Chapter twelve: Gewehrpatrone 11
Claire opened her eyes. She looked straight into Mike's face. Claire remembered the night before. It was wonderful. "Good morning Mike." whispered Claire. She got up and walked out of the bedroom. Claire was still in her red gown and walked barefoot to the bathroom. There she washed her face, went to the toilet, and washed her hands thoroughly. Then she walked out of the bathroom and ran into a person. It was Natasha. Natasha was wearing a light pink shirt and pink jogging bottoms with her stomach sticking out slightly. The two looked at each other. Natasha surprised. Embarrassed Claire.
"What are you doing here?" asked Natasha.
Claire's cheeks turned red.
"Me? I was... um... you know... I mean..."
Natasha looked at Claire.
"Claire, did you go on a date with my father and did you sleep over here with him?"
"Um... yes. But how do you know that?"
Claire asked in surprise.
"You're wearing a red evening dress and you're not wearing any socks or shoes. You either like to walk around barefoot or you've stayed here." said Natasha.
"Yes. I stayed here."
The two looked at each other in embarrassment.
"I didn't know you liked pink." said Claire.
"Not so much. But the clothes are comfortable."
"Your stomach is hanging out a bit."
Natasha looked at her stomach and pulled the shirt all the way down.
"Thanks... I have to go to the bathroom then." said Natasha, and went into the bathroom.
Claire went back to Mike's bedroom and lay down next to him. She held his hand and looked at him.
Lori woke up too. She looked around. Leni was still asleep. Lori got up quietly and went to the window. It was sunny but there were few small clouds in the sky that looked like cotton candy.
"This day will be beautiful. That's for sure." said Lori to herself.
Lori went to her closet and put her clothes on. After that, she went to the bathroom, washed her face thoroughly, went to the toilet, and washed her hands thoroughly. Then Lori was ready for the day. When Lori left the bathroom, Lola came towards her.
"Good morning Lola. Did you sleep well?"
"Like always. Why are you awake already?"
"I have to get a new charging cable. In the 24/7 electronics market."
"From what I've heard, fabric-covered cables should be more stable. At least that's what Lana said."
"Oh, thanks for the tip. Bye Lola."
"Bye."
Lori went down the stairs.
She walked into the driveway, got in her car, and drove to the electronics store. When Lori reached the market, she remembered what Lola had said.
"Cloth-covered cables are more stable." Lori said to herself.
She walked towards the entrance, and at that moment she saw Hank and Hawk on the other side of the street. Lori immediately hid behind a black car. Hank and Hawk went to 7 Days hardware store. He was known for his big advertising campaigns and for offering all kinds of spray paint. That's why this hardware store was also popular with sprayers. Lori didn't care. If the two of them mess around and get caught, that wasn't Lori's problem. Also, the two of them almost ruined Lucy's Halloween corn maze, and all of Halloween. It would do them both good to get a punishment. Lori went to the Electronics Market and picked up one of the Cloth Covered Cables. When paying, she noticed that the cable was expensive. But the packaging said extra stable. Lori paid for the cable and went back to her car.
Ever since Natasha woke up, she's been upset. She argued with her father in his bedroom while Claire was having breakfast in the living room. And that was Natasha's problem. Claire. The reason was Claire.
"You can't seriously expect me to accept this Claire!" said Natasha angrily.
"I don't know what your problem is. Claire is very nice and you really need to get to know her better." said Mike.
"I don't want that! She's not my mother! And you're supposed to be faithful to Mom!"
"Tasha, your mother hasn't been seen in fifteen years. I have needs too!"
"No! Mom is your great love! Not this Claire!"
"I still decide who I love!"
"You always decide that! You don't even know what's good for yourself! You turned off your own dose counter in radioactive vapor! And unknowingly put yourself at great risk! You know exactly what happened to Alexander Akimov and Leonid Toptunov! Did you want to end up like that? Did you want to die?"
"Not in that tone, young lady!"
"Sometimes I wish you were exposed to a higher level of radiation, that you couldn't screw that up all the time!" After Natasha said that, she realized what she said.
Basically she said she wished he was dead. She noticed the expression on her father's face. There was no description for this. Natasha was terribly sorry. She wanted to apologize. Her voice caught.
"No... No. I didn't mean to say that. I... No."
Then Mike spoke. His voice was very calm.
"Natasha, go to your room."
"I'm really sorry. Dad, I didn't mean to..."
"Go to your room."
Natasha said nothing. She walked slowly to her room. There she immediately took cookie and hugged the plush cat. She could just hold back her tears.
