Chapter eight: things get worse
Lori, Leni and Lily are in the park. Lori and Leni are sitting on the park bench watching Lily, who is playing in a sandbox. Lily just finished building a sandcastle and started digging.
"Lily, if you dig too deep you'll come out in China." said Lori jokingly.
"Does that really work?" Leni asked.
"No. It's just a figure of speech. If you dig deep you won't come out in China."
Lori took a picture of Lily. Unexpectedly, Carol, Beckey, Dana, Mandee, Jackie and Fiona showed up.
"The Three Louds in the Park." said Carol.
"Hey everyone. What are you doing here?" asked Lori.
"This and that. You know us. You're probably here for Lily." said Becky.
"Yes we are." said Leni.
"Aww. Look at Lily." said Fiona.
Fiona pointed to Lily, who was sitting in the hole she had dug. All the girls saw was Lily's head sticking out of the hole.
"I said earlier that if she keeps digging like this, she'll get as far as China." said Lori.
Lily disappeared back into the hole and continued digging. Mandee bends over Lily's hole. Lily looked at her with wide eyes.
"She dug about forty centimeters deep." said Mandee.
"Treasure." said Lily, pointing to the bottom of the hole.
"I think she wants to find a treasure. Good luck. Pirate." said Mandee. Lily put a hand to her eye.
"Arrrr." said Lily.
"Exactly sailor." said Mandee, and went back to the others.
"That's what I call a grand fantasy." said Becky.
"I wish I had an imagination as big as Lily's." said Carol.
"Would be really nice." said Lori.
"Hey Lori, do you know anything about Natasha's father?" Becky asked.
"Yes. He's recovered and is back to work." said Lori.
"It was really scary. When the sirens wailed and it was said on TV that there had been an incident at the nuclear power plant, I thought it had exploded." said Carol.
"No, it was just steam. With a special nitrogen." said Lori.
"Fortunately there was no second Chernobyl." said Jackie.
"Natasha doesn't like to hear that." said Lori.
"What?" asked Jackie.
"Compare Royal Woods one and two with Chernobyl. According to Natasha, the difference is huge." said Lori.
Lily climbs out of her hole, holding something in her hand. It was a dead mouse.
"Damn Lily!" said Lori.
"That's a dead mouse!" said Carol.
"She really found something!" said Mandee.
"Oh my god, oh my god!" said Jackie.
Fiona gave a short yell and jumped to the side.
The girls all quickly distanced themselves from Lily.
"Yeah! Lily found a treasure." Leni said happily.
"Leni, this is a dead mouse." said Lori.
The moment Lori said the words dead and mouse, Leni jumped over the park bench and hid behind it.
"Lily put the mouse down. This is gross." said Lori, and went to Lily.
She took the mouse away from Lily and threw it into a bush. Lori picked Lily up.
"Now we have to wash our hands at a fountain." said Lori.
Lori walked to a fountain with Lily, holding Lily's hands and hers under the running water.
"Lily, you don't touch dead mice. It's disgusting." Lori said, rubbing the water on Lily's hands.
"Treasure?" said Lily.
"A dead mouse is not treasure. An old coin is treasure."
Lori goes back with Lily. The girls have calmed down.
"Brave how you threw away that dead mouse." said Carol.
"Someone had to throw it away." said Lori.
"Lily, pirates are looking for gold. No mice, gold." said Mandee.
"Gold." said Lily.
"Exactly."
"Before you were here, I took a photo of Lily. Here." Lori said, showing the photo of Lily.
"Cute." said Carol.
"In fact, she's really cute." said Mandee.
Lori turns the phone to Lily.
"Here. This is you." said Lori.
"Lily." said Lily.
"Exactly. That's you." said Lori.
Lily pulls herself up with her arms, leans into Lori and kisses her on the cheek. She wraps her small arms around Lori's neck.
"I like you too Lily." said Lori.
Lily begins to yawn and snuggles into Lori's neck.
"Cute." said Jackie.
"Lori, just a quick question, what's happening in the nuclear power plant? I heard it's shut down." said Carol.
"Yes it is. But only Royal Woods one. Block two was running as far as I know." said Lori.
"I thought it was fixed again." said Jackie.
"They need to refill the fuel. They're thin metal tubes that go in there. Natasha has a full scale model of one of those things." said Lori.
