“No!” Pete said soundly.
“Too late for that, I’m afraid. The time has come. The father is finally going to reveal his awesome power to the unbelieving Barnabas.” As Michael talked, he never took his eyes off Barney. “Go to the door, Peter.” Michael commanded.
“Uh, no Brother Michael. I don’t think Barn—“
“Go to the door, Peter!” Michael said.
Pete paused and moved to the apartment’s door.
“Come in here!” Brother Michael yelled.
The door handle began slowly turning from the outside. Pete jumped away and quickly moved close to Brother Michael.
~~~
“So one guy has a hold of his foot and Hansen is just dragging him along, when this other guy hits him from behind.”
Dr. Paul Stony was telling his tale, using animated hand gestures for the benefit of the two somber women dating the two doctors for the last time.
“Hansen, as big as he was, is going down hard, when out of nowhere Blaze appears.”
Jim Donahue howled with laughter, jabbing his date in the ribs with his elbow.
“Blaze grabs Hansen by his pants,” Stony continued, red-faced and laughing, “and drags Hansen, the two guys, and the ball across the goal line!”
Jim yelped and threw his arms in the air. “I tell you,” he said, “I’ve never seen anyone play football like Blaze. I can’t believe he didn’t go pro.”
As the conversation lulled, the two women took the opportunity to powder their noses.
“Don’t ever set me up again,” Jim said under his breath as his date disappeared around the corner. The two young doctors found themselves alone in the spacious, wood-leaden lounge of the ultra-exclusive Green Valley Country Club. "The woman can’t golf,” Jim said, “She had no idea what a handicap was, thought that’s why everyone was driving those little carts around.”
“I know, I know,” Paul said, quickly. “Tina is nice but there isn’t any connection.”
Jim leaned back in his chair and shook his head. He sat silently spinning his red Roa drink within its dewy glass. “Why didn’t you ever get married?”
“Why didn’t you?” Paul said.
Jim smiled, sipped his drink and slowly returned it to the table. “I met the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in Nashville a couple of months ago.”
“And?”
“And…she’s married.”
“So?”
“She’s pregnant.”
“Oh.”
“Still, I tried.”
“Oh?”
Jim smiled.
“How did you meet her?” Paul said.
“We were involved in a…project together.”
“A doctor?”
“No, she was more of a subject; patient. We had a great conversation in a bar across the street from where we were staying. I tried but—she wasn’t interested.”
“Hmm,” Paul said, lifting his own glass to his mouth.
“Yeah, Jim said softly, “but you know, there was something strange about her, couldn’t ever put my finger on it. Still I find myself holding her up as some sort of standard these days.”
“She was that pretty, huh?”Paul said.
“Movie star pretty; supermodel pretty; prettier than that. Prettiest girl you’ve ever seen.” He resumed pushing his glass in a circular motion on the tabletop for a moment and continued. “If you ask me, I think marriage is just too risky a business anyway. People don’t want to stay together anymore. You remember Tommy Platte, the kid with pigeon toes? He’s been married three times already. Cost him a fortune; had to start over every time.” Jim put his drink down. “Look at Perez.”
Paul pointed his finger at Jim’s chest. “Perfect case in point.”
“I can’t believe Perez was having an affair,” Jim said. “I met his wife. I thought those two were inseparable.” Jim signaled for another Roa while readjusting himself in the plush leather chair. A half-consumed log popped and crackled in the warm, glowing fire.
“Believe me, it was a shock to everyone,” Paul said, “Why Texas? So far away.”
“How did they find out about the affair in the first place?” Jim said.
“The police found out I guess. Apparently there was a little investigation. No one knew why he was in Texas. Pictures of Perez and his lover surfaced.”
“Why would the police care about those?”
“Oh, now I remember. Her bag was found in Perez’s rental car. That’s where they found the pictures, I guess. They looked her up and found out she and Perez not only had an affair, but had been involved in some sort of lovers’ squall at a hotel that day. He was most likely despondent. They think it probably had some bearing on the crash.”
“Perez?” Jim said, “That’s so hard to believe. How do you know all this?”
“A friend of a friend works for Channel Eight News. They did a little story.”
“They didn’t include the affair, did they? I mean…how could that be news?”
“Oh no,” Paul said. “That’s just what the news team stumbled over when they were getting the story.”
Jim frowned. “Why would Perez’s death be news anyway?”
“His work with in vitro fertilization made him a fairly good hit in a few circles.” Paul said thoughtfully.
Jim reached for his drink. “How is Hillary Perez taking it? Anyone seen her?”
“She’s a mess, from what I hear, never suspected a thing.”
The two dates appeared.
“One of the rockets in Florida exploded,” Jim’s date said.
“One of the asteroid rockets?” Paul asked.
“Yes,” she said gravely, “it just happened.”
“When?” Jim said.
“About four hours ago.”
“So…what does that mean?” Paul’s date asked.
Jim looked at her and back at Paul. “I- I’m not sure. Weren’t they sending five rockets?”
“That means four of them went up,” Paul said, looking at Jim.
“So eight boosters made it into orbit?”