"I hurt my father. I don't want to hurt him."
Mike wasn't much better. He went into the living room. Claire noticed that he wasn't feeling well.
"What's wrong Mike? I heard you had a fight with Natasha."
"We had an argument about you, her mother, and then she wished me dead."
"What? Was that my fault?"
"No. Mine. I should have informed her about you gently. Even if she doesn't remember Kira, she doesn't want me to replace her."
"Mike, my cousin had the exact same problem. He had started dating a new girlfriend and then he had the exact same argument with his son. Also, Natasha is still going through puberty. You know. Hormones. She'll probably be soon accept the situation."
"I hope you are right."
Mike looked at his watch.
"I'm going to take a shower. We're going to work in an hour."
"Okay. I would have to take a shower after you too."
"Okay. I'll leave warm water." Mike said, giving Claire a quick kiss on the lips, and going to the shower.
Lori finally reached her home again. She entered the house and was promptly surprised by Leni.
"Hi Lori. Where have you been?" Leni asked.
"I got a charging cable. A cloth-covered one."
"Covered in cloth? OMG, what color?"
"Black. And it's not a dress."
"Oh. Then what is it?"
"A cable."
"Since when do cables conduct cloth?"
"No Leni. A cable conducts electricity."
"Oh, thanks Lori."
"You are welcome."
"And how was the buying?"
"Well. Normal. Except, I've seen Hank and Hawk. And I think they both wanted to buy spray cans. I don't know what they're up to. But it's definitely not good."
"Well, as long as they don't do anything mean to us, it's all right."
"Yes. Actually, yes."
"We should check on Lily."
"Okay. I haven't even seen her today."
The two went up the stairs to Lily. She was playing with blocks in her room and had built a kind of castle.
"Hi Lily. Do you build with blocks?" said Lori.
Lily crawled towards Leni. Leni picked her up. Lily hugged her older sister.
"Aww. I love you too Lily." said Leni.
Lori didn't know why, but somehow she thought about swimming. She didn't know why, but it gave her an idea.
"I'm just wondering if you two would like to go to the Waterpark?" said Lori.
"Swimming pool." said Lily happily.
"Oh. Then I can finally put on my new bikini." said Leni.
"You have a new bikini?"
"Yes. Bought it yesterday."
"I hope it's not the bikini I wanted to buy."
"Don't worry. I don't want to risk an argument with you."
"Well, thank you."
With these words, the three went to get their bathing suits and went to the water park. The three changed in the changing room. Lori with her typical Cherenkov rays blue bikini, Lily with her violet swimming trunks and Leni with her new bikini. This one was turquoise with gray mounts. Leni was proud of her bikini.
"And what do you think of that? Do you like it?"
"Yes. It suits you." said Lori.
Lily just nodded. But that was confirmation enough for Leni. Lori looked around. She was in this locker room with Natasha the day they met.
"Here I was with Natasha. Four hours after I met her. That was three months ago. And a week before the nuclear power plant incident."
"Exactly here?" Leni asked.
"Yes. Right here."
"Pool." Lily said, pointing to the locker room exit.
"Yes. We're going swimming now." said Lori.
In the water park, Leni lay down on a lounger.
"Make sure you put on the sunscreen." said Lori.
"I have."
"Okay. Come with Lily."
Lori and Lily went into the pool and Lori floated on her back in the water. Lily quickly climbed onto Lori's stomach. Both Lori and Lily thought that was funny.
"Lily. Do I look like a ship?"
Lily laughed and splashed some water on Lori's face. The drops hit Lori's eyes and it stung quite a bit.
"Lily. No. The chlorine in the water hurts my eyes."
"Sorry." Lily said a little quietly.
"I'm not angry, I just don't want you to splash that water on me."
Everything is being prepared in the control room of Block 1 in order to be synchronized with the power grid again. Mike looks at the red LED meter, which shows the thermal output of the reactor core. At the moment the display showed 0000. More than fifteen people are in the control room. Rivera enters the control room.
"Okay guys, you know what to do. Stevenson, prepare control rod groups 1 through 5. Miller, when the thermal output reaches 350 megawatts, you will spin up turbine one."
"Roger." Miller said.
"Yes indeed." said Mike.
Rivera spoke to a worker standing in the back of the control room.
"Inform the energy distributors. Now no electricity is consumed, now electricity is generated."
The worker nodded, and went to the Big Control Panel, where there was a telephone. He dialed a short number. "Block one control room. We're starting to power up." said the worker.