Lori took out her cell phone.
"Actually, Natasha is the best at explaining it." Lori said, dialing in a video call.
"Are you calling Natasha?" asked Carol.
"Yes. Who else?" said Lori.
The call was answered and Natasha was seen. She must have just eaten because she was chewing something.
"Hi Lori. What's up?" asked Natasha.
"Hi Natasha. I'm at the park right now. And some friends have a question." said Lori.
"Of course, go ahead." said Natasha.
Carol looks at Lori's phone.
"Hi, I'm Carol, one of Lori's friends. I wanted to ask how the fuel elements are replaced."
"Well, Royal Woods one and two have a boiling water reactor. First, the reactor core is shut down. When it's cold enough, the air that's in the top of the reactor is replaced with water. The cover in the reactor hall is taken off, and it's to see a huge pool of water." said Natasha.
"That's quite a lot." said Carol.
"Yes. And that was just the beginning. The lid of the reactor pressure vessel is removed and lifted to the side. And then a fifth of the fuel elements are replaced. These are lifted under water by a crane and transported to a spent fuel pond, where they are stored for five years need to cool down." said Natasha.
"Five years?" asked Jackie.
"Yes. Five years and the fuel assemblies will be cool enough for a transport. And they will be highly radioactive for thousands of years." said Natasha.
On Natasha's desk is a sandwich with bacon, eggs, onion salad and BBQ sauce.
"Could it be that you've gained some weight?" asked Lori.
"Possible." said Natasha.
Natasha gets up and walks over to a full scale model of a fuel element. She points to the fuel element with the camera. It was a meter high, and was made up of an extremely large number of thin metal tubes arranged in a square pattern.
"This is a full size model of a Lakeatom fuel assembly. Here, these thin tubes contain nuclear fuel. It contains 100 fuel rods in a ten by ten array. 648 fuel assemblies are in Royal Woods one reactor, and just as much in Royal Woods two. That's the power source which powers all of Royal Woods." said Natasha.
"Incredible. And is a real one dangerously radioactive?" Becky asked.
"No. Gloves must be worn during assembly, but these are made of cotton so as not to damage the fuel elements. These are weakly radioactive." said Natasha.
"That's incredible." said Mandee.
"It is. I have to hang up now. I have something to do." said Natasha.
"All right. Bye Natasha." said Lori.
"Bye." She said and hung up.
"She's extremely smart." said Fiona.
"Yes. Natasha keeps surprising me." said Lori.
"Natasha's only problem is that she's obese." said Becky.
"Natasha may be obese, but she lives her life in a great way." said Lori.
The next moment, Lori sees someone familiar. It was Frank Rivera. He walked slowly and dreamily through the park and smoked.
"Girls, see that man? The one with the gray hair and mustache?" said Lori.
"Yeah, what about him?" asked Carol.
"This is Rivera. The head of reactor block one." said Lori. Lori handed Lily to Leni and stood up.
"Mr. Rivera! Here!" Lori said loudly.
Rivera looked around. He saw Lori and walked towards her.
"You're a friend of Stevenson's daughter? Lara?" asked Rivera.
"Lori. What are you doing here Rivera?"
"I've got a day off. And you? You sure here with the group of girls?" Rivera said.
"Yes, and we talked about the nuclear power plant."
"I see."
"I wanted to ask how long it will be before the revision is complete." said Lori.
"The revision will take another two weeks. Then the reactor core will be started up again."
"And then you produce electricity again?" Fiona asked.
"Starting up takes twenty-four hours. And we will only synchronize with the power grid at 250 megawatts of thermal output." Rivera said.
"And when will block two of Chevalier go into revision?" asked Lori. Rivera blushed slightly.
"Well, block two is due for revision in two months. If you'll excuse me, I have to move on. I have a game of poker with a colleague today." Rivera said.
"All right. Have a nice day." said Lori.
Rivera left. Lori turns to the Girls.
"So in two weeks we'll have electricity from block one again." said Lori.
Mike is in the control room of block one. Even when a nuclear reactor is shut down, it needs constant monitoring and cooling. But Mike is always distracted. He can't get the measurement results he had measured the week before out of his head. He keeps wondering how it is possible that the same anomaly he measured years earlier at Three Mile Island showed up here at Royal Woods One. While Mike was thinking, he kept staring at the LED display, which showed the reactor's thermal output. But for more than a month the display showed 0000. Mike kept thinking. Suddenly he got a fright. Miller had tapped him on the shoulder.
