Dark as Daylight Ch. 15

She didn't. She stood there looking around for what I meant. I grabbed her by her bulletproof vest, just as the mortar hit. The shockwave lifted her off the ground, but I had enough of a hold on her to bring her down to the ground.

She was unconscious.

I threw her over my shoulder and ran towards cover. I heard another inbound, dropped her to the ground, and covered her with my body. This mortar had eyes, and we were covered with dirt. Nearly before I could get her up, I heard another inbound. I ran with her to the previous mortar hole, and dove in with her underneath me. The mortar landed 25 yards away from us. I picked her up again and ran for the tree line. As I got there, one of my men was waiting for us with a medical pack open. It wasn't needed because she began to come around.

I told her what happened, and she called me an idiot. She told me I should have left her out there and run for cover myself. The enemy wants two kills for the price of one. She said I played right into their hands. Then she asked me where my weapon was. I told her I had a choice of her or my weapon, and I chose her.

She called me a fucking idiot. How was I supposed to defend myself if there was an infantry attack?

Needless to say I was furious, but there was still something about her that I couldn't get out of my system.

One of our helicopters flew overhead, and took out the mortar. We walked back to the center of the field, I picked up my weapon, and we walked back. I didn't talk to her all the way there.

Tom looked at her face, which was red on one side from the mortar blast, and said, "You hit your wife already?"

He continued like that all evening. He stacked the tables at dinner so she and I had to sit together. He did everything he could to push us together. We knew the following morning the attack was coming, because we intercepted all their radio communications.

We were standing at the entrance to the complex, and she tells me that they are going to overrun us in less than half an hour. I told her it was not possible and I showed her why. I told her we had experts from all over the country come out and check our defensive positions for the entrance to the complex, and they told us as long as we didn't run out of ammunition, no one was getting in."

"Did you ask anyone from the FBI to come and look at your wonderful complex, and your defensive positions?"

"No."

Then she showed us that the defensive positions we set up were useless if they came up the middle instead of the sides as we anticipated. I felt like an idiot because she was right.

I couldn't do anything without getting the general's permission, so I went inside and had to convince him to move people around. It took more than an hour for me to do it. By the time Tom and I got back outside, she had completed 90% of the work, plus some things we had not even anticipated. She is so smart; I would put her up against anyone in a tactical situation.

You know the rest of the story, because your Colonel Canyon pulled off a miracle, and we only lost 7 men in the battle. 7 too many, but still only 7.

As far as Laura and I, a challenge was made, because I asked her to marry me, and she wouldn't answer. I invited her to the gym to get that answer, and she was only too happy to accept.

Tom promised her absolute privacy for the match. They checked out the entire 4^th floor to make sure no one was hiding, and put guards at the elevators and stairwells. Everyone forgot about 2 young boys. Richard and Holden managed to hook up the television lines from the Good Luck 2, so everyone was able to watch Laura beat the crap out of me. What they didn't know, or hear, was, her say, "Yes, I will marry you," as she was laying over my broken body.

I had a feeling we were being watched, because it was too quiet. We turned over, and waved at the cameras, and we heard the cheering start. We have been together ever since."

Jemma said, "If that's not a hearts and flower romance, I've never heard of one. Is that the way it happened Laura?"

"Yes, I really beat the crap out of him that evening."

Gwen said, "At least he didn't try to rape her in public."

"You tripped me, and you know it."

"Not now children, that is for after dinner. Right now I have something more important to talk about.

"Alfonse, my folio please."

"Here you are sir."

"Thank you."

William opened the folio and took out a sealed envelope.

"Laura, please take this. It contains the name of the man, who is the 'Tip of the Spear', plus all the evidence that we have against him. It is not only the evidence that came from the 3 men that were indicted by Doctor Aubrey from the Good Luck 1, but travel documents, secret meetings, radio intercepts, money transfers, and other means. Some you may, or may not be able to use in a court of law, if we can get it to go that far. As I told you, that decision is not going to be up to me. With the exception of you and Joe, everyone in this room knows his name.