"Understood. We are preparing everything for synchronization."
"Good, thanks."
The worker hung up. Mike went to the large control panel and began extending the control rods from the reactor core. As Mike pressed the last button, an audible signal began to play. It rang like a doorbell, and rang three times. Mike drove the second control rod group out of the core.
"Groups one and two will be driven out. I'll start with the rest to reach criticality." said Mike.
"Roger." Rivera said.
Mike brought out the rest of the control rods. The red LED display jumped to 0001 megawatts. The workers cheered.
"We have reached critical mass. Done!" said Miller, delighted.
The display jumped to 0003 megawatts.
"Three megawatts reached." said a worker.
The acoustic signal sounded again. Mike looked at the gauges. Now he was content. The display jumped to 0004 megawatts.
"Let's heat up the core. At 300 megawatts we'll start up the turbine." Rivera said.
At the same moment, Chevalier and Natasha are walking through the corridors of block two. Like Chevalier, Natasha wears the white clothes and white cloth cap.
"I'm disappointed in you Natasha. Even Isabelle doesn't say things like that. And she uses swear words like me." said Chevalier.
"Yes Mrs. Chevalier." said Natasha.
"I can't believe it. You should know how bad ionizing radiation is. Your father told me in the hospital that if he didn't have you, he would have himself shot because of the pain he was in."
Natasha nodded. The two entered Chevalier's office.
"Sit down."
Natasha sat down on a chair. Chevalier took a CD out of a drawer and put it in a computer.
"Now listen carefully. Listen to these recordings."
Then press Chevalier on play. A beep sounded, and then Natasha heard voices that sounded like they were extremely scared. They were phone calls.
"Royal Woods Fire Department, Station 3."
"This is Beaverton, watch one. What's the matter with you? Why are your troops requesting reinforcements?"
"We're moving out to the nuclear power plant!"
"Are people there?"
"Yes. And reinforcements are on the way!"
A sound was heard, and other voices could be heard.
"I sent watch one and three."
"No! Send everyone out! Wake up the night shift!" Another sound came.
"Sergeant Black?"
"Yes?"
"Hello, this is Viktor from the civil protection! There has been an incident! Radioactivity is said to have leaked."
"Oh. Did they confirm that?"
"No! The workers reported escaping steam. But nothing was confirmed!"
Another tone sounded.
"Wilford black. Who's there?"
"This is Alexander Antonov. We have a nuclear power plant worker with Acute Radiation Syndrome! There was a lot more radiation than expected!"
"What's his condition?"
"Critical! If we don't do anything he could die!"
"Where was he abandoned?"
"We don't know! He's unconscious! His daughter brought him to us!"
"Understood! We'll start measurements immediately! What's the worker's name?"
"Mike Stevenson!"
"Then save Mike Stevenson! If cesium 137 or iodine 131 has escaped, the whole of Royal Woods is in danger!"
Another tone sounded. The recording was over.
"What was that?" asked Natasha.
"Those were just a few of the countless calls that were made that day. You saved your father. The man who gave you life. You have to understand that the people who love you are the most important thing."
Chevalier took out a cigarette and lit it. She drew on the cigarette and let the smoke float across the room.
"I had a fight with my husband four years ago. When I think about it, I realize how stupid that fight was. We argued about the material of the kitchen countertop. Louis wanted chrome steel and I wanted German marble. We yelled at each other. I know not how it could come to this. The next day we didn't talk. We were angry with each other. We went to work. I went to the Fessenheim nuclear power plant and my husband to the railway station. Five hours later I got a call. My husband's construction train collided on a regional train. And what was the price? The last time I saw my husband, it was in an argument. Now I just have Isabelle, and those damn cigarettes."
Chevalier took a drag on the cigarette and looked at Natasha.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes I understand." said Natasha.
"Good. This is very important." said Chevalier, drawing on her cigarette again.
Meanwhile, Leni, Lori, and Lily go up the stairs to ride the Red Water Slide. Leni sat down on the slide and looked at Lori and Lily.
"See you later."
Leni slipped away. Lori sat down on the slide with Lily, and placed Lily between her legs.
"So. Let's wait a minute."
Lori waited a moment. But for Lily it was an eternity.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
Then the two slid off. Lily had rarely had so much fun. She laughed. At the end of the slide, the two were slowed down by a lot of water.
"Once again." said Lily.
"Naturally." Lori said, walking back up the stairs with Lily.
