“Hello, Governor,” Dan said. “It’s good of you to give us some of your time.”
“Come on in,” Scanwell called to Dan and Kinsky. Gesturing to the bar, “Have a drink.” The governor perched his booted feet on the coffee table.
Jane was nowhere in sight. Two more aides were standing by the bar, the man wearing slacks and a light brown sports jacket, the woman in a tailored pantsuit. Obviously neither one of them had been at the dinner downstairs. Then Dan noticed the butt of a pistol inside the guy’s jacket. Bodyguards.
Dan reached for the San Pellegrino water from the row of bottles lined up atop the bar.
“There’s beer in the fridge if you prefer,” the male aide said. “Lone Star longnecks.”
Dan made a smile and poured the water. “Thanks anyway,” he said, thinking that he’d better stay sober through this meeting.
“I think y’all can wait outside in the hall,” Scanwell said to his aide and the bodyguards. “I’ll yell if I need anything.”
As they were leaving Jane came in from the bedroom, smoothing her hair. Dan’s breath caught in his throat. She smiled uncertainly at him, then went to the sofa and sat beside Scanwell.
“C’mon over,” Scanwell said, waving to Dan. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Dan took the upholstered chair on the opposite side of the glass coffee table. Kinsky sat off to one side.
Scanwell gave Dan a friendly grin. “What I’d like to know,” he said, “is how you talked my parks department into letting you lease part of a state park and turn it into your rocket base:” Dan realized that the governor’s voice was slightly hoarse. Too much talking over the noise of the crowd, he thought.
Grinning back at the governor, Dan replied, “They needed the cash. Budget deficits and all that. But it still wasn’t easy. I had to sweet-talk sixteen different staffs of bureaucrats to let me use the old Wynne ranch property.”
Scanwell shook his head. “I caught a lot of flak over that when I ran for reelection.”
“But Calhoun County voted for you very solidly,” Dan countered. “They appreciate the new jobs.”
“How many engineers do you have down there?”
“It’s not just the engineers. It’s the people who run the new ferry. And the motel. And the truck drivers and road crews and building trades people. They all vote, and they all like the paychecks they’re getting.”
“But how did you ever get it past my environmental protection people?”
Dan’s smile widened. “Governor, NASA’s big Kennedy Space Center sits right alongside the Cape Canaveral National Wildlife Reserve. Launching rockets doesn’t bother the pelicans.”
Scanwell cocked his head slightly to one side. “Well maybe so. Still, you must be a very convincing guy…”
“Dan can be extremely convincing,” Jane said without a smile, “when he wants to be.”
“Jane’s been telling me about your project,” Scanwell said.
“I’ll be frank with you, Governor,” Dan said. “My company’s in deep financial trouble.”
Scanwell nodded sympathetically. “So I hear.”
“But if I can make it work,” Dan went on, “if I can start to deliver electrical power from the satellite, it will change the energy picture for America. For the whole world.”
“That’s a big if, though, isn’t it?”
“Not as far as the technology is concerned. We know how to make the satellite work. It’s the economics that’s a bitch.”
Scanwell laughed. “Isn’t it always?”
Jane said, “Energy independence could be a major part of Morgan’s campaign.”
Morgan, Dan thought. She calls him by his first name.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Scanwell said, his brows knitting. “Making energy independence a major campaign issue will mean the oil interests line up solidly against me. A lot of money there.”
“And power,” Dan agreed.
“You’ve fought against them before,” Jane pointed out. “And won.”
Scanwell grinned forlornly. “Yeah, I squeaked past ’em for governor. But Garrison and his people will work their butts off against me now.”
“Garrison?” Dan asked. Then he realized that of course Garrison of Tricontinental Oil would be against any candidate who threatened his power.
“It’ll be tough, but I’m willing to slug it out with them,” said the governor, “if I can show that we have a practical alternative to importing foreign oil.”
Kinsky offered, “Well, I think we can help you there. Solar power satellites could play a major role in making America independent of overseas oil.”
“That so?” Scanwell asked, looking squarely at Dan.
“Yes, it is, Governor. With power satellites and nuclear plants we—”
“People are scared of nuclear,” the governor objected.
Dan groused, “Yeah, they’d rather have blackouts.”
“Power satellites don’t present any environmental problems,” Kinsky said, trying to bring the conversation back on point. “It’s solar energy. Nobody’s scared of solar energy.”
“But you’re in trouble now,” Scanwell said to Dan.
“Deep trouble,” Dan admitted. “To be perfectly honest, I need all the help I can get, Governor.”
Before Scanwell could reply, Jane said, “The support of a major presidential candidate would help you to raise money, wouldn’t it?”
Dan nodded warily. “Sure, once your campaign gets underway. Problem is, I need help now.”
“And a promise of government funding after Morgan’s elected,” Jane added. “That would be even better in the long run, wouldn’t it?”
“Wellll,” Dan said, drawing out the word, “government funding could be a two-edged sword.”
Scanwell’s brows knit in puzzlement.
Kinsky jumped in, “What Dan means—”
“What I mean is that federal funding will bring all sorts of government oversight and red tape. NASA will want to run the show. Every congressional committee this side of the Moon will want to stick their fingers in.”
Jane looked nettled, but Scanwell broke into a big grin. “You’re completely right But what else could the government do to help you, once I’m elected?”
Hunching forward in his chair, Dan said, “Offer backing for loans. The same way the government did for Lockheed and Chrysler when they were in trouble.”
“That was a long time ago,” Jane said.
“Loan guarantees,” Scanwell mused, glancing at her.
“It won’t cost the taxpayers a cent,” Dan said. “The federal government just guarantees that any loans to Astro Corporation will be backed by the U.S. Treasury. Wall Street will do the rest.”
“Do you think you could raise the capital you need to finish the project?” Jane asked.
“From the private money markets, yes, sure. If the government guarantees the loans.”
“But what, if you fail?” Scanwell asked.
“That’s not the problem,” Dan countered. “The problem is that we need money now. With all due respect, Governor, I can’t wait until your campaign starts. Or until you’re in the White House. I have a payroll to meet and a powersat to put into operation. Right now.”
Scanwell stared into Dan’s eyes for a long silent moment, as if trying to see what was going on in his mind.
“You need funding to tide you over,” he murmured at last.
“’That’s the size of it,” said Dan.
Jane said, “It could bring national media attention to you, Morgan. A bold new idea. A new way to unleash the power of American industry in space. The road to energy independence. It could get you the kind of attention that you need.”
“The oil interests won’t like it,” Scanwell murmured.
“They’ll accept it if we play our cards right,” Jane said. “We can show that it’s the patriotic thing to do.”