"You don't have to scare Mike." Miller said.
"It's okay John." said Mike.
"Well Mike. I have to say I noticed how bored you are."
"Sorry. The reactor isn't running and I have something to think about."
"Don't worry. I just got off the phone with Celeste and you'll be helping out in block two next week."
"Oh thank you."
"You said you have to think about something. It's none of my business. But I've got enough people here in the control room, so you'll finish early today. Then you should have enough time to think."
"Thanks. Have a nice day John." said Mike, and got up.
"To you too. And a nice weekend."
Mike left the control room and went to contamination control. He changed in the cloakroom and went back to his car. When he gets home, his thoughts are still on the fuel elements. While having dinner with Natasha, Natasha noticed that he was a little absent-minded. The two ate meatloaf and salad.
"Dad? Are you okay?" asked Natasha.
"Yes. Yes, all right."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Mike kept thinking about it. He had an idea what to do. But he didn't like it.
"Tasha, I was talking with a couple of co-workers today and I'd like to show them your fuel assembly model."
"Take it with you."
"Thanks. I'll load it into the car later."
Mike looked at Natasha.
"Could it be that you've gained some weight?"
"Yes. A little."
When Mike and Natasha were done, Mike went into Natasha's room and took the fuel element model and picked it up. He felt the weight on his back. He carried it to the car, put it on the front lawn, opened the trunk and put it inside. When he arrived at the nuclear power plant the next morning, it was actually the weekend. He entered the main building with the fuel element model. The security guard Otis was at the entrance again.
"Mike, did you want to make a nuclear reactor at home?" said Otis.
"Would still fit me. Free electricity for me." said Mike.
"You know you can't fit through the X-ray machine with that?"
"Should I leave it outside?"
"No, let me, I'll let you through." said Otis, and opened a door next to the X-ray machine, which was very wide.
"You'll let me through without an X-ray?" asked Mike.
"Yes. But don't tell anyone."
"Well, thanks Otis."
Mike went to the fuel element store. He felt bad for betraying Otis trust. Mike went to the fuel storage facility and met the logistician Walter. Walter was in his early sixties, wore glasses and had light gray hair.
"Hi Mike. What have you got there?" asked Walter.
"A model my daughter built."
"Come put it on the table."
Walter took one end of the fuel assembly and the two of them placed it on a table. Walter took a good look at it.
"Oh shit. That's extremely precise." said Walter.
"When I was in Harrisburg, I called here and asked for blueprints. Then I built it with my daughter. Actually, it was mainly my daughter who built it, because I could never build something like that."
"Did you call about three years ago?"
"Yes."
"I got the same call three years ago. Then it was you."
"Oh. Do you know why I called here?"
"Why?"
"Because my daughter is a fan of this power plant. She also wanted me to come here to work. I'm here because of her."
"A fan of our nuclear power plant. Wow. Why did you actually bring it with you?"
"I wanted to compare it to an original."
"Okay. You know where the others are. Take out a few and compare them. I have to go to reactor hall one now. I can leave you alone."
"Okay. See you."
Walter left the room. Mike took the fuel element model and carried it to the other storage room. He looked around. No security cameras. He placed it next to a container and then put on cotton gloves. Mike opened the container and pulled out a real fuel assembly. Mike looked at the serial number.
"One of your brothers took me to the hospital." Mike said to the fuel element.
Mike took a fuel rod and twisted it out. He put it next to Natasha's model. He looked where there was an empty space and twisted the fuel rod into the model. He retrieved a gauge fuel rod from storage and replaced it in the real fuel assembly. He put it back in the container and sealed it. Mike was looking at a different container, from a different production line. He took the container, opened it, twisted out a fuel rod, and placed it on a jig in Natasha's model. He got another empty fuel rod and put it in the fuel element. Mike repeated this with a few production runs until he had thirteen fuel rods in the model. Mike replaced the last fuel element and removed the cotton gloves. He took Natasha's model and left the storage room unobtrusively. He went back into the main building. Otis was still at the entrance.
"Well, Mike. You were with Walter." said Otis.
"Yes. He liked it."
Mike started sweating. If Otis caught him now, it would be over. Otis opened the door next to the x-ray machine.
