Chapter 120 Getting home.
CHAPTER 120
Getting home.
ROMAN – POINT OF VIEW
I take off my jacket and roll my sleeves to my forearms. We are in the conference room at Sterling Energy’s Manhattan headquarters. We got the deal.
The federal contracts lay open in front of me, thick stacks of paper stamped with seals and signatures. Months of negotiations, scrutiny and political theatre have finally condensed into ink. The Midwest Corridor Pipeline Expansion is officially mine.
Hannah closes the final binder with a soft thud, “Executive copies have been filed with the Department of Energy, FERC and the state regulators. As of this morning, Sterling Energy is the official project developer.”
Caleb leans back in his chair with a low, satisfied whistle.
“Where are we on the compliance milestone?” I ask, keeping my face impassive. We have spent weeks finalising the details.
Hannah Hale, the General Counsel, slides a tablet across the table.
“Phase One begins immediately,” she says. “Pre-construction obligations. Regulatory compliance, environmental documentation, right-of-way negotiations, and contractor mobilisation.”
Daniel Cho, the environmental consultant, adjusts his glasses.
“The Environmental Impact Statement has already been initiated under federal review,” he explains. “We’ve begun soil surveys and groundwater modelling across the corridor. Wildlife impact studies will take about four months.”
I nod, “Public hearings?”
“Three scheduled,” Daniel answers. “Texas, Missouri, and Illinois.”
“Expect protests,” Caleb adds.
“I do,” I say calmly.
On the wall, a digital map of the pipeline route glowed in blue. The line began deep in Texas oil country and stretched north through the Midwest like a steel artery waiting to be built.
Victor Tanaka, head of operations, says, “Engineering teams are mobilised. Topographical surveys started yesterday. Once those come back, we finalise the exact routing coordinates.”
I tap the table lightly “And procurement?”
Caleb flips through a financial report. “We’ve initiated contractor bidding for the pipe supply and welding contracts. Initial material orders alone are north of two billion.”
He looks up. “Once construction begins, we’ll be moving about twenty million dollars a week.”
“There’s another issue,” she says carefully.
I look at her.
“Land acquisition.”
A new map appeared on the screen, this one divided into thousands of parcels along the pipeline corridor.
“Before construction can begin, we need legal access to every section of land the pipeline crosses,” she explains. “Private properties, state holdings, federal land, everything.”
“How many owners?” I ask.
“Just over twelve hundred.”
Caleb gave a low chuckle. “Imagine negotiating with twelve hundred neighbours.”
My expression doesn’t change. “How long?”
“Six to eight months if negotiations go smoothly,” Hannah says. “Longer if disputes arise.”
“And eminent domain?” Victor asks.
Hannah shrugs. “Only as a last resort. Governments prefer voluntary easements.”
“Good. Start with the cooperative ones first.”
Daniel glances at another section of the map. “There’s something else worth mentioning,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow.
“The New York angle.”
Caleb and I share a look.
Daniel zooms the map out. “While the pipeline itself doesn’t run through New York, the company will still need an operational headquarters and monitoring centre for the northeast sector.”
Hannah picks up the thread.
“The federal contract includes provisions for regional oversight facilities,” she says. “Control stations, emergency monitoring, logistics hubs.”
Caleb nods slowly. “So we’re talking about expanding the corporate footprint here.”
Daniel hesitates before continuing. “And we’ve been reviewing potential sites in the city.”
I say nothing. The room waits.
Hannah clears her throat. “There’s one property that stands out.” She taps the tablet. She believes she is doing this on her own, not knowing I put the right things in order.
A satellite image appeared on the wall. A rectangular lot in Manhattan, empty except for fenced-off ground and overgrown concrete.
“That’s been vacant for years,” Victor says. “Why is it state property?”
“Seized after a structural fire,” Hannah explains. “The original building was condemned and demolished. The state held the lot during investigation and never released it.”
I stare at the image longer than necessary, at the home I grew up in.
“If the state still owns it, how do we acquire it?”
Hannah folds her hands. “Through redevelopment. We submit a proposal to the city designating the property as a strategic infrastructure site. A monitoring hub tied to the pipeline project.”
Daniel nods. “That would classify the land as energy infrastructure support, and that lets the state transfer it?”
“Yes,” Hannah says. “They can lease or sell it to the project developer as part of urban development.”
I finally speak. “How long would the process take?”
Hannah considers, “If we frame it correctly? Three to four months.”
Four more months of my mother’s anger.
“What’s the state’s current valuation?” I demand, exhaling slowly, pushing my emotions away.
Caleb checks his notes. “About twenty-two million.”
“Offer thirty,” I order.
Hannah blinks, “That’s… generous.”
“It’s efficient,” I say.
“We’d still need to justify the redevelopment plan,” she points out. “Energy monitoring facility, operational headquarters, something that aligns with the federal contract.”
I nod. “Draft the proposal.”
Victor leans forward. “You want that tied directly to the pipeline project?”
“Yes.”
“That’ll make the approval easier,” Caleb admits.
“So while we’re negotiating land across the Midwest for the pipeline corridor…”
“…we quietly secure a strategic asset in New York,” Hannah finishes.
“Two birds with one infrastructure project.”
Elena watches him closely. “You’ve wanted that property for a long time,” she says quietly.
I meet her eyes and shrug, “It’s in a good location.”
“Understatement of the year.” Caleb chuckles.
I walk back to the head of the table and order. “Focus on the project,”
“Right-of-way negotiations begin immediately. Contractor bids finalised within thirty days. Environmental reports delivered to the agencies on schedule.”
Victor nods.
“Construction mobilisation by next quarter.”
I look around the room.
“We move fast.”
Caleb closes his laptop.
“Understood.”
The executives begin gathering their documents.
The meeting is ending.
But I stay where I am, eyes drifting once more to the image of the empty Manhattan lot. Hannah pauses beside him.
“You’re certain about tying it to the pipeline?”
“It’s the cleanest way,” I whisper, my mind drawing to Scarlett. I have been busy for the past three weeks, and we’ve barely seen each other.
The screen still glows on the wall. A vacant patch of land the city had forgotten. One that haunts me, haunts my mother. I look at it for a long time.
The pipeline will cross half the country. Billions of dollars. Thousands of workers. Years of construction. All of it is building toward one quiet victory: getting home.