There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 13

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.

*****

Chapter 13

53. Messages

After receiving the text from Shelby, I was not certain my communication systems were secure, and that was something I needed to know now. The easiest way to find out was the oldest way in the book; find a public telephone. That is easier said than done in this day and age.

Rod told me I could find one in our public utilities building. It was a cost savings method they used for contractors whose cell phones did not work in our mountainous regions.

I called Shelby, and asked the three questions which were on my mind: "1. Are my communications secure? 2. Is it safe for Delicious and Gray to get married July 25th? 3. Is it safe for them to go on their honeymoon to Europe?"

He was very emphatic with his answers.

"Even, we did the upgrade on your phone lines, while you were in Austin. They are secure. If you get a high pitch tone on your phone lines, or hash marks at the beginning of your computer upload, someone has tempered with those lines. Shut everything down and call me.

Delicious and Gray can get married as scheduled. These people wouldn't be brash enough to kill that many scientists and wealthy people, and expect to get away with it. They are watched and listened to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If we get a whisper out of them, you will know about it.

Europe is out of the question. It would be a perfect place for them to kidnap them and get away with it. Make no changes to their plans publicly; don't even tell them about it. Send them to Australia and New Zealand. It may not be as historical, but it is much safer for them."

I said, "I'm going to call my investors to see if they want to back out. This is getting much too dangerous. I don't want to see any of them lose their lives, or their money."

"You were always a good man Even. Dad is on his way to Greece with mom. I am in charge now. If you need me, I'm always here for you."

"Thanks Shelby, it's good to have friends in high places."

********

I set up a conference call with my investors to tell them the problems we were now facing. I made it for 6 PM Milan Italy time, to make it convenient for Celeste and Philip Castronova. It would be noon on the East Coast and 10 AM here in Denver. Everyone congratulated me on the birth of my son, and then I immediately got down to business.

"Ladies, gentlemen, I have called you today on a manner of the utmost urgency. There is a high-powered corporation, here in the United States that wants us to fail at any cost. They were the ones responsible for the attack on the armored cars. They had help from either the NSA or the CIA. My source is impeccable. It is his belief that this corporation will do anything to disrupt, and dismantle our project.

I want to give you this opportunity to protect yourselves and your investments from being wasted on a project that could be blown up at the last moment.

Apparently, these people have a vested interest in the new super-rocket being built to send Orion to Mars. If we can do in one hour, what will take 46 days for them to do; they are going to be out of business. I am in this project until the end. I will understand, quite frankly, I would advise you, for your own safety, to drop out now."

William Zabo was the first to answer. "What are you going to do with all my patents if I drop out?"

"May I quote you my friend? You have enough money for 10 lifetimes. These patents would bring you up to 100 lifetimes. You would have to talk Jemma into many more children."

"I'm trying Even, she's not cooperating."

Everyone on the call laughed.

"Did Shelby give you a name?"

"I won't even ask how you knew it was Shelby, but no he didn't. He just said the company was very high up the food chain."

"I will speak to him, and get that information from him. I am in with you Even. I want to watch as you lift off the ground and take that spaceship of ours to the stars."

"Thank you William, please be careful, I would be devastated if anything happened to you or any member of your family."

"Thank you my friend, I will take extra precautions."

"Philip, you lost your entire family to an act of terrorism. I believe you and Celeste should withdraw to keep your family safe, and have your family name continue for the future."

"Even should I tell you where my balls are now, or do you want to guess?"

"How hard is she squeezing?"

"Tears are about to flow out of my eyes. My darling wife and I wish to stay with you and our project until your vessel is transmitting pictures back from beyond the moon."

"Celeste let the man go, he has suffered enough."

"Who me; I was just playing with my husband."

"Yes Celeste, like a pride of lions play with a water buffalo."

"Be nice to me Even; you know what happens when I get angry."

"Yes, you will squeeze Phillips balls until he screams."

"You and your son are the last of your line Stephano. Is Patti anywhere near her gun? "

"Yes she is, but Laura, Robert, and Anna have her arms pinned to her sides. She can't move."

Patti yelled, "They do not. It's tough enough getting my head around this problem, without you causing more trouble."

"Are you having a problem with stasis Patti?"

"Are we having a problem with stasis Laura?"

"I wouldn't call it a real problem Doctor Luck. I would say after four weeks of trying, we are at -20."

"Is that all; -20? When I was working on bending radio waves, I was in the minus thousands, until I made a mistake and put in the wrong heat coefficient. That was the day everything changed and it worked. Keep trying, it will happen."

"Thank you Doctor Luck, I was not going to give up until my mother and I started fighting."

"When you start to fight, don't forget to listen to the other person's argument. There could be a kernel of truth in there that you need."

"Mister and Mrs. Chase, how do you feel about this project?"

"Even with the amount of money that comes into my account every month, I will never be poor. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

"Mr. Schneider, how do you feel about this? You are involved in this project in more than one way."

"Doctor Luck, I have had a security team around me since I was 18 years old. No member of my family goes out without them for any reason. We are with you on this project."

"How do you feel about this President Atwater?"