"So Mike. Have a nice day."
"Thank you. You too, Otis."
Mike carried the model to the car and put it in the trunk. He closed it and sat in the car. He took a deep breath. He took out his cell phone and looked at Whatsapp. Natasha had sent him a message.
"I'm going to the Mall."
Mike wrote back.
"In order. See you this evening."
Mike has enough time. He went home. When he got home, he opened the trunk and took out the model. Mike felt like a criminal. He put it behind the car and closed the trunk. Mike carried the model into the house and placed it in the living room. He went to the kitchen and got out some towels. He laid the cloths on the floor and began to take out the real fuel rods. He laid all thirteen fuel rods on the cloths and wrapped them up. He took these and went down to the basement. There he placed them on an old wooden table. Mike looked around. He looked at an old box that said Kira's Gauges. He took the box and pulled out some old equipment. He looked at all the gauges.
"I always hoped you would come back." said Mike softly.
Mike placed the gauges next to the fuel assemblies. He looked at these.
"I will find out your secret." he said and went up the stairs.
He took a key and locked the door. He got a Geiger counter from the bedroom and took measurements on Natasha's model. No contamination. He picked it up and put it back in her room.
Lori is in the basement looking for a book by Lisa in the basement. Lisa says there's a book about atomic energy in the basement. Lori sometimes feels a little ignorant around Natasha. She continued to search in the boxes, and suddenly she heard a knock. she looks around It was Natasha knocking on the basement window. Lori goes to the window and opens it.
"Natasha? What are you doing here?" asked Lori.
"We have one problem. Are your parents at home?" asked Natasha.
"No."
"Good. That's good."
Natasha crouches down and squeezes her arms and torso through the window. But when she wanted to squeeze her stomach through the window, she got stuck. Lori realizes that Natasha is stuck because Lori can barely fit through the window. Natasha is just way too big for the window. Natasha tries to squeeze through the window with her arms.
"Should I help?" asked Lori.
"No, it's okay." Natasha said, and kept trying.
After a while she gave up.
"You know what? I could really use some help." said Natasha.
"I told you so." Lori said, walking towards Natasha.
Lori took Natasha's arms and tugged. Lori pulls on Natasha, but Natasha doesn't move an inch. Lori takes a step back.
"Damn you got wedged. Really wedged." said Lori.
She looks at her.
"Could it be that you've gained more weight since the video call?"
"You're right, I've gained weight. I've eaten seven burgers, five pizzas and so much more in the past few days that I can't even count them all."
"Seven patties? Damn Natasha! This is so, so, so badly unhealthy and you know it! You're damn smart and you do this shit? You're already so obese and then you make yourself extra fat? Do you want a heart attack by the time you're thirty?" Lori said angrily.
"Lori, I..." Natasha said, but Lori interrupted her.
"No excuses Natasha. You know it. Somebody had to say it. And I did. And now I'm gonna get you out my window!"
Lori wanted to go up the stairs.
"Lori." said Natasha.
"What? I was about to go get help." Lori said, walking back to Natasha.
"While I'm stuck here, I can still explain the situation at the nuclear power plant to you." said Natasha.
"Natasha, before you talk, I'm sorry if I just hurt your feelings. But the way you're eating lately isn't healthy. It's what's best for you." said Lori.
"I see. All right, I'll try to lose weight." said Natasha.
"Good. I want you to be okay." said Lori.
Lori put a box under the window and stood onit. She tried to hug Natasha as best she could. Lori wrapped her arms around Natasha's torso.
"Lori, the official accident report from the NRC has been released." said Natasha.
"And what does the report say?"
"The fire in the nuclear power plant was not caused by tampering. The report states that there was an internal short circuit in the generator."
"This means?" asked Lori.
"That means we didn't meet Jack for nothing. That means Jack shot me in the shoulder, and Lola saw it, and it should never have happened."
"Okay. Natasha, I'm going to get help now." said Lori.
"Try to pull me in again." said Natasha.
"OK."
Lori takes Natasha's arms again, and pulls. Lori pulls harder than before. Natasha begins to move.
"Ouch."
"Should I stop?"
"Go on."
Lori moves on, and Natasha moves on again. Natasha's facial expression shows that it must have been extremely painful for her. Natasha's hip was now through the window and once her thigh was through there was no more resistance and Natasha slid through. Natasha fell onto Lori, and they both fell to the ground.
