Patricia tried to hide the annoyance she felt. “No, I’ve never met her. Lance has mentioned her a couple of times on the phone. He happened to use her as a joke I think he was pointing my way. Honestly, I should be upset with Lance, not Ecaterina. No wonder that slimeball didn’t tell me who helped decorate downstairs. I swear, I will get that man back if it takes all night long.”
Bethany Anne was starting to understand the situation. What she had here was a case of a woman loving a man who had no clue she cared about him. How very typical of her dad to not know how a woman felt about him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be good enough for what they needed to accomplish.
“Decorators aside, Patricia you have to understand there’s a lot going on and for you to be involved could be dangerous…”
“Yes, Lance already told me about the danger. I certainly don’t understand what it is yet and honestly I’m not even sure how you’re involved. How did you disappear? Why did he not know where you were for months? Don’t you know how much pain you put that man through? My God, I feel like I want to slap you right now.”
Patricia started pacing in Bethany Anne’s room, her aggravation growing with each step. “It was awful, watching Lance slowly deteriorate in front of my eyes. Watching the life of someone I had cared about for so long just draining away and not being able to do anything about it!” Bethany Anne was pretty sure Patricia hadn’t realized what she had just divulged.
Patricia continued, “He might be willing to follow you across the world, and do God only knows what, but if you want to know the truth?” She stopped to look Bethany Anne in the eyes. “The truth is I will follow Lance, and not you, to the ends of the earth. I have been with him, I have worked with him, I have cried for him, and I would have died for him if it would’ve helped him get through his pain.” Patricia sat down on the small couch at the end of Bethany Anne’s bed. “Damn, did I just admit all of that out loud? In front of his daughter?” She sighed, “What am I going to do with myself now? I’ll just hop on the nearest plane and leave Miami. Maybe there’s a waitress job back in Denver I can get.”
Bethany Anne cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you believe anything you just said is a problem?”
Patricia looked up at her. “Isn’t it obvious? Lance is on a mission, I am assuming that mission is because he loves you, whether he understands the bigger picture or not. He’s more alive right now than I have seen him in months. Hell, probably years!”
Bethany Anne studied the older woman. My God, she thought, am I about to play Cupid? “Why do you say he’s more alive?”
Patricia threw out her arm. “Have you seen how young he looks? It’s like he went and got a damn facelift, a tummy tuck or something. I thought being seven years younger than him would give me an advantage, now I’m not so sure anymore. And look at you! My memory might not be perfect, but you are definitely looking substantially better than the last time I saw you. What did you do, get a breast lift? Are you wearing high heels? And you have got to be working out like crazy. How did you become the CEO of a major organization? Weren’t you working for the government or something? I feel like I’ve gone down the rabbit hole here and I can’t stop shooting my mouth off.”
Bethany Anne walked over to a Victorian era chair, and sat down in it. She faced Patricia. “I can understand that you feel overwhelmed. I can deal with the fact that you don’t know me well enough to trust me, and that you place your trust in my dad. Understand, however, that he does not have a misplaced trust in my mission. Nor, I trust, will you, once you understand what it is and see the proof for yourself. But your trust in my Dad is not misplaced. If it wasn’t for the fact that you will see unbelievable things in the near future, I would let you stay ignorant and blissfully happy. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to drop in here and give you an update every time you need it. So, this is going to be your one big interview and brain dump into the reality of the situation and you will have to make a decision tonight.”
Patricia tried to smile and bring a little levity to the conversation. “Can we get this done before I lose the chance to go get drinks with him?”
Bethany Anne smiled back at her. “I can make this happen quickly, or it can last for the next couple of hours. It all depends on how quick you can believe in something.”
“Really? What is it you want me to believe?”
From down in the kitchen, where Lance was nursing a beer, he could hear Patricia scream, “Oh my God!” He flinched a little, guessing that Bethany Anne had decided to show her something Vampy. He took another sip, trying to calm his nerves as the discussion upstairs continued.
An hour later, Lance heard one set of steps coming down the stairs. He walked around the bar and met Patricia at the bottom. He was hoping she remembered her meeting with Bethany Anne, but he had prepared himself that she could have had some of her memories wiped.
He was a little puzzled at the look of admiration on her face. She had stopped on the last step and her eyes were at the same level as his. She reached out and grabbed his head, planting a kiss on his nose. He looked at her, confusion written on his face.
She smiled at him, “What? Was Russia, or China or even the terrorists not enough for you Lance? You had to decide to take on aliens as well?” Lance felt the relief wash through him. Patricia had passed Bethany Anne’s testing.
“Well,” he grumped at her, “There are vampires to deal with.” Patricia shuddered. Lance had seen that reaction before, usually from anyone who had an up front and close view of Bethany Anne when she had gone all evil dead woman on them.
“I am perfectly willing to let Bethany Anne handle the vampires, if that is ok with you? Saving the world is enough for me.”
Patricia stepped around Lance and started for the door. He turned to watch her as she walked with more of a perk to her step than she had when she arrived, he thought. In fact, he would admit as she reached the door, everything seemed a little perter than he remembered. Had she been working out since he had left the base? He grabbed the keys and followed her out the door, admiring the view.