"Doctor Luck, not only am I in, but I will use every resource I have to find out who the perpetrators are and bring them to justice."

William Zabo said, "Mister President if I was a betting man, and I am, I would bet you $1 million that is MicManus industries in New Orleans. Our organization is a direct threat to the life-blood of that corporation's existence. Without this contract they are dead in the water. Although Boeing is the prime contractor, they are doing the actual building of the rocket. If anything goes wrong, they will be blamed."

"That company played both sides of the political fence in the last election. They funded both parties equally. They were very cute about it too. They attended all the appropriate dinners, and shook all the right hands. I'll be damned if I can remember any of the corporate faces."

"Mister President can you find out who, and what agency helped them fire the rockets at my trucks?"

"The other Party controls everything right now: the Congress and the presidency. So that's going to be very hard to do. I still have friends in high places, especially in the FBI, which is still working the case. I will put my best effort forward, you can count on that."

"Thank you Mister President, that's the best any of us can ask for."

"William, Celeste, it's time to get the property we need on Federal Land. I have an idea that might keep our friends guessing for a long time to come."

"Stephano get the job application forms ready. I will send you the qualifications for the scientist and the engineers. I will have the list of names I want on this project to you shortly. Then we will put the applications online with the qualifications for each job title, when these jobs will become available, and the pay scale. I am going to move up the timeline. Instead of 10 years, I am going to move everything up to seven years. We will be building solar power arrays, and wind generator fields first to produce our own electrical energy. We will build dormitories for the single men and women. We will drill to see if we can get to a source of potable drinking water, if not, we will have it trucked in daily.

Everything electrical will be done by IBEW only. I don't want or need anything screwed up by a bad, or poor connection by a non-union labor member. Delicious is studying to do the electrical drawings for the interior of the craft. I had nothing else for her to do, until the NRC approves the Nuclear Engine. I couldn't let her sit around with nothing to do. I sent her to school under the tutelage of one of my friends to learn how to draw everything electrical. By the time we need her she will be the best in the world. We are six months ahead of schedule, and that is only with four of us working six days a week, 10-hour days, except for Gordon. We make him go over to my attorney's home and play with his children. He gets angry with me, but I am bigger than he is, for the time being, so I win. Doctor Thyme is brilliant. His grasp of what we are aiming for is magnificent. We have much to do, but at this rate, and the cloak of secrecy on our side, we are going to surprise many people with the speed we are going to complete our spacecraft."

"Mister Schneider when can we expect the results of the stress tests of the carbon fiber?"

"The large strut and flooring portions are done. You could build a 50-story building with that stuff. It is amazing how strong it is. It's the delicate, curved interior portions we are working with now. We believe the results will be the same, but we are not rushing the tests. We want to be absolutely sure of the results. Do you want us to send you what we have completed so far?"

"Does it include the outer skin of the vessel, including the fasteners?"

"Yes it does."

"Please send the results to me as soon as you can by courier. We can start work on that immediately."

*******

54. Another One Bites The Dust...

"Get the fuck out of this house, before I ring your neck."

"I live here too, but I'm trying to remember why?"

"We are getting married in three weeks, that's why."

"Would you like to make a bet on that Gray?"

"Do you want out of it? If you do, just say the word and we can cancel everything. I'll move out."

"No, this is your apartment, I'll leave."

"Goodbye, have a nice life. I wouldn't go to your father's house if I were you. With all the money he has laid out for this wedding, he will probably bury you in an unmarked grave."

"I have my own money, I'll pay him back. I don't want to be married to a jackass like you."

*********

Logan said, "Isn't love grand. I sure am happy I'm not getting married this month, or next month."

"Keep your mouth shut or I will shut it for you. Marcie and I are not like them. We don't fight like they do. We are extremely happy together."

"I'm very happy for you my friend. We've known each other for 24 years, and I never thought I would see the day that you would bite the dust."

"I never saw it coming myself; she is one awesome woman."

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

#CRASH* "Get the fuck out of my way."

"I was going to the bathroom. Do I need to apologize for being alive now?"

"What a wonderful idea, why don't you."

Gray had enough. He picked her up and threw her on the bed.

"If you open your mouth one more time, I'm going to gag you. If you kick me, I'm going to tie your legs to the bed. If you swing at me, I will let you stand up, and have you do your worst. I will do mine. This shit is going to stop now, or I am going to throw you out into the hall, and let Logan take you to a hotel. It's your choice Delicious, how do you want to play this out?"

"Get out of my way, I'm leaving."

"Good, I'll help you."

He pulled her off the bed, threw her over his shoulder, and marched her to the front door. He threw her into Jaden's arms.

"This bitch wants to leave, help her."

"Yes sir."

"Put me down."

"Yes ma'am."

She punched in the code for the apartment but it was disabled from the inside. She screamed, "You locked me out you cock sucking sonofabitch. In two days I can buy a gun, and you are going to be target practice."

He yelled back, "Remember, I have a gun, and if you raise yours at me, I'm going to blow you away before you can blink. You can't do anything better than I can. I kept my promises, every one of them. It doesn't seem that you can keep any of them. Jayden get that bitch out of here before I do it for you."

