Wood's Reef (12 page)

“Would y’all excuse me for just a second?” he said while getting up. The southern accent was for the direct benefit of the Georgians sharing the table. 

He exited the banquet room, the aide in tow, glancing once again at the note. Panic cracked his voice. “Get Dick on the phone.” 

She pressed the chief of staff’s private number and handed him the phone.

The VP started pacing, waiting for an answer. Finally Watson picked up on the other end.

“Where did this come from?” Ward asked.

“It came through the form on the White House web page. I wasn’t sure if I should bother you, but we were talking about making an appearance down there the other day.”

“You did the right thing. Do we have a number for this guy? I vaguely remember something about this,” he lied.

“Working on that right now. We have an email, but should have a phone number momentarily.”

“Get it to me as soon as possible. And Dick, let’s keep this quiet in case it’s some crackpot.”

“No problem, boss. We’ll get you the number as soon as we have it.”

Ward handed the phone back to the aide. He wiped his brow and tried to breathe deeply. Relax. He hoped Watson would not question the immediacy and secrecy he was asking for.

Chapter 21

Mel was back on her phone, thumbs jamming away on the keyboard. The ride was smooth. She glanced over at Mac as he shook his head watching as she navigated the tiny screen. Basically a ludite, he didn't get it at all.

“You know your messages can wait ‘till we get back.”

“You know that thing’s a nuke, don’t you?” she glanced up from her Wikipedia screen. “The amount of military-related information on Wikipedia is astounding.” 

“How did you figure that out off that thing?” he asked.

“Duh, run a search on the picture and bam, instant results.” She decided it may be a good idea to tone it down a little. “Although the internet is not the source of all knowledge some think, it can be useful. What we have here is a MK 101Lulu. A 11-kiloton bomb used from 1958 to 1971. I wonder what it’s doing here?”

“That's what he called it — a goddamn Lulu.” Mac gazed out the salt-crusted windshield. “There’s all kinds of unexploded ordnance in these waters. From World War II through Vietnam the armed forces didn’t have the oversight they do now. There were huge swaths of land and water they were allowed to use for training missions and testing. Some are marked as munitions dumps on charts, others are unaccounted for. All kinds of stuff was coming in and out of here during those couple of months.”

“Surely even the Navy wouldn’t leave a nuke out there,” Mel said, “I know dad’s skeptical of the government’s ability to do anything. I am too for that matter.” The only thing they were good at was fighting her lawsuits she thought.

“The last storm must have shifted things around down there. I’ve dove on that ledge dozens of times and have never seen it.”

“The drone we saw,” she said slowly, starting to put things together. “You and Dad talked to someone he knew at the Naval station. Whatever his reluctance to give it to them, I bet they’re after it. I bet that was them.”

“I don't know why he wouldn’t just turn it over. You know how he is with authority, but it seems like there’s more to it. His contempt for the Navy guy and Ward was evident. Just kept muttering to himself on the way back about sinking both of them.

“Yeah, he’s used to keeping himself company on that island. Must have some great conversations with himself.”

They were silent, both processing the information available. 

“What if Ward, Gillum and Wood were the only ones that know it was a nuke. That would explain a lot - the secrecy and distrust. Gillum and Ward would be ruined if the truth came out that they had covered it up. Wood just needed the proof to do it. That explains why he wanted to see Gillum. He had no intention of turning it over. He wanted to let him know he had it.”

“I’m thinking we have two options. We either have to tell them where it is, provided they didn’t see it from the drone, or put it somewhere they won't find it,” Mel said, back in lawyer mode.

“If Wood doesn't trust the Navy, I’d say he has good reason. I know he can be an ornery old coot, but he’s got good sense. I’ve never known him to be paranoid.” He thought for a minute. “There’s some nuclear waste facilities I know about. A lot of compaction testing equipment has nuclear cores. We had to service and disable a few of them. I can look up what we did with the core material. Maybe just have to divide it up so no one gets suspicious. Aside from the primer, which I can probably disable, the rest is just a hunk of metal. We can take it and dump it somewhere deep.”

“I’m with you, except that we don’t know how stable it is,” she said. “The last thing we want is for that thing to blow while your messing with it and take half the Keys with it.”

“What about the Navy? They’re not just going to go away. I have a mind to go down there and confront them about that drone anyway. Spying on US citizens is not cool. I can turn this into a Federal suit, get the kind of attention this whole drone thing deserves. I can go down there and record the whole thing on my phone. Maybe get some kind of confession out of him.”

Mac choked. “We’ve got a live nuke out there and your worried about a case? Come on, girl, get some perspective.”

The ringtone from her phone halted the conversation. “Local number, maybe it’s the hospital,” she murmured, glancing at it.

