The man was listening and getting more and more agitated by the moment. Several times, he tried to interject a comment but was cut off. Each time by a voice that Gary could hear but not quite understand.

After a few moments, the redness left the inspectors face and was replaced by a deathly pale color. He continued to listen for another minute or two and then closed the phone without saying a word. He handed the phone back to Gary and slowly turned and walked to his car.

He was just getting to his car when he turned and looked at Gary with a look of fear in his eyes and said, “Who are…”

He stopped his question and after a long moment got in his car and slowly left.

No one else had come by since, and as curious as Gary was to find out, he never asked anyone who had been on the phone or what was said.

Gary stopped his reminiscing when the group from the bus approached.

“Mr. Bison. Good to see you again, sir,” said a tall black man, who was leading the group. He was carrying a briefcase and was dressed in blue jeans and a white polo shirt, with the logo of a large computer hardware manufacturer on the upper left pocket.

“Senator Collins, welcome back,” said Gary, shaking the man's hand.

With an embarrassed laugh, Collins responded. “I don't think I'm going to ever get the hang of being referred to as a senator. Why couldn't they have decided to refer to us as councilmen, or something?”

“I know what you mean; they apparently considered calling all of us site leaders Presidents. Many of us spoke up against that idea, really quick. The thing is, they wanted something with more of an air of authority to it, and senator is what they finally settled on. When you consider the life and death control we'll have over these people, it makes sense for our titles to sound authoritative.”

Senator Collins nodded in reluctant agreement, then added, “I almost forgot, I want to introduce you to my wife Jillian, and my daughter Cassandra.” As he spoke, he motioned to the two females who'd stopped about five feet behind him and were patiently waiting for the introduction.

Jillian appeared to be about thirty years old and was petite. Gary Bison didn't think she could be any more than five foot four. If Gary's memory was accurate, she was a nurse. Cassandra was about eight years old and was already taking after her father in height. She had long straight black hair that was neatly pulled back into a ponytail.

“I'm glad to meet you both. I've read your files, and it's nice to be able to put a face with the names,” Bison said, shaking their hands.

“My dad says you're the boss, is that true?” Cassandra asked.