But the frustration in his wife apparently reached its breaking point, as she was in no mood to hear anything but her own complaints.

"I just wish your family came first in your life. I can't imagine any assignment more important than us," she said.

Though quite drunk, Peter Mansfield was more than aware how angry and serious his wife was right now. She rarely got so mad but when she did, Peter learned to be quiet and agree with whatever she said. But after completing the passenger list the most important and significant task he ever had to do he couldn't just sit there and pretend to agree with his wife.

Mansfield began to laugh uncontrollably. He couldn't help himself. The incensed look on her face told Mansfield that laughing was the last thing he should be doing. But he didn't care right now. After all, he procured spots aboard the space station for his wife and his kids.

One day she'll understand, he thought as he swallowed a final gulp of whiskey. Even as his wife stormed away, nothing could wipe the smile from Mansfield's face.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT.

James Armour stared out the window of the low-flying helicopter, watching miles and miles of unpopulated mountain range pass beneath him. There had been no sign of civilization for nearly half an hour and the Secretary of Defense began wonder if the Russian pilot was lost.

While always supplied with detailed updates of the space station, President Marshall decided it was time to get updates on the other shelters being built. Russian President Metachenko was more than happy to provide a tour of the underground facility being built in the Ural Mountain range in the western part of Russia. Armour had gotten on a plane the same day Marshall decided he wanted the update and arrived in Moscow nearly twenty hours later. Armour hardly had enough time to take a shower and change clothes when President Metachenko's guards picked him up and drove him to the Presidential heli-pad.

To Armour's surprise, President Metachenko awaited his arrival at the helicopter. The Russian President decided to personally give Armour the tour, stating that he took great pride in the progress made thus far. Once aboard the luxurious helicopter, neither man spoke much during the ride through the mountains. Armour stopped staring out the window and finally broke the silence between them.

"There sure isn't much out here," he said.

"No," Metachenko replied. "That is why this is perfect location for this kind of shelter. We are far from civilization's watching eyes."

A quick announcement was made over the intercom.

"Very good," Metachenko said. "We are approaching the shelter now."

Armour quickly turned his attention back to the window but still only saw what appeared to be uninhabited mountains. Several minutes passed and Armour grew worried that the Russian shelter was going to be a tiny operation. He saw no signs of construction or life among the mountains and wondered if the operation was so small that he just wasn't seeing...

His fear suddenly eased. Soon after the helicopter cleared the highest mountain peak of the trip, he felt a dropping sensation in his stomach as the chopper began to descend. Armour soon saw the appearance of a large valley. The first thing he noticed was a surprisingly large number of log cabins, at least two or three dozen. There were many small dots moving among the tiny village, no doubt people walking around. Armour was so surprised to see this civilization in the middle of nowhere that it took him a few minutes to notice all of the construction vehicles just east of the village.

The final thing he spotted was probably the most significant: a large, gaping hole carved out in one of the mountains on the eastern side of the valley. As Armour stared at the hole, a large dump truck filled to the brim drove out. This hole no doubt led to the Russian shelter, or what the 'Inner Circle' members nicknamed the 'ground ark.'

Once the helicopter touched down, President Metachenko was halfway through the history of this tiny town.

"After precious minerals and jewels were found in other parts of Urals, treasure seekers hired by royal family began searching all parts of mountain range," Metachenko explained. "This valley, one of largest known valleys at time, was found by two scouts from Russian Army in mid-1800s. The royal family always in search of more treasure and sent over two hundred men to valley, where excavation begins in all mountains surrounding this area. That was how this town was born."

The doors to the chopper were thrown open once the blades stopping spinning. Although the day was sunny, Armour was immediately met by a blast of chilly air. He followed the President's lead by putting on a heavy coat and walking off the chopper. Surrounded by three of Metachenko's guards, Armour and the President soon strolled through the middle of the village.

The construction workers walking around the valley hardly gave the men or the helicopter a second glance. Armour thought these workers made American football players seem tiny and many of the worst American convicts appear friendly. But they seemed focused on the job at hand, not pausing for a single moment of distraction.

"The men are used to seeing me here," Metachenko said, as if reading Armour's mind. "I personally inspect progress at this site on a monthly basis, so my appearance no longer causes much excitement."

Armour looked at the log cabins around the village, surprised to find them in such good shape. He expected the harsh environment to have put more wear and tear on the wooden lodgings.

"Did your men have to rebuild the cabins once this site was chosen to construct the shelter?" Armour asked.

Metachenko looked at the nearest log cabin and then turned back to Armour, a satisfied and surprised look on his face.

