There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 33

"Thank you Captain, you've made me feel much better."

"Please remember Miss Valentino that this is my best guess. The FAA uses its own crystal ball."

"I'll remember Captain."

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

With her seat reclined like a bed, and covered with a light blanket Laura began to dose. From the speakers set into the chair George whispered, "What the fuck did you do?"

Laura screamed, jumped out of the chair, and looked around the interior of the aircraft to see where George was. She walked to the back, checked behind each chair, and walked to the front. He wasn't anywhere to be found. She knocked on the cockpit door and asked the captain to open it. Initially he refused because of federal policy, but as she became irate he opened the door.

"Is there anyone up here beside you two?"

"Miss Valentino only the two of us can fit up here."

"Is there any way to get down below to the fuses or anything like that?"

"Yes there is, you're standing on it."

"How do you open it?"

"There is a latch in the cockpit that opens it."

"There's no other way to open it?"

"No ma'am, as you can see it is flush with the floor, and covered with carpeting. The latch and spring mechanism is underneath the floor. No one can open it from the top."

"Thank you very much Captain."

Laura returned to her seat. She looked at it, lay down, and in moments she began to doze into a fitful sleep.

George waited a short time before he said, "Are you going to steal a helicopter, crash and lose your memory, when you get home? Is that how you decided to lose your life?"

Laura screamed, and jumped out of her chair. "Leave me alone George, I want to go home. I have to think, and I can't think around all those people."

George activated the chair the speakers in the chair behind her. "All those people; do you mean all your friends, or the people you abandoned?"

She spun around to look for him. "They didn't need me anymore. You said so. The computer could do my job."

"The computer can't marry Adam. You threw him away like a piece of trash."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in your head dummy. You're sleeping, you only think you're moving around. You're arguing with yourself, but you think you're talking to George. Remember what you said about him? He's part of your soul, he's part of your heart. He's part of your mind too. All those hours you talked together, did you think he's not stored between our ears? Lie down and rejoin your body, your mother is going to call you."

Laura did as she was told, and as soon as she covered herself, her cell phone rang.

"Hello mom."

"Hello baby, how did you know it was me?"

"A little bird told me."

"A little bird my ass. I just found out you are cooped up in one of our aircraft for the next three or four weeks."

"Our pilot thinks it is going to be less than two hours."

"Your pilot is an optimist. What did you do honey? Why did you throw your life away? Are you becoming like I was? Are we twins again as we were when we took up the stasis project? Please talk to me, I don't want you to have to dig yourself out of the same deep dark hole I had to while the three of you were growing up. You and Robert told me I've ruined your young lives because of the way I was. Don't do it honey, I ruined too many lives I was barely able to save your sister's in time."

"What do you want me to do mom?"

"What do I want you to do? I want you to stay home with me. I told you that from the very beginning. However, this is not about what I want you to do. This is about what you want to do. Your sister has a life. Your brother has a life. What does Laura Valentino want to do with her life?"

"If you asked me that question yesterday, I would have told you, without any reservation, I wanted to go into space. I want to marry Adam, and I wanted to know if our stasis devices worked. These are the things I wanted mom, and now I don't know."

"Let's go over them one at a time and see which one bothers you the most okay?

"Okay."

"Adam, do you or do you not love him enough to marry him?"

"Mom he's a pain in the ass."

"So is your father and I've been married to him for 25 years. Now answer the question. Do you love him, and do you want to marry him?"

"I love him with all my heart mom. He just keeps pissing me off."

"Your father and I have a room to take care of that problem."

"Yes I know mom."

"So there's no problem with Adam?"

"No mom, there is no problem with Adam."

"Do you still want to find out if our stasis devices work? 63 people are betting their lives on what we did. Junie survived for one year. Do you think they will work for 10 or more?"

"That's why I want to go. I want to say to the people that are stepping in there for the first time that this is my design. This is my work. You don't have to worry, because I'm getting in there with you. When you get out you will be fine, because I will be getting out at the same time."

