Page 21 of Carmine

“In the building, but not the room. I was busy preparing for a trip to Hawaii; one of the volcanoes there was having a blip. Dr Bagshaw was, and he’d been appalled at what happened. Dr Bagshaw reported back to Dr Jones-White what occurred, and she tore everyone a new asshole. Disrespect like that isn’t tolerated. Of course, we only had the information they wanted us to see, so it was disregarded as an unstable theory.

“Even with the information from three years ago, I doubt we would have prioritised it. This most recent data is urgent, and we can see something imminent happening. It is hard to remember that everything follows a natural path until a blip occurs. And this is the blip to end all blips. No offence to Dr Balfour-Cherlyn, we would have listened to her, but I doubt we would have acted quickly.”

“Thank you for being honest.”

“Dr Balfour-Cherlyn deserves it. Three years ago, she was ridiculed and her life destroyed. Molly should have crawled into a cave and licked her wounds. Instead, she headed here and worked to prove her theory. And it’s a doozy. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing laccoliths don’t erupt, but it’s true. Should this happen, it will make her career. Molly will be able to pick where she goes and what she does.”

A suspicion came over me. “Is that why Dr Jones-White is so interested?”

“No. Well, yes, I suppose. Susan is an exception; she doesn’t want or need the fame. Susan’s already at the top of the ladder. But she likes to share the spot. We are fortunate to work with her. As a mentor, Susan is fantastic and always shares credentials. Not like Dr Balfour-Cherlyn’s parents. Despite being known and respected, they own a challenging reputation.

“Without gossiping, Dr Jones-White does not like them. Nor is she fond of her ex-husband, who was the one who fired Dr Balfour-Cherlyn. If Dr Jones-White can prove Molly’s theory, she’ll make him look a fool, and there’s nothing she’d love more.”

“I don’t want Molly dragged into something petty,” I exclaimed, ready to defend her.

“Oh no, not like that. Dr White is arrogant and would easily have laughed Dr Balfour-Cherlyn out of the building. I saw emails from him detailing her crackpot idea for months. Dr White is mean, and Susan has no time for him. Dr White tried to derail Susan’s career and failed. He often overlooks new ideas or steals them for his own. If proven true, this could be the final blow to his job. Dr White’s failure to act over something that should have been addressed three years ago would end his career.

“Susan doesn’t want to run the GS. She thinks Dr Bagshaw would be better suited, and we all agree. But Dr White has seenhim as a threat and therefore kept Dr Bagshaw low on the totem pole. But should Dr White be displaced, then Dr Bagshaw will rise with Susan’s support,” Dr Dune said.

“The stakes are higher than just Rapid City. Politics is playing a huge part,” I replied, grasping what Dr Dune wasn’t saying.

“Doesn’t it always? You can remove your protective gear. Air levels have returned to normal,” she announced.

I removed the helmet and then helped take the water samples and other readings.

“Would you mind, Carmine, running these to basecamp, please? I’ll stay here and phone a student to monitor with me,” Dr Dune asked.

“Call in the student, Doc, I’ll wait till one arrives. Search and rescue ordered that no one be up here alone,” I replied.

“Who’d have thought an MC member would be a stickler for rules,” she teased, sitting down with a rock behind her.

“Have you met my mom? Nobody upsets Phoe Michaelson and walks away unscathed. Believe me, I follow the rules if my mother is involved,” I replied with a laugh.

“She is not what I expected. Phoenix is really down to earth,” Dr Dune mused.

“Yeah, she’ll throw money at something to resolve issues, but she’s not all tea and diamonds. Mom’s happier in the clubhouse than anywhere else,” I agreed.

“You’re lucky to have found her,” Dr Dune responded.

“Oh, believe me, I’m well aware.”

Molly

With every station that I’d set up being monitored twenty hours a day, information flowed in quicker, allowing us to make more accurate guesses. The geysers exploding near Carminewould have been missed before, but now they hadn’t been and had also been recorded.

Having the GS backing me again was a miracle. Everything became easier.

The horrible thing was, the tremors were increasing in frequency and strength from what we were extrapolating. And it was all happening around Buzzard’s Roost. We’d moved four teams there to keep an eye on each side. Whatever was going to happen, Buzzard’s Roost was the focal point.

I looked up from my workspace as Carmine entered, carrying the tests from his pond.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Dr Scut Boy isn’t, though,” Carmine snickered.

“Yes, your partner returned without you. Dr Stevens chastised him and sent him to pack despite his arguments. Dr Stevens wasn’t impressed and has filed a report,” I said.

Carmine looked around. “How are you doing, Doc? Is everyone treating you with respect?”

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