I cannot understand his treachery. The patents from the building of the Good Luck 1 have made all of us more money than we will ever spend in 100 lifetimes. We cannot give the money away fast enough to avoid paying exorbitant taxes on it. By the time we are done, every college in this country will have endowments larger than Harvard's. Patricia and Harold are working on hunger in the United States. We are all doing good work.

Then along comes Turner Stansfield, and he wants more. None of us can understand it. He had to borrow money, from his entire family, to get into the directorship of the Good Luck 1. We never held him back when he wanted to do something, and when he needed something we gave it to him, without restraint. Now he has a bank account with 9 zeros, and he wants more. I will never understand it, and we were friends. As I said, the decision on his life will not be mine.

Jemma and I are going up to Patricia's to pick up our babies, Monday, and we may spend a few days, in Glens Falls, with her. It all depends on her schedule."

'Let's move on to happier items. Laura would you like to sit down, or have Joseph stand behind you and catch you as you fall. I don't want you to hurt yourself, and I do guarantee you will fall."

"I have felt her strength sir, on a scale of 1 to 10, how sure are you she is going to fall?"

He opened the folder in front of him, pulled out a document, and verified its contents.

"I am a betting man Joseph. I have bet on companies, people, stocks, bonds, gold, and everything else in this world. I guarantee you Laura will fall."

"Laura, if you don't want to fall, please sit down."

"There is nothing in this world he can say to me that will make me fall. Go ahead Mister Zabo give me your worst. As long as you don't tell me Joseph is a member of the mob, I'll be fine."

"Okay, you can't say I didn't ask you to sit down."

"Laura, why didn't you tell me you are going to marry my great grandson?"

Joe's head popped up. His brain was stunned. His arms were frozen. Catching Laura was not on his list of things to do list.

Laura's head spun. Her blood pressure took a nose dive, and her lights went out.

If it wasn't for Alfonse, she would've been on the floor.

William said, "Nice catch Alfonse."

"Thank you, sir. I have read everything about her sir. Seeing her made me think she was the wrong person. However, the way she went after Patrick made me change my mind. There is the heart of the bull raging inside her, and no one, with a brain, should get in her way."

"Are you in there, Joseph? Joseph are you in there?"

His head cleared, and his first thought was, "Yes, I'm here."

"You better take her from me, and make believe you caught her."

"Thanks, but she can tell when I'm lying to her, when she is in a lead box. I'd rather get hit now, than let her get angrier, and get hit when we get home."

"Very smart man, very smart."

He sat down with Laura on his lap, and asked, "I take it you're very sure I am your great grandson?"

"I have our family tree for you to see, and read. I was as shocked as you were to find out that I had a great grandson..."

"Can I use my gun on him now; I'm never going to get away from him."

"It was not my fault you fell in love with my great grandson. You did that all by yourself, Laura."

"I know it. I knew something was up from the moment I saw him. There was something so familiar about him, but I couldn't place it. Look at the 2 of you. You are almost 50 years apart, and you could be twins. I never put 2 and 2 together, until the two of you were in the same room. I'm surprised the Attorney General didn't pick up on it."

Jemma asked, "When is the wedding?"

Laura replied, "It's a lot closer now than it was when we got here."

"What does that mean?"

"You or me, Mister Zabo?"

"I'll take it. Laura will not get married until the tip of the spear is caught and brought to justice. If the board of directors makes a decision that Turner will disappear, Laura and Joe can get married after 61 days. If the decision is made to let the wheels of justice go through the legal system, we will turn Turner over to her, along with the evidence, and then she can get married anytime afterwards. What were your plans for the wedding?"

"We are having 2 weddings. A simple one in Washington, and a big church wedding at Joseph's home, in Italy."

"Do you remember the story with the grandmothers and the rolling pins?"

"Yes, of course."

"One of my 4 daughters, by my first wife is your grandmother, and they all live on the land where we grow our grapes. We have a wonderful winery there.

Which one of my daughters is your grandmother? The people who made up our family tree could not find out, because the Hall of Records burned down over 40 years ago, and all the birth certificates were destroyed?"

"It is you. My grandmother's name is Ludovica. She keeps telling me someone sends them money every year, even though they don't need it anymore."