Then it started all over again. Lily laughed exactly the same as before. The two had a lot of fun. When Leni went back to her place, she met none other than Jackie. Jackie wore her pink bikini and waved at Leni. The two were happy to see.
"Hi Jackie. Nice to see you." said Leni.
"I think so too. How are you?" asked Jackie.
"Good. I'm here with Lori and Lily."
"Cool. That's cool."
"Come on. Let's see where they are."
"Oh yes. I like Lily. The little one is just adorable."
Leni and Jackie went to the slide, where Lori and Lily are just reaching the end. Lori got out of the pool with Lily and put Lily down.
"Hi Jackie. How are you?"
"Good. Must be fine."
Lily went to Jackie and looked at her. She waved up at her.
"You're trusting. Come here." Jackie said, picking Lily up.
Lily moved closer to Jackie's face and their two noses touched like the noses of cats greeting each other.
"You are really cute." said Jackie.
"It occurs to me, Lily asked where you are. Where were you Leni?" asked Lori.
"I felt a bit tired and wanted to lie down again." said Leni.
"Why are you tired?"
"I couldn't sleep. There was a concert on our street somewhere and it kept me awake for a while."
"Those were my headphones. I was listening to music."
Jackie was amazed.
"Either you heard your music unhealthily loud, or Leni has extremely good ears." said Jackie.
"Probably a mix of both. Oh while you're here Jackie, want to hang out with us?" asked Lori.
"You're asking? Yeah." said Jackie.
Meanwhile, the reactor at Royal Woods nuclear power plant had reached 200 megawatts. But at this stage things can get tricky. A worker standing next to Mike received an alarm signal. The worker looked at the displays. John Miller went to him.
"The water level in the separator drums is low." said the worker.
"Try to keep him up." Miller said.
"Are you two wondering? Each of the control engineers knows that the Seperator drums bitch at low power." Rivera said.
"I know that. The problem happened to me once before in my first week." Miller said.
"Good. Then you know how to fix it." Rivera said.
The worker pressed several buttons and looked at the displays. The alarm sound was still active, which bothered Mike.
"Hey Sven, turn off this alarm. It's giving me a headache.
"I'll do it." said Sven the worker.
Sven pressed a button and the alarm went silent. But a few seconds later the acoustic signal of the reactor core control sounded. Mike looked up the gauges.
"We're down to 230 megawatts." said Mike.
"Wonderful. Then we can start up turbine one soon," Rivera said.
In block two, Natasha helped Chevalier with the clerical work. She sorted various letters and documents. She saw a letter that looked important. She gave this Chevalier.
"This is Mrs. Chevalier. From the Great Lake City interim storage facility."
"Okay. Let's see." Chevalier opened the letter and read it.
"Terrific." said Chevalier, delighted.
"What is this letter about, may I ask?" asked Natasha.
"The Great Lake City Interim Storage Facility is ready to interim store our Old Fuel Elements."
"It's good."
"Yes. That's it. What else is with the letters?"
Natasha looked through the letters, and found a postcard addressed to Chevalier. There was a nuclear power plant on the postcard, and underneath it was an inscription. Natasha couldn't read the language, but most likely it was French. The writing read, Centrale nucléaire de Fessenheim. Natasha gave Chevalier the postcard. She looked at them and smiled slightly.
"Oh chers collègues. Je ne vous oublierai pas non plus."
"I beg your pardon?"
Chevalier looked at Natasha.
"I said I won't forget you either. This postcard is from my old friends from France."
"Oh, that's great."
"That's right. That's something Isabelle needs here."
"How do you mean that?"
"You know how children are. Isabelle doesn't speak English at all, in fact she has quite a problem learning. And that doesn't make making friends easy."
"I know."
"Mike told me about your problems back in Middleton. Isabelle is no different."
"Yes. I know how difficult it is. But Isabelle doesn't speak any English?"
"None of them is wrong. She speaks it very broken and misspells sentences. But one of the first sentences Isabelle could say was, do you want to be my friend?"
"Cute."
"Yes. But yes, she still has to learn."
Chevalier turned to her computer and began to work. As she did so, Natasha noticed something on Chevalier's right arm, which was slightly uncovered by the fabric. A tattoo with a date. 4/14/2015 11:19.
"Mrs. Chevalier. What is that tattoo?"
"This? This is Isabelle's date of birth."
"Oh. With time?"
"Yes. I'm quite accurate."
"You have to take certain things very seriously."
"Yes. But you shouldn't exaggerate either."
"Good argument." said Natasha.
Chevalier kept typing.
