There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 20

Note: All persons in this novel are fictitious. If you are looking for a great deal of explicit sexual activity, this story is not for you. Those scenes that are included will be evocative rather than just for the sake of sex itself. This story is for your reading pleasure. Its length is undetermined at this time, because I do not know where my mind will take me along the way. I hope you will stay with me during this journey until it reaches its inevitable conclusion.

*****

94. Can I Go To The Beach?

"Can I go to the beach with Zoie dad?"

"It's almost 200 miles to the beach Gordon. Why don't you use the pool at their hotel?"

"They're leaving in the morning dad, and I'd like to spend some time with her. It will only take us two hours and thirty-five minutes to get there."

"Okay son, you have that grin on your face; when should I expect the other shoe to fall?"

"Zoie asked me if I could come to Charleston with them for a little while. It is only two and one half hours away by airplane, but it 1655 miles."

"You are turning into me Gordon. You are becoming very sneaky."

"Thanks dad, you with the second person that said that to me in two days."

"Let me guess, Rod was the first to tell you that, wasn't he?"

"How did you know?"

"You talked him into paying for the diamond ring, without calling me first."

"Should I consider it a major victory dad?"

"You should not consider it a major victory, but a victory nonetheless. You have my permission to go for two weeks or more if you want. You haven't had a vacation from work for several years, and you deserve to have some fun. You will live by the rules of the Schneider household. Whatever the Schneider's say to you, it will be as if I said it to you."

"Do I have any say in this matter?"

"Of course you do dear; but you're going to say yes. You want your son to be happy just as much as I do."

"Why couldn't he have your genes instead of mine?"

"He is smarter than I am, and he has the good looks of his mother. Who could possibly ask for more?"

"Would you like to see my son get angry with me?"

"I would hope not, but I guess you're going to do it anyhow."

"Gordon going on vacation requires one thing: "SHOPPING!"

"Oh God no, why mom, I have everything I need."

"When was the last time you wore a bathing suit?"

"I don't remember."

"I do, it was six years ago. Do you think you're going to fit into that one now?"

"Dad can I borrow one of your bathing suits?"

"I don't have a bathing suit Gordon. I don't know how to swim."

"You're kidding me dad. There's something you don't know how to do?"

"I never had time. That's not true; I never made time for fun activities. I was always working on my science projects. That's what made me happiest. I didn't have a family, so science was my family. The only time I took off was on Sundays in the winter, when I would use my snowmobile for recreation. I loved riding that thing, and I was very good at it. I don't want you to be like me, I want you to have some fun in your life."

"Dad, I'm going to have so much fun in my life, all the people on this planet are going to be jealous. Who else is going to be able to say they left Earth, and found a new life on another planet?"

"They will be a maximum of seventy other people able to say it. They won't be presidents, or dictators. They will be everyday ordinary citizens taking the trip of a lifetime."

"Shopping!"

"Dad, help me please, she's going to buy me a plaid bathing suit; I know it."

"I hear they're very fashionable this year Even."

"Son, just do it. You don't have to look at them, other people do. You can tell them that they are the height of fashion in Texas. When you get back home you can burn them."

"He's keeping those bathing suits if he wants to see Zoie again."

"The dictator of this house has spoken. The men of this household are subservient to her. We bow before her will. Get used to it my boy, one day that will be Zoie talking to you."

"No she won't. I will have a leash around her neck; she will not have one around mine."

I looked at Jennifer, as she looked at me; then we both laughed.

"Isn't there a man alive who controls his own household?"

Jennifer and I said, "No."

"Why?"

"It's not worth the arguing that will go on between the man and the woman son. You give her the keys to the kingdom, and she leaves you alone eighty percent of the time."

"Is that true Mom?"

"It's more than true with a man like your father. He's very malleable and easy to train."

"What your mother means son is I leave for work before she gets up in the morning. I get home late at night. I eat dinner, we talk for an hour, and I take her to bed. I satisfy her every need, and we fall asleep. I wake up early the next day and repeat the procedure. It makes her life very satisfying, and mine very easy."

