Distraction - Bruce Sterling [75]
Nakamura was made of sterner stuff. “What do you plan to propose?”
“I think some expression of confidence in the current Director is in order. A statement of support from this Senate committee—that might work wonders for him.”
Nakamura put his sandwich aside. “Well, we can’t do that.”
“Why not? We need to take action. The Director’s authority is visibly slipping. If the situation gets out of hand, the lab will be paralyzed.”
Nakamura’s face grew clouded. “Young man, you never worked with Senator Dougal. I did. The idea of our giving some blanket endorsement now to one of his krewe flunkies … especially first thing in a new Administration … No, I don’t think so.”
“You said that you wanted continuity in the situation.”
“I didn’t say that we should provide that continuity.”
“Well, then,” Oscar said, slipping with feigned disappointment into his prepared position, “maybe my notion should be scaled back. Let me ask your advice. Director Felzian has a difficult situation. What exactly can we do for the man? Without Dougal’s sponsorship, his situation is dangerous. He might be denounced. He might be formally investigated. He might even be indicted.”
“Indicted?” Nakamura rolled his eyes. “Not in Texas, surely!”
“He could be indicted in Louisiana. So many rare animals have vanished into the collector’s market.… They make such photogenic evidence, rare animals.… The Governor of Louisiana is a highly interested party. The state courts there are completely in his pockets. This really isn’t a time to show division and weakness at a federal lab.”
“Young man, you’ve never met Governor Huguelet—”
“Oh yes, sir, I have. I had dinner with him last week.”
Nakamura’s face fell. “You did.”
“He’s a very hard presence to miss in that corner of the world. He made his intentions very clear to me.”
Nakamura sighed. “Well, Huey wouldn’t dare.”
“Why would he draw the line at subverting a federal lab, when he’s already besieging an air base?”
Nakamura’s brow wrinkled in silent distress.
Oscar lowered his voice yet further. “Huey has always backed genetic and cognitive R&D. That lab has exactly what he wants and needs. It has the talent, the data, and the samples. Besides, Huey was a major force in creating that lab in the first place. He has allies all through the old guard there. His course of action is obvious.”
“But he was always such a great backer of the federal presence there. It’s not like we’ve forgotten the Collaboratory. We haven’t misplaced it. We’re not like those morons on the Emergency committee.”
Oscar let the silence stretch. Then he shrugged. “Am I being unreasonable here? I’m trying to propose the smallest action we can take to maintain the status quo. Is it the sense of this committee that we are unhappy with the status quo?”
“No, of course not. Well … some are. Some aren’t.”
Oscar showed a proper skepticism. “I hope you understand that this is my very first assignment with this committee. I don’t care to go out on a limb today.”
“No.”
“I don’t grandstand in these matters. I’m a team player.”
“Of course.”
Oscar gently touched Nakamura’s arm. “I hope you don’t think I’m enjoying my isolation from this committee. I could have been here on the Hill, at the center of the action, instead of being marooned for six weeks inside some airtight dome. I’m going to make my interim report today, but if I’m sent back to Texas without a committee consensus and some coherent course of action, I’m going to take that very amiss. Is that unreasonable of me?”
“No. It’s not unreasonable. I do appreciate your situation. Believe it or not, I was also a young staffer once.”
“Sir, this is not going to be a pretty report. Especially the financial attachments. The troubles there could spin right out of control. They might even be fatal troubles. It may be that our cheapest and easiest course of action is to shut down that lab, and let Green Huey cherry-pick the wreckage.”
Nakamura winced.
Oscar bored in. “But that’s not my decision. And it’s certainly not my responsibility. If my report today gets leaked,