Dark as Daylight Ch. 09

"Why are we leaving now, William?"

"I want you, Gwen, and our girls out of here now. I don't want another surprise attack on this house with all of you in it. As soon as your cars leave, the boys and I are out of here also. You are going north. I am going southwest. I promise on my love for you that I am not going near the battle zone. I will be directing it from a safer place. It has a nuclear fallout shelter designed for Presidents, and Congress. I will be safe, just as you will be safe underneath Patty's home. We will not have to worry about one another, my love. If divine providence smiles on us, we will die in bed together of old age."

"You old fart, you better keep that promise to me. I expect you home, when this is over."

"We have all the pieces in place to protect everyone. Fortunately, we had a 4-day window to prepare for this attack. The element of surprise has been negated, and this may be over before it starts. I will not take a chance with the people I love. Put your jacket on, kiss me, tell me you love me, and go."

"I've never seen you this worried William."

"I've never had so many family members to worry about at one time. This is the hardest game of chess I've ever had to play, and until I get you, our boys, and our baby girls safe, I have a right to worry."

"I love you William. I have since the day you came down my throat."

"That was fun.""

"I want to show you something I packed."

She ran to a piece of her luggage, opened it, and hid the item behind her back as she returned to him.

"Do you want to take a guess what is?"

"I don't believe now is the time for 20 questions dear."

"I don't want to leave you with such a dower look on your face. I want you to take this with you, smile, and think of me while we are part."

"I'll try; what is it?"

She brought her hands around to the front of her body, and handed him a Lucite cube. It took him a second before his frown started to crack, and a smile crossed his lips. Then a full throated laugh left his body.

"You're giving me your panties?"

"Would you prefer I give them to Patrick?"

"Yes mom give them to me. I'll do more with them the he will."

"Pat, it's time for us to leave this room; quietly if possible. Otherwise I'll drag you by your neck."

"Why, what did I do wrong this time?"

"Don't ask, just come with me."

"No fun, no fun at all."

"So you want me to think about your ass, while I'm gone?"

"I was hoping you would think about more than my ass, but if that's as high as you can get, I'll take it."

"Jemma, when we get back together, I'm going to buy United Airlines, and make it a private company. I'm going to give it to you as an anniversary present. I don't give a fuck if you close it down, but that was the best day of my life."

"You cursed in our house, William. It's the first time you've ever done that here."

"It's the Patrick effect; he's rubbing off on me."

"When we get back, I'm going to start beating the hell out of him until he gets his mouth straight. I won't have you falling backwards on your manners."

"Thank you dear. Now I want you out of this house without any more delays."

"Gwen let's go."

"She can't mom, she has Williams' head down her throat."

"As long as it's not the head of his penis, you can watch."

"I watch it on my computer all the time."

"Now that I have been informed of that fact, we will remove the computer from your room."

"I don't use the one in my room for entertainment. I use the one in your room. It has easier access to the Internet."

"William, if you come back with only one son I will forgive you."

"There will be a lot of changes by the time we get home dear. Get out of this house, now. Gwen will be 4 feet behind you."

"Alfonse if you would."

"Jemma please come with me."

"Yes Alfonse."

"You will recognize your close body protection instantly. He is a mountain that moves and will answer to the call sign 'Hoosick' initially. He has to bend down to get into rooms, and is as gentle as a baby bear to friends. You don't want to get him angry, because bullets won't stop him. His name is Andy. He will have Kathy with him. She was a part of a different mission, and is still under his protection. We picked him to guard you, Gwen, and the babies, because he is the best."

"Thank you Alfonse, please take care of yourself."

"Thank you Jemma, please listen to your guards. Don't ask why, just do it."

"You're beginning to sound like my husband."

"I take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as a compliment."

"Is everyone ready?"

The replies were 'Yes.'

"The cars are ready."

"Countdown: 1-2-3-GO."

14 seconds later, Jemma, Gwen, the two infant girls, and their nannies; plus, Davis, the driver, and Heath, the lead agent, were in the armored limousine, screaming north on Central Park East. They had 2 cars in front, and 3 cars trailing them.

