Dark Sky (Joe Pickett #21)(6)

“That’s kind of admirable,” Joe said.

“Crazy, is what it is,” Allen said. “But he’s a billionaire, so who can argue? Anyway, to complete his journey, he wants to hunt and kill a big-game animal with his own hands. He wants to process the meat and eat it. He wants to get his hands dirty and really understand the relationship between wild animals and human beings who kill and eat them. So when Price’s people reached out to us about setting up the perfect big-game hunting experience, I came up with a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. And that, gentlemen, is where you come in.”

Governor Allen pointed directly at Joe. “More specifically, Pickett, that’s where you come in.”

To which Joe responded, “Why me?”

Allen deflected Joe’s question with a wave of his hand and continued on.

“Aloft, Inc. is in the planning stages to build the largest server farm in North America. It’ll cover miles and miles of ground, and the whole thing will be powered by the biggest single renewable energy project—wind, solar, all that crap—in the world. It’s a multibillion-dollar venture.

“What Aloft and Price haven’t determined is where to locate this monstrosity,” Allen said. “Everyone assumes it’ll be Texas, Nevada, California, or Washington State, but the determination hasn’t been made.”

“You’re thinking it should be here,” Ewig said.

That’s what Joe had concluded as well.

“Damn right,” Allen said. “We’ve got the land, we’ve got cool temperatures to keep those servers running, we’ve got cheap labor with all our unemployed energy workers, and we’ve got . . . me! I’ll do just about anything to land that project, with or without our do-nothing Cowboy Congress.”

This would be his big win, Joe thought. This is what Allen thinks might propel him to reelection, despite his unpopularity.

“We need to get this state on Steve Price’s radar,” Allen said. “We need him to love us. Most of all, we need a commitment to get those construction dollars and new jobs before the peasants decide to revolt or the legislature shows me the door.”

Allen said to Joe, “I asked Rick for a recommendation on who should take Price elk hunting. I said I needed someone rock-solid. Despite my well-known feelings about you, he said your name. I know you have a ton of elk in those mountains of yours.”

Joe said, “There are plenty of actual hunting guides I could recommend. Good ones.”

“I thought about that,” Allen said. “Then I dismissed it. I don’t like the idea of some local rube taking him hunting. What if the local says he doesn’t like the Internet? Or what if he says this server project is ridiculous? That could screw up our chances. No, I need someone who works directly for me. Someone who’ll say nice things about me and the state and be totally accommodating.”

“Someone you can fire if it doesn’t work out,” Joe said.

“Exactly. And not only fire, but defund his entire state agency in these dire days of budget cuts.”

Joe glared at Allen.

“Could you live with the knowledge that your actions resulted in the unemployment of hundreds of colleagues?” Allen asked.

Joe felt his face burn.

“There are plenty of yahoos in the legislature who would support cutting entire state agencies,” Allen said. “Especially ones that some people feel have gotten too big for their britches.”

Joe closed his eyes and reopened them. He had a real urge to throw himself across the desk and throttle Colter Allen. Unfortunately, what the governor had said about some lawmakers wanting to defund state government had more than a grain of truth.

“We don’t really have a choice here, Joe,” Ewig said softly. Now Joe knew why the director hadn’t clued him in beforehand.

In the hallway after the meeting, Ewig asked Joe for a moment. They ducked behind a standing mount of a huge grizzly bear, stepping out of view of the receptionist’s desk that led to the governor’s inner office.

“I’m sorry, Joe,” Ewig said. “I’m sorry to put this all on you. It isn’t fair.”

Joe shrugged. His boss was correct.

“Don’t do it for him,” Ewig said. “Don’t do it for me. Do it for all of your colleagues and the state.”

“That’s a lot to ask,” Joe said.

“I know it is. But when the governor asked me for a recommendation for a guide, I couldn’t help but think of you. You’ve got elk experience, and you know how to keep your mouth shut. I needed someone I could trust to do this.”

“Thanks for that,” Joe said, looking away. “But what if the hunt goes pear-shaped? Weather could be a factor, or maybe we just can’t find the elk. Or Price gets a shot and misses. Or worse, he wounds an elk and we spend three days trying to track it? You know how it is in the mountains. Anything can happen.”

Ewig put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I hope you can minimize the risks. I hope you can get this done and get everybody down safely out of the mountains with an elk and nobody hurt.”

“I hope so, too,” Joe said. “I don’t like being away from my district for a week during hunting season. It makes me nervous.”

“I’ll assign somebody to cover it,” Ewig said. “Maybe I’ll even do it myself.”