"Ouch. Lori? Are you okay?" asked Natasha.
"Yes. Except that I'm in pain now too." said Lori.
Lori got up and helped Natasha get up.
"I promise you I'll never get stuck again." said Natasha.
"I hope so." said Lori.
"So how did the fire at the nuclear power plant start?" asked Lori.
"Well, the number two generator had an internal short circuit which caused a fire." said Natasha.
"How can a short circuit occur so suddenly?"
"If you produce 500 megawatts of electricity all the time for 36 years, it's possible that the material is no longer in the best condition."
"I think we should confront Jack about it."
"You want to confront a neo-Nazi? Are you stupid? I can tell you something, if we go to Jack and his gang, then you must have your rifle loaded."
"Should I go there alone?"
"Of course not! I won't let my best friend go to a neo-Nazi gang alone. I'll come with you."
"Actually, Carol is my best friend."
"It hurts to hear, but that's okay. You're my number one, but I'm not your number one. That's okay."
"Don't be disappointed. You're still a very good friend."
"And you're my only friend."
"If people see you the way I see you, you'd have even more friends than me." said Lori.
"You're the only one who sees me like this. Let's get ready." said Natasha.
Both wanted Go upstairs, but they stopped.
"Before we go, can I have a snack?" asked Natasha.
"You're kidding me? Do you remember what happened five minutes ago?" Lori said, pointing to the window.
"You're right. No snacks for me."
"Fine. You get one last snack and that's it. After that, you won't have any more snacks." said Lori.
"Thanks. Lori, I'll try to get the weight off again." said Natasha.
The two went up the stairs. Lori went into the kitchen and brought Natasha a Snikkers. Natasha ate the Snickers and Lori went upstairs and got the guns. With magazines loaded, the two made their way to Jack's gang with Vanzilla.
"Lori, thank you for being so patient with me." said Natasha.
"We're friends. And I had to help you." said Lori.
"If I'm being honest, you've been a friend to me since the first day we both met. You're the first person to treat me like a friend in years. Thank you for that."
"You've been a friend to me since day one, too."
Lori pulled up in front of the warehouse and the two got out.
From the warehouse, the two heard a soft singing. Lori got the guns out of the trunk, and gave the assault rifle to Natasha.
"Quiet. Do you hear that?" asked Natasha.
"The singing?" Lori asked.
"Yes. Listen to the singing."
"Wherever we are, we're always moving forward! And the devil he's laughing at, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! We're fighting for Germany, we're fighting for Hitler, the red one never comes to rest."
"That is bad." said Lori.
"Totally right." said Natasha.
Lori and Natasha approach the door and knock. The singing stops. The two hear footsteps and the door was opened. The man who pointed the gun at Leni opened the door.
"Come in." he said.
Lori and Natasha went in and the man closed the door. They walked through the warehouse.
"Jack, look who I found." he said.
"Who did you find Kenny?" the two heard Jack ask.
"The Bismarck and her little friend." said Kenny.
"I'm not Bismarck." said Natasha.
"Stop hurting their feelings. They're both Aryans." said Jack.
They reached the middle of the warehouse and then they saw Jack and more of his gang members. The Reich War Flag hung on one of the shelves. Jack smoked and looked at the two.
"Nice weapons you have there." said Jack.
"We like guns." said Natasha.
"What do you want here?"
"The official accident report from the NRC has been released. The fire at the nuclear power plant was an accident. A short circuit in the generator." said Natasha.
"That's good. No Bastards who wanted to harm your father." said Jack.
"Yes. That also means you never have to shoot Natasha in the shoulder." said Lori.
"A warning never hurt anyone." said Jack.
"No one shoots at my friend." said Lori.
Jack takes out his Glock 17 and points it at Natasha.
"Otherwise what happens?" said Jack.
Lori and Natasha unlock their guns and get into a fighting stance. Jack's gang members drew their guns and pointed them at Lori and Natasha.
"Damn, put your guns down." said Lori.
"You take them down first." said Kenny.
"You take them down first." said Natasha. Natasha whispered to Lori.
"Lori, there are two ways this situation will end. We put down the guns, or we end up buried in the woods."
Lori considered.
"OK." whispered Lori.
The two secured their guns, and then Jack and his gang members put the guns down.
