Page 35 of Memphis Heat
“That’s why I’m here.”Remmy looked down at his clipboard.“This is apro formareview.”
“What does that mean?”
Remmy smiled, though the expression was far from reassuring.“Means I decide whether you get paid.You’re three months past contract date on this phase of the project and two million dollars over budget, and from the looks of things you’re nowhere close to completion.You bid on this job, Mr.Brilev, and the City of Memphis expects you to honor your bid.”
“We bid on this contract two years ago.”Though the guy had a thick accent, his English was flawless.“The City of Memphis can’t make up its mind about anything long enough to get its collective head out of its ass.Read the contract!Cost overruns due to building condition or changes in material pricing will be billed as they occur.Every foot of wiring in this building must be replaced, along with every foot of pipe.And the thieves who took the old copper wire and plumbing didn’t give a damn how much damage they caused to the structure of the building.We are fighting a war with rats, Mr.Inspector, and the rats are winning!”
Watching the video feed from his station in the surveillance van, it was all Callahan could do not to laugh as the site manager lost his cool.Exactly as Remmy wanted.
“Show me the damage specified in this billing,” the rookie Remmy had taken in with him demanded.
“Damage?You want damage?Follow me!”
“We’ll need to see the main electrical service upgrades, as well, and the repairs to the foundation in the original structure,” Remmy added.“I need to be assured all the new construction is up to code before we can authorize payment.”
Three hours later, Callahan had seen more of the old building’s skeleton than he cared to ever lay eyes on again.He was also pretty sure he wouldn’t live long enough to see the MPD offices relocate back to the old building.What he hadn’t seen were arms shipments.“Warehouse,” he muttered in Remmy’s earpiece.
“Where’s your warehouse, Mr.Brilev?This invoice is for renovations to the cargo loading bays.Something about security doors?”
“Damn vagrants kept stealing our construction materials,” Brilev complained.“That was the first area we made secure.Every meter of that warehouse has already passed inspection, several times.”
“And it’ll pass this inspection, as well, if you want to get paid,” Remmy insisted.
“Very well.It is not as if I have actual work to do.”Callahan thought it might be possible for the man to have a dryer, more sarcastic tone, but he seriously doubted it.“We will show you the warehouse.Again.And then we will bill you for another day of cost overruns, due to one more inspection!”
* * *
“Enter.”Lt.Commander Snorrasan looked up as they opened his door.“Report?Surveillance in place?”
“All the mini-cams are in place,” Remmy confirmed.
“We’ve seen a lot of sealed containers with security systems,” Callahan reported.“And lots of rats.”
“Two-legged and four-legged,” Remmy added.“The city’s getting ripped off, and bad.”
“Remmy’s a real pro,” Amanda noted.“I think we’ve got footage of every inch of the building.For all the work they’ve supposedly put into it, much of it’s still in really bad shape.They haven’t even started the interior renovations in the office space.Place looks like it should be condemned.Again.”
“Everything but the warehouse,” Remmy agreed.“State of the art security.”
Callahan crossed his arms over his chest, a hard, mean look on his face as he noted, “Secure enough to hide surplus enriched uranium.”
For once, even Snorrasan looked shocked.“Weapons grade?”
Miller nodded.“Jarod seems to think so.”
“Where the hell would they get their hands on that?”
Miller just shook his head.“Armenia, most likely.A lot of what’s been recovered in the last decade appears to have been stolen from a nuclear fuel plant in Siberia.At the time it wasn’t considered weapons grade, and wasn’t tracked all that well.The Soviets never had much of an accounting system.”
“How much uranium are we talking about?”
Callahan answered.“They’ve made contact with Terra White at the Tennessee State Militia.They’re offering to sell us assorted conventional munitions, as well as ten grams of weapons grade, highly enriched uranium.Enough to build a nuke that could blow Memphis off the map.”
Snorrasan and Miller exchanged glances.Both men’s faces were set in grim lines.Snorrasan pounded his fist on the table.“We’ve got to get this stuff off the streets.”
“Funding authorized,” Miller agreed.“Tell Officer White to make the buy.”
Amanda shook her head.“I don’t even want to know where you guys come up with that kind of money.”