“Will that be enough?” Paul asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I think we should go,” Paul’s date said, “I have kids.”
“Ok,” Jim said, reaching for the check.
~~~
Todd pulled into his driveway and raced into the house.
“Where have you been?” Maria asked softly, as he walked in the door.
“Maria,” Todd called into the dark, “Are you alright?”
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Maria shrieked.
Todd covered his ears. He had never heard anyone scream like that before. “I was with Father Jenkins.”
“What were you doing with Father Jenkins?” she said, returning to a normal decibel level.
“I…ran into him, we had a few beers.”
The room was dark. She was standing in the hall, silhouetted against the faint bathroom night-light. Todd moved to the lamp, switched it on and stopped mid-step. It was obvious she’d been crying. Her makeup was smeared and running down her cheeks. Her hair looked strange. “Maria,” he said softly, moving towards her.
She pulled away, then fell into his arms sobbing. “We’re gonna die. We won’t have our baby.”
“No-no, Maria, that’s not true.” he said, holding her. “There are still eight of those rockets up there. They’re still going after it. Nothing’s over. The baby will be born. Just calm down.”
He pulled her to the couch, gently laid her down and drew back, shocked. Hair was everywhere, Jet-black hair in piles on the couch and floor. “Oh no, Maria,” Todd moaned, lifting her face.
She had pulled huge locks of hair out of her head. He could see jagged bits of hair, still clinging to bloody scrapes on her scalp where she had been clawing and tearing moments before.
She wrapped her arms around Todd’s neck. “I can’t die now, not this close.” Her convulsive sobbing was so intense she could hardly catch her
breath.
“Maria,” Todd said softly, “I’m here. You gotta’ settle down now.”
“You don’t understand,” she yelled, “this baby is the reason I was born, and now all of that is over.” She collapsed back on the couch.
“I’ll be right back Maria, I’m gonna’ call the Doctor…I’ll be right back!” He rushed to the phone and dialed 911. To his amazement, the line was busy. He slammed the phone down and called again…still busy. He dialed Maria’s doctor, no answer. He threw the phone across the room, ran into the bathroom and began rifling through the medicine cabinet. He spotted a small green bottle of Demerol he had kept for years. He could only hope it was still potent.
“Maria!” he said, running back into the living room. He reached and pulled her into a sitting position. She was still softly sobbing. He put a pill to her lips and pushed a glass of water into her hand.
“What’s this?”
“It’s Demerol. It’ll help.”
“I can’t.”
“Maria, you have to settle down, you’re too upset—”
“I can’t take Demerol. It’ll hurt the baby.”
“Oh, that’s right. What am I thinking?”
“It’s alright,” she said, “I’ll settle down. You’re here with me now.”
Todd sat down beside her. “Yes, I am.”
She rolled and lay across his lap.
“What did you hear that upset you so badly,” he said, moving his hand over her shoulder, “something on the news? What are they saying?”
It took Maria a few tries before she was finally able to speak. “The…rocket blew…up.”
“I know. Have you heard anything else?”
“Th- they’re saying they won’t have enough…to keep the asteroid from hitting us now.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Todd said.
Maria quieted. “What did you hear?”
“I heard everyone is overreacting, that everything is going forward as planned.”
“You’re just saying that,” she said, sniffing.
“No, it’s true. It was a senator. He said they had prepared for just such a thing as this and that they had planned on overkill anyway…just in case.” Maria was silent. Todd gently pulled her hair away from her face and continued. “The senator said everything is fine.”
“Really? That’s what he said?”
“Damn straight,” Todd said, “Let me turn on the television. I bet they’re talking about it right now.” He leaned and switched the TV on.
The face of the President of the United States flickered to life. He was standing in front of a podium. Large easels stood behind him, holding charts and diagrams. Aides were helping as he presented the final details of the revamped Operation Dante’s shield.
“The boosters are currently in a close orbit with earth,” he said, pointing at the chart. “As we speak, Edmonton is moving to intercept them somewhere over Iceland. The boosters will be moved to the international space station where they’ll be processed and assembled into one large rocket motor called the Main Propulsion Assembly. When that is completed, the orbiter Douglas will tow the engine to Dante657, where it will be attached.”
Maria lay across Todd’s lap, silently watching the television.
One of the aides stepped forward and moved to the microphone. “The president will take a few questions,” she said. The room exploded with the voices of reporters, screaming over the top of each other. The president looked the group over for a moment before pointing at one of the reporters. “Terry.”
“Mr. President, everyone wants to know if the asteroid does manage to get through, where will it hit?”
“You know I can’t answer that, Terry…. John?” He pointed to the other side of the room.
“Yes, Mr. President, are you certain the remaining eight boosters are enough to get the job done?”
“I’m glad you asked that question John,” the president said, “This is something I want everyone to understand. This asteroid is big, but it’s not that big. It’s only about seven miles wide and nine miles long. We are going to strap enough thrust to that thing to launch four space Trawlers. To illustrate the kind of power I’m talking about…understand…each one of these eight solid rocket boosters produce about 3.1 million pounds of thrust for two minutes. Together, they produce 25 million pounds of thrust for two full minutes. Preventing an impact only requires that the orbital velocity of Dante be altered by a small amount, less than one centimeter per second. This is a tiny velocity increment. All we need to do is deflect the thing, move it a little…Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t launch it right back to where ever the damn thing came from.