"Ma'am, I've never seen him this angry. It would be safer if you would come with me."

"I need my bag."

Jayden knocked on the door, and Gray shouted, "WHAT!"

"Sir, she needs her bag."

Gray handed Jayden the bag, slammed, and locked the door.

As they rode down and the elevator Jayden was about to say something, when Delicious said, "Please don't, I feel shitty enough as it is."

Jayden reminded her to stay in the lobby until he brought the car forward. It took him all of 90 seconds to do it, and by the time he returned she was gone.

"FUCK!" He got on his cell phone and called Logan.

"She's running, I went to get the car, and I don't know where she went. She could be anywhere, call the troops."

As he called for help he banged on Grayson's door. When it was opened he said, "You are not to open this door for any reason, or for anyone, without proper identification. You are going to be alone. Do you understand?"

"Yes I understand, what's the problem?"

"It's nothing that concerns you any longer sir."

"What's the problem Logan?"

"It's Delicious, she's run away. We don't know where she went."

"I'll kill her."

"May I remind you sir; you already threatened to do that. She is no longer your concern sir, you threw her out."

"Logan one day you are going to fall in love and you will be on the other side of an argument like we had."

"In that case sir, I'd rather not fall in love. It would hurt too much."

"Your god damn right it hurts."

"Where is this goddamn elevator?"

"Would you like me to call for the elevator sir?"

"Would you like your job tomorrow Logan?"

"I've been thinking about moving to the West Coast after Jayden gets hitched."

"You are so full of shit. Call for the elevator please."

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

Running with Gray had done wonders for her speed and stamina. She knew where she was going, but didn't go there in a straight line. She knew the hounds would be after her, and she did not want to be found. Her cell phone was off, which meant so was her GPS chip inside. She arrived at the school library, but did not sign in as required. She took an elevator to the sixth floor and looked for an empty carrel. She put her bag down; took her purse, and went to a vending machine. She purchased graph paper to draw electrical circuits. It was just after 12 PM when she started.

***********

"How the hell do you think she would get back to me Gray? She can't rent a car she's not 21."

"I'm sorry Even, I didn't want to call you; but we can't find her. It's like she disappeared."

"Did you check the airport, train, and bus stations?"

"Yes, and we are plugged in to their computers to see if she makes a reservation."

"Did you check the school?"

"Why would she run to the school?"

"You are an idiot sometimes Gray. She's comfortable at the school. You made her uncomfortable at home. You kicked her out, and she went to the next place she was comfortable. She went to school."

"We are on our way. I will call you if we find her."

Gray yelled, "Jayden, we are going to school."

"I don't like school."

"I don't care, we are going to school. Call the troops, call the campus police, tell them were looking for a runaway. I swear I'm going to kill that woman."

"You have to stop saying that sir. Someone's going to believe you."

"If it wasn't so true I would try to stop. She has been tormenting me since the day we met."

"May I ask why you're still with her sir?"

"I can't breathe without her."

"You are going to have a very interesting marriage."

"Do you really think so?"

********

Sixteen men and women formed a walking perimeter around the boundary of the school. Another twelve checked for any open door in the instructional buildings. They were all homing in on the dormitories, where anyone could hide a female student.

It was 8 PM, when Logan called to say the library was closing. The campus guards said the building was empty, and it had been checked for stragglers. He asked if he should check it again or not."

Gray shouted, "Logan look under every fucking table, chair, and lamp. Look in every garbage can, and on the top of every shelf. I will make you a bet she's hiding in there somewhere. We are on our way."

"Call everyone, converge on the library."

As soon as everyone was inside the building, the doors were locked. They were given there marching orders. No book, table, chair, or garbage can was left unchecked.

They checked the well, and on the top of each elevator. The second floor was cleared; they went up to the third floor and did it all over again. The fourth floor became a little more complicated, because certain areas were locked. They contained valuable folios and first editions that could not be replaced. The campus police went into those areas and checked them. She wasn't in there either. She wasn't on the fourth floor.

Gray was beginning to have his doubts with only three more floors to go.

They saw movement on the fifth floor and everyone shouted. Flashlights pointed in the direction, and cat hissed at them. Words were exchanged, most were of the four-letter kind. Love wasn't one of them.

The fifth floor was clear.

The sixth floor was a warren of carrels. Most of these cubbyholes belonged to professors, and they were always locked. Others were used on a daily basis by graduate students studying for their Master's or PhD degrees.

Gray said, "Shine your flashlight into each one of them. If they are open go in. If it's locked, shine your light into every possible area she could be hiding in. Don't kill her; leave that pleasure for me."

10 minutes later, Logan got a call. "Boss on your left side 25 yards down, bring Doctor Thyme with you. You have to see this."

They shined the flashlights through the door, and there she was sleeping across three chairs, with her thumb in her mouth, sucking away. Out came the cell phones, the instant messages.

Jennifer and I were looking at those pictures seconds after they were taken. She would have another reason to kill him when she saw them.

"Send everyone back to their posts Logan. Leave me two people who are working the night shift and the telephone number of one of the campus security guards. I'll stay here until she wakes up."

"Are you two going to kiss and make up, or start another fight?"