8
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA
Frank was starting to like this scientist. “Marcus, I have at least one, maybe two more questions for you. You might be able to answer them together. The first one is: if you were tasked with finding proof of alien life in another system how would you do it? The second one, which is the corollary, how would you confirm if aliens had visited the earth?”
Marcus stood up and went to his window, looking up into the night sky. “Well, that’s the crux of the argument isn’t it? If one was tasked with finding alien life in another solar system, another universe, how could we even know unless the aliens were far more advanced than we are? For example, right now here on earth we are sending out radio waves to communicate at a distance. Do you know the speed that radio waves travel? No? Actually, radio waves travel very quickly through space.
“Radio waves are a kind of electromagnetic radiation, so they move at the speed of light. The speed of light is a little less than 300,000 km per second. The reason that it takes so long for radio messages to travel in space is that space is mind-bogglingly big. The distances to be traveled are so great that even light or radio waves take a while getting anywhere. It takes around eight minutes for radio waves to travel from the Earth to the Sun, and four years to get from here to the nearest star.
“Do you know how many stars there are for us to check in the universe? If we use a pencil and try to figure out the answer on the back of a napkin, the number is about 60 billion. Remember, the nearest star is four years away using light speed or in this case radio waves.
“Back in January of 2015, scientists discovered a couple of potential earth-like planets around a red dwarf. They were named Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b. They sit at about 1,100 light years away. So, we would have to assume that the alien civilization on either of these two planets were sending out radio waves at least 1100 years ago. Or, in 1100 years the
y will be able to receive our radio waves.”
While Frank usually considered himself pretty good with numbers, the size of the numbers Marcus was throwing around was a little overwhelming.
“So, either the alien civilizations have been sending us messages for centuries, or actually probably more like tens of thousands of years, or they have somehow visited us and left behind clues. Have you ever read the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov?” Marcus sat back down.
Frank shook his head, “No I haven’t, why?”
Marcus sighed. “It just makes this next concept a little easier to understand. Someone your age might have difficulty trying to figure this part out.”
Frank smiled, he wondered what Marcus would think if he knew Frank’s real age?
“In the Foundation Series, there was a plotline where a protagonist put different pieces of information the farthest possible distance away from each other. Conceptually, most people were looking at two different edges of space. Think of it this way, if you stretched out your arms, you would say the largest distance is between the tips of your fingers, correct?” Frank agreed that that sounded correct. “Most of the people in the book thought the same thing. But the reality was he wasn’t talking about distance, as in miles, but a different type of distance. He had put the information at the core of civilization and then at the far edge of civilization. Does this make sense?”
Frank thought about the statement for a few seconds. “So in this case, he wasn’t talking distance as in miles like you say. But rather the farthest distance between two types of belief?”
“Essentially yes. So, the equivalent when looking for proof of aliens would be to look at the farthest distance away, considering 60 billion stars and the distance and time it takes for radio waves to travel, or look right here on earth. Since I can get to most places on earth much easier, I think I would start here.”
Frank couldn’t help it, he was naturally an inquisitive person, and he loved to acquire new knowledge. This conversation with Marcus was causing his mental juices to flow. It took him a couple of minutes to realize he was so caught up in Marcus’ story and logic he failed to remember the obvious. He didn’t need to look across the earth for proof of an alien’s existence, he had a damn spaceship in one of Bethany Anne’s Superyachts.
Frank looked at the scientist. “I know from reviewing your information online—I have access to some of the government’s databases—that you have no other family. What we’re doing is beyond top-secret. What would it take for you to be willing to go away and research alien life without compromising a top-secret mission? In our case, you would never be able to publish any of your information. Actually, all things considered you probably will be able to, but it will be decades in the future.”
“You mean after I’m dead?”
“Not necessarily, but that decision is going to be moved at least ten to twenty years in the future. We have unbelievable medical coverage so I feel comfortable suggesting you will probably still be with us.”
“Young man, maybe from your perspective death seems to be in the future somewhere, but at my age the damn thing seems to be right around the corner waiting for me.”
Frank considered how to get Marcus to willingly come with him without divulging too much information. The worst that would happen is Marcus would go public with something Frank told him. Considering he was already considered a crackpot, that probably wouldn’t hurt Bethany Anne’s team right now. But it could potentially be used in the future once more of the truth came out.
Frank sighed dramatically. “Marcus, I need a rocket scientist. I need a rocket scientist in the worst way. Your personal beliefs in aliens and UFOs will not affect your professional relationship with any of our team. I would like to offer you the chance to come work on a Superyacht that is presently off the coast of Central America near Costa Rica. We have need of your engineering skills, as well as other capabilities you bring to the table. There will be a nondisclosure agreement, you probably guessed this already. That’s normal in your line of work, correct?”
“Of course, nondisclosure agreements are standard in the industry. Although, I have to say that I’m not fond of them from a scientist’s perspective. But since I’m never going to be published again in any peer-reviewed journal I don’t think I’m giving up much.”
