Page 27 of A Rebel's Shot

Tiikâan’s heart hammered in his chest. His job? His chance to prove himself. To finally prove that his business could soar and he could be successful, too. It couldn’t all be ripped away now. Not when he was so close.

The HEAS representative, visibly frustrated, ran a hand over his face. “Look, Mr. Harland, the geologist your father hired raised serious concerns about the potential for AMD.”

Tiikâan’s stomach churned. He’d heard about the effects of AMD from his brothers during their time in the military. Entire villages left uninhabitable, the water too toxic to drink, the land barren and lifeless. But that was overseas in third world countries. Would that really happen here?

Silas shrugged. “We have safeguards in place. This is just a bunch of environmentalist bull trying to shut us down.”

The HEAS representative shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we can’t ignore this now, especially if the EPA is aware. We need to conduct a thorough investigation into the geologist’s claim and develop a plan to mitigate any potential risks. Until then, I’m afraid I have no choice but to recommend a temporary halt to mining operations.”

Tiikâan strained to hear as Silas’ demeanor suddenly shifted. The mine overseer lowered his voice, forcing Tiikâan to lean in closer, his ear nearly pressed against the cool metal of the trailer.

The HEAS representative’s response was muffled, but Tiikâan could sense the tension in his voice. He risked a glance around the corner, just in time to see Silas grab the other man by the collar and yank him close.

“Listen to me carefully,” Silas growled, his face mere inches from the representative’s. “You’re going to make this go away. I don’t care how you do it, but you will. Or else.”

The HEAS representative, his face pale and hands trembling, tried to stand his ground. “Mr. Harland, ignoring the environmental risks is not an option. If we don’t address this now, it could lead to catastrophic consequences down the line.”

Silas cut him off with a sharp wave of his hand. “I don’t want to hear it. You were supposed to take care of the geologist, so… Take. Care. Of. It. We can’t let this guy get to Merritt or anyone else. He’s already created enough of a problem.”

Tiikâan’s mind reeled. Merritt didn’t know about the geologist? She was the CEO, for crying out loud. And what about the people living downstream? The wildlife? The land itself?

Silas jabbed Mr. HEAS in the chest. “We’re done here. Remember what I said.”

Silas spun on his heel and stormed away. Tiikâan barely had time to conceal himself between two stacks of barrels before Silas passed by, his face twisted in fury.

As soon as Silas was out of sight, Tiikâan darted to the corner to see if the HEAS representative was still there. He stood alone, his shoulders slumped in defeat. The man yanked off his hard hat and ran a shaky hand through his hair, looking troubled and conflicted.

He glanced around before heading toward a nearby office trailer.

Tiikâan’s mind raced. The environmental concerns were serious enough, but Silas’ comment about having “taken care of” the geologist sent a chill down his spine. What exactly did that mean? And why was Silas so determined to keep this information from Merritt?

Tiikâan needed to find out more. Not just for the sake of the mining project, but for Merritt’s safety as well. If Silas was willing to go to such lengths to keep this under wraps, there was no telling what else he might be capable of.

But what could Tiikâan do? He was just a pilot, a hired hand. Going up against someone like Silas Harland was a losing battle that could cost Tiikâan everything. And yet the thought of staying silent, of being complicit in this cover-up, made his stomach churn.

TWELVE

As the airplane bounced down the short runway, Merritt pressed her fingers into her eyes. Exhaustion pulled at her limbs like she had a thousand-pound monster squid dragging her deep into the Arctic Ocean. Ever since the meeting, she hadn’t been able to warm up.

Joni had called multiple times, obnoxiously asking about every minute detail of the community meetings with her fake “you’re the boss, Merritt, what do you think?”

Should a woman in her sixties be allowed to act like a spoiled child? Because that’s what her calls were, her pissy and offended because Nolan backed Merritt up.

And of course, Rachel had to add her drama to the mix. Where Joni was patronizing through false placating, Rachel was a downright witch.

All afternoon, Rachel called Merritt with more problems with the budget. The preliminary numbers for implementing testing for schist and containmentprocedures if the levels proved to be high enough to cause problems were staggering.

And Rachel took every chance she could on the many, many calls she made to Merritt to emphasize that “the idiot running things” didn’t have a hope of saving them from ruin and the company from failure.

The idiot obviously being Merritt.

And Rachel was right.

Merritt didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

She could organize a four-ton food drop to the remote Himalayan mountains, could convince the leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces to allow medical personnel into the al-Hol camp during a typhoid outbreak despite the increased aggression from ISIL, and could build makeshift shelters during the monsoon season in Bangladesh when the previous makeshift orphanage was swept away.

Yet keeping her family’s legacy from imploding and thousands of employees from losing their jobs might be too much for her to tackle.

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