"Was that necessary Bismarck?" said Jack.
"You pointed a gun at me!" said Natasha.
"Well. As you to me, so I to you." said Jack.
"We go now." said Lori.
Lori and Natasha backed away from Jack.
"Stands still." said Jack.
Lori and Natasha stopped.
"You two are brave. I admire you. You two still get our help when you need it." said Jack.
Lori and Natasha back up and exit the warehouse. The two get into Vanzilla and drive off.
Lori and Natasha arrived at the Louds' house. The two got out and hid the guns in Lori's closet.
"Thank you for standing up for me." said Natasha.
"You're a friend of mine. I would do this for anyone." said Lori. "Thanks anyway." said Natasha, hugging Lori.
"You are welcome."
"Do you want to come to my house?"
"Okay. Let's go to you."
Lori and Natasha get back into Vanzilla. They drive to Natasha's house and go to Natasha's room. Lori seemed fascinated by Natasha's gauges. She looked at these on the shelf.
"This is impressive." said Lori.
"Of course. These devices were given to me by a friend of my father's. And some are even from my mother." said Natasha.
"If I may ask, what happened to your mother?"
"When I was 18 months old, my father woke up one morning and she was gone. Nobody knew where she was."
"I'm sorry for that."
Natasha seemed to consider what to say.
"My mother had a Hewlett Packard HP 85 computer from the eighties. I still have the manual somewhere." said Natasha, and ran to a bookshelf.
Natasha took a folder from the bookshelf and showed it to Lori. On the front of the folder were two old computers that looked extremely old. Then there was a man with a mustache on it.
"That is old." said Lori. "That's it."
"Our computer is also from HP. But I didn't know that HP was already building computers in the 80's."
"And the target group was quite different. The target group of this humble computer." Natasha said, pointing to the man pictured on the folder.
"Most of them were served by men with mustaches who all looked very important. Scientists. Engineers. We even have a computer in the basement."
Lori and Natasha went to the basement door. Natasha wanted to open it, but it was locked.
"Locked? Wait here, I'll get a hairpin." said Natasha, and went into the bathroom.
Natascha came back and cracked the lock with the hairpin. The two went down the stairs.
"My father used to belong to the target group of this computer." said Natasha.
"Why do you think." asked Lori.
"My father used to have a mustache like that."
Natasha began to search in the basement. Lori looked around. Thirteen metal tubes lay on a table and dark gray pellets lay on a metal plate. Next to it were gauges, which looked old. Lori picked one up and looked at it.
"Hey Natasha. What's this?" asked Lori.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"That gray pellet."
Natasha ran towards Lori, and when Natasha realized what that was and saw the metal tubes, she knew what it was.
"Shit put that down right now!" screamed Natasha.
Lori immediately put the pellet back on the metal plate.
"Come with me immediately! And don't touch anything!"
Natasha ran upstairs and Lori followed her. She was concerned. Was this pellet poisonous. Lori followed Natasha into the kitchen and there she turned on the water in the sink.
"Wash your hands. I have to get something." said Natasha, and ran into her room.
Lori washed her hands as best as she could. Natascha came back with a Geiger counter and started measuring Lori's hands. Natasha seemed to calm down.
"No danger." said Natasha, hugging Lori.
"Natasha, what is this stuff?" asked Lori.
"I have to measure first. But I'm afraid that my guess might be correct."
Lori and Natasha went back to the basement. Lori saw Natasha set her geiger counter to search. She walked slowly toward the pellets, and the writing on the Geiger counter screen turned yellow. Lori stopped, Natasha still approached the pellets. The writing on the Geiger counter turned red and it began beeping loudly in Morse alphabet SOS. Natasha went back to Lori. Natasha's fears seemed to be correct.
"Lori, do you know what the fuck that is?"
Lori shook her head.
"This is reactor fuel. Uranium."
"Where did your father get such a thing?" asked Lori.
"There is an answer. He stole it. He borrowed my model and must have stolen the fuel rods." Natasha said and Lori saw a tear run down her cheek.
"How is that possible? It's heavily guarded." said Lori.
"I don't know but my Dad can go to jail for that. And then I have to go to a children's home and I have to leave here and we don't see each other anymore." said Natasha, and began to cry.
Lori took Natasha in her arms and tried to comfort her.
