There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 34

William said, "I will have an appointment for you tomorrow morning."

Gwen looked at him and said, "Who died and made you God?"

Teddy said, "Only God perfect, we try hard not make mistake."

Teddy kissed her mother. "I love my mommy. I make mistake. I try harder."

"I love my Teddy. Mommy make many mistakes. She's trying harder too."

Five minutes later William put his cell phone away.

He said, "That was easy enough."

Delicious asked, "Who was at the hospital on Christmas Day?"

"The assistant administrator; someone has to be there to keep the hospital running."

"The hospital has to be short staffed this week, how did you get Gwen an appointment so quickly?"

"He told me I couldn't get her in for a simple set of x-rays, and have them read by a radiologist in no certain terms. I told him I wanted his best x-ray technician, and his chief of radiology to be there tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. He said I could go straight to hell. It's not going to happen.

I told him it was a shame the hospital was going to miss out on a $5 million donation. He said the chief of radiology and their senior x-ray technician would be there waiting for her."

Gwen's mouth dropped open. "You paid $5 million for me to have x-rays, and have them read tomorrow morning?"

"It's tax-deductible."

"You're out of your damn mind."

"What good is a doctor who is blind in one eye?"

I put my arm around Gwen's shoulder, and kissed her head.

"Gwen, Young William spent $5 million to make sure you stay healthy, and has given money to a charity, which happens to be a tax deduction? William senior's businesses will most likely make $100 million in the next 24 hours. Do you think he is going to miss the $5 million his son spent on you today?

Things are going to happen to you that you never saw coming. If you want to buy a hospital or build one, all you are going to have to do is write a check. The man who stumbled over you this morning is going to be the richest man in the world. The more money he gives to charities, the more money his businesses will earn."

"William told me it was all legitimate, is that the truth?"

"His father's businesses are all legitimate. However, William Senior has been forced to deal with some very unsavory characters through the years. Junior has never been involved in any of those transactions. Whether senior tells Junior about it is up to him. I can tell you from personal knowledge that William senior was instrumental in getting the former vice president of the United States not to run for president. The man was an anathema to this country, and William found out through sources that were not so clean themselves what he was up to. We could not have a president that was owned by subversive influences.

William came up with a plan that forced him to expose his weaknesses. You saw what happened on television, and the reruns of it for weeks afterwards. It was the funniest thing I ever saw. Having him pick up Patrick to protect himself from bullets that were fired at a firing range weeks before, and played on tape from a truck that was in flames, and was carrying fireworks, was a stroke of genius. William had nothing to do with what happened to the vice president after that. It was just error after error that forced him to leave the country."

Gwen laughed. "It was all my patients could talk about, when they came into the office. Even though they were sick, they laughed as they were talking about that video. I know from reading about it that the FBI and local authorities went through those woods, with a fine tooth comb, looking for shell casings, they didn't come up with anything. It was an amazing plan, and funny as heck."

"The best part was it could not come back at William. He was there to offer the vice president $500 million to help him run for the presidency. He listed all the wonderful things the vice president did as a senator, and vice president, when all hell broke loose.

You have to hand it to that camera man. He kept the camera on the vice president at all times. He didn't duck or run for cover. He did his job, even though he could have lost his life doing it."

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

Everything was going along beautifully as Gwen met most of our family that day. Then two things happened that made my blood run cold. A voice I knew too well yelled, "There you are you dumb sonofabitch," and Zoey yelled, "Mom!"

I turned around and laughed. I sent Dycke a sky blue flight suit to wear to the ceremonies. If anyone deserved to wear one he did. However, the one I sent him was for a man extra thin/extra tall and long. He was none of these.

The son of the bitch wore it. He had cuffs up to his elbows and his knees. The little bit of belly he had was prominently displayed. I was hysterical. I laughed so hard I wound up on the floor.

He looked down at me with a grin on his face. "Well Doctor, aren't you happy with my appearance? This is what you wanted me to wear on the most important day of my companies' life, and mine. If you don't mind I'll wear a suit and tie, while I'm up on the stage today.

