Chapter 120: Discussion

When Frank and Gaston arrived at the dam with Tom, they were slightly concerned. The area around the building was fenced in and rusted cars blockaded the entrances. The area was very imposing and not at all what Frank expected.

"Are you sure this is where Queen lives?" Frank asked.

Tom was confidently leading the way and turned around with a reassuring grin on his face. "Yes, this is the place. She has blocked up the place for some reason, but I am sure it's alright."

"I don't like the look of this." Gaston grumbled in his impossibly deep voice.

Frank looked at his oversized companion and noticed that Gaston was nervously adjusting his grip on the handle of his crushed junk hammer. The big guy was always easy to read. When Gaston felt like something was off Frank definitely chose to pay attention. More than once Gaston's instincts had saved him out on the river and sketchy places from many foes.

"We will wait here." Frank called out to the young teen. They were just a few more steps away from reaching the southern portion of the dams fenced in area. "You go on ahead and bring Queen here. Only then will you get paid."

"Fine." Tom replied giving a casual shrug.

The two men watched as the boy went up to the blockade. The boy picked up a flat rock and instead of throwing it over the blockade, he started beating the metal. Loud bangs echoed off the dam and could undoubtably be heard by those inside. A few moments passed when suddenly a portion of the car blockade shifted and out from behind it stepped Lisa.

"Hey, what going on Tom? Is something the matter?" Lisa asked looking down quizzically at the young teen.

Tom tossed the rock aside and patted his dusty hands together. "No, everything is cool. It is just that I found two guys looking for you. They’re right over there."

Lisa looked behind Tom to see Frank and Gaston watching them. The sun was brightly shining towards them, and it seemed they couldn’t tell who Tom was speaking to. "Oh, this is great! Thanks Tom. I was expecting them to be showing up soon. Here." Lisa pulled out of her pants pocket and handed him a dollar.

"Glad to help out. Just remember that if you need something, come ask Grandfather and I first." Tom replied quickly folding the dollar tightly into his hand.

"Frank Sellers! Come on over, we got lots to discuss." Lisa called out the two men.

Hearing his name and squinting in the sunlight Frank realized everything was alright and they had found Lisa. The two men quickly came over to join the others by the barricade. Before the adults had a chance to speak Tom held out an open palm towards Frank. Seeing this Frank let out a laugh.

"Yes, I know. Here's your compensation." Frank said handing the two quarters to Tom.

Tom pocketed them with his dollar and gave a curt nod. "It's been a pleasure." Then he headed off back towards the docks.

"I am so glad your back. Please let's go inside and sit in the shade. I have a lot of questions and orders to offer you." Lisa said turning to go back inside.

Frank glanced at Gaston to see that he had calmed down some and his hands were still. Everything was probably going to be fine. "Alright, let's hear what you have to offer." Frank replied and followed after Lisa.

Upon entering Gaston had to stoop low to fit inside, but that was something expected to happen to the big guy. Inside Frank noticed that there were several people clearing out the area. Various sized piles of rock, trash and junk were scattered everywhere as proof of their efforts. It also looked like two people were doing some kind of physical training in the building’s shade. All these people, however, didn't bother the two new arrivals as Lisa took them inside.

There they found a messy large room with boxes, crates and file cabinets tossed about. Among all this was a rough looking white plastic table and several mismatched chairs around it. Frank also noticed several large machines that were lined up along the center space of the room. The closest one to him had apparently been already halfway dismantled and tools were scattered around it.

"Please have a seat and ignore the mess. We are doing a lot of cleaning and doing inventory of things here." Lisa said taking a seat in her own dry-rotted chair. The two followed her advice and sat down in the plastic chairs. Gaston eyes the area carefully and kept his weapon ready. Lisa wasn't bothered by this reaction though; in fact, it was a natural habit that showed Gaston’s reliability.

"Thank you, Queen. So, I take it things proceeded to your plan?" Frank said starting off.

"Better than even I guessed." Lisa said rubbing her hands together excitedly. "I know I said that I needed construction tools and copper, but now I need even more items. Some of which I suspect will be harder to find."

"Hmm, I'll decide that after you tell me what they are and if I am able." Frank replied leaning forward in anticipation. "What about the electricity? Can you actually make it?"

"I already have. The dam here is hydroelectric and already powering the tunnel and computers monitoring it." Lisa said smiling triumphantly. "I just need parts for repairs, maintenance and expansion. Wait one moment and I'll get my list. It's just upstairs and I'll be back."