"Okay, stasis is not a problem and the only way you are going to find out if stasis works is the third question, "Are you afraid of going into space?"

"No I'm not, for some reason or another I know I belong out there and so do my children."

"Will you kindly tell me what you have to think about?"

"It's exactly what dad said, "Separation Anxiety."

"I'm going to miss you, dad, Anna, Cloudy, and George. How do you replace a man that knows you better than you know yourself? How do you replace a family that you've grown up with?"

"That's easy baby. You get married, and you start all over again. Of course you going to miss your old family, but it would be the same thing if you moved to Australia. However on this trip you won't be coming home, you will be finding a new home. You will be pioneers."

"How do I find George and tell him I'm sorry for the way I acted?

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't hear you. Would you please say that again?"

"How do I find George and tell him I'm sorry for the way I acted."

Over the aircraft's PA system George said, "You're forgiven, you pain in the ass."

"You said you were between my ears, you lying bastard."

"Would you like to meet me outside and discuss this?"

"You set all this up."

"I did no such thing, so if you going to blame someone, blame the right party."

"Tell me who it is."

"Find out for yourself. I was fired, remember?"

"I'm sorry George, I was an idiot. Please forgive me, and returned to work for me?"

"I want Mondays and Tuesdays off."

"If you work Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, you can have the rest of your life off."

"What are you going to do, have me killed?"

"No, I'm leaving, and you'll never have to work for this pain in the ass again."

"Are you going to be married?"

"You just heard me tell my mother I was going to be married."

"Okay, I will work Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, but if you break your word, I'm going to break your legs."

"You can try."

"Mom did you do this to me?"

"No, and neither did your father, I think. I'm going to hang up now, because it's approaching dinnertime, and I have to start cooking. You know what you have to do darling, so I would start doing it."

"Wait a minute, do you know where Adam is?"

"As far as I know the last time anyone saw him was when he got into his truck and started driving away from the facility."

"George do you have any idea?"

"I have no idea, because I am stuck in the aircraft next to you."

"Can we go back to the terminal now so I can get my life back?"

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

As they skidded to a stop in front of the hanger, they noticed several agents were lined up by the area in front of the bear traps. They believed it was a meeting, because everyone was getting ready to set up the stage, and chairs for Wednesday's event.

I came out of the office to greet them, and Laura hugged me.

"I'm sorry I caused all this trouble today. I have no idea what got into me, but suddenly I had to get out of here in the worst way."

"I know the feeling Laura, I know it extremely well. When my daughter and I had a fight at the Grand Canyon, I ran away to the most northern tip of Alaska before I regained my senses. It took two of my closest friends to get me to come back."

"I had help too. George, and my mother finally talk some sense into me. I have to find Adam and apologize to him. I don't know if he'll accept it, but I really love him, and I want him to come with us."

"Adam has already made the decision to come with us. He had no reason to stay here. Without you his life was worthless, and he said he would see us on Wednesday. He seemed a little despondent to me, and I didn't want him to get hurt or drunk and get into an accident, or kill himself. So I came up with an alternate plan to keep him around."

"What did you do to get him to stay safe Uncle Even?"

"Jim and a few other agents are keeping an eye on him."

"The agents who were laughing outside?"

"Yes."

"There beating the hell out of my Adam?"

"That's could be one explanation."

"I'll kill them all."

Laura ran out of the hanger screaming for Adam. As she approached the bear traps, the agents parted, and only Jim stood in her way.

"How may I help you Miss Valentino?"

"I'm looking for Adam Schiff."

"What claim do you have on him?"

"He is my fiancé you asshole. Where is he?"

"Down there."

"What is he doing down there?"

"Doctor Luck said he looked down, so we decided to put him down there in order to keep him safe. He already had one bad arm, we didn't want to hurt the other arm or break one of his legs. I decided this was the best place for him, under the circumstances."

"Back away Jim, or you are going to join him."

George said, "Before the fighting starts, I would like to give 3 to 2 odds on Jim please."

I said, "I'd like $5000 on Laura please."

George replied, "It will be a pleasure to take your money Doctor."