“Dante657 is not going to hit the earth. There’s no danger of that happening. The asteroid is not the danger we face here, but let me assure you, we are in grave danger.”
The cameras moved in for a close-up.
“Our society is a very interconnected one. The only food reserves most American families have are the contents of their cupboards and refrigerators. The great heroes who are risking their lives, implementing Operation Dante’s shield, will complete the job they were trained to do. But they will not be the only heroes in this great endeavor. I understand that this is a time of great terror. We all want to stay close to our families but we are at war now; a war more threatening than all the other wars combined. The nation…and the world, will depend on you, the American people, just as we depended on you during the first and second world wars, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and now Operation Dante’s Shield.
We need heroic volunteers who will move to protect and preserve our great way of life. Heroes who are truck drivers, without whom, there would be no food on the grocery store shelves. Heroes who are our police officers, without whom, there would be no peace or security in our streets, heroes who keep our gas, electricity and communication lines intact. Thousands and thousands of individual tasks our people perform on a daily basis, tasks that are vital to this great nation; jobs that must continue…just as they always have.
Without this commitment, the nation will almost certainly grind to a stop. And the brave men and women in space who are risking their lives at this very moment will return to a world they have gallantly saved, only to find it destroyed by mindless fear and paranoia.
I need a commitment from you, our great citizenry; the American People. Get up tomorrow, go to work. Work hard, just as you always have. Do your jobs, and we, in government…and those at NASA, solemnly promise to do ours. Together, we will protect our citizenry and build a stronger nation than ever before.
When we finally pass through this time of great trial, this heroic generation will be remembered long after this asteroid has been completely forgotten.”
The crowd of reporters slowly stood one by one and began to applaud.
“See, I told you.” Todd said, shaking Maria’s shoulder.
She didn’t respond.
“What do you think?” he said, still fidgeting with her hair.
She ignored his question. “I had a dream the other night,”
“Huh?” Todd said, wondering if she had heard him.
“I had a dream,” she repeated. “We have to move.”
“Move? Move where?”
Maria looked up at him.
“Omaha, Nebraska.”
~~~
The door began opening.
Barney backed away until the wall blocked his retreat. Pete quickly whirled and ran to Michael’s side. Both men had seen what Brother Michael was capable of doing. They had seen him confuse his adversaries, sicken and terrify people with a thought. He knew intimate details in the lives of people he had never met. Brother Michael had told Barney the father was about to deal with him personally. Both men could only imagine what was on the other side of that door.
“Brother Michael,” a woman’s voice sounded from behind the door, “is he here?”
“Barnabas is here,” Michael said. He smiled, rea
ched for the hand of the beautiful creature, gently guided her through the door and into the apartment.
She gasped, the moment she saw Barney. He was still pressed against the wall. “Is that him?” she said, her voice soft and feminine.
Michael motioned towards Barney. “That’s him.”
“He’s gorgeous,” she said softly, moving towards him.
She wore slim-fitting jeans and a white shirt, unbuttoned just enough to scarcely cover an ample cleavage. She was small, around five feet five inches tall. The loose-fitting shirt hinted at a voluptuous, perfectly proportioned body. Her small face was astoundingly beautiful, framed with long, thick blond hair. As she moved towards Barney, he found himself instantly fixating on her moist blue-grey eyes. Never in Barney’s life had he seen anything so beautiful.
“Barnabas,” Brother Michael said, still grinning, “This is Mallory. “Mallory, this is—”
“Barney,” Mallory said, interrupting Michael. “This is my Barney.”
As she drew near Barney an entire lifetime of inadequacies boiled to the surface. He looked at her, then up at Michael, and then to the floor. He dared not smile. If he smiled she would see his bad teeth. He held his breath as she drew nearer. What if he had bad breath? People with bad teeth always had bad breath. Couldn’t she see he was ugly? He reflexively turned away.
The beautiful woman reaching out to him dropped her arms. “He doesn’t like me, Brother Michael.”
Barney turned and looked down at her, amazed.
Michael laughed. “He likes you Mallory.”
Barney hesitated and gently touched her shoulder. Instantly, those flashing grey eyes were looking back up at him. Once again her beauty took his breath away.
“Barnabas, you like Mallory don’t you?” Michael said.
Mallory’s soft, needy eyes stared up at Barney. No woman had ever looked at him this way, not in his wildest dreams. Barney shrugged. “Yeah I guess so.”
Mallory’s eyes dropped.
“No,” Barney said softly, reaching for her shoulders, “Very much…I mean I…like you very much.”
Mallory smiled. “I like you too Barney,” she said softly, “Very much.” She gently laid her head against his chest. Barney looked up, bewildered.
His attention was pulled away to a figure standing in the darkness just outside the open living room door. He jumped. “Who’s there?”
Everyone in the room turned to look.
She was standing just outside of the light that illuminated the landing in front of the apartment door.