"It's an automatic withdrawal. I never bothered to change it. She was my 2^nd daughter, and a true beauty. Who did she marry?"

"She never married."

"Why."

"You weren't around. The people who ran the area sent you to New York, and they guaranteed your family safety in return. Grandma fell in love with a young man from another village close by. He was a mason, and was doing very well for himself. He had to ask permission to marry your daughter, my grandmother. It was denied. When she got pregnant, and could no longer hide it, he disappeared. She was devastated. She never looked at another man. She had a son, and her mother, your wife refused to allow her to name him after the young man whose name was Raffaele, because she feared retribution from those people."

"Was that man Raffaele DiGiovanni?"

"I don't know his last name."

"Alfonse would you come here for a moment."

"Yes sir."

"Would you contact Colonel Canyon, and ask him if he's interested in discussing a vacation to Italy."

"Right away sir."

"Mister Zabo, what are you doing?"

"I'm asking a friend if he would like to go on a vacation to Italy. It is lovely at this time of year, and after what he has just done for us, I think he deserves something more than his normal paycheck."

"You're sending Colonel Canyon on a vacation to Italy, like I am going to the moon to ski. You can't do something illegal in front of me, Mister Zabo, and expect me to sit here and do nothing."

"Did I do anything illegal, Agent Burkart? Did I mention anything illegal in my discussion with Alfonse? I would never do anything illegal in your presence, because I would expect you to obey the law at all times. It is one of the reasons why both Timothy and I hold you in the highest regard. You are incorruptible. No one, regardless of how rich or powerful they are, could approach you, and ask you to bend the law in their favor. You may infer whatever you want about my discussion with Alfonse, but nothing illegal was discussed."

"I apologize for my outburst, Mister Zabo. You are correct. The probability of any of the people who gave those orders still being in power is minuscule, as well as still being alive after all these years. Please accept my apology".

"Thank you Laura, I appreciate your ability to see a mistake, and reverse your opinion."

"Are you going to be able to attend our wedding in Italy?"

"Patrick, we need to use your airplane."

Laura asked, "What airplane?"

"Patrick's new Boeing 747. It is being delivered Tuesday."

"Why can't I go dad?"

"You are going to be the new administrator of NASA. You have a great deal of work to do, and you can't start off by taking a vacation."

"I'll take a week off, in preparation for starting my new job."

"That will be setting a good example for you troops. You get your new job, walk in the door, and say hi. You give a rousing speech, and tell everyone how different things are going to be around here, and you go on vacation."

"Dad, no one knows when that idiot from Texas is going to show up in Washington? You don't know when he's going to allow the committee to hold my hearing. You don't know when they are going to allow me to take control of NASA. You don't know the date of the wedding. At this moment you know nothing."

"All valid questions my son. However, I'm afraid your answers will have to wait until later. Dinner is ready to be served in the main dining room."

"God dammit dad, why does this always happens to me."

"You or me, dad?"

Joe asked, "Why not me? I am the oldest, and newest family member, under my great grandfather, of course?"

"He has a point Willaim."

"I've been moved to 2^nd place?"

"Not at all, my son. Just in these odd family circumstances, where a person is going to be put in his place, or torn apart by his new uncle."

"I didn't say anything bad about anyone here, did I?"

"No Pat, you didn't. Otherwise we would be calling for an ambulance. You broke family protocol."

"I did?"

"Yes, you did. Now all you have to do, after dinner of course, is fight Joseph, because of the severity of the breach."

"How bad was it?"

"You cursed and took the Lord's name in vain, in front of your mother."

"OH NO, MOM, please forgive me. Look at him, he will turn me into 'Dog Chow."

"A little humility will do that superior brain of yours some good. Stop whining, dinner is getting cold.

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

58 Dairy Queen

It was amazing how many people knew how, or had a rudimentary knowledge of how to milk a cow. More than three quarters of the adults knew how to do it, all of the teenagers above the age of 14 knew how, and those below 13 were dying to try it out.

Except for the bridge, engineering, medical staff and security, which were always fully manned, nearly the entire ship's company was outside watching the 6 cows be milked.

