Tomlinson shrugged good-naturedly. “I don’t expect to have any serious opposition within the party.” With a grin, he added, “At least, that’s what the state’s party chairman told me.”

Jake noticed the elder Tomlinson scowling darkly.

The newspeople waited for more.

Tomlinson didn’t disappoint them. “One of the issues that I intend to pursue deals with energy. There’s lots of new technology that we can use to end our dependence on the oil that we import from overseas. One of those technologies is being explored right here at our state university. It’s called”—he grinned—“don’t let the name scare you: it’s called magnetohydrodynamics.”

Before anyone could complain, Tomlinson said, “That’s MHD, for short.”

He took a breath, then continued, “MHD is a very efficient way of generating electricity—cleanly, without polluting the atmosphere. It could ultimately cut a household’s electric bills in half.”

That seemed to make an impression, Jake thought.

“What’s more, MHD can use this state’s abundant supplies of coal and revitalize our coal industry. It could mean thousands of new jobs across our state.”

A voice from the mass of reporters called out, “But our coal has too much sulfur in it to be usable, doesn’t it? It would cause acid rain, wouldn’t it?”

Smiling broadly, Tomlinson nodded as he replied, “Our state’s high-sulfur coal can’t be used for ordinary power generators, that’s true. But MHD power generators could burn our coal cleanly, without releasing those sulfur compounds into the atmosphere.”

That opened a barrage of questions. Tomlinson dealt with them smoothly, like a big-league shortstop handling ground balls.

Suddenly, though, Tomlinson said, “I want you to meet my science advisor, the man who’s educated me about this MHD process.” Jabbing a finger in Jake’s direction, Tomlinson called, “Dr. Ross, come on up here.”

Stunned with surprise, Jake stood rooted to the spot until Amy nudged him gently. “Go on up,” she urged.

Reluctantly, Jake climbed the three steps and walked across the stage to stand beside the brightly smiling Tomlinson, who wrapped an arm around Jake’s shoulders as cameras clicked and whirred.

“This is Dr. Jacob Ross,” said Tomlinson. “Jake’s a professor at the university. He can fill you in on all the details of the MHD process.”

Great, Jake thought. I’ll be on all the news broadcasts tonight and in the papers tomorrow. Leeds and Nacho Perez will see me. So will Monster.

February (Third Part)

FEBRUARY

Rogers’s Rangers

ROGERS’S RANGERS

Jake woke up to the sound of snowplows chugging along the street. Pulling his terry-cloth bathrobe around his naked body, he went to the window and saw that more than a foot of snow had fallen overnight. Great, he thought. I’ll spend the morning digging out my car.