It was 12:15 a.m., and any car on the road seeing lights flashing and sirens roaring, darted out of the way of this oncoming site. They turned left on 110 Street, at the north end of Central Park, heading west towards the Joe DiMaggio Expressway. Police cars, seeing this convoy believed it must be a head of state or some political emergency situation they joined in making the major crossing streets, like Broadway and Seventh Avenue by stopping traffic north and southbound.

Once on the highway, cars swerved to get out of their way. Beside the lights and sirens blaring at them, the horns were added for extra emphasis. 100 miles an hour on these highways made the ride bumpy, but the only ones that seemed not to mind where the babies. They were sleeping through the entire event.

Jemma and Gwen were holding each other's hands fearing for their lives. They were wondering if this was the safest way to get the Glens Falls; maybe walking would be better.

The limousine took the turn onto the cross County Parkway on 2 wheels, maybe. There was a crunching noise heard on the left side of the black beast they were riding in, and a loud bang when it settled down on all 4 wheels.

The 2 agents up front looked at each other and grinned.

Jemma was happy she wasn't pregnant. She would've thrown up all over everyone if she was.

*************

"Look mom there's the airport, we are here."

Their smiles faded as the signs for the Westchester County Airport past them by.

Jemma yelled, "You missed the airport."

"Mister Zabo changed his mind at the last minute. We are not going to the airport. We are going to some place more secure. When it comes to your safety he does not fool around."

"You better watch out mom, pretty soon he's gonna staple you to his body to keep watch over you."

"I'm not sure I wouldn't mind that Gwen. He does have his moments."

"The way he goes on about when William was born, I can't wait to see what the girls do to my husband."

"Get him a farmer's apron, otherwise he's going to ruin all his suits."

"All of this started because of a little redheaded girl."

"He screamed he wanted to go back to China in the worst way, and then you tripped him."

"I did not. We will argue over that for the rest of our lives."

"At least you have something to talk about when you're angry with one other."

The limo skidded into a 90o left turn, down an unlit road. Davis put on an infrared driving helmet to see where he was going. It was pitch black outside, and the only things you could see was the taillights in front of you. At least they had slowed down a little; they were only doing 70.

The 2 cars in front of them slid into a blocking formation, as the limousine drove towards an underground garage, as its steel gate was still in the process of opening. In order not to take the top of the limousine off, Davis hit the brakes, threw the car into a spin, went into reverse, and finally entered the parking facility backwards.

Davis yelled to Heath, "How long man, how long did it take me?"

Heath looked at his watch. "19 minutes 27 seconds."

"Yeah man, pay me. I told you I could do it in under 20 minutes."

"Are you 2 out of your damn minds? You could have killed us driving like that. My husband is going to murder you two."

"Actually Mrs. Zabo, we were following his directions."

"Exactly what were my husband's directions Davis?"

"Your husband said, 'Get our wives to this facility as quickly as possible.' That's exactly what I did, Mrs. Zabo. The bet was irrelevant."

"How much did you bet him Heath?"

"Our usual Mrs. Zabo, $10 dollars."

"He drove like that to win $10 dollars?"

"The hard part is still to come."

"I can't wait to hear this."

"Neither can I mom, this should be good."

"Go ahead Davis, tell us the hard part."

"As soon as the helicopter touches down, we leave. We have to be in Glens Falls before you arrive. The helicopter will land here. The team will put Cynthia, Veronica, the 2 little girls, and you two into it, and take off. It will hover around until the rest of the team can get to the Westchester airport refueling area, where it will refill its tanks, and put some refreshments on board their vehicles.

Meanwhile, we will be using our lights and sirens heading north on Interstate 87 eating up as much ground as we can of the 188-mile trip, before your friend Paul takes to the air.

Our guys will be on the road heading north behind the helicopter and should arrive between 4 and 5 AM. Paul will not land, until we tell him to. There is one other asset up there, who will be waiting for us."

"My husband is out of his fucking mind."

"Ma'am, you are one of the few people in this world that can get away saying that to him. Neither Heath, or I would dare do it."

"I understand that. Gwen, I think all Zabo men are crazy."

"Maybe we should never let Patrick get laid. If he doesn't know what he's missing, he will never get married. He will never have children, and that poor girl will never have to put up with him."