"Of course not," the Russian President said. "The cabins were built by smart Russian men a hundred-fifty years ago. We Russians know how to build. In fact, these cabins were big reason why this site was chosen for construction of bunker. We began construction on tunnel the moment we got here. It was very difficult to bring all of construction vehicles and building materials here, I will admit that. Men who first built and excavated these mountains had to travel weeks through most treacherous Russian terrain. That was before they must do backbreaking work of digging tunnels through solid rock. But they overcome struggles, as we overcome ours. And where they make fortune on tons of topaz and jewels, we will succeed in building shelter that will protect existence of mankind."

Armour, Metachenko and the bodyguards crossed the village, making their way toward the huge tunnel leading into the mountain.

"Then you're confident your men will finish the shelter before the..." Armour looked at the bodyguards, who were still within earshot. "...before your proposed timetable?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Armour. My men know that shelter is being built as precaution against extreme case of China attacking with nuclear weaponry," Metachenko said, winking at Armour.

"Of course," Armour said.

"But answer to your question is yes. The underground bunker will be finished well before end of timetable, this I guarantee. It will be one hundred percent safe," Metachenko boasted.

As the men neared the tunnel, Armour followed the President and the bodyguard, who moved to the side of the dirt path leading inside. The men hardly stepped aside when a huge dump truck emerged from the hole, filled to the brim with rock and dirt. Following closely behind the truck was another monstrous vehicle, one not as familiar to Armour. The vehicle appeared to be a large backhoe, except with a very distinct modification. Attached to the front was a ten-foot long, four-foot wide jackhammer, no doubt used to smash into the solid-rock mountain walls.

"We have many of these vehicles already below surface, all working at once," Metachenko said. "The only time they come to the surface is to dump rock and dirt or to go to maintenance."

The dump truck drove by but when the other vehicle followed, President Metachenko whistled loudly and waved his hands. The driver, a hard-looking man who resembled a lumberjack, killed the engine and stuck his head out the window.

Speaking in Russian, Metachenko yelled what sounded like a question to the man, who quickly responded with a short response. Satisfied with the response, Metachenko nodded his head and waved the man on. The sight of the huge tunnel and village in the middle of the Urals was very impressive to Armour. But the most astonishing part was how the Russian President did not shy away from this type of work. He seemed to fit right in with the hard-working men and the hazardous construction site. Armour could not picture George Marshall looking or acting as comfortably in a similar atmosphere.

"As I thought," Metachenko said, reporting on what the driver told him. "The vehicle blew its main compressor and had to come to surface for repairs."

When they reached the tunnel, Metachenko stopped one final time.

"The location of this bunker is best we could hope for," he said. "As you see from helicopter ride, this valley is in middle of nowhere, very few people know what we are doing here. We are far enough to escape questions about construction. High-level men in my government, men who can be trusted not to tell anyone of this bunker, made all of arrangements for transportation of construction materials and hiring best crews and engineers.

"That is nowhere near as important as natural protection mountains will provide," Metachenko said, lowering his voice so the guards could not hear. "Once impact occurs and shock waves attack world, miles of surrounding mountains will serve as natural barrier to cushion damage. But if this is not case, we took one final precaution to ensure safety of bunker and everyone living here: we dug very deep."

Although there were several golf carts and a small path to drive on, Metachenko decided they should walk through the tunnel. Armour was enamored with the tunnel after only a few feet. The entrance to the tunnel was twenty feet high by thirty feet wide, large enough to fit any construction vehicle. But once they stepped inside, Armour was shocked to see just how large it truly was.

The ceiling was several stories high, wide enough for four or five huge construction vehicles to fit side by side. Armour expected a small, cramped tunnel, one he would not want to enter. But his assumptions were wrong, as everything was well lit and felt very safe. It almost reminded him of driving through the Holland Tunnel to enter New York City.

"Another reason this mountain was chosen is large portion of tunnel already dug by previous treasure miners," Metachenko said. "Of course my men had to widen sides and raise ceiling but doing that was much easier with such big head start."

They continued along the tunnel, which gradually sloped downward. Along the way, Armour noticed numerous holes on the sides of the tunnel walls.

"Are these holes going to be different rooms for the bunker?'

The President shook his head and smiled, the way a knowing adult might answer an inquisitive young child.

"No, Mr. Armour," the Russian President answered. "Those holes are smaller tunnels dug by original miners. We are nowhere near deep enough to be safely out of blast zone. In fact, many of our engineering experts think this section of tunnel might collapse if a nuclear bomb was detonated nearby, not to mention effects of Clement. We still have not yet reached area of main shelter but we will soon enough."

