“How are you, sir?” Woodgate said.
“How are you, sir?” Pires echoed.
“I’m fine,” George said.
“Your last question was...?” Sara asked.
“What do you think happened in the skies above the Indian Ocean?”
“I’m not sure, Mr. Woodgate, but I believe that whatever happened on Wednesday happens frequently. I also believe that this clandestine operation is somehow linked to El Monstruo.”
“Your deputy, Professor Wong, thinks you’re suffering from some kind of nervous breakdown caused by work pressure,” Pires said.
“Wong is entitled to his own opinion, but I know what I saw.”
“Who did you tell about your discovery?” Woodgate asked.
“Wong and my PA, Nzue.”
“Did it ever cross your mind that one of them or both of them could have sold you out?” Woodgate said.
“Yes.”
“Which one do you suspect?”
“I equally suspect them.”
“Can you describe to us the incident in which you almost lost your life?” Pires asked.
Sara related the attempt on her life.
“How did the gunman look?”
“I didn’t see him but George did.”
“Sir, can you tell us how the gunman looked?”
“I only saw a glimpse of him. Everything happened so fast.”
“Was he Caucasian, black or Asian?” Woodgate asked.
“Caucasian I think.”
“Doctor Cummings, you and your boyfriend had been separated for how long?” Woodgate asked.
“Three years.”
“When was the last time you saw George before the incident, Doctor Cummings?”
“More than two years ago.”
“Don’t you find it odd that on the day that you bumped into him, someone fires a gun at you and George saves you?”
“No.”
“Did it ever cross your mind that maybe George stage-managed the whole thing to play the hero and win you back?” Woodgate asked.
“I don’t believe this!” George exclaimed with rage. “Are you suggesting that I hired a gunman and had him whizz bullets over our heads just to impress Sara? Are you accusing me of endangering Sara’s life?”
“Doctor Cummings, you haven’t answered the question,” Pires said.
Sara’s lips twitched. “No, it never crossed my mind,” she lied, realizing she would lose George forever if she confessed to suspecting him of stage-managing the shooting incident. “George saved my life. How dare you accuse him of such a thing?”
“Please forgive us, Doctor Cummings,” Pires said. “I’m sorry, sir. We were just trying to look at the case from a different angle, that’s all.”
“Doctor Cummings, you don’t have to stay in the embassy,” Woodgate said. “We have arranged police protection for your colleagues and we can do the same for you.”
“I will only go out when I feel safe. What if my enemies control the police?”
“What makes you think they control the police?” Pires asked.
“They apparently have influence over a federal agency like NASA. If they have so much influence over a federal space agency, it’s very possible that they have influence over the police and the FBI.”
“I get your point,” Woodgate said. “We’re going to thoroughly investigate the matter. We’ll leave no stone unturned in pursuit of the truth.”
The two men departed after giving Sara their cards.
Sara and George wished the ambassador would come and show them where they would stay during Sara’s asylum. She felt a deep need for a bath and George was sleepy after spending the night driving.
The Russian ambassador answered their prayers twelve minutes later. He entered the lobby, smiling, clearly enjoying his role in one of the greatest embarrassments to the US government in years. “Forgive me for the delay,” he said. “Let me take you to my residence where you shall stay during your asylum.”
“Thank you, Your Excellence,” Sara said. “I’m dying to have a shower.”
Sara and George thought the ambassador’s residence was located in the embassy complex and they were disappointed when they were ushered into one of four limousines parked outside the embassy’s ceremonial building. The ambassador and his bodyguards got into a different limousine and all four limousines left in a motorcade.
Although she knew that the windows of the limousines were bulletproof, Sara couldn’t help being apprehensive. The minutes it took the limousines’ electric motors to power the motorcade from the embassy to the ambassador’s residence seemed like hours to Sara.