Jemma looked at Gwen, and Gwen returned Jemma's wry glance. They smiled as they spied each other.

"Fat Chance!"

***************

The Attorney General's secure private line rang at his home at 2 A.M. Monday. He was very unhappy when his wife kicked him, because he didn't pick it up by the third ring.

"Kenshaw!"

"General, this is Beach. You have 4 of us on special assignment looking into the items that were blown up on the way to Virginia."

"Beach, if this is not earth shattering news, the 4 of you are fired as of this instant. What do you have?"

"Sir, we have come across nearly 1300 L-1 Visa's that have been issued, but have no paper trail. They have a name, no country, no specialty. They don't have a sponsor, or state they are going to be working in. Portsmouth Virginia is the point of entry for all of them, but they don't have a date of entry, or if their visas have been extended for any period of time. A few of these could be marked off as part of the free trade agreement with Chile, and Mexico, but not all 1300. Something big is going to happen sir, and we have a feeling it is going to happen soon.

Our first worry was why this information was on the NASA computers, and not on the FBI, or any other intelligence agency computer. NASA is not required to share information with those agencies, because their work is not in the intelligence field. It's a perfect cover if someone is planning a large-scale attack on US facility.

Our super-rocket is spread out all over the country, in various stages of completion. Assembly won't start, until the engines have been certified. That leads us to one conclusion sir; someone is going to attack the 'Deep Space Science Project' facility in South Carolina."

"Best estimate, how sure are you of this?"

"1300 unknown nationals entering the country. No paper trail. 3 months to prepare; our best estimate is 85 percent positive."

"Good work, you are still employed. Keep digging and see what else you can dig up. I have work to do."

**************

"William, Tim Kenshaw, I have problematic news. 1300 L-1 Visa's cannot be accounted for over the last three months. My people believe, with an 85% certainty, there is going to be an attack on your South Carolina facility."

"I know Tim, and we are prepared."

"What the fuck do you mean you know, and you are prepared? I just found out about it."

"Tim, your responsibilities are all over the world. My responsibilities are centered around my family, and my businesses. My biggest business at this moment is the spacecraft. Every ear I have is on the ground listening for trouble. We found out about this Thursday, and we have made the appropriate moves. My family has scattered, our defenses have been mobilized, and members of the FBI have been invited to make the arrests for those who survive.

I have to ask you a very big favor, and I know it will be hard for you to do, because you are the nation's top law enforcement officer.

Tim do and say nothing to anyone not even yourself, until this is over."

"Why William, this is equivalent to an act of war against the United States."

"Tim, we are getting very close to the tip of the spear, and when we blunt this attack, and catch its leader, alive, we hope, we may have that name. We believe he's hiding in Switzerland, and I am coordinating with the FBI's Agent Burkart, who will be in attendance, Tuesday and Wednesday, when we believe this attack will take place. Will you do that for me Timothy?"

"I owe you my position William; I will do this and much more for you if you ever ask."

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"Yes, but they won't say a thing about it. They are good people William. They wouldn't leak information to the press at the point of a gun. Are you safe?"

"My family and I, although we are separated, are all in bomb shelters. If they come after us, they better have a nuclear weapon with them."

"Tim, I can make the appropriate precautions if you want to be in attendance. I know it is very risky, that's why I and my family are not going to be there. It would, however, give the impression to our enemy that we know nothing about their impending attack. Agent Burkart and a dozen other federal agents are going to be in attendance. It would look like another ordinary party for dignitaries. The boys are going to be there, and we can arrange for one more armor plated 'Stasis Box' to be arranged nearby theirs. Think about it and let me know. My plane is picking up the FBI personnel Tuesday, at 7:30 P.M. Tim, how many Visa's did you say were missing?"

"1300 William."

"Very good, I will spread the word to General Marcus."

"Wasn't he just kicked off the Joint Chiefs of Staff?"

"Yes he was, but it was a mistake in moral conduct that he did not know about. Everyone is entitled to one mistake Tim; we've all been there before."

"Yes we have, I can attest to that myself. We will get together when this is over William. I have a bottle of Napoleon brandy from 1866 that I've been waiting to use for a special location. I can't think of anything more special than this."