Since they'd entered the tunnel, Armour was surprised they hadn't passed or seen a single construction worker or vehicle. As the men walked farther, he was equally surprised at the silence surrounding them. Armour expected the sounds of construction to be deafening, especially since Metachenko made it seem that hundreds of men and dozens of machines were working at once. But none of that appeared to be the case.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Armour saw the row of lights lining the tunnel suddenly stopped in the distance.

What's going on here? Armour thought. Why is the Russian President wasting my time when the tunnel and the shelter are nowhere close to being finished? And where are the construction workers? Why would Metachenko lie about how much work is really going on here?

As Armour's confusion grew, a sudden grinding noise raised more questions in his mind. President Metachenko did not appear fazed by the noise, as the Russian and his guards continued walking toward the end. The noise grew louder and louder as they continued until Armour felt a slight vibration beneath his feet.

Before he questioned what was happening, a pair of bright high beams suddenly appeared at the end of tunnel, as if rising from the ground. The grinding noise stopped, replaced by the revving engine of a dump truck that soon drove by them.

"Very good, we will not have to wait for elevator," Metachenko announced. "I hate having to wait those couple minutes."

"You've built an elevator underground already?" Armour asked incredulously.

"Of course," Metachenko said matter-of-factly. "How else were we supposed to reach shelter?"

The five men stood on the large, industrial-sized lift. The Russian explained it was capable of carrying up to fifty tons of weight. He said that installing this elevator was the first of many difficult construction tasks, but one that they successfully conquered. After pushing a few buttons, the grinding noise began again and the elevator slowly lowered.

"Please be careful of your hands," Metachenko said. "One man has lost finger when it got stuck against jagged piece of rock wall."

Armour indeed noticed that the elevator shaft was actual mountain rock, which sometimes scraped against the side of the elevator and created an awful squeaking noise. Metachenko explained that the elevator was completely safe, that it was powerful enough to bust through any piece of protruding rock. But he also said that most of the rock shaft was now smooth after taking a continuous pounding from the elevator's constant use.

"How far down are we going?" Armour finally asked after a couple minutes.

"One hundred feet, give or take few inches, from the end of tunnel. That's about a hundred-fifty feet from surface," Metachenko answered. "This is depth our engineers feel is safest for any blast. They say there will be enough mountain rock between Earth's surface and shelter to survive a thousand nuclear blasts."

As the elevator continued its slow descent, Armour noticed his body heat increasing inside of the heavy coat. Now that he had time to think during the elevator ride, he felt how much his body was perspiring. He unzipped his coat and fanned himself, but this barely helped cool him off. The temperature was significantly increasing the farther the elevator lowered.

"Getting hot, yes?" Metachenko asked, as he unzipped his own coat. "Heat in shelter is not at a temperature most Russians are accustomed to but still is better than extreme cold on surface."

The Russian President took off his coat and handed it to one of the bodyguards. He motioned for Armour to do the same. Armour just finished rolling up his sleeves when he heard the distant rumbling of construction work. The sound grew louder over the next few minutes until the rock wall in front of him disappeared and gave way to his first view of the Russian underground bunker.

As a former astronaut who traveled miles above Earth, James Armour saw many incredible things during his lifetime. But nothing he could ever imagine would compare to what he saw now. Even after the huge elevator thumped to a stop, Armour stood completely still and took in the incredible view.

The first thing Armour thought when he saw the bunker was last season's football championship game he'd attended, not because of the sport but because of the huge dome stadium where the game was played. That was how big a space was carved out, taking away any claustrophobic feeling that anyone might ever have. The space seemed to go on forever. Even though Armour saw hundreds of workers walking around and dozens of vehicles driving around, there was still enough room to fit ten times those numbers.

"How is this possible?" Armour asked.

Again, Metachenko looked pleased with himself. The Russian President only informed the 'Inner Circle' members that his country's underground bunker was progressing smoothly, but never had he mentioned its enormity. Words alone would not have done this place justice, Armour thought.

Metachenko proudly clapped Armour on the back.

"Hard work," the Russian said. "Lots and lots of hard work. We've been working on this for years, hundreds of men laboring for twelve-hour shifts seven days a week. Russia makes hard-working men. America used countless hours of brainpower to create and build space station, Russia has spent countless hours using muscle power to create underground bunker. I'm glad you approve."

"Approve?" Armour said, his feet still glued to the ground, continuing to stare in awe. "This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen."

"I was hoping for 'good job,'" Metachenko said. "But I guess that will do."

As Armour stared at the cavernous bunker, Metachenko did not rush to continue the tour. Having kept the size of this place a secret, the Russian knew that explaining what they'd accomplished could not compare to showing someone. Metachenko wanted to give Armour plenty of time to take it all in; he wanted Armour's report to the American President to do Russia great justice. It wasn't until an approaching dump truck honked its horn that Armour's trance was broken and the tour moved on.

