Dark as Daylight Ch. 17

Coppen's asked, "Have you ever heard the term, 'You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar', Paul?"

"Yes I have, Doctor. However, you were never trained by this man. While he oversaw a military unit, he never lost a soldier, either in a training accident, or on the battlefield. Every soldier in his command was ready for anything the enemy could throw at him. He was an absolute bastard, from the moment you entered his command, until the moment you left. You wanted back into his unit, as soon as you realized that the lax attitude, and incompetence of the other commanding officers was going to get you killed.

His units always received the highest mark's and commendations. It didn't matter if we were stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, during the heat of the summer, or Fort Drum, in the mountains of upstate New York, during the winter. We always came in first. He would never accept anything less.

Now that's enough talking, get to work."

Llewellyn said, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I would like to hear more stories about the man's Army career. He is going to be on pain medication this evening, and he is going to be talking in his sleep. You are going to be there all night Paul. I would like to buy you dinner, and sit in the room with you, while you tell me more about him."

"When he wakes up, I will ask his permission. If I get it, I will accept your dinner invitation."

Connie said, "I'll bake a 'Blackout Cake', and bring it along as dessert."

Paul replied, "If you bring it into the room, and the Colonel can't eat it, someone is going to die, and it is not going to be me."

Rosenstein shook his head. "Bring the cake tomorrow night, Connie, or the night shift will be cleaning up the entire room, when the sweetness from that cake hits his stomach. I'll buy dinner tomorrow night. He will be feeling fine by then."

Coppens said, "Okay, that gives me Tuesday night. When the patient wakes up, we will ask him for his three dinner preferences."

"You're turning into an excellent negotiator."

"Doctor Coppens would you have someone from the lab come here and take a a pint of blood from the Colonel, while he's asleep. Have them run every test imaginable for his disease, and only I get the prognosis."

"That's against hospital policy."

"If he gets it, someone, or everyone, in this room, is going to die. I won't state it any plainer than that."

"No paperwork, Connie."

"It looks like the director is taking another physical today."

"I always thought he was a hypochondriac."

"Come on people let's get this done."

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

Colonel Canyon woke up in the middle of the afternoon, in a big, bright, cherry room, on what he would find out was the hospital's top floor. Paul was looking out the window with his hands folded behind his back.

In a raspy voice, he asked, "What time is it?"

"It's about damn time you woke up. I personally was hoping you'd died. I've been standing there for almost four hours watching the sun go from East to West. Do you know how boring that is?"

"Yes, we've done that several times together, under very different circumstances."

"Is my leg going to be in that position for the next two weeks?"

"I could arrange to shove it up your ass, if you want."

"I'll leave it where it is for now, when we get back to the unit, and I have access to my weapons, we will discuss your proposal."

"Remember Colonel, when you have access to your weapons, I also have access to mine. For two weeks, I will be more mobile then you are."

"They told you about that, did they?"

"Doctor Llewellyn said it was a choice of you staying in bed, or losing your foot. I told him that you would more than likely make the correct choice. If you didn't, I would step on your left foot to help you make the correct choice."

"For some reason or another, I believe you are enjoying this Paul."

"I am enjoying the heck out of this, Colonel."

"What else do you have for me?"

"We have three dinner engagements. Tonight, tomorrow, and Tuesday. Your three doctors want me to regale them of your exploits in the Balkans. I told them I would ask your permission, and if it was given, I would tell them a few of the more mundane stories, and those that are not classified. Connie is going to bring you a 'Blackout Cake' tomorrow night. She was going to bring it tonight but I reminded the doctors if you were not allowed to eat it someone would die and it wasn't going to be me."

"That was an excellent precaution, Paul. What are the rest of you having for dessert tomorrow?"

"The leftover crumbs from the blackout cake, sir."

"Good answer."

"Tell me about my leg."

"It will live."

"For how long smart ass?"

"It will outlast you, sir."

"Am I in stage III yet?"

"The results of the tests will not be back for about one month. They sent it to Toronto. It is a very specific antigen test. It will go out in the mail tomorrow. Postal workers don't work on Sundays here."