"When your father comes home, we will confront him." said Lori.
"I don't want it. I don't want him to go to jail." said Natasha.
"I'll make sure he doesn't go to jail. We'll ask him to bring those fuel rods back."
"Thank you."
The two went into the living room and sat on the couch. When Mike got home, he realized something was wrong.
"Hi girls. Is something wrong?" asked Mike.
"Dad, where did you get the uranium from?" asked Natasha.
"Uranium? What do you mean?"
"There are thirteen fuel rods in the basement. Where did you get them?"
"What the hell do you mean?"
Natasha got up.
"Did you steal it?" Natsha said with a slightly angry voice.
"No. I didn't steal the fuel rods." said Mike.
"Look into my eyes." Natasha said, looking deep into her father's eyes.
Natascha's facial expression showed a kind of desperation.
"I can't believe it. You stole it, I can't believe it." said Natasha with a sad sounding voice.
"Tasha, I can explain..." Mike said, but Natasha cut him off.
Lori had never seen Natasha so angry. She was basically yelling at her father.
"I want the fucking fuel rods out of our fucking house by tomorrow." Natasha said and walked towards her room.
Lori got up and saw Natasha walking down the aisle. She screamed.
"Cocksucker!"
Natasha went into her room and slammed the door.
"Really well done mr stevenson." said Lori in a sarcastic tone.
"I just want to have a good life and people always fucked it up." Natasha yelled in her room.
"Lori. You have to help me." said Mike.
"What? Your daughter is pissed off at you and I'm not going to support you in something that's pretty reprehensible." said Lori.
"Lori. I need your help. Something's wrong with the fuel assemblies." said Mike.
"What do you mean, there's something wrong with the fuel elements?" asked Lori.
"Well, I know you're not too rambling on that subject, but there are isotopes in the fuel assemblies that don't belong there."
"Is that something bad?"
"I noticed the same thing at Three Mile Island years ago. And this level of impurity in reactor fuel is not normal. It would normally be detected, but someone doesn't want it detected."
"If I understand correctly, you mean that there is someone who deliberately degrades the fuel elements?"
"Not on purpose. It's more that the uranium centrifuges are being used for something that isn't allowed. You understand?"
"That would be a huge scandal." said Lori
"That's it. Please come with me." said Mike.
The two went into the basement and Mike went to the gauges. He took a uranium pellet with a pair of tongs and placed it in the meter.
"What are you doing there?" asked Lori.
"This is a device for analyzing the gamma spectrum." said Mike.
The device beeped and printed out a slip of paper. Mike took it and gave it to Lori.
"Show this note to Natasha. She will understand this data." said Mike.
Lori nodded and went upstairs in front of Natasha's room. Lori knocked, but Natsha didn't answer. Lori knocked again.
"Natasha. I have a note here, but I don't understand the things that are written." said Lori. Lori got no answer.
"I'm going to slide the note under the door now." said Lori, and slipped the note under the door.
Lori heard footsteps and heard the note being picked up. After a few seconds the door opened.
"That's not good. The isotopes don't belong there." said Natasha.
"That's a measurement from your father. I saw him take the measurement." said Lori.
"So my father had a reason for it." said Natasha.
Mike approached Natasha.
"I'm sorry. Really." said Mike.
"How did you find out?"
"I noticed this when changing the fuel assemblies. They are Lakeatom fuel assemblies, just like at Three Mile Island. And the readings of the used ones here at Royal Woods are almost identical."
"I'm still disappointed." said Natasha.
"I know."
"But, we are scientists, and therefore committed to the truth."
"What does that exactly mean, Natasha?" asked Lori. "That we have to research it." said Natasha.
"I will help you." said Lori.
"Thanks." said Mike.
"Good. We will find the truth." said Natasha.
"What do we do first?" asked Lori.
"We're building a real laboratory." said Natasha.
"Okay. We're going to build the world's best laboratory." said Lori.
"We will. And Dad, I'm sorry I yelled at you." said Natasha.
"Everything OK." said Mike, hugging Natasha.
Lori looked at the two. Natasha looked at her.
"It's weird when you're watching. Come here Lori." Natasha said, enclosing Lori in the hug.
"Girls, we're going to be an even better team than the A-team." said Mike.
"Exactly. The Stevenson Loud team." said Lori.
End of Chapter eight.