. Everything is legal, Joe. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Ewig reached back and pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Joe. “Price’s contact details are all on here. His point man is named Tim Joannides. You’ll need to work through him to coordinate the trip.”

“Not Price himself?”

“That’s not how it works out in Silicon Valley, I guess,” Ewig said.

“What happens if Price decides to locate his server project somewhere else?” Joe asked. “Despite what happens on this trip?”

Ewig ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. I can speculate that it wouldn’t be good for you or the agency.”

“Gotcha,” Joe said. His face was burning again.

“Keep me in the loop,” Ewig said. “I want to know how it’s going. Don’t be afraid to ask if you need anything.”

Joe shook his director’s hand.

“Don’t let us down, Joe,” he said.

“I think I got that point real clearly,” Joe replied.

THREE

After removing the rear seat of a rental Suburban to make enough room for all of the gear they’d brought with them, after waiting for Zsolt Rumy to pat down Brock Boedecker and the SUV driver to make sure they posed no threat to Steve Price, and after Price had insisted that Tim Joannides take a photo of him standing in front of the horse trailer with Joe on one side and Boedecker on the other, Joe ambled toward his green Ford F-150 pickup. He would lead the caravan to the trailhead at the base of Battle Mountain, followed by Boedecker and his eight-horse trailer and the rental SUV with the hunting party.

As he opened the door, Joannides appeared. He was out of breath from running across the parking lot from the Suburban.

“Do you mind if I ride along with you?”

“Nope.”

“I want to make sure we’re both on the same page in regard to everything we discussed,” Joannides said. He displayed a miniature iPad. “I’ve got it all on here. I thought if you forgot something, we could stop in town and buy whatever we need to.”

Joe looked at him. “Steve-2 just told me he wanted this hunting trip to be as authentic as possible. He said he wanted a real no-frills deal.”

“What Steve-2 says he wants and what he expects are often different things,” Joannides said. “It’s not his fault. He operates on a different level from the rest of us. But that’s why I’m here: to make sure we’re well-prepared for anything that might come up. You received my grocery list, correct?”