I put this abomination on in the car, while we were on the way here. I've never heard Payne laugh so hard in her life. I am memorialized in her camera forever. I can guarantee you those pictures will be all around my office in January. What do you have to say for yourself Doctor?"

I got up and hugged him. "I don't care what happens to you, I'm leaving town at 5 o'clock."

"You're not leaving town, you leaving this world. Don't you dare come back."

"I've got to find the bomb first."

"What bomb?"

"I have to say hello to your wife first."

"Fuck my wife, tell me about the bomb."

"You don't really mean that do you Dycke?"

"Mean what, about the bomb?"

"No, you told me to fuck Payne. Do you really want me to fuck her after what you saw?"

"Hell no, she'd faint if she saw that thing. Can we get back to the bomb please?"

"I know in my heart someone is going to try to destroy our project. There are too many people who want us to fail. They want us to do it dramatically.

I believe I know how they're going to try to do it, but we're going to do a sweep of the ship beforehand just to be sure. I'm about to issue everyone their orders. Stay here, and I'll be with you in a minute."

"You expect me to stand here, and do nothing, while you walk away talking about my spacecraft? You are out of your fucking mind."

"It's our spacecraft, and I knew you would not stand still, but it was worth a chance."

"I hope they stick you out at the end of the Mickey Mouse ears for a week."

"I could come back on one of the rockets you built for us."

"I take it back. Please stay out there. I haven't had a headache, since we finished the ship."

"You haven't received the first four orders from my boys yet? They were mailed out three weeks ago."

"Please tell me you're kidding Even, I'm not ready for number 2 yet."

"Those orders were not for number 2 Dycke, they were for number 3."

"Even, I hate you."

I hugged him again, and told him I hated him too.

I walked to the center of the hangar and clapped my hands to get everyone's attention.

"Thank you for being here so early for today's mission. We have one added attraction none of us anticipated. Is Adam Schiff here?"

"I'm here Doctor Luck."

"I suspect you have Laura with you."

"No sir, I'm with Laura. She's making sure I don't get lost."

"There's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it quickly. There may be a bomb on board. We're going to be breaking up into three groups. Adam you are a group of one. You are the only one who knows the bowels of the ship. Anyone who went inside, without knowledge of it, would quickly get lost. An inexperienced bomber would probably have stayed close to one of the entrances to the inside plumbing areas. I want you to take a radio, go in there, to see if anything's been tampered with. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes sir, I know what to do."

"Get going Adam, and take everything you need. If you find anything out of the ordinary, DON'T TOUCH IT. CALL FOR COLONEL DANIELS'."

"DON'T TOUCH IT." That's Laura's favorite saying sir."

Laura hit him in the ribs for that remark.

"It was a joke Laura."

"It was a joke at my expense Adam."

"Oh good, at least you knew it was a joke."

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

"Flight deck crews; Jennifer is your boss. You will start on the fifth floor, and work your way down to the third floor. Look everywhere from the vents to the rear of the cabinets. If a suitcase is unsealed open it. If anything looks tampered with, check it out. If it looks really suspicious, don't touch it, call for help."

"Engineering deck are all of you here?"

"We are short two people Doctor Luck."

"Leave their names with Mark so he can tell them where to meet you. Monty you will be in charge of the engineers. Keep them focused on what they are doing so they are not running around in circles. Start on deck 5 and then up to deck 4. We will all meet on Deck 3. Check everything, including as much of the nuclear reactors confinement area as you can see, especially in the safe area above it. It would be a perfect place to hide a little bomb, and cause maximum damage.

Don't forget the elevator shafts in the landing gear, and the heavy lift cargo port. If we get our blue suits dirty, they get dirty, but we will go into space, without any worries."

"Jack are you here?"

"I'm here, Even."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Colonel Jack Daniels. He is one of the finest engineers, and demolition experts you will ever meet. If you find something, or need help, he is your man. He will be located on the third floor. If you find anything suspicious, or you are sure it's the bomb, call him, and he will disarm it 'outside the spacecraft.' The operative words are 'outside the spacecraft.' We don't want any explosions inside this craft.

