Free Akasha 4 - Earth by Terra Harmony

radioactive waste?"
Carl interrupted.
    "Miniscule at best. A soda can's worth
of waste over the entire lifetime of each person. Can be buried
with insurances of a million years of safe storage."
    "Still not worth the risk, in my
opinion," mumbled Carl.
    They both paused in their work and
glanced at me over their shoulders, as if they wanted a final
ruling on the issue.
    "I'm still on the fence, guys. Sorry."
Actually, I was on top of the fence, standing on my tiptoes,
searching for Micah. I looked at Alex for support.
    "There are advantage and disadvantages
for both." Alex was turning out to be quite the
diplomat.
    The vessel jumped forward and Captain
Carl sounded the horn. Bee kicked to be let down, and ran to the
captain. "Me, me!"
    He laughed and scooped her up. "Wait
for it…wait for it…"
    I exchanged a confused glance with
Alex. Arnold had a smile on his face. Carl continued, "wait for
it…and…there! We are officially further than I've ever taken the
boat!"
    The two men cheered. Bee pulled the
horn.
    "Oh, man." Alex brought his hand to
his face, shaking his head back and forth.
    "Seriously?" I asked.
    "Yep. Before 2002, we had to move it
four feet from port every few months. A state requirement. But
after that – no need to sail it unless there was an
emergency."
    "Like this?"
    "Yep," he said, "like
this."
    "Too bad we couldn't
take that boat."
Alex pointed out the window. A large battleship-looking boat sat in
the water close to shore, the front half almost completely
submerged. The number 325 painted white on the bow stood prominent
out of the water. The only redeeming quality of the steamship
compared to the navy vessel was the fact that is was
river-worthy.
    The captain's shoulders sagged. "Yes,
well. Lots of other people wanted to take that boat somewhere.
After all the fighting, turns out what they should've been looking
for was a driver." He smiled to himself. "We're lucky the LST was
there, though – kept everyone away from good 'ole Spirit of
Evansville, here." He patted the instrument panel.
    I smiled at the irony as we passed the
navy warship. I was charging into yet another battle with Shawn,
this time on a gambling steamboat with the potential of exploding
on its own.
    The captain leaned over and said in a
low voice, "Toddler life jackets are in that bin, there." He
glanced over his shoulder, motioning with his chin.
    "Oh, well in that case…" I walked over
to the bin and pulled one out. I glanced at Alex. "Looks like we're
staying."

Chapter 14

    Thirsty?
     
    "Did you get him?" Shawn asked the
guard posted outside the building. Shawn, Clay, and a small
contingency of Elementals rolled up to the state capitol
building.
    "Inside, sir." The guard took their
bikes.
    "Don't call me sir."
    "Yes, S…Shawn."
    Clay's short legs had to work twice as
hard to match Shawn's pace up the steps and down the length of the
building. They were directed underground by various guards posted,
and into a small storage room.
    "Shut the door," Shawn ordered once
everyone squeezed inside. Shawn plus four Elementals, one of each
power, hovered over a man tied to a chair in the center of the
room. Clay sweated profusely, as did the man in the
chair.
    Shawn removed the duct tape from the
man's mouth. The captive rubbed his cheeks against his shoulder,
but didn't speak.
    "Gentlemen – this is the CEO of the
building company for Utah's first nuclear power plant." Shawn
circled the man, then stopped in front of him, bending down to the
captive's eye level. "What are you doing in Utah, rather than your
posh headquarters in New York?"
    The man cleared his throat, eyeing the
rest of the group. "I was here when Daybreak hit." He looked
around. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
    Shawn didn't answer his questions.
"And so you decided to hang out; mooch off the Mormons."
    "I…I…" the man stuttered, then trailed
off.
    "Understandable. Most of them were
more than prepared for an event like Daybreak."
    The man sighed. "I've