Minds in Mines

Chapter 11: Headquarters

"What's going on? Why is he sulking at you?" Moony asked Ray.

"They had a lover's tiff again earlier." Shotty provided the information.

"Huh? When? They didn't even talk to each other during breakfast."

"Much earlier, when you were still in your dreamland, Moony."

"Care to explain?" Moony asked Ray.

She sighed and complied. "I went jogging this morning and didn't leave a message. I thought everyone would be awake much later and I would be back before that. He was awake when I came back and launched into a full-on bossy mode."

"Bossy mode as in?"

"As in demanding me to stay nearby and always tell him of my whereabouts."

Moony smiled. "He was just worried about you."

"They'd make a cute couple, eh, Moony?"

Ray rolled her eyes once more at Shotty and went to her room.

"You did hear what I told you about Ray and Farz, right? And the few cells in your brain that you allocate to understand people other than yourself did work, no?" Moony asked Shotty.

"Are we sure she's batting for the other team? She looks hot without that horrible pilot uniform, more so with loose hair. Too bad it's tied again now."

"She and Farz are living together, for God's sake! Stop eyeing her with your lust."

"They could be just live-in colleagues." Shotty left Moony alone at the table.

Mr Nahuway, as punctual as the previous day, came at nine sharp, even though it had started raining. Once again, the team was in their safety equipment; boots, a fluorescent vest, goggles, and a helmet to complete their jeans and jacket outfit. This time, they left their sneakers at the guest house to make room for food and drink in their backpacks.

"Is everyone alright, Mr AB? Does anyone in your team need a medical professional's care because of yesterday's natural disaster?" Mr Nahuway asked as they all walked quickly to the SUV to escape the rain.

"Everyone is fine, Mr Nahuway. Thank you for your concern. I hope you didn't get any negative impact from yesterday, either."

"I'm as healthy as a horse, Mr AB." Mr Nahuway smiled and opened the doors for them.

"Mr Nahuway, I heard from AB that we have to cancel our trip to the concentrating mills because the road is closed," Moony said while they were on their way to Mile 72.

"You heard it right, Mr Kapoor. Two people were found dead last night. They weren't our workers, though, but illegal miners who mine from our tailings. The police and our Rescue, Emergency Preparedness, and Response Team are trying to find out if there are more casualties. They also need to clean the road to Mile 74 today. That's why the road is closed."

"So, there were casualties. I hope those two are the only ones."

"How did that landslide happen, Mr Nahuway?" Shotty asked.

"You witnessed it yourself, Mr Sinha. The rainfall intensity was so high yesterday."

"But you also said it yourself that Tembagapura only had two seasons, the rainy season and the very rainy season. Shouldn't that kind of intensity be expected and precautioned?"

"We had installed a safety precaution system and drilled our workers with emergency preparedness, Mr Sinha, that's why all of our workers are safe. What happened yesterday was force majeure. The destruction was as expected as that by an earthquake or a tsunami, even with precautions. We made a safety precaution system for it, but in the end, nature always has more power than us, don't you think?"