Several of Jim's agents put their money on him, and while the bets were being taken, Laura asked to speak with Adam.

"Hello down there. Can you ever forgive me for being an ass?"

"Can I be honest with you Laura?"

"Honesty is the only way this is going to work."

"I don't think we are going to work. Every time you get angry it's always my fault. I cross some imaginary line, it's my fault. You say don't piss you off, and I have no idea how I'm pissing you off, because all I was doing was telling a joke. You have no sense of humor, and you are not willing to meet me halfway.

I'll give you an example. 'What is the temperature of space?' Instead of saying it varies by 1000°, I got a dissertation as to why it varies by 1000°. I'm not a scientist, I am a plumber. I will never be as smart as you are. I work with my hands, and I know a little about flow science because it's part of my trade. I have an IQ of 128. Yours is probably over 200. I thought we could make it work, because we loved each other, but I was wrong. Love is just not enough."

Laura jumped down into the pit, and kissed him.

"Listen to me, I just agreed to fight Jim. He is the number one agent and fighter this entire complex has, because I want you back. I may be all the things you said, but those things can be changed. I never had to change them before, because I was always alone. My mother told me how easy it was to change them and I never realized it.

I asked her, "How do you change the habits of a lifetime?"

She said, "Baby, it's easy, you get married."

"For years I never listened to what my mother said, because she was always dictating everything to me. You will do this. You will do that. I was doing the same thing with you, because it was the only way I knew how to handle my life. Now I know there's another way, and even my mother and father had to learn it to marry each other.

If you give me another chance, I will learn how to do it with you. I promise you I will change."

"No more broken arms?"

"I didn't break your arm, it's only sprained."

"No more lectures on scientific stuff?"

"I will try to change that."

"I can start on your back instead of the front?"

"Absolutely not."

"I can live with that. Can we get out of here now?"

"George, w..."

A ladder appeared 2 feet to her left.

"I hate that man."

"Can I get help going up the ladder please?"

"Do you mean you don't know... Yes dear."

"Thank you, and yes I do."

"You tested me?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Sneaky, very sneaky, I'll put some ice in your shorts later."

"It's better than being on the floor."

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

"Are you ready to go Laura?"

"Let me get Adam a chair, and then we can begin."

"He can sit by me Laura, I was the only one to bet on you."

"Okay Uncle Even. Did anyone draw a square?"

Jim said, "I didn't think it was necessary. This is going to be over in less than a minute."

"I agree, but you may want to try to step out of bounds to try and keep it going longer."

"Little lady, you have some pair of horns."

Adam said, "Jim, you have no idea how big her horns are."

"Thank you dear that was very nice of you."

Jim was standing in his corner, when he removed his shirt, and his T-shirt.

Laura saw him do it, and removed the top part of her pant suit, and her bra.

The men went wild. They whistled and applauded as she stood there ready to take on her opponent.

Jim looked at her and shouted, "Put something on, you're nearly naked."

"I'm just following your lead. You took off your shirt and undershirt, and so did I. Are you just delaying this match because you're afraid?"

"I'm not starting this match, because you're indecently dressed."

"You can go to any beach, and see as much, or more than I'm showing."

"What would you do if I went to a nude beach?"

Laura didn't answer. She put her thumbs into the elastic waist of her slacks pulled them down to her ankles and took them off. Then she untied the little ties on the sides of panties and pulled them off. She was left in her sneakers, and anklets.

Jim stared at her, not believing that this extremely wealthy woman would be standing here in front of a crowd of 20 men, naked, and ready to fight him.

"Do you have any other questions Jim, or are my sneakers too much for you to handle?"

"No Miss Valentino, you've made your point, I concede."

At first there was a yell among the crowd of "NO," because of the money they lost, but then Laura did a plié, a pierotte, a high kick, and the men began applauding.

Adam kissed her, picked up her panties, and stuffed them in his pocket.

She whispered, "Give me my panties."

"I don't want the rest of the world to see how my wife puts these panties on in the morning. That is supposed to be reserved for me."

"You're going to give me a second chance?"

