Dark as Daylight Ch. 11

"I may not how to cook next time around."

"In that case, I'll have Patricia teach you."

"My what a tangled web we weave..."

"I've got a call William, and tell him what's happening here. Do you want to talk to him, when I'm done Jemma?"

"Who is William?"

"I'm not talking to you, until tomorrow. This day has been confusing enough as it is. It happens, whenever there are more women around me, than there are men. Zachary, where the..."

"Right behind you, sir."

"I really do hate you, when you do that to me."

"Do you want me to get all the women downstairs sir?"

"All the women except Sabrina, she's making my sandwich."

"Ladies, by the Colonel's order, we are going downstairs."

Nearly as one they said, "Like hell we are."

"Ladies, do you remember rule number one?"

Patty yelled, "Here's rule number three. When a woman says something, all rules prior to number three can go fuck themselves."

"Andy will you come up here please."

"Yes Paul."

"The Colonel wants all the women downstairs. The women seem reluctant to do so. Would you instruct them on the means of getting downstairs please? You can start with Mrs. Valentino"

Patty's eyes opened wide, as the mountain that is Andy closed in on her.

"Andy, I'll go peacefully. I'll walk, and I'll cause no trouble."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Valentino. The time for you going peacefully has passed. You should have done it, when Paul first asked you to go."

With no effort at all, he lifted all of 5' 1" 105 lbs. of Patty Valentino off her chair, and threw her over his shoulder.

She began screaming. "Stephano help me. Make this big lug put me down."

"Patty, how many bruises do I wind up with, when you hit me? Can you imagine how many bruises I would wind up, if Andy hit me? Go peacefully, I'll see you whenever he releases you."

"I'm going to beat the crap out of you, when I am released."

"Rather you then him."

As Andy was passing Gwen, he gave her a stern look. She stood up and began walking towards the stairwell that would bring her down to the safe room.

Paul looked around the living room. "Do any of you have any other questions about going to the safe room peacefully?"

Jemma stood up, and looked at Lucius with flames firing out of her eyes. "I'm going to tell William about this."

"May I quote you Jemma?"

"Certainly."

"Who is William?"

"You no good dirty bastard."

"I would still marry you in a minute Jemma."

"I have moved you down one slot. You're now down to a 'Maybe!' One more insult like this and you will be an also-ran."

"As long as I get you back to William, as beautiful as you are, I'll accept an also-ran."

"Flattery will get you everywhere with me, and you know it."

"Downstairs Jemma, now."

"Yes Colonel."

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

"Hello William, this is Lucius. We are up against idiots here. The main force will be the real test, in South Carolina. All they wanted to do was split us up, and they have been successful, again. I am in the wrong place at the right time."

"What do you mean Lucius, what is going on up there?"

"One of our new soldiers, a Sergeant Harry Chase came up with an idea. We bought a Quadracopter, and flew it directly over their encampment, and their vehicle staging area. They didn't realize we were taking pictures of it, because they thought a little girl was flying it just for pleasure. The pictures that came back told us exactly what we needed to know. They aren't soldiers, they are fools. They are going to come at us using dump trucks, and other commercial vehicles. It might have worked in the short run, but eventually, we would've killed them all. Now that we know what were up against, it won't be a fair fight.

Just so you are aware of it, Patricia and Stephano showed up this afternoon. I wanted to kill her, but her reasoning was the same as mine. I still wanted to kill her for being here, and putting herself in danger, when your darling wife stuck her foot so far down my throat I couldn't talk. How did you wind up marrying such a strong woman, William? She put me in my place so easily, it was like you did it yourself."

"When have I ever had the gumption to put you in your place, Lucius?"

"I can think of about 1000 times, and in all of them you wound up being correct. We are friends, and we always will be. I had to have Andy put Patricia in the holding cell downstairs for her own protection. She would not go of her own free will, so Andy had to convince her it was in her own best interest to do so."

"Who is Andy, I've never met him?"