"Have you ever seen pictures of Alexander Akimov?" asked Chevalier.
"Yes. Also Leonid Toptunov, and Anatoly Dyatlov, who looks exactly like Frank Rivera." said Natasha. Chevalier blushed slightly when Natasha mentioned Frank Rivera.
"Yes. But you know what happened to those three people?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then tell me."
"Alexander Akimov died of acute radiation sickness in Moscow on May 11, 1986. Leonid Toptunov on May 14, 1986. Dyatlov died of a heart attack at the age of 64."
"Why were these three men exposed to radiation?"
"Because of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster."
"Exactly. Now imagine your father had received such a high dose as Akimov."
Natasha considered. She remembered how her father looked after the incident. Mike received a dose of 120 REM. Akimov received a dose of 1500 REM. Natasha knew that if her father had received such a dose, he would not have been alive and would have died in agony. Chevalier looked into Natasha's eyes.
"Do you now fully understand what you said to your father?"
"Yes."
"Do you understand what that means?" Natasha was silent and nodded.
"You only have one father. And he's very important."
Natasha had to hold herself back from crying. Chevalier got up, went to Natasha and put her hand on her back.
"You're allowed to be disappointed in him. But remember, he's your father. And the bond between you is as hard as steel."
"Will he forgive me?"
"You already know the answer."
Natasha knew what Chevalier meant. That reassured Natasha.
When Lori, Leni, Lily and Jackie left the water park, they were looking forward to the evening.
"I look forward to sleeping." said Leni.
"Then sleep more at night." said Lori.
"I tried that."
"Sleep earlier today. Tomorrow is school." said Jackie.
"That's a good idea." said Lori.
"Okay. I'm going to bed earlier today." said Leni.
"That's good. Because you probably don't want to fall asleep in school and..."
Jackie was cut off. A few fire engines drove through on the main road, followed by chemical protection and radiation protection vehicles. The fire engine drove towards Royal Woods with the sirens on.
"Did you see that?" asked Jackie.
"Yes. Those were people from radiation protection. Dosimetrists." said Lori.
"What are dosimetrists?" Leni asked.
"These are people measuring radiation."
"Did something happen at the nuclear power plant?" asked Jackie.
"I don't think so. Otherwise the sirens would give a general alarm. And I don't hear any such sirens." said Lori.
"Then is it an exercise?" asked Jackie.
"Yes. Just the other day I saw a helicopter flying in the direction of the nuclear power plant. These are actually all exercises." said Lori.
"That's good. I don't want an accident like a few months ago." said Jackie.
"Yes. I don't feel like that either." said Lori.
"Shall we see what they're doing?" asked Lori.
"Sort of yes." said Jackie.
"Good. Get in my car."
The four climbed in and followed the fire engine. When the fire department pulled into Radium Street, the four of them felt strange.
"They're going to the nuclear power plant." said Lori.
"Something happened?" Leni asked.
"I hope not." said Jackie. Lily clung to Leni. The nuclear power plant was always better to see.
"Everything looks normal there. Except for."
"Except for what Jackie?" said Lori.
"Look at the cooling towers. Steam is coming out of the one that says RW 1."
"Then block one will be operational again." said Lori.
The fire engine stopped in the parking lot of the nuclear power plant and the fire brigade got out. Then Lori saw some people she knew. Mike, Natasha, and Chevalier were standing behind a man in a black shirt. Lori pulled into the parking lot and the four of them got out. Leni held Lily in her arms. The man was talking to the firefighters.
"Guys, that was almost seven minutes. In a disaster, every second counts. But you made good time. We're going back to the fire station."
The firefighters got back into the fire trucks and drove away. Lori, Leni, Lily and Jackie went to Natasha, Mike and Chevalier.
"What was going on here?" asked Lori.
"Exercise. We want to be prepared for anything." said Chevalier.
"Yes. We just finished work." said Mike.
"Nice to see you four." said Natasha.
"Me too." said Lori.
Chevalier checked her cell phone. She pointed to the high-voltage lines leading away from the nuclear power plant.
"Attention, synchronization is about to start." said Chevalier.
At that very moment, one of the huge main switches in the power distribution moved and a huge arc was formed. It was pretty loud. Then it was quiet. Chevalier seemed pleased.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Royal Woods one is back on the grid." said Chevalier.
"The Word Director Carlson pleased." said Mike.
"Director Carlson? Is that the director of the nuclear power plant?" asked Jackie.
"Wait, I thought Chevalier and Rivera were the heads of the nuclear power plant." said Lori.