"Even Luck, when you get your strength back, I'm going to kick the shit out of you."

"You shouldn't be using such terrible language in front of an impressionable teenager. Don't you have to take him shopping?"

Jennifer's demeanor changed, and a big smile returned to her face. She turned to Gordon and said, "We leave in two minutes."

He remembered our rules from his youth. He walked towards the doorway of my bedroom, and asked the explosive question.

"Mom is that a man's two minutes, or a woman's two minutes?" With that said, he ran out of my room, with his mother close at his heels. I heard his door slam closed and lock.

"I'll get you for that young man. Your bathing suits are going to be so gaudy everyone will laugh at you."

"They have stores in Charleston mom."

"You're turning into your father."

"That's the third time I've been told that in two days mom, it must be true."

"Even Luck, I'm beginning not to like you."

"I thought not liking me began a long time ago."

"Every time I get laid it starts over."

"Then you have a choice, take Gordon shopping, or come in here and close the door."

Gordon yelled, "Close the door mom!"

"Keep out of this young man, or I won't let you go."

"It's too late, I just told Zoie I'm going with her, and were sleeping in the same bed."

"You will do no such thing."

"How old were you when you became sexually active mom?"

"That's none of your business?"

"Would you like me to say it out loud mother?"

"If you do I will staple your knees to the floor."

"I guess dad showed you which way was up and which way was down on that new stapler of yours."

"You are a dead man Even. You can't keep your mouth shut for a minute."

"I just thought it was a funny story dear."

"I'm sure it was hilarious, when you told my son about it."

"I didn't tell him. I told Dycke, and everyone else in the room accidentally overheard."

"How many other people were there in the room?"

"Let me see, there was Delicious, Gordon, Gray, Newton, Payne, Zoie, Janice, Monty..."

"That's it, there is going to be a mix-up in your medicines tonight, and you are going to die. Start saying your prayers, I've given up on you being a normal human being."

"You've known from the very beginning I was not normal. Who else would walk forty miles, from the site of an airplane crash, through a forest, just to say hello."

"You never said hello, you just said my name."

"At least I remembered who you were. You looked at me and said can I help you. Couldn't you tell by the look of us that we were half dead, and needed help?"

"Don't you start with me Even Luck. It's not every day someone marches up to your door in the middle of the wilderness, looking like last week's lunch, and says your name."

"If the man is half frozen, looks like last week's lunch, and says your name, don't you think he might know you?"

"That's it Even you're dead." She stepped into our room and slammed the door closed.

Gordon opened his door, walked up to ours and yelled, "Way to go dad!"

Jennifer yelled, "You're still going shopping with me."

"Dad keep mom happy, I'm going shopping with Monty."

"Go ahead son, I'll keep her busy."

"You will not... Even stop...You are not going shopping with...Even keep your hands off... Don't you dare go... I'm going to kill... Don't leave this...Even that's cheat...If you buy a bath...Oh Even, you bastard."

"You can stop listening at your parents door Gordon. We're ready to go."

"How did you know my dad was going to win Monty?"

"Years and years of experience Gordon. Sometimes a woman wants to win, and sometimes she wants to lose. Today your mother wanted to lose."

"She didn't sound like she wanted to lose."

"Gordon how many senses do you have?"

"Five Monty: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell."

"Your mother was fighting off your father with sound, but her body was giving off other signs that said she wanted to lose. All the women here knew it; all the men were oblivious to it. Janice stopped putting your father's medicine together and put them back into the refrigerator. Janet and I put our kits together knowing we were leaving. Eugene, Jack, Frank, and Harold just sat there wondering what duty we were preparing for.

There is something called a sixth sense. It is a hyper-awareness of everything that goes on around you. Sensing your mother's ambivalence is part of it. If I asked you to remember Zoie's perfume, the aroma of it would be in your mind even though she was not in the room. You would see her face as clearly, as if she was standing in front of you. That is also part of the sixth sense. You must train your mind to remember all the important things that go on around you, so in the future you can recall them exactly."