"Andy is 7'1" tall, and weighs 360 pounds or more. He has about 8% body fat, and moves with the grace of a ballet dancer. I call him 'The Mountain That Moves.' He is gentle, and kind, until you put him in battle, then he is as mean as a grizzly bear."

"He must be some sight, Lucius."

"When he went to pick up Patty, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She begged him to let her walk downstairs. He wouldn't let her, because she acted up in front of the others, and he wanted to give them an object lesson. He looked around and the rest of them went peacefully. He's a great guy, William."

"What do you want me to do about South Carolina?"

"If it happens the way I think it will, they should go on full alert at midnight, and expect an attack at their strongest points by 2 AM. It will not be there main attack. It will be just as the boys predicted. They will come in by the main road, with everything they have. Turn off all the lights for the entryway into the Good Luck 2. Build a berm in front of it, 6 to 8 feet tall, tapering down on both sides, with "Bear Pits' 15 feet in front of it. Put bright lights as a false entry 20 to 30 yards on either side of the berm with Bear Pits in front of them. It will be just as the English did in World War II. They fooled the Germans into thinking that the Suez Canal was 15 miles further east than it actually was, and managed to kept the canal open, during all of World War II."

"I will pass that along Lucius. If my daughter causes any more problems, give her the telephone, and I will speak to her."

"I don't think she'll cause any more problems, William. Andy will be standing by the door, and Stephano doesn't want any part of him."

"My son-in-law is a very smart man. Why he married my daughter is beyond me."

"Why did you marry a woman, with an accent that could cut through lead?"

"Thank you very much for that memory Lucius. I will shoot you when I see you."

"As long as we are both alive when this is over, I'll look forward to it William."

"Goodbye my friend."

"I will see you in two days William."

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

"Sabrina call Rita. Tell her I want her and Paul to take the helicopter anyplace but here. I want them at least 10 miles away from ground a zero. We will call them, when it is time to return."

"I'll call them, as soon as I see you lying down in bed."

"I still have work to do."

"Shadow."

"At your service ma'am."

"Would you escort the Colonel to one of the bedrooms and make sure he's lying down with his shoes off and his uniform neatly lying down on a chair. Post a guard outside his door. He's not allowed out of that room until 1 AM. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am, very clear."

"Sir, we can do this the easy way, we can do this the hard way, or we can do this my way. Is totally up to you."

"Anyway I look at this I'm going to lose. Sabrina when did you become a General Officer?"

"When you started loving my sandwiches."

"It figures. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The oldest adage ever recorded by George Washington was, 'An army marches on its stomach.' Let's go Zachary, find me an empty bedroom, and I'll go to sleep."

"This way sir. I have your bed turned down."

"Is there anything you don't know about in advance Paul?"

"I told you dad, when it comes to you I know everything."

"What did you just call me?"

"You are the only father I have ever known. My mother didn't know who my father was, so I just called you dad. If you don't like it will call you sir."

"Only in private Paul, I'd be proud to call you my son."

"Thank you, sir. Go to sleep, and that is an order, dad. We need you rested when the time comes."

"I'll be where I always was Paul, out front."

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

"I remember that William. The guy who managed to pull that off was a magician. Not an architect or an engineer or someone special, he was an ordinary, British stage magician. It wasn't until after the war that he received 'The Knight's Cross' for saving the canal. It was a marvelous idea on his part. All he used were smoke pots, cardboard cut-outs, a few lights, and dynamite to make the Luftwaffe think they made a hit on the ships transiting the canal."

"Lucius says it's going to happen tonight. Can you do all of it in the few hours that you have?"

"I have the engineers, I have the manpower, I have the equipment, and I have the will to do it. It will be done William, I guarantee it. It's a marvelous idea. I'll get everyone together in a few moments, and lay out the plan."

"Make sure the boys are included. I don't want them to feel slighted."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

"Good luck General, you have the hard part."

"We knew that from the beginning William. We are ready."

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

"Vinny, we are getting calls from all of them. They don't want to go to court to solve this case. They are offering us more money than we were asking for to drop the civil suit. Elizabeth is going to be a billionaire when this is over."

"What the hell happened Rod, what change their minds?"

