Page 25 of A Rebel's Shot

“AMD?” Merritt hated asking.

“Acid Mine Drainage.” Rachel’s tone clearly said she thought Merritt was an idiot. “The fact that you don’t know the basic mining term is just more proof you have no right leading this company. Seriously, what was Dad thinking leaving the village idiot in charge?”

Guess Merritt didn’t have to wonder what Rachel really thought.

“Rachel, watch your tone,” Nolan snapped. “Your petty jealousy of Merritt doesn’t have a place here.”

“Rachel has a point.” Joni’s cool, collected counter almost had Merritt snorting.

Of course, the evil stepmother would back her daughter.

Crossing his arms, Nolan scowled. “Merritt may need catching up on some things, but she’s not an idiot. The success of our nonprofit sector proves that.”

Nolan leaned forward on his desk. “AMD is a problem that happens sometimes when the rocks the graphite is surrounded by contain sulfide minerals like pyrite, such as schist and gneiss. When these rocks are exposed to air and water during the mining process, sulfuric acid is created which then can seep into groundwater, streams, and rivers. Apparently, our graphite is surrounded by schist.”

Well, schist.

She cringed and opened her mouth to ask more, but Silas bulled over her.

“Which we’ve addressed. In detail.” Silas slammedhis hands on her desk next to her, leaning toward the computer. “We’ve had multiple geologists out here and revised our waste management procedure with their inputandthe EPA’s. The schist is minimal and any AMD formed is easily contained.”

“I understand, but if someone is tickling the right ears at the EPA, then our little schist issue becomes a major schisting problem.” Nolan’s lip twitched at his pun.

Merritt tilted her head, barely containing the urge to raise her hand. “Who is the geologist bringing the concerns?”

“I haven’t been able to get that information from my contact.” Nolan shrugged. “It’s pretty hush-hush, but the warning was there. If enough ruckus is made, drilling will get delayed… again.”

Merritt pulled up the report she’d read the other day from her memory. “What about the backing of the governor and the president and being designated as a High-Priority Infrastructure Project? Won’t that overrule any setbacks, especially with the approval from the EPA?”

Nolan shook his head. “Not if there’s enough evidence that the claim is correct, which apparently the local villages have.”

Silas swore and pushed off her desk to pace. “We can’t have any more setbacks. We’re weeks away from drilling. Any delay now will put us into winter. Then any kinks we have will be magnified by ten at least from the cold.”

Merritt gently tapped her finger againstthe desk. “What if we go to the villages and explain the safety procedures we’ll have in place and reinforce the EPA’s clearance?”

She remembered her dad always insisting that influencing public opinion was better than gold.

“With your experience in kumbayaing with the unfortunate, you might actually be of help to the mine.” Silas came back to look at the screen. “I say we send Mother Theresa here to sweet-talk the locals.”

Rachel cackled. “Have you been drinking the idiot juice or something, Silas?”

“That’s a horrible idea,” Joni interjected. “She knows nothing about the process. She’ll just make the situation worse.”

“And you think you’d be better?” Merritt couldn’t keep the venom from her voice.

“As the head of public relations, it is my job.”

“Yeah, but sending you into the villages would be like sending Cruella into a puppy store.”

“Why you little?—”

“Silas is right.” Merritt cut off Joni and sat forward in her seat. “I’ve spent the last eight years calming problems in situations a lot more dire than this. And unlike you, I actually care about these people and their concerns.”

Merritt nodded as a plan formed. “I’ll visit each of the villages along the Kobuk River. Joni, I want two community meetings a day over three days, starting with Kobuk and ending in Kotzebue. Be sure to communicate that HGR’s commitment to the minimal environmental impact has always been a priority, including ensuring the concerns of the communities affected are addressed.”

“Unlike you, I know how to do my job,” Joni snapped back.

“Joni.” Nolan’s tone warned Joni to drop it.

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