Эбби Луби - Nuclear Romance

“So what’s with this leak business?”

“It’s just a leak. They’re checking it out.”

“It’s getting a lot of attention. Must be keeping you busy.”

“Yup.”

“Is anyone at the plant freaking out? I mean, is it dangerous because it’s radioactive?”

“It’s not dangerous at all. Nuke plants leak, that’s all. Hopefully this one will be stopped. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

She poured herself a second cup of coffee. She wanted to get cozy.

“But Robbie, I can’t get over how they do it—make electricity, I mean. Splitting an atom to make steam to run turbines for power. It’s a hell of a way to boil water!” She giggled.

He stopped eating and sighed.

“I’m impressed, Ma. You’ve become an expert on nuclear power overnight. Well, well, well.”

She asked for it. He was in no mood to defend the plant right now. Her efforts to make small talk rebounded with the message to lay off. Stella sipped her coffee silently and wondered if her son had plans to look for a new apartment.

The inspector’s report wasn’t good. The water was highly radioactive, over the allowable level for drinking water, a level set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The good news was that it was contained and hadn’t contaminated the drinking water, a fact Bob capitalized on in his press release.

“Wanna follow this up, Lou?” Owen asked, waving the release in front of him.

The college basketball game schedule was at its peak, and Lou was backed up on his story list. Another nuke story would totally jeopardize his popular byline. Besides, a story about a radiation leak meant hours on the phone just to get the facts right. The only incentive was an excuse to call Diana Chase as a way to connect, maybe in a different way, not work related.

But he had written about her once, which made her off-limits in the world of journalism. The golden rule was not to fraternize with people you write about. But it had been a long time since he was strongly attracted to a woman. He liked how it felt. If he stopped writing about her, the rule wouldn’t apply, and maybe they could become better acquainted.

Lou glanced over the press release. “Nah, Owen. I’m gonna pass. I’m too booked.”

“Right-o. I’ll give it the new intern. He’ll chase it down.”

Lou winced. Interns were free labor and everything they wrote was fluff, as opposed to a good in-depth story. Sometimes the kids cheated and just rewrote the press release with their byline. Oh well. His thoughts returned to Diana. Perhaps e-mailing her wouldn’t really break any rules. And the nuke plant wasn’t his real beat, so why not? Who would know, or care? He found her card and tapped open a blank e-mail.

Hey Diana. Nice meeting you the other night. Perhaps we can chat soon about nonnuclear stuff. By the way, here’s a heads up from the newsroom. ALLPower announced the leak is highly radioactive. Talk soon. Lou

From her school computer, Diana’s eyes widened. She immediately e-mailed Lou back.

Thanks for the nuke info. Are you covering the story?

He looked at the screen. Huh? That’s all she wants to know? He typed back a simple no.

Diana stared, puzzled, at the one word. It’s me he’s interested in and not the story? She shrugged. It was lunchtime and the outer office was empty except for Jen, who was preparing the principal’s announcements for the next day. The woman had proved to be a great asset, coming in almost every day for two hours and taking on more and more tasks. The full-time secretary was thrilled to have someone to manage the front office minutiae and, along with Diana, was hoping Jen would be formally hired for the part-time job.

“Jen? I need to make a bunch of calls. Can you take my calls for a while?”

“Sure. Everything okay?”

“No. Not really. It’s about the nuke plant. You know I’m involved with it, don’t you? They just found out that last week’s leak is highly radioactive. I need to organize a rally of some kind.”

Jen knew Diana stayed after school to copy information for her anti-nuke group. Curious, she recently asked Diana what was so wrong with the plant. It was a teaching moment Diana couldn’t pass it up. At the first quiet moment she motioned Jen to come in her office. In her hands was a large, thick folder.

“It took me a long time to get this document. It’s a copy of the evacuation plan for schools. It’s a bit daunting, to say the least.”

“Evacuation for what?” Jen had no idea what Diana was talking about.

“Evacuating the area in case something happens at the plant. Or for any other emergency disaster.”

“Uh… can you talk me through this CliffsNotes style?”

Diana bit her lip for a second, then flipped through the pages thoughtfully and found the one she was looking for.

“There is a section here that spells out what happens to the kids in school if there is an emergency. Basically, buses are supposed to take students to reception centers where presumably they will be safe.”

Jen looked alarmed. “What do you mean ‘take them’? Wouldn’t we just come get our kids and take them home?”

“Apparently not. If parents do that, police have the right to stop them.”

Jen stared at her. “You’re kidding, right? Parents forbidden to get their kids during an emergency? What would the cops do—stop us at gunpoint?”

“Yes. They have the right to do that. It’s right here in the plan.”

The surreal scenario raced through Jen’s head.

“There’s another thing,” said Diana. “Teachers are mandated to go with the kids on the buses taking them out of the emergency zone to the reception centers. That’s where the parents have to go to get them.”

“What’s a reception center?”

“For us, it’s a high school twenty miles away—the next town over.”

“And just how long are they supposed to stay there?”

“It depends if the kids have been contaminated or not.”

“Contaminated? How? With what?”

“If there’s a radioactive release at the plant, they would be exposed to radioactive isotopes. Carcinogens.”

Jen didn’t want to hear this; it was something she would worry about over and over. It had the potential to feed a growing paranoia. Could an accident of that proportion really happen? She had to know more.

“What do they do with the kids if they are contaminated?”

Diana paused. She could see Jen getting worked up.

“The plan spells out a decontamination routine. They make them strip off their clothes and then they spray them down with a special solution that supposedly lifts off anything toxic.”

Jen closed her eyes and pictured Ricky fighting off strange hands trying to undress him. No way would he willingly take his clothes off. Ditto for the older kids whose modesty was paramount. And who would be forcing the kids to do this? Teachers? Doctors? Emergency workers?

Jen looked at Diana with dread in her eyes.

“And this is why you want to shut down the plant? Will that make all the dangerous radiation go away?”

Diana took a deep breath.

“Not quite. The plant will always store radioactive spent fuel. But if it wasn’t running, eventually the site would have to be cleaned up. Then it will be safe.”

“How many years after they shut it down until it’s safe?”

“Maybe sixty or seventy. Hard to say.”

Diana saw Jen’s look of disbelief, a look she had seen before when spelling out the dire truth about the plant to folks who hadn’t a clue. She leaned over to the young mother and in low voice she said, “Jen? Have you ever wondered if Kaylee’s death had something to do with the plant?”