She answered, listened, and asked a few questions. Then she hung up and sat back in relief. “He’s awake and asking to get out of there. That means he’s ok. We need to head over there before he causes any trouble. You know how he can get.”

Chapter 22

The humidity was taking a toll on Mel. She was acclimated to DC’s high humidity, but the Keys raised the bar on that index. She was thankful as the automatic door opened, letting out a hint of the air conditioning about to encompass them as they entered the hospital. She looked at Mac, not even sweating.

“Let me see him alone for a minute.” She went for the door. His eyes opened as she entered. The closest thing to a smile that anyone had seen on his lips showed on his face.

“Mel.” His voice was raspy from the ventilator. 

“Dad, don’t talk, it’s ok.” She took his hand.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing how to go from there. There had been a glint of happiness when they first saw each other, but as the minutes passed, the old uneasiness built.

Finally Mac entered and broke the silence for them. “How are you feeling? Glad to see you’re still tough as nails.”

Wood gave them a thumbs up. “My side hurts like hell, but I’m ready to get rid of this.” He looked at the IV. 

Mel gave him a disapproving look. “You are going to do what the doctor says, exactly. You’re not going to pull your usual crap and decide for yourself. Do you have any idea how serious this is?”

“Good to see you too.” He looked at Mel. “That damn fool doctor won’t give me a direct answer if it would save his own life.”

She teared up, “I’m sorry. I was really scared you weren’t going to pull out of it. I’ll find the doctor and use my lawyer skills on him.”

“Why don't you just smile and look nice? May get you further than that lawyer crap.”

The automatic closer slammed the door behind her as she left.

***

Mac looked at Wood, trying to evaluate his condition. “You clear headed enough to talk about the bomb?”

“Yeah, can’t feel half my body, but I hear you.”

“Mel and I were out at your place to check on the cammo job and make sure everything was ok. We heard some kind of buzzing and saw this model airplane-size drone cruising around. I think it was taking pictures.”

“Goddamn Navy. They can’t just spy on me like that. Sounds like old Gillum took the bait for sure.”

Mac’s brow furrowed, his suspicions confirmed. “Don't worry about that. The lawyer is all over it. Why don’t we just give it to them?”

“Can’t trust ‘em,” he said as he pushed the button on the remote, releasing another dose of pain killer into his system. His eyes drooped.

Mac was about to probe further when Wood’s head fell to the side. The monitor by the bed continued as before, easing his fears, but he sat and wondered why holding on to this bomb was so important to his friend. 

Mel broke his thought as she sat back in the chair next to the bed. “The nurse says the doctor will be up here in a few.” 

“Great. I’m going to get some coffee. You want anything?”

“Something stronger would be good, but coffee will work for now. I’ll wait up here and see what the doctor says.” She pulled out her phone and started pecking at the keyboard.

***

Mel was lost in her phone when the door opened. She looked up and felt naked. The doctor Hanson was looking right at her, not your usual ‘say hello’ look, this was definitely an ‘I’m interested’ look. Her hair was a mess, still blown from the boat ride, and salt rims were forming in all the wrong place on her t-shirt. What little makeup remained was from yesterday. She got the feeling he really didn’t care, but still felt awkward.

He gave her an approving nod and walked over to the computer monitor, chart in his hand.

“He looks stable. Really good, actually, for his age and what he went through. Name’s Dan.”

“Mel,” she replied combing her hand through her hair. “He's pretty darn tough.” She glanced first at her father and then at Dan. She tilted her head without even thinking about it. “What can we expect from here?”

He picked up on her body language, and smiled. “Well, you can expect a dinner invitation. He can expect some serious recuperation time. His internal injuries should heal by themselves, as long as he doesn’t get an infection. We’re pumping enough antibiotics into him for a large elephant, just for that. The bigger problem is the stitches healing. I don’t know him, but a lot of folks have warned me that he may not be an ideal patient.” 

Mel laughed and tilted her head again. “That’s my dad.”

“The stitches — staples, actually — are in a bad place. Forty-eight from his side around his back. He needs to stay immobile for a week to ten days, allow the wound to heal.”

She ignored his first remark about dinner and got to business first. “That's not going to be easy with him. Can’t you just drug him for a couple of weeks?”

Dan laughed. “That would be the easy way. We can probably release him in a day or two. You’ll just have to keep an eye on him. Is there somewhere he can stay and not get in trouble?”

Mel grimaced, thinking she would have to forfeit the next week of her life fighting with her father. She looked back at the doctor, then, thinking that it might not be so bad.

Mac walked in then, doing a juggling act with the door handle and coffee as Mel replied.

“We can put him up at Mac’s. That might give us a couple of dinners.”

Mac spilled coffee on his shorts.

Chapter 23

Vice President Joe Ward had a drink in one hand and the phone in the other. He was kicking back in his suite in Atlanta, winding down from the fundraiser.