His face changed, became a little sterner but there was a sparkle in his eyes, “Hmm…” he let out a breath, “…I mean, if we do that…how am I supposed to focus on any…”
Her other hand sandwiched his and she pushed him playfully, “You…”
A chime sounded, the break was over.
Her smile was hypnotizing, her eyes glowed. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Dinner?”
While this happened, Adamarus noticed the two men on each side of Evelyn’s seat. They were both looking at him and obviously had recognized Adamarus. The marine was looking at him with respect and a mock salute. The navy pilot was smiling with both hands up in a mock surrender.
Adamarus smiled back at them.
Misinterpreting the pause, she whispered, “Please.”
“Sounds good,” he whispered back.
“Ah…”, came from the presenter on stage, “if we could all return to our seats…”
Evelyn was the only one out of place. Her face turned a little red as she made her way back to her seat.
Her two admirers looked forward with neutral faces.
---
At 1:00 p,m, all across the star system, all video feeds and radio programs were interrupted for the President’s message.
President Wicker appeared behind the well-known podium, which displayed the presidential seal. He wore a smart blue suit, white shirt and red tie. He looked relaxed, confident and in control. “Hello. I come before you today to discuss the alien ship and Dr. Alex Radford’s theory and his proposal.”
“The article that appeared yesterday morning in the Axel Capital Times was accurate. The enormous event horizon measuring about ninety-three million miles in diameter—a large black hole—was spotted seven days after the Loud’s early return thirty-four years ago. We knew from reports from the newly arrived Loud Umbrella Ship that this was the same thing seen by the Loud home world when they first detected what turned out to be the alien ship that destroyed their star system.”
“If the black hole maintains its current deceleration curve and course, the alien ship will arrive in orbit around our planet in exactly one hundred and sixty-eight years. This fact was kept secret to avoid public panic and distress. I will admit that I would be forced to make the same decision again.”
“I’ve just received the results of polls conducted yesterday and today—they all show about the same results. Seventy-two percent of you would have done the same thing, kept it secret, while seventeen percent would have told the public and eleven percent were unsure. In addition, eighty-one percent understand our decision while only seven percent do not—twelve percent were undecided. I, as well as everyone involved, feel horrible about the deception, but I am heartened by the fact that so many of you agree with and understand our decision. In reality, given our duty and sworn oaths, we had absolutely no choice.”
“A statement to be released later today will detail all of the information about the approaching object.”
The president paused, marking a change in subject, then, “Regarding Dr. Radford’s theory, let me first say that I talk to the Loud known as Bugs almost every day. I believe I know Bugs very well. I like Bugs and I completely trust him. I do not think for a moment that this theory being presented is true. That said, as your president, I must always try to keep an open mind and consider all points of view.”
“Dr. Radford’s theory is just a theory, but it is a profound one. It appears to make a lot of sense and no one, not even the Loud, have a way to disprove it. We are all fortunate that Dr. Radford has proposed a way to test it, which also makes sense. However, his theory is not without a couple of minor flaws.”
“These flaws were brought to light in a meeting I had with all of my top experts, both military and scientific, last night. The first flaw is that we can see no way that the alien could know that any of the Loud are here. No radiation emitted by the Loud ships could reach them. That said, the alien would know from our radio and video transmissions, just as the Loud did, that we humans are here. Therefore, if, as Dr. Radford proposes, the Loud and the approaching alien are at war, it would still be logical for them to come here to see if the Loud were in our system. So this is a minor issue which does not really change much except for what I’ll talk about next.”
“We will, of course, perform the test Dr. Radford proposes. However, as just mentioned, we can see no way that the alien could detect anything from their current distance. If we were to send all of the Loud ships away from our system now, the alien would see nothing. They would continue to come and the test would fail because the test would be invalid. Since we know that we ourselves could detect the drive emissions from the Loud ships from about one light year away, we can be confident that the alien who is more advanced would be able to as well. Therefore, to ensure that the test will be a valid one, we need to wait until the alien ship is at least that close. Sending the Loud Ships away at such a time should not hurt us and, with the single condition that the alien displays no hostile actions before then, that is what we will do.”
“Finally, I think we all owe thanks to Dr. Radford for his insight and for calling attention to this possibility. I wish he had presented his theory in a way that was friendlier rather than the attack on your government it has turned out to be. In addition, I wish his seminars would have been more honest—the subliminal messages he embedded in all his presentations were not needed. His theory was strong enough without them.”
“Given that the aliens that destroyed the Loud are coming here, I think we can all agree that our defensive buildup must continue to ensure our survival. Even if this alien is just after the Loud, it is obvious that space can be dangerous in the extreme and developing and maintaining a strong defense is only logical and can only serve us well. Let’s get back to work now.”
“Thank you.”
The president’s dynamic speech was a huge success. Shortly afterwards, Shelly White followed by the other network news outlets, reported that the vast majority of the protestors had gone home and the workers had returned to their jobs. The news also praised the president for his reaction to the potential crises.