"Alright." Frank replied. He was slightly surprised that she had gotten electricity so quickly. From the way she told him it was unlikely that she was lying. However, from the looks of the mess around here, he needed to see it to believe it. A minute hardly passed when Lisa returned. She had several papers in her hand. Taking them, she then spread them out onto the table in front of Frank.

"This is a list of tools that I need for electrical work, welding, building and road construction. I'll also need electric protective equipment and various PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment)." Lisa said pointing at two papers on the left.

Then she pointed to three more papers laying in the middle. "This is a list of the trickier stuff. I need these parts, custom made if possible, to be able to repair or replace the generators, transformers, and power lines. Same goes for those various fluids on the list too. These lists should be your priority for this order."

Frank picked up the paperwork and scanned over the list quickly. Lots of the items he had seen or knew where to get. However, there were somethings that he had never even knew existed or seeing written down. This was definitely going to be a hard order to accomplish.

"How are you going to pay for all this? I don't see anything around here that tells me you have the money for it." Frank said putting the paper down to look at Lisa.

"It's true, I don't have much money, yet. But I do have a sponsor and customers willing to buy the electricity. So, money is going to be no issue soon." Lisa replied. She sat up and tapped the next paper on the tables right side. "As you see here is a contract, written by the sponsor and I, that explains the situation and transactions that are to follow. If you agree with it and sign, I assure you that it will be worth the extra effort. Also, Mr. McMathers, my sponsor, will sign it as soon as he returns. So, no need to rush the deal. Give yourself time to think things over."

Frank curiously picked up the contract papers and found it was a printed document. It also appeared very legitimate and professional. Seemed to him that Queen wasn't messing around and that the sponsor was likely from out of town. The name Mr. McMathers interested him. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite recall.

Just then Willis came into the room with them. "Hey boss, I spotted the Mechs coming through the trees. They should be here in a few minutes. What's the plan?"

"Awesome. I'll be right there in just a moment." Lisa said to him and stood up. "Excuse me, Mr. Sellers, but the customers are arriving, and I need to attend to them. Please take the time to read over everything."

"It's no problem." Frank replied. Then thinking to himself as he watched Lisa go, he wondered, "Mechs? Out here? What kind of customers does she have?"

Then he spoke aloud to Gaston. "Tell me when those Mechs get here, please. I'll finish up reading the contests and lists in the meantime."

Gaston silently got up and lumbered towards the big sliding door to the building. From here he had a clear view of the dam road and Lisa with Willis and another.

During her time building the barricades, Lisa had considered using the large metal shipping containers to block up the roads. Yet on closer inspection she had discovered that their locks were intact, and the contents had not been taken out or plundered. Inside three of the containers were four full spools of already made electrical line!

It was truly fortunate that the electrical lines were still inside, and they would save a lot of time, money and effort. They could at least use the lines to start working on the power grid and conduct tests before the parts were brought to repair the dam. Until now she had left them alone, but now was the time to put one spool to use.

Lisa spoke to Willis and Tayvon as she opened the doors to the closest container by the dam. "So, those Mechs are far too heavy to cross the dam. Considering that we are going to reconnect the generator to the transformer I have been working on. If it works, you two will roll this spool across the dam towards the Mechs."

The two men nodded and took hold of the spools wheels to pull it. However, they soon discovered it was a lot heavier than expected. They had to really pull to get it moving, but eventually got it in front of the large sliding doors of the Powerhouse building.

In the meantime, Lisa was adjusting the components of the transformer to the best of her skills, all according to the designs written in the old yellow manuals. Frank had stopped reading the papers and was watching her curiously as she labored. Lisa then tried flipping the switch on to test it, nothing happened. She let out a frustrated sigh and went back to work.

…

Gillian and two new trainee pilots were the ones driving the three Mover Mechs to the dam. Dilly had left a few days prior to keep looking for the last few Black Rats hidden in town and the chance to find a fighter worth his time. Meaning Dilly wasn't going to be helping drive the Mechs and Mr. Yates was deemed unable to fight, so training new pilots was the best course of action. Yet, Mr. Yates and a dozen other ERM troops were also accompanying the Mechs for support.

The trip went easily. They found the way up the cliff and encountered no dangers. The two new pilots were able to get valuable training in without much stress. Gillian too was able to get better acquainted with his Mover Mech.

After marching all the previous day and this morning, everyone was relieved to finally see the tree line. Just beyond was the dam and electricity. Which was good because the red flashing light on the controls was telling there was not enough power to return. This was now and all or nothing venture. If Lisa failed to get the power to them the ERM was going to end up being on their last leg for survival.