"I'm really not sure, but I'll bet you it had to do with those three guys in Switzerland. When their names hit the press, these corporations had to scramble to cover their asses. The government is going to start looking at contracts all the way back to the inception of this rocket. People are going to jail over this, and the trials are not going to be pretty. Elizabeth may be testifying for the government, for more than ten years."

"Five will get you 10 people start to disappear."

"What do you mean Vinny?"

"Anything with numbers as large as this has to have some connections through the mob. I know it personally, because my family is involved. You know I'm not, but I grew up surrounded by it. I know how they work.

If a plumbing fitting is going into the rocket and it cost $10.00; $1.00 goes to the mob. It may not sound like a lot, but those dollars add up.

If it's concrete, and it's a million-dollar contract, one hundred thousand dollars goes to the mob. No concrete contract is not mob connected. Why do you think the unions are against shipping jobs overseas? The more jobs they lose here; the less union dues they collect. The less union dues they collect, the less contracts they have to fill, the less trucks they use. It works up and down the line. They lose money, not just a little bit, but billions of dollars a year. It does not make them happy. They are out of the killing business. They are in the business of business now. It is much more profitable, and they stay out of the headlines. That's the way they like it."

"Now all the companies we are suing in a minor case of an employee being dismissed unfairly, are going to be in the headlines for months, maybe years. They are going to want to keep this settlement under wraps, because if it gets to other employers, involved with this rocket, they are going to shit their pants. The heads of these companies are the people who made the deals with the mobs' lawyers. The mob cannot let this go public, so some people are going on an extended vacation."

"How extended?"

"Permanent, forever and always, Rod."

"Oh well, we might as well call Elizabeth in for conference."

"What do you mean call her in for conference, she's downstairs typing on your computer making $98 an hour plus benefits."

"I'm going to fire her."

"Do you want to become part of this disaster? Why are you going to fire her?"

"Because in a couple of months she's going to be richer than I am."

"Don't be an ass, we get 30% of what she gets, because we are not going to court."

"What are you going to do with your money?"

"I'm going to rebuild my block in Brooklyn just the way it used to be. I love those people, I love that area, and if God wills I will die there. How about you?"

"We have to stay with the boys until they are 21, but after that I want to move back to Idaho Springs. I have a lovely home there, and I want to be close to Even. Intellectually, I know he is not there, but I miss that bastard every day."

"That's very understandable, Rod. You two bastards, and bastards belong together."

"Thanks Vinny, I really needed that."

"Elizabeth, would you come up here for a minute please?"

"Yes Mister Caruso, how can I help you?"

"Elizabeth, exactly how rich do you want to be?"

"They're willing to settle after all this time?"

"They're not only willing to settle; they are begging us to settle. They are offering us more money than we were demanding."

"Who made the initial offer?"

"Your old company."

"Squeeze them dry. I don't care if they go bankrupt. I want my pound of flesh."

"I won't do that. The other employees will suffer, and they have families to support. They didn't hurt you. I will make demands that will get rid of the top brass, and the people in your department that screwed you, but I will not put them out of business."

"Why do I have to have lawyers with consciences?"

"Because these two lawyers are going to make you a billionaire."

"Say that word again?"

"Billionaire, the word begins with a B. We have 11 companies on the hook, and they are willing to settle, starting with 8 figures, and above. Your company is offering $250 million to settle this. I believe we should take it. The other companies will fall in line behind them."

"My thoughts go along with your thoughts."

"I'll call them, and give the 90 days to pay. I'll also give them the other instructions in reference to their hierarchy, and your department. You can go downstairs now continue typing, for $98 an hour plus benefits."

"Thank you Mister Caruso, I will do that. Thank you Mister Laver for taking my case. I never thought anyone would help me."

"Elizabeth, you never met anyone like Delicious Luck Thyme before in your life. You probably never will in your life. She had a way of convincing people to do things that you could not, and would not say no to. You were very lucky to meet her at a time when you needed to meet her."

"I was nasty to her that day; I even lied to her. I don't know why she took me aside and help me."