---
Amular, Northern Continent…
After Wicker’s speech, Dr. Radford slammed his fist down on his desk. “Goddamn it to hell—I knew we should not have laced our talks with those goddamn hidden messages,” he hollered to no one in particular. “Idiot,” he yelled at the top of his voice. The half dozen aides surrounding him all jumped.
He had been ordered by Whitehall to use the messages and, like an idiot, he’d gone along.
Radford was in his office at his cabin—his command center. On his desk, his com unit buzzed. He saw it was Whitehall. He told his aides to leave the room—no one could know of his connection to the General.
He answered, “Radford here.” He was so angry, he was shaking.
“Are you alone?” Whitehall sounded furious as well.
“Of course. Well, what did you think of all that?”
“A masterful response. Still, the public’s response to the unveiling of your movement was spectacular and…”
“We’re fucked. He completely slammed us.”
“Now Alex, settle down.”
“Settle down? Those goddamn subliminal messages totally backfired on us—we look like fucking crooks.”
“Apologize for them, just like he apologized for hiding the truth about the alien ship. Say that your message was so important and you went overboard.” Whitehall was trying to hide his anger and act calm, but Radford could detect his rage.
“What about the flaw—what about the alien not being able to detect the Loud ships leaving the system? We wanted to stop the goddamn waste of time and money he’s spending on his stupid defensive buildup.” Radford fumbled for a cigarette and lit it.
“Well, that was an oversight, however, now that’s what will put us back in business.”
“Huh?”
“The aliens are so much more
advanced than us no one knows what they can or can’t do. Wicker and his scientists don’t know shit. They’re bluffing to stall the test so he can continue to build our military up.”
“Hm…well,” he lowered his voice, “what about tomorrow’s attacks?”
“They proceed as planned. Are you all ready to disappear—go underground?”
“Yes, but…”
“No buts. Here’s what we’ll do…”
---
Dark Mountain, Southern Continent…
The ancient volcano was called Dark Mountain. Dan Webber marched across the frozen ground of the crater’s floor bundled in white winter gear with a machine gun slung over one shoulder. The sounds of cadence being called and troops marching came from a neighboring cavern. He could also hear the muffled pops of gunfire from the target range further away.
It was bitterly cold, but at least there was no wind down here in the crater nor the surrounding caves and caverns.
Snowflakes began falling and he looked up. Seven hundred feet above, the grayish-white sky could be seen outlined by the worn edges of the crater.
The crater was roughly 400 feet in diameter at the bottom and about 550 feet at the top. It was easy to see in the defused light that made it down, but the lack of shadows and a weary darkness that seemed to creep from the crater walls was always a reminder that one was inside a hole and far from the open sky.
All the money from Radford and Whitehall had served him and his Striker One team well, allowing him to revamp the deserted caverns, bring in water, food and supplies, and equip his small army with weapons, ammunition and explosives. He had 62 mercenaries now and they’d been training hard for six months.
Three eight-man teams had departed two days ago and were in the field preparing for their first missions. Within the hour, he’d be leaving with three more teams.
He smiled. Things were a hopping and a popping and he was back in the game.
He continued into a side cavern, turned a corner and walked the 20 feet to a prefabbed shack that was his control center. Inside, he removed his coat and started toward his office.
A half dozen aides were seated at consoles—one noticed him and called over, “All three teams have checked in and are at the staging areas.”
“No problems?” he asked.
“No, sir. Also, Whitehall just called. He wants a word.”
“Thank you,” he said and went into his office, closing the door behind him.
After pouring himself a cup of coffee, he called Whitehall. “This is Webber.”
“Dan, thanks for getting back. How is everything going?”
“Like clockwork. All three teams have arrived at their staging areas. We’ll be deploying shortly for the other missions.”
“Excellent.”
Webber cleared his throat. “I heard Wicker’s speech. So, what did you think?”
“Clever. He thinks he’s postponed the test so that it’s so far off he doesn’t have to worry about it—not going to happen. Radford and I spoke and planned out our response—watch the news.”
“I will,” Webber replied. “So, there’s no impact on our current plans?”
“Absolutely not. Keep me posted and good hunting.”
---
By 3:00 p.m., Dr. Radford’s response to the president’s speech went out to all the major news networks. Shelly White received it and immediately announced it.
“We interrupt this program with a special report,” Shelly said to the entire star system. “We have just received Dr. Alex Radford’s response to the president’s speech. Here’s what he said.”
Redford’s deep voice started speaking.
“First, let me apologize for the subliminal messages we placed within our presentations. It was a foolish move on my part. However, the discovery was so important I felt I had to use any and all methods to convince the public of what was happening. I am deeply sorry, but this mistake doesn’t change the facts.”
“It’s completely obvious to anyone that the Loud are making fools of us. President Wicker’s claim that the aliens cannot detect the Loud ships’ drives from a distance is a lie to delay the test that will prove that the Loud have made us their slaves. The alien can manipulate black holes for God’s sake. They’re so far advanced that no one can have any idea what they can do. The government knows this, but like the deceit over the alien ship coming, they believe that they can feed the public any bullshit they want and they’ll be believed.”