"I have a boss too." said Chevalier.
"Exactly. Overall direction is with Director Carlson and Deputy Director and Chief Engineer Williams." said Mike.
"It's getting more and more complicated." said Leni. "Should we talk about neutron flux moderators? Believe me, this is interesting and complicated." said Natasha.
"Exactly. You know, graphite is very slow at catching a neutron." said Mike.
"Exactly. But heavy water is probably the best solution. Mainly because of the deuterium content." said Chevalier.
"Huh?" said Leni.
Lori, Lily and Jackie were no different. The three didn't understand anything.
"Almost like a secret language." said Natasha.
"That's the language of science. But don't worry. It's not important in normal everyday life." said Chevalier to Lori, Leni, Lily and Jackie.
"I'm reassured. I would never understand that." said Leni.
"Lisa would understand that though." said Lori.
Lori heard footsteps behind her. She turned to find the face of a man in his mid-sixties with a gray mustache and a bald head. He wore an army uniform, and looked extremely stern. He was talking to Chevalier.
"The exercise was just about satisfactory. But the fire brigade has to be quicker."
"Understood Sergeant. I'm sure the fire service will get better." said Chevalier.
"Excuse me, who are you?" asked Jackie.
"I'm Wilford Black. I'm the commander of the chemical protection squad and the radiation protection squad. If something happens, I'll be the first one on the scene."
"Aren't you afraid of leaking radiation?" asked Lori.
"I fought the Taliban in Afghanistan. I'm not afraid of radiation." said Sergeant Black.
Lori didn't know if that was good or bad. A man who didn't fear radiation.
"I have to go. Ladies, Mr. Stevenson." said Sergeant Black, walking to a black car where an army guard was standing.
The guard opened the door, Sergeant Black got in, the guard got into the driver's seat, and drove away.
Lori checked Sergeant Black's car, then checked her phone.
"About time. Jackie, Natasha, want to eat with us?" asked Lori.
"With pleasure." said Jackie. Natasha looked at her father.
"May I?" asked Natasha.
"Never mind. But you'll be home at 8:00 p.m. today. We still have something to clarify." said Mike.
Lori, Leni, Lily Jackie and Natasha went to Lori's car. Natasha squeezed into the passenger seat. Jackie and Leni sat on the back seat and Lily on Leni's lap.
"Are you ready?" asked Lori.
"Yes." said Leni.
Lori started the engine and drove off.
Chevalier looked at Mike.
"Mike, I have to inform you that there will be a security test in block two soon. And we need experienced staff."
"What kind of test is it?"
"After the accident, many people said that our nuclear power plant was unsafe. We will prove otherwise. When the reactor core is shut down, we will shut off the steam supply to the turbines and measure how much electricity the generators are producing. Does that sound familiar to you?"
"Very. Has that been approved?"
"Yes. Professor Clarkson and Professor Schröder rated this test as safe."
"Then we can run the test without any problem?"
"Yes. We have a BWR-6, not an RBMK-1000."
"Certain people will protest."
"Yes. But since the test is safe, it will definitely be carried out. Royal Woods will never become a second Pripyat."
"That's the way it is. We know what we're doing."
Ten minutes later, Lori, Leni, Lily, Jackie, and Natasha reached the Louds' house and got out. Jackie had been intrigued by a question for a long time.
"Hey Natasha, how are you feeling with your weight?" asked Jackie.
Natasha got angry easily.
"Is that important? How do I feel about my weight?"
"Not really. But say it anyway." said Lori.
"I hate it! I hate being asked about my weight! I'm not even that fat! I'm just above average! What would you say if I used to ask you guys about your physical characteristics all the time? Believe me, that's not funny at all!"
Lori approached Jackie and whispered.
"She got stuck a couple of times in some situations." whispered Lori.
"I heard that!" said Natasha.
The five walked into the Louds' home, and were immediately greeted by Lincoln.
"Hi everyone. Where have you been?" asked Lincoln.
"At the water park." replied Lori.
"Except me. I was at the power plant." said Natasha.
"Cool. How was it?"
"Hard to explain. Hey did you hear the new Ace savvy game has been released as a closed beta?"
"This means?" asked Lincoln.
"That there's going to be a game coming out that you'll like."
"Talk about games later. I'm hungry." said Lori.
Natasha sniffed. Of course, Lori was hungry when the smell of rabbit sausage and mashed potatoes hung in the air. The Louds, both Jackie and Natasha, sat down at the table and began to eat.
"What have you done today?" asked Rita.