"I love you so much Laura, I would have given you a third, fourth, and fifth chance. I just wasn't going to tell you, because you would think I was weak."

"It took a very strong man to take on my mother and win. It took a stronger man to take me on and win. My mother gave up when she was 21. I didn't give up, until I was 24. You are a stronger willed man than my father, and my father is an extremely strong willed man."

"I think you should get dressed. Then call your parents and tell them we are okay. They removed your paperwork in order to keep you alive. Now they have to call and tell them you are dead."

"I think I'll let you tell them I'm dead. It doesn't seem right for me to tell them."

"Why don't we invite them to dinner, two live people, and two dead people?"

"We can use by American Express Black card, it seems fitting."

"It will be the last time you can use it, because by tomorrow the credit card company will know you're dead. You're too young and beautiful to die. I'll take care of you, until we are reborn."

"Okay."

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

158 Tuesday, December 24

"I swear if that clock doesn't move, I'm going to kill it with a hammer."

"It wouldn't matter. It's the clock at the Air Force Academy that keeps time for everyone. Are you going to drive up there and kill that clock also?"

"I'm supposed to be the logical one Jennifer, not you."

"Then act like it, you pompous ass. It's 4 AM, we have 37 hours before liftoff. Are you going to be a bear for all that time?"

"Probably."

"Well, at least you're honest about it. I'll crush up some sleeping pills, and put them in with your breakfast."

"You would not do that to me on the day before liftoff. You know I want to see the ship, and check it out again."

"I would do anything to get you out of this house today, anything at all. Don't forget to say goodbye to Richard and Holden before you leave this morning. They are moving over to Rod and Rosalynn's house later today. We may not see them again, until tomorrow afternoon."

"It's a good thing you reminded me, my head seems to be elsewhere."

"Is 'elsewhere' dark?"

"Why do you ask?"

"If it is, I would tell you to pull it out of your ass, and relax. Everything that can be done, has been done. Our people are trained to a knife's edge. Our passengers are raring to go. Our investors, and invited guests are all here, and the press is banging at the gates to get the best vantage point available.

Then there are the most important people of all, our scientists. Visualize the past eight years, and see what they have accomplished. I don't want to seem blasphemous, but what they have done in such a short period of time is almost godlike. Nearly 900 patents in 8 plus years. Even it is unheard of, in any industry or corporate venture, for so few people to come up with so many different, radically new ideas that they warrant new patents. Even your glowing ankle bracelet for children received a patent. I couldn't believe that one myself.

Rod said the woman at the patent office cries when she sees him on a Monday morning.

Our investors are the happiest people of all. Stephano said that their total cost was less than $17.5 billion each. They have already recouped their investment, and are earning billions of dollars a year on income off the patents. This is not news to you, William has told you this time and time again."

"William laughs every time he hears someone attached to the government say space is an expensive venture. In the hands of private industry, it's a moneymaking venture. Someone will realize that soon enough."

"Are you going to go back to sleep? Are we going to make love, or are you hungry? Which one should I prepare myself for?"

"I think we will start with number two, and then move quickly to number three. Finally, I will move to number one."

"I swear Even, someone should teach you how to count."

"I like my way better."

"Good choice dad."

"Zoey, you are going to kill that boy."

"He's wearing the biggest smile you've ever seen."

Jennifer said, "Zoey remember, this is not a sprint, this is a marathon. You may have 100 years ahead of you to use that thing. You don't want to burn it out in the first year."

"Okay mom, just one more time and we will meet you for breakfast."

"It's going to take us 45 minutes to an hour Zoey. Go slowly, and be sure you both enjoy it."

"Look what you did now mom, while we were talking he fell asleep."

"He may have been exhausted, the poor little guy."

"He is not poor, and he's definitely not little, but he is asleep, and when he wakes up, I'm going to kill him."

"Every man has..."

Zoey screamed, cried out, and laughed as if she was being attacked by a monster, and she was. The monster was her husband, the one she thought was asleep.

"You may continue on dad, I have the situation in my bedroom well underhand."