“We are demanding that the test go forward immediately, then be repeated until the aliens can see them leaving. It is the only way to save ourselves. Our only other option is to let ourselves be destroyed just like the Loud were.”
“I, for one, am not going to continue being the Loud’s slave, building their war machine to fight their war. The president must move immediately to initiate the test. All of the Loud Umbrella Ships must depart the system by midnight, no more delays. If this does not happen…well, if it takes a war to stop a war, so be it.”
By the time Radford’s response, demands and veiled threat was distributed, Radford had gone underground and could not be located.
---
At the end of the first day, Adamarus and Evelyn met at the exit.
“I made reservations, we’ve got not quite an hour,” Adamarus said.
She beamed, “Perfect, I’m starved.”
They strolled through the lower concourse to let the lines at the elevators clear out.
“As I understand it,” Adamarus said, “this is the last Defensive Buildup briefing…how is it that you managed to miss all the others?”
“I found out you were going to be at the last one and purposely became unavailable for all the others…to be here too,” she said.
Adamarus went blank for a moment. Finally, “Oh…I’m flattered.”
She just looked back at him, smiling shyly.
Others had wandered near them so they changed subject. They’d both been monitoring the news feeds and they discussed the intensifying situation below with Dr. Radford.
Evelyn’s concern over the escalating dialog was obvious, “Do you think it will get violent?”
Adamarus shook his head, “I hope not. However, Radford doesn’t seem to be backing down. Wicker doesn’t have a lot of options.”
Evelyn pointed to the elevators and said, “Let’s go. I need to freshen up before dinner.”
They boarded the lift and Adamarus asked, “Floor?”
“Top,” she said.
“Me too.”
They looked at each other then looked away.
When the lift came to a stop, they got out and both walked left. “About a half an hour,” Adamarus asked.
“Perfect.”
Adamarus stopped at the door to his room, “Well, this is me.”
“I’m two doors down.” She laughed, “I’ll come knocking?”
Adamarus smiled, “Perfect.”
Their table was on the edge with an incredible view of Uptown. It was dark now and about 23 feet overhead, the stars filled a flat sky that stretched off like the glimmering city below, both curving until they met in the distance.
They ordered and when the waiter left Evelyn said, “It’s good to see you again.”
Adamarus smiled at her, “Likewise.”
“You know, I was having a great time with those two officers until you came into the picture.”
Adamarus raised his eyebrows.
She chuckled, “After discovering that I knew you, all the flirtation died away and all they wanted to know about was…” she held both hands up in disbelief, “…you.”
Adamarus barked a surprised laugh. “So…I’m…cramping you style?”
“They both asked me to dinner.”
“Now that could have been interesting.”
She laughed, “I told them I already had plans—dinner with you. Which, by the way, is why I was so happy you agreed.”
They laughed, talked late into the evening drinking w
ine and then finally made their way to the lift and took it down one floor.
When they got to Adamarus’ door, they paused. They stared at each other for many seconds.
Finally, Evelyn swallowed and looked away. She said, “You know…”
Adamarus said into her pause, “Would you like…”
Evelyn held up a hand, “Yes, but no…I…I can’t…” She turned back to him. A tear was running down her cheek.
Adamarus, taken back, looked away. “Yeah…ah…”
“You’ve…family…you know and…I can’t…”
“Yeah…I know.”
“I…” she hugged herself.
Adamarus leaned against the wall, “You know, if it came to it…I’d probably freak out…” he smiled and his eyes sparkled, “I’d probably be out the door, running down the hall babbling…”
“Ha! With your pants around your ankles,” she said in a whispered shriek.
They were both laughing.
She tiptoed and kissed him quickly on the cheek, “Goodnight, Admiral,” and then she turned and walked toward her room.
Adamarus watched her go in a slight state of shock…his eyes wide, his mouth half-open. Without looking back, she let herself into her room and closed the door. Finally, he closed his mouth, fumbled into his room, and slowly closed the door. His emotions were all over the place…his mind was spinning.
She was just two doors down.
---
Evelyn closed her door, turned and collapsed back against it.
That hadn’t been in any of her fantasy scenarios. Where had that come from? No, she would not be a home wrecker. Seeing Adamarus’ family…meeting his wife Grace and their son…that had changed everything. She hadn’t seen it coming…hadn’t realized it until the moment was upon her. Damn.
She took a sleeping pill to knock her out and washed it down with water then got into the shower. After drying off, she opened the drawer to grab a nighty and cringed—there was the sexy black nighty with red lace she’d brought…brought for him. The sleeping pill was kicking in. Good, she didn’t want to lie in bed thinking. She slipped on the black nighty in tribute to lost love affairs then fell into bed and thankfully went right to sleep.
Countdown Amageddon (The Spiral Slayers Book 2) Page 17