"They have a good union."

"Yes, they do."

"Can I get something to drink?"

"Absolutely."

Paul poured him a cup of ice water, put a fresh straw in it, and handed it to him.

The Colonel sucked a little into his mouth, and spit it out all over the blanket covering him.

"Have you tasted the water?"

"I guess I'm going to."

Paul took the cup, and tasted the water.

"Holy shit! The salmon would reject this water. I'll buy a few bottles, and get a pail with ice to cool them down in. Don't fall asleep, I will be right back."

"Call the two dummies before they head back to the island. Get them here immediately."

"Might I remind you that you are incapacitated, which makes me the senior officer. I'll call them when I'm good and ready."

"You better hope I don't get back on my feet too soon. I'm going to start kicking your ass as soon as I do."

"Colonel, by tomorrow morning you won't remember why you're in the hospital."

A pillow went flying by Paul's head, as he attempted to leave the room.

"I see we are going to have to do something about your arm strength while you're here."

"Get out of my room and get me some decent water."

"Right away, Mr. Canyon."

"You will live to regret that 'Private'."

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

"Mrs. Zabo, William is on his way up to his suite. He is exhausted from all the tests we did today, and right now he is dozing. I would suggest you get something to eat, either in our cafeteria, or at one of our fine local restaurants, and let him rest for a while. So far, the tests results look excellent. Let me repeat that to you, because I know you are worried about him. So far, the test results look excellent. His EKG is spot on for a man of 70 years old. His treadmill results, I don't have yet. I don't have any of the nuclear medicine results. I have some of his blood work back, and all of it is well within normal limits. I don't know what you're feeding him, but keep feeding it to him, because it's working. I don't know what you saw in his face to make you bring him here, but so far, I can tell you, you are going to have that man for a long time to come."

Jemma rarely gave an outward show of affection to anyone outside the family. Today, she grabbed Doctor Pelham and crushed him to her chest. As she let him go, she said to him, "If that bastard is paying you to lie to me, I will skin you alive."

Junior broke into a fit of laughter.

"Don't worry about it Doctor, she treats us all that way."

As he reached the exit, Doctor Pelham said, "In that case, I'm surprised any member of your family is still alive."

Jemma threw her purse at him, and she only missed because he was quick enough to shut the door in time.

"Well ladies, dad is sleeping comfortably. What type of food would you like?"

"Don't say it mom; let me take this one."

"Are you going to include hitting him?"

"What fun would it be if I didn't hit him."

"What did I say that was wrong?"

"Just about everything. Listen, and learn. We've only been married nine years, and I have not finished adjusting your mind yet These next few words would be coming out of your mother's mouth, as she was tearing your entrails out, through your throat. Listen, listen hard, and learn.

Gwen grabbed her husband's arms and pulled his face up against hers. Then she shouted, 'If you think I'm moving one foot out of this hospital, while your father is in a hospital bed, you are out of your mind. I know he is not well, and regardless of what the tests say, something is wrong with him. I am not going to allow that old man to leave me on this planet alone. He promised me we would die in the same bed together, when he is 130 years old. I am going to hold that husband of mine to that promise, if it is the last thing I do.'

"About now your mother would have finished ripping this part off your chest plate off, and be holding your beating heart in her right hand. She would be standing over you deciding whether to rip it out, or to use her lethal nails to slice off each vein and artery one by one, and let the blood squirt all over this room. My nails are not sharp enough to do it, so I am going to smack you.

She smacked him lightly 3 times.

If William didn't have a headache before, Gwen was beginning to give him reason to get one.

"Will that do, mom?"

"Yes dear, that will do just fine."

"Why does your wife know me better than my own son?"

"May I plead the Fifth Amendment, please?"

"Wimp!"

"No mother, I am far from being a wimp. I just wish Patrick was here so he could be standing between us, and I could get a quicker head start."

"William, you know in your heart I would never mortally wound you. You have your father's businesses to run, and I don't want any of my other children to have control over them for a long time to come."

"Thank you, mother, I appreciate that vote of confidence in my business skills. May I ask you one question?"

"Of course, you may."

"What do you consider a long time to come?"