"As you see, clearing out space for bunker was major job. We just begin construction of specific parts such as rooms," Metachenko explained. "After cavern is finished being hollowed out, my men next will build thousands of structural braces to minimize chance of cave-in. The strength of bunker must take top priority and I believe we have succeeded. This place will have ability to withstand strike from Clement, as well as any damage done by earthquake that hits 9.0 on Richter scale."

The men walked farther along, but there was not much else to see. At the moment, the bunker was empty of anything but workers and construction machinery. But Metachenko continued to describe what would be built in the upcoming months, including over two hundred separate rooms, which could each house up to ten people. The Russian also said they planned to build three different cafeterias, a gymnasium, a library and a storage room that could easily hold enough supplies to last years for 2,000 people.

He also explained the complex air filtration system that would constantly supply the shelter with fresh air. Metachenko did not know the particulars of how that system would work, but he assured Armour his engineers did know.

Many workers and construction vehicles were at the far end of the bunker instead of working on hundreds of rooms and other plans that Metachenko described.

"While many men will soon work to complete smaller details, a group now works on one final necessity to ensure total safety of shelter and people who one day live here," Metachenko said, motioning toward the group of workers at the far end. "You already notice that all available manpower works on that one particular project. For next few weeks, the crew will concentrate on getting big start to that task. Once done, ten men will continue on that project while rest begin to build living quarters."

"What is it?" Armour asked, wondering what could be so important.

"Another tunnel," Metachenko said.

"Go figure."

"Not just ordinary tunnel, but escape tunnel," the Russian explained. "As I say earlier, our engineers not totally certain that tunnel leading to surface will survive comet blast. There is strong possibility that elevator will malfunction and cut off that escape route. Therefore, we decide another tunnel, this one much smaller, will be dug. Because tunnel will need to gradually slope up toward surface hundreds of feet above us this tunnel will be several kilometers in length. It will lead to other side of mountain, just outside of valley. The engineers say if this tunnel is small enough and cuts through mountain rock, it can be built strong enough to withstand any blast."

"Sounds like your men thought of everything," Armour said, impressed by the level of preparation.

"I am not foolish to proclaim perfection. I know that once comet hits, everything we plan will not go exactly as hoped," Metachenko said. "But I am very happy with what we've done and what we will build toward."

"As well you should be," Armour said. "I just hope our space station construction can have the same success of your bunker."

While Armour was always confident of the space project's future success, seeing this amazing underground bunker made him wonder if all of NASSA's money and hours of work done could've been put to a different use.

"You will have equal good success," Metachenko assured. "With your best people and our best people working together, your space station will be success. There will be two safe havens to protect human life once comet strikes. We will have shelters in heavens and Earth."

"That might be true but your shelter is definitely made for older men like us," Armour said. "I've been in space for hundreds of hours and the experience has taught me that space is better suited for the young and vigorous."

Armour was surprised that these thoughts flowed so freely from his mouth, that the implication of his words was very apparent. But he also realized that it took him seeing this breathtaking location to finally accept that living aboard the space station was probably not in his best interests.

Metachenko immediately picked up on the underlying meaning of Armour's words. The Secretary of Defense would soon recognize the difficult decision he'd one day have to make about where he wanted to spend his post-comet life.

"There will be many Americans living with us down here after strike. Those people will need a leader who speaks their language and understands their concerns," Metachenko said. "We would gladly open our arms and invite a man as great as you if you don't feel living aboard space station is your best option."

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE.

JUNE 4, 2016.

The constant buzzing noise was the hardest thing for Wesley Maddox to deal with while living alone in space. The sound was a combination of different noises always heard no matter where he was. The low hum of the air filtration system was present in every room, while a quiet yet higher-pitched squealing from the power generator was heard more distinctly throughout the rooms on the lower level. But the loudest humming emanated from the multiple computer systems in the mission control center. Maddox was most annoyed by the noise since the majority of his non-sleeping hours were spent in this room.

The noise had been present from the first day Maddox boarded the station to begin construction. It wasn't so detectable during those first few exciting days in space. The project leader was constantly busy during that time, whether communicating with mission control on Earth or coordinating the construction process with his three teams. Since he rarely had moments of floating around with nothing to do, Maddox was never bothered by the noise.

Even when Maddox did have down time, he usually spent it talking to his second-in-command, Slava Kovalchuk, the more experienced of the two leaders. Maddox asked his Russian counterpart countless questions about running a space construction project. Although those early months were the most stressful of his life, especially after the accident, they were also the days Maddox enjoyed the most.