"Let's go shopping, we have about an hour to get to the store and back, with at least three bathing suits, and tops before your mother realizes you weren't kidding."

"I have an awful lot to learn."

"You'll be sixteen soon, and you still have a long time to learn it all."

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

95. Vanished

The money is gone the bank just verified it. It was sent to the corporations we own. They acknowledged receipt of the money, but it is not on their books. Since the corporations are not banks, the bank says it is not their problem. Where the fuck did the money go, and who authorized the transfer?"

"Does anyone else have access to your codes?"

"No one does, not even you William. You would have to go to the vault in Montréal to get access to them."

"How do you know your access codes?"

"I keep them on a card like the president carries for access to the 'Football.' Only I know what line and what sequence of numbers to use."

"That's as secure as you can get these days. How did someone break your codes and transfer the money. It had to be an inside job at the bank. Someone had access to their computer. Jim, check with the bank and see if anyone else has complained that their account was tampered with."

"I'll get right on it William."

"Before you go, would you set up the secure computer for me?"

"I'll set it up by satellite for you; Peru correct?"

"Of course it is. I want to talk to that officious bastard I put in office."

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

Opening Skype on the computer, he waited for the other end to open.

In Spanish, a language he detested, he heard, "President Toledo's office, how may I help you?"

"This is vice president William Silver; tell Alejandro I want to speak with him now."

"I'm sorry sir he's in a meeting, when can he call you back?"

"Tell your president who is calling, and I need one minute of his time; NOW."

"Yes Mister Silver, I'll tell him."

A moment later, the president of Peru was on the line.

"What do you want William I am busy."

"Is she a blonde, brunette, or redhead?"

"Twins."

"I see they are serving the state well."

"Yes they are serving the state admirably. What can I do for you?"

"I need $40 million within two months. Someone robbed my bank of over $1 billion, and I intend to get even. Don't bother saying no to me. Of the 8 million votes you got in the last election, I delivered 3 million of them for you. Send me the money by diplomatic courier, in cash, and no one can know about it."

"That's an awful lot of cash William, I don't know if I can get that much money."

"Tell one of your cartel friends to give you the money, or the Army will start making things hot for them. The Americans will see that you are doing great things down there to cut off the drug supply. They will pour money into Peru to help you. You can pay the cartel back, or keep the money for yourself."

"You were always a pragmatic thinker William. I will contact you when the money is on its way."

"Enjoy your twins Alejandro."

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

"General, we have an intercept." He handed the hard copy to General Morgan.

"That son of a bitch doesn't give up, does he? Get a copy of this to Mister Zabo immediately. I'll call him and give him a heads up."

After a quick phone call to Zabo, General Morgan called out to his secretary, "Margaret could you have your translator get Lucius on the line for me?"

"I'm sorry Dan, my translator is sick today. All outgoing calls are canceled until further notice, or until you marry me. I bought the gray dress."

"Margaret it's not going to happen."

"You are already old. Do you want to be lonely as you become decrepit?"

"Considering the alternative; yes."

"I can see your armor is cracking, it took you a long time to say that."

"Get me Lucius on the phone."

"I hope he understands me."

"He is one of the few people born outside of the Northeastern part of this country that does."

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

In the back of a rusting freight container, Lucius answered his cell phone.

"Good morning sweetheart, what does he want me to do now?"

"He still won't marry me, but I believe I'm wearing him down. He didn't yell when I asked him this morning. He wants to talk to you."

"He will yell in a moment, keep your ear away from the phone."

"Hello Lucius; how are things there?"

"Congratulations general, Margaret just told me. Have you set a date yet?"

"God damn you Margaret, we are not getting married."

"Thank you Lucius, I feel better now."

"Anytime Margaret, it's better than him yelling at me."

"You two cooked this up? You're both on my shit list."

"Do you want to know what our friend had to say, or do you want to read the written report?"