"This little person standing next to me, in the ill-fitting flight suit is Dycke Schneider. He and his company built this marvelous craft. He knows every nook and cranny of it. If you have any questions, he will be on the third floor with[RG1] the Colonel to answer them. Since I have covered everyone's assignments, I am going to have something to eat, and take a long nap while all of you work your fingertips to the bone. Okay people off to work, quietly, quickly, and efficiently. Leave nothing to chance, just like we trained. We don't want the public to know anything is wrong."

Everyone booed me, as they set off to do their given chores, knowing that I was going to be working as hard as they were to see if any explosive device was on board the Good Luck 1.

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

Adam and Laura were walking towards the spacecraft, when she punched his left arm.

"Dammit Laura that hurts."

"I did that on purpose. I wanted to remind you that your left arm is not fully healed. I don't want you to play around in there. You do not have two strong arms to get yourself around those pipes like you normally do. Please be careful, because if I have to come in there to get you, I'm going to break your neck."

"What did George tell you to say, rather than threatening me? Instead of going all hostile on me what are you supposed to say? Come on Laura say it."

"Dammit Adam this is hard for me. I've always been hostile towards men. It's going to take me a while to get over it. I love you Adam Schiff, and I don't want you to get hurt in there. I don't want to lose you. Please be careful or I'll break your fucking neck."

Adam pulled her to his body, and kissed her. "Was that so hard love? Was that so terrible? That was a great beginning, even though I could have done without the end. What is it about my neck that you want to break it all the time?"

"I'll tell you when you come out of there in one piece. If you come out of there in more than one piece, as I'm breaking your neck, I'll tell you."

"That sounds fair. Now kiss me so I can go to work."

"Go slowly Adam, and please don't get hurt. If you do, there will be no tomorrow morning."

"That's downright mean Laura. Can I at least practice 'The bottom is the top, and the top is the bottom?

"Absolutely not, you almost got laid this morning, because of that exploratory mission. I invented that routine for you, and now you have a doctorate in it."

"If I don't practice daily, I could lose my edge, and I may forget things that you may want me to remember. I could go from a doctorate, to a freshman. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

"If you forget anything, I will remind you by biting your dick. I'm sure that will remind you that you left something important out."

"You are threatening me again, which means you must apologize in the way George told you to. Come on say it."

"I can't, we are right by the dignitaries' box, and everyone's looking at us."

"They are going to watch us get married in a few hours. I think we are allowed to kiss, before I go to work."

"Adam, my mother is watching us, and she has a camera in her hands."

"Why don't we give her a picture she will keep forever in the Valentino family album? I love you Laura Valentino, and I will never disappoint you again. Kiss me."

"If these people start applauding, you better run for your life."

"I'm not running from my wife."

"You are a real bastard Adam." She moved in close, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately. It wasn't a short kiss, it was the kind of kiss that affirmed her love for him.

When they came up for air, she said, "Go to work, and find that fucking bomb. I want to know that my stasis chambers work."

This time he kissed her, and although it was shorter, it was just as meaningful.

"Go sit with your parents; this could take me between two and three hours. I have my radio, and everything is going to be fine."

"I love you Adam, come back to me."

"I love you Laura, and nothing could keep me away." He smacked her on her butt, and ran towards the ship. Everyone in the dignitary area laughed, and applauded.

Laura wanted to take off after him, and rip him to shreds. She decided against it, and moved towards her parents. She kissed her mother, and father, and her eyes turned misty.

Patty said, "If you start now, we will need gallons of water to hydrate ourselves by 5 o'clock. I have some surprises for you that should make you feel better. Turn around."

Laura turned him and saw Anna and Cloudy standing behind her. She screamed and jumped for joy.

"You little bitch, you told me Cloudy could not come, and you wouldn't come without him, because it was Christmas."

"Cloudy has a very nice boss. Dycke stuffed us in one of his airplanes, and flew us down here yesterday. We were allowed to see mom and dad, but we were not allowed to see you until today. From the looks of things, I would say you and your young man are getting along very well. Are you fucking or not?"

