Deluge (The Best Thrillers Book 2) James Best (best e book reader .TXT) 📖

encountered to date because the big dams hover over more populated areas.”

“No! Forget it! During the Vietnam War, some general said it was necessary to destroy a village to save it. Now you’re telling me to flood the state to keep it from flooding. What you’re suggesting is just as brainless.”

Everybody in the car started to object, but Baldwin stopped them with two upraised fingers.

“Paul, please listen to the rest of our recommendations. Then this first step will make sense. Please.”

Baldwin heard an exasperated breath. “Go on. Two minutes.”

“Opening the spillways will make room to store the water that’s surely coming, but we also need to drain this water out to the ocean faster. Much faster. Action needs to happen in hours, not days. A backhoe isn’t going to cut it.” She took a deep breath. “Blow away the earthen dam at the Sacramento Bend. It regulates the water flow between the Sacramento River and the Deep Water Ship Channel. Similarly, Elk Slough should be opened wide up or blown away. Both actions will help drain the upper Central Valley. Let nature take its course. Allow water to flow freely to the sea. No encumbrances. With additional drainage, the damage resulting from releasing additional waters can be minimized.”

“Minimized? My god, listen to yourself. Dams are built to hold water back. You want to negate the sole purpose of their existence and blow up vital pieces of our state flood control system. This conversation—”

“Wait, my two minutes aren’t up.” When Gleason didn’t comment further, she added, “Sherrell?”

“Since the Oroville and Cachuma dams failed already, it seems unlikely that Lady Luck intends to bestow her good graces on the Great State of California. Allowing maximum drainage now protects the dams from collapse and makes room to accumulate additional rainfall and runoff in the coming days and weeks. Someone also needs to analyze state maps to identify natural lakes and basins, and immediately evacuate surrounding populations and critical infrastructure. We must remove population from areas where water will naturally accumulate.”

“Damn, I want my two minutes back,” Gleason said.

He hung up.

After a moment of silence, Ashley said, “I hate to say I told you so, but I said this plan needed further study.”

“Oh, shut up, Jon,” Wilson said. Once she was sure that he would follow her order, she added, “Now what?”

“We go to Vacaville,” Smith said.

“No,” Baldwin interjected. “We go to San Francisco. I want to talk to Paul face-to-face.” She fumed. “Natural disaster, sane and defensible, and to top it all off, a 1960s allegory.” She shook her head. “Damn, we need younger leadership.”

“Once we get to high ground, we should stay.” Ashley hesitated but then added, “If you continue, maybe I should remain behind.”

“Don’t worry, my dainty little professor,” Smith said. “When we get to Vacaville, I’ll plant you on the highest point I can find.”

“Stop that,” Wilson said. “Quit being a bully. Bickering just makes this drive more unbearable.”

“Okay, you’re right. My apologies. To both you and Jon. I’m a bit weary of this driving.”

“One of us can take a turn,” Baldwin said.

“No. I’m good for four miles. At this rate, we’ll be there in fifteen. Speaking of Vacaville, Sherrell, remember that model you used to predict the water level in Sacramento? Can you use it for Vacaville?”

“It’ll take some analysis … but yes. It should work. I’ll get right on it.”

Baldwin heard a soothing rhythm on the keyboard. Let Wilson compute; Baldwin needed to think. Gleason had made it clear that the government’s main objective was to avoid blame. That meant avoiding risk, and avoiding risk meant not making decisions that could be censured in hindsight. If she intended to confront Gleason face-to-face, then she needed to increase the perceived risk of inaction. How could she make inaction a more difficult choice? There weren’t many options. She had to go public. If people knew there were solid recommendations from a credible source, then if the governor took no action and the worst happened, he and his administration would be disgraced. It might even be the catalyst the opposition party needed to overthrow an insurmountable political advantage. That would scare the daylights out of Gleason and the governor.

What about the other possibility? What if there was no repeat of 1862? Then the people in this car would be the designated scapegoats. The powers that be would heap all the blame on their shoulders. Instead of elected officials’ reputations ruined, their own careers would be in tatters. She abruptly stopped that line of thought. These concerns inhibited officeholders, and she couldn’t let the same worries paralyze her into inaction. Somebody needed to stick their neck out, and it might as well be her. In fact, it might be only her and her new friends. No one else seemed to have the courage of the moment.

Out of the blue, Smith said, “Listen, I want to talk about your outburst.”

“Tom, I’m not in the mood. I have other thoughts on my mind.”

“I apologize. I’m not a misogynist. Really. I adopt colorful speech to project a flamboyant persona. It’s a façade. I should not have called you princess and never, ever told you to grow a pair. The first was disrespectful, the second redundant. If you’ll excuse the analogy, I’m tempted to call you a ballsy chick, but that would be reverting to type. Let me just say, I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” She laughed. “Practice that long?”

“No more than a half hour.” He turned his head and smiled at her. “By the way, I’ve been in many dicey situations, a couple life and death. I’m not all bravado. But back to serious business. I’m with you. We need to get to San Francisco and force them to consider our plan.”

“If they adopt it, it could backfire on us,” Baldwin said.

“Yeah, big time. But … no risk, no glory.”

“I’m with you too,” Wilson said.

“Thanks. Any results from your analysis?”

“Vacaville should remain high and dry. Jon was prescient. At 174 feet, it will become an island. If