"Kill him Gwen!"

"Can I just hurt him? He is so good in bed."

"Yes, but think of me while you're hitting him."

"I can do that."

"Shall we go to dad's room now?"

"Do you see how smart he is mom? He knows how to delay getting hit, and getting hurt."

"Pain is cumulative, and regardless of how long you wait, it still hurts when you get hit."

"Speaking of pain, what are we doing for Patrick's birthday this year?"

Jemma said, "Have they given a definitive date for the liftoff of the Good Luck 2, yet? They keep pushing it up, because things are moving along so quickly."

"The date is still fluid, but it will be right around dad's birthday, which we all know is within three weeks of Patrick's birthday. We could combine the two and have the party in Charleston.

I don't think I've ever been prouder of my little brother, than I was the week he pulled off the 'Steal of the Century', from Congress. He got the House and Senate to guarantee funding at no less than three tenths of one percent (.3%) of the GNP for NASA's launch vehicles alone, for the next 10 years. That does not include funding for the SLS system, and its eventual trip to Mars.

He made them separate that out, because of the Good Luck 2, 3, and 4.

He said to the chairman of the committee, "If you want to go to Mars, I will ask my cousins to drop the astronauts off on their way to Atwater Luck. I am sure he has enough room for 4 extra people, and the tiny return module on that monster they are building in South Carolina."

Looking to cut costs, they never saw that little kid coming at them. He still looks like a teenager, and they forget that he has a mind like a steel trap. He treats them the way they deserve to be treated, like the idiots they are.

He put that into as a separate line item, and the rest of NASA's budget into research and development, at four tenths of one percent (.4%) of the GNP, again, for the next 10 years. It will be the largest increase in NASA's budget, since the end of the space race. What they don't know is there are only going to be two launch vehicles built. They are all going to be made by Schneider industries, and they are reusable, repairable, both on the ground, and in space, and upgradable, to keep up with the latest scientific discoveries. What he did, by his sheer genius, is double NASA's budget for the next 10 years, with Congressional approval. He put in automatic increases, and decreases in spending, depending on the nation's health. His true genius showed up, when he separated the SLS program from NASA's general budget. If Congress decides to terminate the SLS program, and decides not to build another one, in mid cycle, that moves another $1 trillion into NASA's general fund.

I remember the day I told dad that Patrick is smarter than I am. If they put that boy in charge of this nation's economy, we would be running a surplus in 5 to 10 years. You have no idea how I miss that runt."

Gwen kissed William's nose.

"Husband, if I remember correctly, the reason you have such a beautiful nose is because that runt knocked your lights out."

William laughed. "I have no recollection of that incident, at all. However, he will be 27 soon, and I promised him something special would happen starting the day after his birthday. I'm glad you mentioned it, because I must arrange it for him. Thank you very much, dear. As always, you are a blessing, even when you are trying to be a curse."

"What did I do that was good, when I was trying to do something evil?"

"Do you remember the day you tripped me and tried to have sex with me in public, prior to us getting married?"

"I did not trip you, you accosted me."

"You may keep lying to yourself, but your face turns red every time I mention that day. I must ask my brother how soon he wants his 1st launch vehicle."

"What about the boys? They own the patents to the engines, the design, basically everything."

"No mother, the boys gave us the patents for the good of all mankind, and as they put it in the contract, we are to use them, 'As We Deem Fit.' Their lawyer, Rose Laver, wrote the wording that way, specifically, so no one could challenge our decisions. She is now our lawyer, so there can be no way to misconstrue what the boys wanted done with the patents."

"Rod and Rosalynn should be very proud of their children. Stephen is not married. He is going to be in command of the Good Luck 2. Rod and Stephen have purchased 27 million acres of land in the Amazon and are replanting it with native plants, and trees to bring that area back to its former 'Vibrance', and health.

Rose took over Rod's law practice, and is considered one of the finest legal minds in the nation. She has one client now: 'Us.' The legal arguments that go on between Patrick and Rose are legendary.

Lily married a former Catholic priest and they have four beautiful children. They live in St. Luis Obispo, in the mansion Celeste sold to them for $1 dollar.

