Love the One Your With

I wish to thank Bella for the great editing and Bianca for the beta read. This was something a little different for me and I hope you all enjoy. Any mistakes you may find are ones I made (and I make a lot of them).

*****

This wasn't his first assignment but would be his longest; five years of observation. He'd studied the language and culture, so he was confident and ready. His landing location was Boonton Reservoir in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA.

As his ship slowly settled to the muddy bottom, he exited the ship into what would become his mode of transportation for the next five years. Though it had underwater capability, he wouldn't use it that way again until his assignment was over, and he was going home.

The computer link he'd used to set up his monetary needs for the duration of the observation had been done as the ship had passed the fourth planet, Mars he believed his data banks had called it. All that was left was to find a place to live; he'd do that when the sun came up.

The briefing on the assignment before he left HQ was to see how well the experiment was progressing; it had been going on for over six thousand years and was nearing its end. As advanced as his society was, they still wondered how they got to where they were, so they set out many years ago to set up test planets to find out. Each experiment was done differently, but the end result hoped for each was the same.

Ersa Minor was the furthest behind; if he couldn't see enough progress during his stay then they would eradicate it as a failed test. James, as he chose to name himself, would be the 100th observer. His assignment wasn't to advance the people of the planet this time, plenty had done that before, this visit was just to see if they should be kept going at all.

He found a nice three-bedroom home in Parsippany and filled it with the things that a regular human would. For an occupation he chose to be a lawyer; what better way to see if the Eras-Minorians had redeeming qualities than through the way they ruled over themselves.

One week after landing everything was in place to commence. James had decided to only associate with the natives when he had to; it would be easier to make judgment calls that way. This planet was an eye opener for the man from space. The United States of America, as it was called, was in a state of change. It seemed that every four years they would vote for a new leader and the candidates were out in full force.

The US was being run by what they called, the Democrat Party. According to their rules, the current President couldn't run again so it was a free for all in both the Democratic camp and that of their opposition, the Republicans. Depending on how you looked at it, the two candidates running as Democrats were neck and neck. The other party not so much; it looked like the Republican guy, who was just a businessman, was winning hands down.

As James didn't need what they called money he picked only cases where the people couldn't afford to pay. As 2016 came to an end, he had a firsthand look at what one of the Super Powers on Ersa Minor had to offer. Through the news he watched the others. When the election was over the businessman had won but that might not have been a good thing.

2017 opened with the inauguration of the new President and the introduction to a female of the species, June, at one of the many political events going on that day. June worked for the Mayor's office in Parsippany as the Press Secretary. Though he wasn't supposed to develop feelings for the people, she got to him.

"Hi, I'm June, the Mayor's Press Secretary. I've never seen you at one of these functions before."

"James Jones, lawyer for the people. This is my first time at one of these."

"Well, allow me to show you around, Mister Lawyer for the People. Have you lived in Parsippany long?"

"Since July of last year, I keep pretty much to my own, except when defending the poor."

"I'm not normally so forward, but for some reason, I feel I can be with you. Would you like to get to know each other better? If you're single and available, that is." At my look, June blushed. "Whether you realize it or not, you're a catch."

"Let's see, how to answer all of that? Yes, I'm single, I don't consider myself a catch, and sure, I'd like to get to know you better too."

And that started a whirlwind courtship that resulted in marriage six months later. June had been amazed at James' house; his home office looked more like a monitoring station than a workstation. Still, their life together felt wonderful. Outside in the real world it wasn't as pleasant. When the year came to an end, the new president was getting hit left and right because of the changes he was making. From James' standpoint they all seemed to be in the right direction compared to the rest of the world.

2018 brought in a new Mayor; he chose to keep June on as she had done a great job for the previous Mayor. The turmoil in the nation was growing stronger; James couldn't comprehend why some of the people were against bringing jobs back to the country and the closing of the borders to keep them safe. If he was back on his own world he would never need to worry because dissent like that was dealt with swiftly, order was the way there.

The president's problems grew that year as the other political party got an upper hand in one of the houses of congress and they were determined to take the president down. Every time they thought they had him, some piece of news would come out exonerating him, so they would move to something else.

As 2019 drew to a close, there was an all out push to take him down, drawing everyone's attention away from the brewing storm. At the end of January, the first month in the year for the humans, in 2020 they made their move.

In the meantime, James and June's love seemed to grow, causing James to wonder what he would do, when his observation finished. He only had a year left on the planet and he would have to decide to let it go on or let it go, period.

February brought the beginning of the end. While the other party was trying to bring down the President the world was becoming a hotbed for a new virus they named COVID-19. Where it came from and what it was intended to do didn't matter, the world was on fire because of it. After the President was found innocent once more, they went after him over the new virus. Instead of having been on the alert for it they blamed him for its severity. To an Observer one would have to ask if they weren't privy to it ahead of time.

In March, the president ordered a shutdown of the country, only those considered essential personnel were to be out and about. Mayor Michael decided to sequester all his staff in a central location until the crisis was over. He chose the Embassy Suites as his command headquarters. There they would have a place to eat, a lounge to unwind in, and each person would have their own room to stay in.