"I will take you up on that offer. Hopefully, we will open that bottle next Monday, in Washington."

"Why don't I come to you instead. The bottle is in a vault under the Citibank building."

"I'll send my helicopter to get you. It's better than that god-awful train, and waiting at Andrews'. Thanks for the call Tim; let me know about Tuesday, now go back to sleep."

Timothy Kenshaw thought to himself, "I wish I knew 1/10 of what that man knows. I don't need his money, I have enough of my own. What I want is his intellect, and to understand the way he moves his pieces around the world wide chess board, he either owns or controls.

***************************

"Engineering to Captain Jamison, Engineering to Captain Jamison."

"This Captain Jamison go ahead Jack."

"Captain, I would sit on this bird and fly it myself back to earth if need be. That's how sure I am she's going to make it."

"Okay Jack, let me check with Callie and the science section and get you an updated heading to earth. I'm going to turn the ship now to a heading of 0800, and we will use that as our firing position."

"Roger Captain, 0800. I'll set that into the computer now."

"Captain Jamison to Captain Thyme. Captain Jamison to Captain Thyme."

She received no answer

"Elizabeth answer me."

"I'm sorry Captain, I haven't gotten that through my thick skull yet. How can I help you Captain?"

"Turn the ship left heading 0800 angle of inclination 0550 execute immediately."

"Roger Captain."

"Helm...

"Roger turning to new heading 0800, angle of inclination 0550."

"Senior Captain is on the bridge."

"I have command Elizabeth."

"Callie, Senior Captain Montgomery Jamison has the bridge."

"Do you agree Senior Captain?"

"I do Callie. Do you have an updated trajectory for the rocket to planet Earth?"

"Heading for planet Earth is 124.1040 angle of declination 280."

"Callie from our current heading of 0800, what is the best routing to Atwater Luck?"

"I cannot give you that information at this time, due to the delay factor in launching the rocket towards Earth, Captain."

"Thank you Callie, I was getting ahead of myself."

"Bridge to engineering, Jack how long?"

"Keep your pants on Captain; we don't want to screw up now. Not more than 10 minutes, we are screwing on the nose plate, and rolling it into position. The boys and girl are suited up and in the clean room checking their pressurization, while we are pushing the rocket out onto the platform and into its' locked position.

"Gordon is EVA ready to go?"

"Yes we are ready Jack. My air pressure is a little low, but you will take care of that when I get back in. We already know what the problem is, so it's no big deal. In case of an emergency, I can hook up to Delicious air supply."

"Captain, engineering and EVA is ready to go."

"Kiss that sucker for all of us Jack, and send it to our former home: The Planet Earth."

Everyone who worked, and put his or her blood sweat and tears into fixing the last rocket went by it, touched it, and wished it a safe journey home. They had done everything in their power, and beyond, to make it a safe and successful journey. Now it was up to God to see if She willed it to get there safely, and deliver the messages that were recorded for the ones they left behind.

"Jack, we are all sealed up out here, you can lower the pressure."

"The pressure is neutralized, and the ramp is coming down."

"Captain, the first thing you have to do, when you lose enough weight, is to take a walk with me out here. If you ever want to believe how strong our God is, you can see it in the stroke of Her hand. It is beyond words."

"If I went with you, it would spoil the view."

"That's what I get for being nice. Okay everyone, release the springs in order. Sam your number one."

"Spring is released and secured."

"Delicious."

"Spring is released and secured."

"Bill it's you and me together and let's catch it when it pops up. 1-2-3, release."

"Sam, move the cart back, and lock it in place. I'm opening the timer door. It's preset for 2 minutes. I'm pushing start. The numbers are counting down. I'm closing the timer door, and locking it.

Delicious, it's your honor. Give this thing a good push for dad. Send it home to Idaho Springs."

"You got it handsome."

She took hold of the grip, leaned back, and with everything she had, threw the rocket forward into the ink black night. Theoretically, they were done. Moving at over 4 times the speed of light there was no way they could predict where the rocket would be when it lit off.

Gordon kept track of the time on his chronometer, and counted down for his 3 crewmates as they scanned the dark abyss.

"...5-4-3-2-1-now."

Delicious pointed and yelled, "Look, there, there goes daddy."