"I won't bore you with the details, but she had a horrible childhood, and as she grew up and met people that truly loved her, she was able to love other people. One of them was you, and you benefited from it."

"I hope she's happy wherever she is."

Rod laughed. "I can guarantee you, Delicious is causing havoc wherever she is."

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

45. Atwater Luck

Everyone was in the auditorium, or watching what was happening on the televisions close to their stations, as the discussions were going on whether to land, or continuing to orbit the planet indefinitely, while another search of the ship went on.

Monty said, "Under normal circumstances, a vote of 50% plus one would be enough for me to make a decision of such great magnitude. However, this time I am taking the lives of everyone on this ship into my hands. I am changing that rule under provisions granted to me as Senior Captain. A vote of 66% of the voting membership will be needed for me to commit this spacecraft to land on Atwater Luck or not.

We all know the risks, and the rewards. Whether we land here, or in some far off planet, they are the same. We have been in orbit for seven days. The ship has been searched from top to bottom by all of us, and we cannot find anything resembling an explosive device. Landing Gear number 3 has been searched by every engineer, and technician on board and it has come up clean.

We will do this vote in two ways to verify its outcome. We will first do it electronically, and then by paper ballot. We now have 73 voting members. Gordon Luck will not be voting due to illness. I wish you all to take a moment to reflect on your choice, and when you have made your decision, press your button, and your vote will show up on the board. Please begin."

Gordon was not among those voting. He was in the infirmary suffering from severe debilitating headaches, and was sedated.

Sandy and Doctor Joe Finch were looking through the computer files, for answers on Gordon's headaches. They were coming up empty.

Gordon had been sitting in the Captain's chair, while they were in orbit. Suddenly, he grabbed his head, and fell to the floor, screaming in pain.

Gray didn't wait for the doctors to come to see what was happening to him. He picked Gordon up, ran to the elevator, and brought him down to the infirmary.

Gordon could not open his eyes, because of the lights; so they put blinders on him. They ran a CAT scan, and the results were negative. There were no tumors, or broken blood vessels. His brain was not pressing against his skull, and his brain stem was not enlarged. Everything seemed normal. They checked his spine using an MRI, and again everything came back normal.

Doctor Finch was at his wits end trying to figure out what was going on. With no other option available to him, they sedated Gordon, to give him a respite from his pain.

His body fought the pain medication, so vehemently, they had to give him triple the dosage to finally put him at rest.

Zoey asked, "What is wrong with him? I've never seen him like this. He's never had a headache before. Could it be his exposure to the radiation when he's outside the ship?"

"Oh Zoey, how smart you are. I never thought about that. Jodi get me the Geiger counter."

As Finch ran the Geiger counter from Gordon's head to his toes. It registered normal for a person living on Earth. This was abnormal for everyone on the ship. It should have read slightly higher, because everyone had been exposed to slightly higher radiation levels that penetrated the water, while they were in space. Why was he immune to it?

"Zoey come here please."

Finch ran the Geiger counter over Zoey, and she registered slightly higher levels of radiation, just as everyone on the ship should.

He did the same to Sandy, and she came out slightly higher also.

What was going on inside Gordon's body that his radiation level was dropping?

"Zoey, you are normal for us. Would you do me a favor and bring Payne down here."

"What's going on doc? What's wrong with my husband?"

"I don't know, but his radiation levels are lower than everyone else on the ship, when they should be higher, because of his times outside. Everyone knows he's crazy, but his body should be just like ours."

"What does that have to do with Payne?"

"Probably nothing, but I just want to check."

"Okay, I'll bring her down."

A few moments later, Zoey and Payne appeared in the infirmary.

"Look at the size of her, and she's only 3 ½ months old."

"That's true, and if Gordon would leave the other breast alone, while she's feeding, she would be chubbier that she is."

"Well, let me test her, and see what's happening."

Doctor Finch ran the Geiger counter over the little cherub, and shook his head.

"We are going to have to test all the other babies. She has the same radioactive signature as any baby who was born on Earth. If I wrote a paper on this, I would get the Nobel Prize."