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

Celeste said it was poetic justice that the estate went to a fallen priest, considering her father's lifestyle, her ambivalence towards religion, and the trouble she was having raising her children in any one religion.

Their eldest daughter, Kimberly, is Roman Catholic and stayed that way by choice.

Quinn and Simone were Roman Catholic by birth, but changed to Greek Orthodoxy by choice, when they were 15.

Their fourth girl, 'Antonia', she did this to try to kill that friend of hers, started practicing Buddhism, when she was 12.

Philip Junior was baptized Catholic at birth, but showed no love for any religion from the outset. He is agnostic, which is driving his father crazy, because of his strict Catholic upbringing as a child. However, what his son can do with the grapes in their vineyards, and how he turns them into fine wines, is miraculous, and his father beams with pride.

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

The Laver's youngest child, Adam and his wife, Charisse, just had their first child, a tiny beautiful redheaded girl. They named her 'Delicious,' after the best babysitter he ever had, Doctor Luck's oldest daughter and all the wonderful memories he had of her.

The 6 Laver children were on videoconference, when Rod and Rosalynn were shown the beautiful baby for the 1st time and then given the news of their baby granddaughters name.

It was said that you didn't have to be be on the video network to hear Rod's reaction to his granddaughter's name, and the threats that he leveled and his son for doing that to him.

"I will not call her that name. I will never acknowledge her by that name. I will love her, as I do all my grandchildren, but I will never acknowledge her by name. I hate that name."

Adam replied simply, "Dad, it's time for you to grow up. You signed Delicious Marriage Certificate, and certified her Will before the courts. You kissed her goodbye on the day the Good Luck 1 departed. This is my 1st child. If you can't love her like Charisse and do, don't come and see her. You stay in Denver, we will stay in South Carolina. Mom, do you have a problem with my daughter's name?"

"No, Adam, she looks sweet enough to eat. If I can get your father out from between my thighs I will rent a jet and be there tomorrow evening; if that's okay with you?"

"It's amazing he's not blind mother. Does his head ever come up for air?"

Rod exclaimed, "Young man, I will have you know the instrument that made you is as hard today as it was all those years ago."

"I feel sorry for you mom, having to put splints around that tiny thing to make it hard enough to enter you."

"Adam that was nice. I will stick up for your father on that point. That yardstick of his may not lead me to the stars 7 days a week like it did 10 years ago, but it's never less then 4 times a week that I have to bandage his back because he knows me so well."

"Do you ever wonder if they had never cheated on you?"

"Adam, why would you go out for a chicken dinner, when you have filet mignon at home."

Charisse bit Adam's ear and when he screamed Delicious woke up and joined him in screaming.

"Look what you did babe, you made me wake up the baby."

"I was just checking your hearing. I wanted to make sure you heard what your mother said. I'm not sure it will be the last day of your life if you cheat on me, but it will be the most painful, and your last day as a man."

His parents, brothers and sisters all applauded Charisse's statement.

Rod said, "Children don't ever do anything that will ruin your lives. If the 2 of you are having problems, come to your mother or I, or get professional help. I don't want to see any of you get hurt."

Rose said, "I have to leave you now. I have a meeting with Patrick Zabo. It appears a young woman has caught his eye, and he wants me to do everything possible to keep her away from him. It appears he has a substantial bet with his brother that he will not get married until after his 30th birthday, and he's only 28 years old."

"So, what's the problem? Let them live together for 2 years, and then get married."

"Mom would you like to tell dad the problem?"

"Oh God, she's not, she can't be like I was."

"Mom, she won't let him hold her hand, and he must stay at least 2 feet away from her."

"Is this for real? Has he had her checked out?"

"I had two private detective firms check her out, and had a friend in the FBI check out her parents. Her father has worked 2 jobs since she was born so her mother would be with her every day when she came home from school. She was never allowed out on a date until she was 18 years old, and had to be in by 11 PM. The parents had to know every boy, and had him checked out before she was allowed out with him. I won't swear she's a virgin, but she's damn close. She started working at NASA 2 years ago, and everyone there likes her."