"Leni, Lily and I were at the water park and met Jackie." said Lori.
"Was Tasha there too?" asked Lincoln.
"No. I was somewhere else." said Natasha.
"We met them when the fire brigade was exercising at the nuclear power plant." said Jackie.
At the word fire engine, Lily made the sound of the sirens briefly, and then laughed.
"How was the water park?" Lynn asked.
"Good. Lily had tons of fun while sliding." replied Lori.
"What are your plans for tonight?" asked Luna.
"I go to bed early. I have to be fit for school." said Jackie.
"Why?" Leni asked.
"Because sleeping is healthy." answered Jackie.
Jackie continued to eat. When the Louds, Jackie and Natasha finished, Jackie got up. "Was very delicious Mr. Loud." said Jackie.
"I am glad." replied Lynn Sr.
"I have to go home now. Have a really nice evening."
"Thank you. Take care." said Leni.
Jackie left and the Louds got up.
"Oh, now clear the dishes again. How I hate that." said Lola.
"You just have to take it to the kitchen. Is that so bad?" asked Lana with a serious sounding tone.
"Nah, but I still hate it."
The Louds cleared the table and Lori and Natasha went upstairs to Lori's room. The two just entered Lori's room when her cell phone rang. It was Jimmy Clarkson. Lori took the call.
"Lori Loud." said Lori.
"Ah, well Ms. Loud. Because of the research you're doing, I have something else that might help." said Jimmy Clarkson.
"That's good. What is it about?"
"A man calling himself 'the messenger' has information on certain Lakeatom production lines."
"Where did he get the information from?"
"My private investigator checked him out. He's a Lakeatom employee, and he's actually peaceful. But if you hit him, it'll be with a loaded gun and no safety."
"Okay. And where do we meet him?"
"I'll send you the GPS coordinates."
"Good. That is very accurate."
"That's right. Good luck."
"Thank you Mr. Clarkson." Lori hung up. She looked at Natasha.
"Tasha, we're getting information on the fuel assemblies." said Lori.
"Good. That's great. And by who?" asked Natasha.
"He calls himself 'the messenger'. And we... We should go with loaded guns."
Now Lori realized what that meant. Loaded Rifle. Lori shook her head and went to the closet. She took her K31 out of the closet, and a white little box. There was a large number on the box. 591-1100. Above it was written "Gewehrpatrone 11". Lori opened the box and picked up the ammo. Then she took the magazine and loaded it. Next to the gun bag were ammunition mounts, which Lori could use to quickly reload. Lori loaded three and put them in her pocket. She placed the magazine in the K31, closed the bolt, and secured the rifle.
"We have to go to you." said Lori.
"Because of what?" Natasha asked uncertainly.
"We must arm you."
Natasha knew what that meant. She had to get her SIG 550. Natasha nodded, and Lori put the K31 in her gun bag. The two went down the stairs and got into Lori's car. The two did not talk during the drive. It was just quiet. At the Stevensons' house, Natasha got out and went into the house. Mike greeted them, but Natasha went straight to her room and pulled out the SIG 550 rifle case from under her bed.
"Pretty rude to ignore me." Mike said as he walked into Natasha's room.
"I have no time." said Natasha.
"Yes you have. We need to talk about this morning."
Natasha turned, gun case in hand, and looked into her father's eyes.
"Dad, I'm terribly sorry about what happened this morning. I feel terrible about it. But I have something important to do."
Mike looked at Natasha. He pointed to the gun case.
"Has it to do with that thing in the bag?" asked Mike.
Natasha nodded.
"Someone has information for us on the fuel assemblies. Lori and I will get this information."
"What's in there in that bag?"
Natasha didn't know why, but she said what is known as fact.
"A fully automatic Swiss assault rifle."
Mike looked at her confused.
"Huh?"
"Yes Dad. It's an assault rifle used by the Swiss Army and can fire fully automatically."
Natasha expected a lot, but nothing that would happen.
"I come with." said Mike.
Mike wanted to get ready, but Natasha held him back.
"No! You stay here!" said Natasha.
"Forget it. I'll come with you."
"No!"
Mike looked at Natasha.
"I'm going. Dad, you are very important to me. I'm going."
Natasha said with an extremely serious and caring tone. Mike considered.
"You will stay here whether you want to or not." said Natasha.
Mike took Natasha by the shoulders and hugged her. Then he whispered something in her ear.
"Promise me that gun won't fire tonight."
"I promise it."