When June found out about it, she called James to tell him.

"Honey, Michael has decided that his staff needs to be kept together to keep us safe during the pandemic. We're all going to be holed up at the Embassy Suites for the duration, I need you to set me up some suitcases of clothes to wear. A patrolman will come by to pick them up."

"No, June."

"What do you mean no?"

"There is no need for that, I will not aid and abet in what could become the destruction of our family."

"James, he is just trying to do the right thing to keep our local government safe."

"Tell me, June, how many spouses will be there?"

"None. If they brought the spouses, then they'd have to bring the children also."

"So he has no problem splitting up families? How long does he think it will be for?"

"Until the government says it's over."

"That's not an answer, June. One week? A month? A year? How many other women will be there?"

"We are only taking essential staff, so four."

"How many men?"

"I don't know, maybe twenty."

"And you don't see a red flag going up there? If you go, you go without my blessing and without me setting your clothes up."

"James, you know I wouldn't do anything to endanger our marriage."

"Then tell him no or quit."

"I won't do either, just man up and be like everyone else and deal with it." She hung up on him and went to see the mayor.

"Michael, James said I couldn't join the staff because I couldn't give him an end date and because, in his opinion, there aren't enough women going. He wanted to know why we have to leave our families?"

"June, I'm not going to tell you what you should do, but I will need my Press Secretary with me. The reason for no families is because of the cost factor. If I let James come then Ben is going to want his wife, my wife will want to come and before you know it, we have half the city here. If you can't go, I'll just have to get a new press secretary."

His words were cold and final; either go and run the risk of losing James or not go and lose her job. She had worked hard over the last five years and she was good at her job, James would just have to understand. She had an officer take her home to get her clothes.

To say James wasn't happy would be an understatement. He didn't say anything, but he didn't kiss her either when she left. Cést la vie, back to what he was there for, observing.

James set up the video recorder to record the Mayor's updates each day; it also gave him a chance to see June standing in the background. Every night she would call and he would always say, "Please come home," to which she would reply, "I can't."

As the days progressed, he noticed one of the male staff members had started to always be standing beside June. Each day he seemed to be that little bit closer, until after they had been there for three weeks, it looked like he had his arm around her. That night James didn't answer his phone.

He went to his car and drove back to the reservoir and drove in. When he entered his ship, he knew just what equipment he needed. He retrieved an analyzer and a cloaking device. After he left his ship, he headed for Saint Clare's Denville, the primary hospital caring for COVID-19 patients. He found one that was in the worst shape and took a sample to analyze.

When he got back in his car, he separated some of the sample, putting it aside for use at a later date. He analyzed the rest and produced the cure. What was difficult and challenging for the humans was easy for James. He went back inside and injected the patient with the cure before walking back out and going home.

The next day when he watched the mayor's report, he could tell the guy's arm was around June. Again, that night he didn't answer the phone.

At 11pm, under the cloak of invisibility, he went looking for June. He checked the registry at the hotel reception desk to find out what room she was in, and then went to the lounge to see if she was there by herself. Just as he was about to enter, she came out with the same guy who had been standing next to her each day. He followed them to her room and they both went in.

The cloaking device gave him the ability to walk through doors, so he was able to follow them in.

June sat down on the bed and said, "I'm going to try calling James one more time. He is starting to piss me off. Does he think we're doing any better in here than he is out there?"

"What would he say if he knew we've been fucking for the last week?"

"Ben, all we're doing is stress relief, nothing more."

"If that were true, you could have had him stay here just like the mayor's wife. I think you were looking for a chance to be with this," he said as he let his pants drop to the floor.

She put the phone down and stood to take her clothes off also. "You may be right."

James watched as his supposedly loving wife bent into a naked embrace and an open mouth kiss. Ben walked her backwards until the backs of her legs hit the bed. He eased her back onto the bed. June shuffled up the bed. Ben followed her. There was no foreplay, no tenderness, and no love, but plenty of betrayal.

James waited until just the right moment and then he struck Ben with the hypo filled with enhanced COVID-19.

"Ouch, dammit, I think I just got bit by a spider."

June reached over and turned the bed lamp on and took a look.

"Man, that's an ugly bite mark, you had better have it looked at."

He stood and started to dress. Before he finished buttoning his shirt, his throat was sore and he was already starting to have muscle pain. Then he started to have shortness of breath. Before he could get his pants on, he fell over in pain. June ran out into the hall with just a sheet covering her and screamed for help. When someone finally showed up and saw him they backed away.

It took fifteen minutes for the ambulance to arrive and another fifteen before they could transport him. June was questioned as to why he was in her room only partially dressed, but she refused to say. She was quarantined in her room until they could determine what was wrong with Ben.

James slipped out and went home. In the middle of the night an anonymous tip was sent to the press.

At the mayor's regular press meeting, two people were not in attendance. As the mayor spoke the press corps was a buzz.

When he started to take questions the first one was, "Mr. Mayor, is it true that one of your staff has come down with the coronavirus?"

The mayor looked at his staff then turned and said, "Last night one of my staff became sick and was taken to the hospital, at this time we don't know what happened to him."