"I don't want a written report Lucius. Honestly, I don't want to know how you got the information. I remember your tactics, and although they were very effective, they went far beyond the restrictions of the Geneva Conventions."

"What about our enemies, sir? Do they play by the same rules we have to play by? We know damn well they don't. They catch us doing it and it's the headline news. They do it, and our newspapers barely cover it. It's expected of them, because they are considered barbarians, sub-humans who pray to our societies weaknesses. We are a civilized society, we are held to a higher standard than they are. I won't play their game sir. They are killing our men, and their own people. I will do everything in my power to stop that from happening."

"Let's not go there again, Lucius. Tell me who this idiot is, and what has to happen to him."

"He's former CIA, working for Rockwell. He wanted manuals and pictures of our engines, plus anything else he could take out of the spacecraft with him. He was on his way to the flight deck to remove computer chips, when he ran into the two kids. He couldn't risk being caught, and identified. He was going to kill them both, and hide between the walls, until the full security sweep of the inside of the spacecraft was completed. His identification tags were perfect replicas of ours. He was next to one of our people in a bar, and took a close-up of his ID. He used a graphic design computer, and was able to make a perfect duplicate. We are going to have to find a way to keep that from happening a second time. A barcode scanner on each identification tag would identify each worker by name, and where that person worked on the spacecraft."

"What do we do with him Lucius?"

"We let him go sir. I burned his clothes, checked his body for microdots, and flushed his system three times. If he swallowed anything, it came out of that end.

He and I had a heated heart-to-heart over what he saw and understood about the engines. Although he is a very smart man, he is no physicist. When he returns to Rockwell, he won't be able to tell them anything specific about the engines. What he does know will be useless to them."

"That's great Lucius, I'm glad no harm will have to come to him. It makes me feel better."

"I knew you would sir. I took extra care in explaining that to him. I advised him of my methods, which would have been harsher on his body. I told him I wanted to do it your way so he could go back to work. After that, he was quite forthcoming. I'll be driving him to the train station as soon as I get him cleaned up."

"Thanks again Lucius, you did great work."

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

Lucius looked at the dead body on the floor in front of him. "My general says thank you for the information you gave us. I wish you would've done it his way, but you had to be an obstinate son of a bitch. I thought by the time you lost your fourth finger, you would've known I wasn't kidding around.

$5 million was not worth your life, especially now that you can't spend it. I am going to kill the stupid son of a bitch who offered it to you. He is the one that belongs on the floor not you.

I have to remove your head now. With no head or hands, the police cannot identify you if they ever find your body. I truly am sorry I have to do this to you. You served our country well, and deserve a more honorable burial than I am going to give you."

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

"Really, these are bathing suits? They look more like running shorts."

"Look at the manikins; apparently that's what they're wearing nowadays. Pick out any three or four that you like, and try them on. You're definitely not a small, even though you are very thin. Try a medium first, and if it doesn't fit, yell out and I'll bring you a large. Remember, we are in the teen department. Sizes are cut smaller here than they are in the adult department."

"I hate shopping."

"That's why women love shopping; they get to torment their husbands."

"They are too small Monty."

"Stay in there, I'll bring you a large."

"This is better, but it's grabbing me in the wrong place."

"Get dressed, were going to the men's department."

"All the training you've been doing has bulked up your thighs. That's why the material is pulling across your abdomen. Try on a small, and take a medium with you just in case you need it."

Gordon opened the dressing room and asked Monty what she thought.

She smiled at her young protégé. "You'll do, you'll do just fine."

She wasn't talking so much about his swimsuit, as much as she was talking about the development of his body. His arms had definition, his chest was expanding, his hips were narrow, and his legs looked powerful. Any young boy would be proud to have a body like his.

"We will take two more bathing suits in different colors; get you three tops, and a pair of flip-flops. That will be all you need for the beach."

"Should I bring my own towels?"

"Only if you want to; but I'm sure they have plenty of them."

"I know I don't say this enough, but thank you Monty, thank you for everything."