She heaved a heavy sigh of relief when the motorcade passed through the gate in front of the ambassador’s residence, a beautiful mansion that was considered the most expensive building in Washington when it was built in 1910. The Tsarist government bought the house in 1913 and it served as the embassy of the Russian Imperial Government up to 1917 when the Tsar was overthrown in the Russian Revolution. The house became the embassy of the Soviet Union in 1933 when the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with the US. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the house served as the embassy of Russia up to 1994 when the Russians opened a new embassy building.
Men from Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service opened the doors of the limousine for George, Sara and Snoopy.
The ambassador ordered one of his men to find someone to take care of Sara’s dog. The man took Snoopy’s leash from Sara and led the reluctant dog to the servant’s quarters.
“Don’t worry, Doctor Cummings,” the ambassador assured. “Your dog will be in good hands.”
“Thank you very much for everything you’re doing for us, Your Excellence.”
“Let me show you to your room, lady and gentleman,” the ambassador said before he led Sara and George into the richly furnished mansion.
The “room” turned out to be a two-bedroomed apartment.
“My daughter stays here when she visits,” Yuri Salenko said. “But she’s never visited since she got married last year. It’s good to put the room to some use. On behalf of the Russian Federation, I say to you feel at home.”
“Thank you, Your Excellence.”
The Russian diplomat pointed at a bell that was on the wall. “If you need anything, ring the bell and a servant will quickly attend to you. We will serve you meals but there is a kitchen if you want to cook for yourselves. If you want to cook for yourselves, let us know and we will provide the ingredients.”
“Thank you very much, Your Excellence. My boyfriend is a great cook but for today, we’ll have ready meals.”
“Do you have any special preferences?”
“As for me, I’ll have whatever you’ll have ambassador as long as it’s healthy and low in cholesterol.”
“And you, sir?” the ambassador asked George.
“I will have whatever she has.”
“Okay then. I should let you rest. You went through a difficult ordeal and you must be tired.”
“Thank you, Your Excellence,” Sara and George chorused.
Sara went into the bathroom as soon as the ambassador and his men left. George went into one of the bedrooms, thinking he would quickly fall asleep but that was far from the truth. Thoughts about Sara’s naked body glistening with moisture in the bathroom kept him awake.
All sleep left his eyes when she entered the room, wrapped in a towel. The two moved toward each other as if they were on autopilot and when they came to their senses they were glued to each other. She was naked, her towel lying in a bundle on the floor.
His mouth never leaving hers, George’s hands traced the curves of her hips before finding the gluteal softness of her posterior. She put her hands around his waist and pulled him tight, feeling the growing bulge in his groin pressing against her. After a minute, she impatiently pulled up his T-shirt longing to feel his naked body pressed against hers. He undressed with her help and they looked at each other for seconds. His e
yes moved up and down her body but her eyes remained stuck on his erectile member.
He grunted when she grabbed the erectile member and squeezed it. It was an impressive member that she couldn’t cover with both hands. Knowing how much he loved oral sex, she dropped to her knees. He closed his eyes anticipating the warmth and wetness of her mouth on his member. The member felt salty in her mouth but after seconds all the saltiness was gone. She concentrated on the tip of his member. He grunted, holding her head with both hands, guiding her as she pleasured him.
“Please stop,” he said when he felt a tiny cramp in his left thigh. The cramp always came just before he released his juices. He normally lasted much longer but he had missed her so much that the feeling of her mouth on his member was too much. He pushed her head away from her, knowing he would come if she continued pleasuring her. He tightened his pelvic floor muscles with all his might, fighting the torrent that wanted to gush up his urethra. He sighed with relief when the pressure subsided after a few seconds.