"Mr. Mayor, why wasn't he taken to Morris County Primary Care if it wasn't something serious?"

"Because we are here to serve you, we decided to err on the side of caution."

"Mr. Mayor, was there anyone else that was involved? We don't see your press secretary here today."

"Mrs. Jones was a little under the weather today so that is why she's not here."

"Mr. Mayor, have their spouses been told yet? We thought that the whole reason for holing up here was to keep you all safe?"

"It was and still is."

"So what happens if someone else comes down with something, will you admit it was a bad idea to separate families?"

"I will stand by my decision no matter what."

"Mr. Mayor, is it true that you let your wife join you but no other spouses?"

"I think our meeting is over for the day," and he stepped down and headed back inside.

James smiled and hit stop on the machine.

June tried calling him in the afternoon, hoping to finally get through. When the phone was answered, she said, "Hello, James, I've been trying to get ahold of you, but you haven't answered."

"Give me one good reason why I should have?"

"Because I love and miss you."

"Does your form of love include letting other men have their way with you?"

She gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, my love, I have recorded every one of the Mayor's press conferences. You would be amazed what you see if you watch them one after another."

"I don't understand what you're saying."

"Well, let me explain it to you. When this all started everyone on the stage was practicing social distancing. As time passed, some guy seemed to get closer and closer to you, till two days ago; he was standing right next to you with his arm around you. You didn't seem to be pushing him away. I didn't notice either of you at the meeting today, decide to take the day off and play plow the field?"

"No, James, I was under the weather and he went to the hospital last night."

"Well, that sounds bad and strange at the same time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he gets all handsy with you and then you are both sick. Does his wife and kids know about this?"

"James, there's nothing to know."

"Then are you coming home?"

"No, I'm under quarantine for the next two weeks."

"Gee, isn't that the incubation time for the coronavirus?"

"Well, yes, but I don't have it."

"June, why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying, I don't have the coronavirus."

"Then why can't you come home?"

"I told you, I'm under quarantine."

"For what?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe I'll just ask our good Mayor. Think he will tell me?"

"James, just leave it alone."

"June, I'll pack all your shit up and have it in the garage for you when, if ever, you get freed."

"Why?"

"Because I can hear the lying in your voice, you've done something you shouldn't have and now you're afraid to own it. I wonder how the city will feel when they find out that the city was paying for the city staff to have a big play time at taxpayer expense."

"James, please don't do this, we were doing the right thing for the city."

"Tell me something, June, why did he choose that hotel?"

"It wasn't being used; it had a restaurant and plenty of space for the staff to sleep."

"How many rooms are being used?"

"Well, we each had a bedroom, the restaurant and the lounge. It has a pool and exercise room. It also has a large conference room where they put up a glass wall to keep the reporters and film crew separate."

"And still it didn't help."

"He thought it was a spider bite."

"And that's even worse, with all the precautions someone still gets sick. Like I said, your stuff will be waiting for you if you ever get out."

"Let me talk to Michael and see what he has to say."

"Sorry, too little too late. I asked you not to go a month ago and you refused to listen. Now you've done things you said you wouldn't and can't understand why I'm mad. June, if I had decided that I was lonely and went and found a sex partner to ease my pain, what would you have done?"

There was no response on the other end.

"June, your silence is the same as an admission. Please don't call again if you're going to lie to me," and he hung up.

She sat in the chair, with her phone in her hand, and couldn't move. If he left her what would she do? She needed to talk to Michael. She picked up the house phone only to find the line dead.

James got in his car and drove back to Saint Clare's, with all the Covid patients on one floor it wasn't hard to find Ben. He slipped up next to him and gave him a shove. When Ben opened his eyes no one was there, so he closed them again.

Then Ben heard a voice, "I have the cure but I'm not giving you any."

In a raspy voice, "Why?"

"You should have learned to keep your dick in your pants. Now you're going to lose your life over it. Maybe if I fucked your wife in front of you, I might change my mind."

"Well then, whoever you are, you have killed me. First, she would never do it, and, second, there is no way to get her in here."

"Well, I hope it was worth it to you. Maybe I should have made it look and feel like a snake bite instead of a spider. It was nice knowing you, dumbass."

James went past a few more terminal cases and gave them the cure. This could become a fun game. Before he got back home he stopped off at the Hotel; he needed a few words with Mr. Mayor.

At the reception desk he grabbed an envelope and some hotel stationary, and then he wrote him a note.

Mr. Mayor

I hold you personally responsible for what you did to so many marriages because of your selfishness. You never even gave the spouses a choice. What are your plans if another of your staff comes down with the virus?

Be prepared to have to answer to the press tomorrow, when they are loaded with questions that you don't want to answer. Be advised that at least two more will come down with the virus tonight; let's just hope it isn't your wife or kids.

Concerned Citizen

He slipped it under the door while the mayor was in the hotel restaurant having dinner. Watching the crowd, James saw his new victims. He followed as they ventured into the lounge, sliding into a booth side by side. He silently walked up and gave each a pin prick. James took his time exiting. There was no need to rush; no one could see him. When the victims cried out everyone came running. The call was made and the ambulance was on the way.