Since the cows had taken a bath, and the disgusting odor was gone, no one minded being near them. When the calves weren't nursing, they were romping around with the younger children. They would run into the water, and the kids would run in after them. Filthy is not the word parents would call their children. They had passed that term long ago. Parents would wash them in the river, regardless of how cold the water was, before they would be allowed onto the ship. 2 young girls, with long blonde hair were now beyond recognition.

Another girl was at the wrong end of a calf, when it raised its' tail. When the others laughed at her, she took the glob from the top of her head and threw it at them. The fight was on. Soon it became a mob scene.

Parents were in the water seconds later separating their children from each other. 13 unhappy kids sat on the river bank, 5 feet apart, waiting for soap, towels, new clothes, and possible restrictions. They were not happy.

They were just kids being kids.

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

The milk the nurses brought in to the infirmary was being analyzed. So far, no untoward bacteria had shown up. It was still being put through the mass spectrometer to look up for other contaminants, which could be harmful to humans. The results would be in before morning.

The fat content was amazing. After removing it to make heavy cream, ice cream, and butter, less than 60% remained for milk. Everyone would have to start watching their weight again.

Three days later, Teddy had her birthday cake. It was a 100% Atwater Luck Premium Ice Cream cake, and she received the first slice.

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

"I am not sure what to do with you Elizabeth. You are a little girl, and you are dilated 7 centimeters. I don't believe you will ever get to ten, which is ideal, but you got to 7 so quickly, I would like to give you another few hours to see if you get there."

Elizabeth asked, "Where is my shit-faced husband?"

"We gave him a drug that knocked him out."

"Okay, you either give me a drug that knocks me out, so I don't feel the pain from my next contraction, or after I deliver this baby, I am going to kill two men. Do you want to guess who they are Doctor Finch?"

"I can't knock you out. The contractions will stop, and the baby will be in distress."

"Mom, wake up that lazy bastard of a husband of mine."

"With pleasure, honey."

Jennifer left the infirmary and asked Gray to get her a fire extinguisher.

"Where is the fire, mom?"

"I'm going to lite one under someone's ass."

Gray came back with a twenty-pound chemical fire extinguisher.

"That's perfect, Gray."

"It's heavy, would you like me to carry it for you?"

"Thank you, that would be very nice."

They walked over to Newton, who was sound asleep.

"Mom no, you will freeze his balls off."

"It will teach him not to have unprotected sex, before he gets married."

"Isn't it a little late to teach him that lesson?"

"You learned it the hard way, but you learned it."

"I wouldn't wish that trial by fire on anyone."

"Was it worth it in the end?"

"We did learn to talk to one another. It did help recently."

"So, it was not a waste of time on either of your parts?"

"No, I guess it wasn't."

"Let me wake your son up."

"No, I think that's his father's job. Go back to Liz, and tell her to listen for the scream."

"Sounds like a wonderful plan to me."

Gray pulled down Newton's pants and shorts leaving him totally exposed. He was about to pull the pin and push the release, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Shit!"

"What are you going to do to our son?"

"Mom asked me to wake him up. She was going to do it, but I said it was his father's job."

"Why was she going to wake him up?"

"Liz is in terrible pain. She is stuck at 7 centimeters and Finch wants to wait 2 more hours before he does a C-Section. Liz said if he didn't do something before the next contraction, after the baby was born, she was going to kill 2 men. She asked him if he wanted to guess who they were. That's when mom came up with the fire extinguisher idea."

"You hold his arms; I'll use the weapon."

"I never get to have any fun."

"You pulled his pants down."

"I am not gay."

"He is a good size."

"He won't be after that stuff hits him."

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

Elizabeth had a contraction, and screamed, "Where is that little bastard. I'm going to pull his heart out through his ass."

"Gray, I think that is going to hurt him more than this is. Let's go."

Newton was dreaming about wormholes, time fluctuations, dark matter, and a host of other scientific possibilities, when something cold caught his attention. Ah yes, he thought. If we travel through a time fluctuation... holy shit, it's cold. His mind left the universe and traveled back to the Good Luck 1. His Eyes popped open, and he saw his mother laughing at him as she sprayed the foamy substance towards the southern end of his body.