He carried her to the bed and moved his lips from her lips, to her breasts, where they lingered for a couple of minutes before they moved down to her belly and finally to her other lips. She moaned when his tongue found her pleasure button. He gave her the oral job for more than five minutes, giving himself time to recover from the premature orgasm that he had thwarted. As his tongue ran circles around her pleasure button, she cupped her breasts in her hands and squeezed them. It took a lot of restraint for her to avoid strangling him with her legs. She felt as if she was going up on a rollercoaster. Muscles contracted inside her. Her whole body felt like it was tingling and she felt breathless as if she was sprinting. She shrieked when she felt herself moving down the rollercoaster at increasing speed. It normally took her at least half an hour to reach the big O but today it was different. It was a long time since she felt him on her body and her need for him amplified the sexual stimuli.
She moaned with pain when he finally drove his erectile member inside her. She always felt oversensitive after orgasm. Waves of bitter-sweet pain reverberated from her channel as he rocked inside her. But the pain seamlessly merged into pleasure after few seconds. Each thrust lifted her up the pleasure scale, as if he was pumping a jack. Her moans of pleasure gave him back his confidence and he pounded her in earnest. They came almost at the same time.
George quickly fell asleep, wrapping her in his arms. Sara fell asleep forty-five minutes later.
Chapter Five
Singing the E Utopia anthem called the Green Hymn, the men and women of Harvesting Fleet 4 saluted when the E Utopian green flag was raised. When the singing of the Green Hymn ended, Base commander, Vice Admiral Frankson addressed Harvesting Fleet 4.
“We, the E Utopia pioneers, are the only protection of flora and fauna from man’s greed.” Droplets of saliva rained from the vice admiral’s mouth as he spoke. “Without us plants and animals would eventually be brought to extinction by the polluters and plunderers. Together, we shall forge a new Earth free of defilers of the environment and together, we shall bring life to E Utopia. When we finish our operation, we shall have two planets on which life shall prosper. We shall have two planets that we shall govern under strict environmental law. Victory is near. Victory is certain. Victory is ours. Soon we shall be reunited with our families and together we shall live happily ever after in our new paradise.”
The vice admiral spoke with conviction. He was a good soldier. In the Afghan war, he had been a disciplined and brave soldier even though he was fighting for a cause that he didn’t believe in. Now he was fighting for a cause he believed in. When Frankson joined the E Utopian cause, the President of the Executive Council quickly noted his leadership skills and promptly whisked him into space to get the training he needed to become a member of the high command of E Utopia’s space force.
“Your fleet commander, formerly Captain First Grade Sopoaga, has been promoted to rear admiral,” Vice Admiral Frankson went on. “The size of the fleet has been increased, and for the first time the Oxygen Harvesters shall go on their mission armed with missiles, and they shall be escorted by Vanquisher fighter ships. Many of you have been promoted. When Rear Admiral Sopoaga calls out your name, you come in front of the parade and receive your new badge.
“Captain Second Grade Hyvönen!” Rear Admiral Sopoaga barked.
Captain Hyvönen marched to the front of the parade and saluted the two senior officers.
“You have been promoted to Captain First Grade,” Sopoaga said.
“Thank you, sir!” Hyvönen said, standing at attention.
Vice Admiral Frankson took off Hyvönen’s old badges and replaced them with badges that had one star more than Hyvönen’s old rank insignia.
“Captain Bera!” Rear Admiral Sopoaga barked.
The Nigerian marched to the two senior officers and received the badges of a captain second grade.
“Commander Nuate!” Sopoaga barked, his voice shaking a little. He had missed her a lot.
Commander Nuate marched to the two senior officers and stood at attention, chest out, a posture that accentuated the fullness of her breasts.
Sopoaga swallowed and cleared his throat, his unblinking eyes fixed on Nuate’s bosom. “Commander Nuate, you have been promoted to Captain.”
“Thank you, sir!” she said.
Vice Admiral Frankson gave Nuate her new badges.
“You have been assigned to the newly commissioned ship, OH497,” Sopoaga said.
As he watched Nuate marching back to her place, Sopoaga wished he had made his move whilst she was still a member of his ship’s crew. He banished thoughts about her and called out the next promoted officer.