"No we are not. I made a promise to myself to remain a virgin, until I was married. Adam has made me keep that promise. There were times I wanted to do it, but he refused. He told me one day I may regret my decision to break my vow, and he didn't want to be the one who was to blame."

"He's quite a man. Is he a virgin also?"

"No, he is very experienced. When we go out, many of his former female flames come up to him, and ask if we are monogamous, or if we would like to do a threesome. I must blush bright red, because Adam laughs at me every time it happens. He tells them we are monogamous, but thanks for the offer. Some of these women are knockouts, and I wonder what he sees in me. If we were staying here on earth, I could say it's the money. However, we're leaving, and money has nothing to do with it. We love each other, it's pure and simple. Who would have ever thought of me falling in love?"

Robert said, "You could have fallen for me and sex. I am very active that way."

"Holy crap, what did dad do to pry you out of bed with a woman, to come to see your sister get married and leave this planet behind?"

"He was very sneaky Laura, sneakier than mom. He called the Chief Justice and asked him to shame me into coming here today. You don't say no to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It's just not done, especially when you're sleeping with his four daughters. Bad things could happen to you if you upset him and his wife."

Laura looked at her father. "Way to go dad."

"You have to hit your brother where it hurts the most dear, and we all know where to hurt him, don't we?"

"We all know he wouldn't hurt for long dad. He could always go back to the University of Michigan for a Doctorate in Sex Education. Every female on campus would line up at his door to take that class."

Robert said, "I never thought about that possibility. If the governor does not win the primary for the Presidency, I think I'll do it. Thank you Laura, thank you very much."

"I'm so glad I won't be here to see it. I'll be more than 100 billion miles away, and he won't have one lawsuit against him, because all the females will be coming to him, and not the other way around."

"Laura stop egging your brother along. Keeping four females happy has kept him toned, and his cardiovascular health is wonderful. Taking on 8 to 10 females a day, would be too much for any ordinary male, although he did try when he was 16 years old.

Yes Robert I know all about it. I was the one that had to clean out your condoms from the waste paper baskets in the bedroom of the house next door to ours. I don't know how you ever made it to school."

"It was all those push-ups and leg lifts mom. They kept my legs in great shape. The track coach wanted me on the team because I ran so fast. I turned him down, because it would have interfered with my extracurricular activities."

Anna laughed. "Brother, all you had was extracurricular activities. Your dumb act worked perfectly on all of us. We did all your chores, while you were screwing every girl in school. I don't understand why dad didn't realize you were going through so many condoms in a week, and he kept buying you more."

Stephano said, "It was easy. Robert kept showing me condoms that supposedly broke during the act of sex. I was not prepared for Robert to have children, or us to have grandchildren running around, at the same time your mother was running around the house with a gun in her hand."

Robert said, "I have an announcement to make of major proportions. The in- vitro fertilization of the Governor of Maryland has been successful. She is one month pregnant."

"Congratulations Robert, you're going to be a father."

"I'm sorry to say I am not the father. I am not at liberty to say who is."

Stephano was eyes opened wide. "The Chief Justice, her father fathered the baby, didn't he? They are not related by blood, so there is no health problems to worry about in the future. It's true, isn't it? Fred Hastings is the father of the baby."

"I am not at liberty to say dad, and it's a promise I will keep to my death."

"Good boy, I'm very proud of you. When will she announce it?"

"We haven't decided yet. It will either be New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. The problem is very few people will read the paper on New Year's Day because it's a Wednesday. They won't read anything, except for the sports pages. We want more people reading about her, than football scores or about the ball dropping in Times Square."

Stephano said, "Shouldn't that be easily done Robert?

The headline should read:

'Governor may be expecting triplets or quads after in vitro fertilization?'

An informed source close to the governor's entourage let slip that the governor was amazed when she was told there was a possibility of... "So on and so forth..."

Everyone knows going into in vitro fertilization there is always the possibility of multiple births, so it's not a lie. It's a perfect opening for Friday's newspapers, and the Sunday talk shows will be all over it.