“Okay. This project is going to be at least two to three months minimum. I will authorize one and a half times your previous salary plus all expenses there and back and a small per diem if you are off ship. Unfortunately, if you have any pets they will not be able to go. Do you have any pets?”
“No, of course not. I get lost in my studies too often to take care of other animals. Without a wife, sometimes I can’t figure out what I need to do for myself. By the way, what do we do for food on the ship? Do I have to cook for myself?”
Frank smiled. “No, of course not. There is support staff in charge of cooking and cleaning.”
Marcus stood up. “Someone will cook for me again? Why didn’t you tell me that in the beginning? I’d be willing to go for free just for someone to cook, I can’t cook worth a damn and I hate my own food. But since you’ve already told me what the pay is going to be you can’t go back on that!” Marcus seemed like a child waiting for Christmas morning.
Frank laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it. What will it take to get your house ready for you to leave for a while?”
Marcus looked around, “Honestly? Not a lot. I’m sure I can get Martha to come by once a week just to make sure everything still looks good, the mail is dropped off, and the lawn is done. I have the lawn service on automatic payment so it will continue to look good and the HOA won’t get after me.”
Frank considered that now would be a good time to have Patricia on the payroll. He could just hand off this whole situation to her and it would magically get done. He could completely understand why Lance was so interested in her coming on board. “When do you think you can be ready to go?”
“How fast do you want to leave?” Marcus asked.
Frank answered truthfully, “Yesterday would be a good time.” He stood up.
Marcus put up a finger and walked away around the corner, down the hallway and disappeared into a door at the back. He was gone five minutes before he came back with a backpack and a laptop bag. “I got nothing better to do tonight, let’s go!” Frank laughed, turned around and started walking for the door.
No time like the present to continue saving the world, he thought.
Anton’s residence, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Anton considered the information he received from his CIA contact in Costa Rica. It didn’t make any sense for the helicopter to be based on land, at least as far as he could tell. That put the helicopter on a rather large ship. After discussing the potential possibilities with his subverted contacts in the local military, they came to the conclusion that it would have to either be a military vessel or a well-financed individual. Anton didn’t believe it was military, no one from Michael’s family would use military in this situation. He knew about the agents, of course, but even they didn’t use military ships for this. That left it being a private vessel. There weren’t that many that could house, or hold, a Black Hawk helicopter. He sent out requests to information gatherers in South America to be on the lookout for a large yacht that had a Black Hawk helicopter on it. He felt confident he would have his answer within a few days at most.
From there, he considered, he would pull together a strike team to take over the yacht. Preferably, after he had pulled Bethany Anne off the yacht. It would decimate their ability to protect themselves from his team. He would add a couple of vampires for good measure. He wanted to keep this boat intact. Maybe he could do the same thing and create his own floating base. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of that before as it made perfect sense. He hated admitting an adversary had a better idea than he had come up with on his own.
No matter, once he took the yacht all would be right with the world again. H
e started pulling together the contacts to acquire a couple of cigarette speedboats. He picked up one of his throwaway phones to make a call.
Nathan looked down at his phone but didn’t recognize the Texas number that was calling him. He considered ignoring the phone call, but it wasn’t like he was too busy. He clicked the answer button. “Hello?”
“Mr. Lowell? This is Ben, one of the, ah, workers you helped get a job? From the Miami group?”
Nathan placed Ben. He was the hacker that Bethany Anne had saved from the ‘terrorists’ and had his name changed to work for Nathan’s company in Texas. “Yes Ben, what can I do for you?”
“Um, Mr. Kurns, the man you had me talk to a few weeks ago said I should follow up with you on a request I made to him when we talked.”
Nathan could hear Ben’s hesitation at continuing this line of conversation. He wondered how long it took Ben to get the courage up to call him. “Certainly, Ben. What is it you would like to know?”
“Actually, I had asked Mr. Kurns if I could meet the lady that saved me from the building back in Miami?”
Nathan was a little shocked. Of all the questions that he expected Ben to ask him, meeting Bethany Anne wasn’t at the top of the list, or the middle of the list, it wasn’t even on the list. “I’m sorry, Ben. I’m a little confused. Why is it that you want to meet Bethany Anne?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I keep asking myself the same thing. While I agree she is very attractive, she is also scary as hell. I don’t think a date is the reason I’m trying to reach out to her. It almost feels like a need to close a loop. Does this make any sense? Somehow, I feel like I can be of more assistance to her than what I am doing here. I need to make amends in some form or fashion and until I get to ask her, and she tells me she doesn’t need my help…” Ben didn’t finish his thought.
Ben was considered the best at his former company, now owned by Bethany Anne. There was a back channel for conversations between Nathan and the head of the company. Lance had overall responsibility for the company, but approved of Nathan handling their questions. Therefore, the main project leads still routed the questions to Nathan. Nathan had asked about Ben, and Tabitha, usually about every two weeks or so. Both of them received glowing reviews, and Ben had been accomplishing even more than anyone had been expecting. Now that Ben was reaching out to him, he didn’t feel like he would be poaching if he took Ben away from the company.
Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) Page 90