The two hugged tightly, and then Natasha let go of Mike. Natasha left the house, got into Lori's car, and the two of them drove in the direction of the coordinates Clarkson had given Lori. These were in the middle of a forest. Both got out.
"Are you ready?" asked Lori.
"No." said Natasha.
"Neither do I."
Lori took out the safety on her Karabiner 31 and Natasha shifted the small lever from position S to position 1 on her assault rifle 90.
"So, let's go." said Lori.
The two walked away from Lori's car and entered the forest at dusk. It was spooky. The two walked for quite a while. Then, when the two of them least expected it, they heard a gun bolt click and saw a man point a Dessert Eagle at Lori and Natasha. The two didn't really recognize him. He was wearing a coat and was probably bald. The two reacted immediately, pointing their guns at the man.
"There you are." said the man, looking at a piece of paper.
He lit a flashlight and shone it on the paper. It was a very good drawing of Lori and Natasha. Then he lit up Lori and Natasha.
"You guys are way too easy to find. Well, for a pro like me, it was easy."
"We don't know how you know about us." said Lori.
"You trade and get information. It was smart of you to join a gang, but did it have to be neo-Nazis?"
"We don't support Nazis. Because Nazis are dirt." said Natasha.
"Reasonable. How did you come up with the secret of the fuel elements?"
"My father discovered it and stole some fuel rods."
The man reached under his coat and pulled out a briefcase. He handed them to Natasha.
"These documents are very important. I want us to uncover the truth." said the man.
"Why do they do that?" asked Lori.
"Because I'm a scientist."
"So are we." said Natasha.
"It's good." said the man, looking at Lori and Natasha.
"You two don't belong here. You should be partying, going to school. But not standing here with guns."
"I'd prefer that too." said Lori.
"That's what I say. Stay alive."
The man ran away and disappeared into the darkness. Lori thought the whole situation was crazy. It was difficult to describe her emotional state, but she was frustrated by this situation, standing in a forest at dusk with a gun, taking information from a man with a gun.
"This is so stupid." said Lori.
"What do you think?" Natasha asked.
"We both keep getting into some nonsense like this. I'm just fed up. I wish that never happened."
"Do you mean how we met?" Natasha asked uncertainly.
"I don't mean to hurt you, but so much shit has happened since I've known you. I think it would be easier."
Natasha got angry. She stepped in front of Lori.
"You know what you just said?" Natasha yelled.
"What's your malfunction?" Lori yelled.
"You know you're my only friend! I trust you, and then you say something like that!"
"Yes! Because I can do without stolen uranium fuel and guns! I'm just fed up! Damn neo-Nazis! Damned informants! Damn radiation! Sometimes I just want to have my peace before the whole thing! That includes you too!"
"Oh yes? I can do without you too! You're an arrogant bitch! I can't believe Lily is related to you because at least she has a heart!"
"Get out of Lily you fat bitch!"
Natasha got so angry she forgot her assault rifle wasn't safe. Natasha accidentally pressed the button Trigger, the firing pin dislodged and a bullet flew out of the barrel. Both were instantly startled and Lori hid behind a tree, and Natasha behind a pile of logs.
"What's wrong with your head?" Lori yelled.
Natasha came out from behind the pile, and shot the tree that Lori was behind. Lori came out from behind the tree, and shot at Natasha. Lori undid the latch, and closed the bolt. Then she fired again in Natasha's direction. Natasha loaded her magazine, and moved the small lever from position 1 to position 20. Natasha's assault rifle fired like a machine gun. Lori hid behind the tree. Twenty rounds had flown.
"Automatic fire you bitch!" Lori said, and fired in the direction of Natasha.
Natasha had already reloaded, and shot Lori with a single shot. Lori felt her leg get hit, but she didn't feel any pain. Lori reloaded her rifle, and fired again. Eventually the ammo ran out. No bullets flew. Lori and Natasha looked straight into each other's eyes.
"I hate you!" Lori yelled.
"I hate you too!" Natasha yelled.
"I never want to see you stupid whore again!"
Lori slowly walked away from Natasha while still pointing her gun at Natasha. Even though she was out of ammo, this was the best way to go. Lori kept walking away, and eventually she was in a completely different part of the forest. Lori looked at her pants, and saw that she was hit in the pocket of the pants, the fabric was torn there. Her cell phone was there. Lori took it out. The screen was completely destroyed. The bullet must have ricocheted off the handheld screen. Lori wondered if this was just a bad dream. But as she touched the breech of her Karabiner 31, she realized it was real. Because the gun bolt was hot.
End of Chapter twelve