“Rear Admiral Sopoaga, you can address your charges,” the vice admiral said when he had finished decorating the promoted officers. “I’m going to my office.”
Sopoaga saluted. “Thank you, sir.”
Frankson lazily returned the salute and walked away from the parade.
“We are fighters,” Sopoaga said to his subordinates. “We fight not only for ourselves but for all living organisms that are facing extinction because of man’s greed and negligence. We have a monumental task in our hands and we have to be disciplined to succeed. Our fleet, together with our sister fleets, shall complete the task of oxygen harvesting. The atmosphere of E Utopia will soon be able to sustain life. Let’s work hard and finish this operation so that we can be reunited with our families. We’ll be leaving in ten E Utopian hours. I want you here at exactly 6 o’clock Base time. You’re dismissed.”
The men and women of HF4 dispersed. Newly promoted Captain First Grade Hyvönen walked to Sopoaga and saluted.
“At ease, Hyvönen,” Sopoaga said.
“Rear admiral, congratulations on your promotion,” Hyvönen said, extending his hand toward Sopoaga.
“The same to you, captain,” Sopoaga said, shaking Hyvönen’s hand.
“I’m a little nervous about carrying missiles and fighter ships with us, sir. Are we going to face resistance on our next mission, sir?”
“No. The missiles and the fighter ships are just precautionary measures, Hyvönen. The people on Earth haven’t created a space force.”
“Thank you for the information, sir.”
Hyvönen saluted and left the rear admiral. Sopoaga went to the residential area. There was an OCCUPIED sign on the first cubicle that he passed when he entered Section A of the residential area. The next four cubicles were unoccupied. Sopoaga had never used the first five cubicles in Section A because they were above his rank. The first cubicle belonged to the base commander and the other cubicles were reserved for the admiralty and the Executive Council. Only the base commander had permanent quarters. Upon arrival at the base, the rest of the servicemen checked into cubicles in residential areas of their rank. He walked into section B and passed two occupied cubicles before he reached his current cubicle.
He stood at the door for half a minute, waiting for the scanners to scan his irises. The door op
ened and he entered the cubicle, which was eight square meters smaller than the cubicles in Section A. He plugged his flash disk into the entertainment system and watched a pornographic film for minutes before he switched on to his invitation video. Every E Utopia pioneer had made an invitation video which would be used to invite the hundred people he wanted to be evacuated from Earth.
His face immediately appeared on the screen. “Hello loved ones,” Sopoaga’s voice spoke in Tuvaluan. “I am on an extrasolar planet that we call E Utopia, short for Environmental Utopia. As its name suggests this is a planet with a clean environment that is free of pollution.” The camera zoomed out, showing some mountains in the background. “As one of the E Utopia pioneers, I have the privilege to choose a hundred people to come and live with me on E Utopia. I have been given the privilege to save hundred loved ones from certain death on Earth.
“The first people on my list are my mother and father, Maatia and Milikini Sopoaga. I love you, mum and dad. I can’t wait to be with you. Please come and join me on this paradise that we call E Utopia. Here the weather is fine and the atmosphere has enough oxygen. My brother, Enele...”
Sopoaga listened to his voice reciting the list of his hundred chosen ones. It had taken him three weeks to compile the list. The invitation video was recorded inside a pressurized cabin full of oxygen-rich air and had been edited to look like it was taken in the open. The video was recorded during the start of the milking operation when there was hardly any oxygen in E Utopia’s atmosphere. Sopoaga believed his loved ones would be evacuated even if he died before the end of the oxygen harvesting operation. The Executive council had promised to save the chosen ones of every pioneer. Sopoaga had no doubt that his loved ones would agree to travel to E Utopia when they saw the video. Sopoaga’s father, Maatia, branded him a loser but soon his entire family would owe its survival to him.
* * *
George and Sara woke up late the next day. The previous night’s love-making made George feel exhausted but Sara felt energetic. She always felt energetic after sex, as if male reproductive juices contained a stimulant.
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