by J. W. Huemme
Christopher continued looking into the camera for another moment, then pressed the stop button. “This is crazy,” he said aloud as he walked up to the camera and pressed rewind. “The people will think I’m some kind of nut and change the channel while the government tries to kill me.”
After reviewing the tape, Christopher packed everything up and put it in the trunk of his car. He taped the video cassette to the underside of his dashboard and headed for home. He almost forgot about his mom’s list. He got her items at the store and then continued home. He felt a little uneasy as he crossed over the wooden bridge and drove up to the house. He carried the bag of groceries in and set them on the kitchen table.
Mary was peeling some potatoes for dinner at the kitchen sink. “Did you get your problem straightened out?”
“Yes I did. It was a little stressful though. I think I’ll take a walk and try to relax a little. I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. Dinner won’t be ready for a while yet.”
There were still some details Christopher had yet to figure out. He still needed to think of the best way to air the tape so as many people as possible would see it. He could pull in some owed favors and get it on a local network, but that wouldn’t reach enough people to guarantee success. Then he remembered Rick Tanner from back at MIT. He was a bit of a prankster, but a telecommunications genius. Christopher had helped him write several computer programs while at school. Rick said if he ever needed anything, anything at all, he would be there for him. But where would he be now? Perhaps someone at the school might know. If not, ten minutes on a computer and he could track him down. First thing in the morning, he thought, he could go to the local library and get online there.
Christopher walked back to the house where he could smell dinner in the air. He noticed smoke bellowing from the chimney indicating Mary had already started a fire in the fireplace. He stopped outside and grabbed a couple of logs to add to the fire for later.
“You’re timing is perfect. Dinner is almost ready.”
He set the logs down next to the fireplace and went into the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?” he asked, knowing there would be nothing his mother hadn’t already done.
“I’d say your walk did the trick. You look much more relaxed.”
“I feel much better. I’ll go wash up.” During dinner Christopher suggested, “I have to go to the library in the morning for a little bit. When I get back, how about we go to that carnival in town I saw today. Maybe I could even talk you into getting on one of those scary rides with me.”
“That’s a great idea. I haven’t been to a carnival since your father passed away.”
“Then it’s a deal?”
Mary smiled. “Deal, except for the scary ride part.”
First thing in the morning, Christopher found his way to the local library and spent a little time on one of their computers. In a moment he was on the internet conversing with Professor Stevens, still teaching part-time. He knew Rick was working as the head of the technical department with one of the major telecommunications companies. Professor Stevens was able to provide Christopher with Rick’s phone numbers, both work and home. Christopher, equipped with a roll of quarters so as not to leave a trail to connect him to Rick, called Rick from a pay phone.
“Rick Tanner,” the voice on the other end said.
“Rick? This is Christopher Adams from MIT.”
“Christopher, last I heard you were with the CIA.”
“I still am. Listen, Rick, I need a favor.”
“You name it. If it wasn’t for your help on those programs, I never would have graduated. What do you need?”
“Can you interrupt a commercial satellite feed?”
“I can feed a signal to eighteen different satellites. We’re talking a couple hundred channels. What are you up to, Christopher?”
“I can’t tell you, but you were always up for a good joke. Are you up for a big one?”
“This is a side of you I’ve never seen, Christopher. What have you got in mind?”
“I’m sending you a video tape. You’ll have it first thing tomorrow. I want you to interrupt every video feed you can with this tape just after eight tomorrow night, but only if you can cover your tracks. I don’t want you to get in any trouble.”
“Consider it done. And don’t worry—they won’t have a clue as to where it came from. Do you have my address here at work?”
“Yes. Thanks Rick. I owe you one.”
“I owed you several, but this is a big one, so we’ll just call it even.”
Christopher left the library and found a local Fed-ex office, put the tape into an overnight envelope and addressed it to Rick, paid the clerk, and headed for home. Christopher felt good—he had done the right thing and he was willing to deal with the consequences. Hopefully, after the tape aired, Cindy would not feel the need to go public and would feel differently about him. He also wondered how his mother would react. He strongly suspected she would approve and think he did what he knew was right. She would also understand the last few days a little better.
The little wooden bridge looked better as he drove over it this time. He saw his mother sitting on the porch as he drove up. “Are you ready for the carnival?”
“Yes. Would you like to have a sandwich before we go?”
“Let’s just go fill up on hot dogs and cotton candy,” Christopher replied. He knew there was a good possibility that this might be one of the last days he would have to spend with his mother. Right after the video aired, he would have to leave. He wouldn’t risk involving his mother. He wasn’t sure where he would go yet, but he still had some time to figure that out.
“This was a great idea,” Mary said as they walked down the midway. “I had almost forgotten how much fun this could be.”
“Me too. Let’s go in here, okay?” Christopher pointed to a house of mirrors.
“That looks like fun. Let’s go,” Mary replied. Inside they went from mirror to mirror, standing first in front of one that made then look tall and thin, then one that made them look very short and overweight. They laughed and carried on together like two children. Mary couldn’t stop laughing, which started Christopher laughing, too.
“Come on, Mom. I’ll win you a teddy bear,” he said leading her towards a row of game booths.
“Look at that cute camel over there,” Mary said pointing to a large fuzzy tan-colored stuffed camel in a game booth. The two walked over for a look. The camel stood three, maybe four feet high. “Nothing’s too good for my mom. Consider it yours.”
Christopher’s statement reminded her of Joe, almost bringing a tear to her eye. He was a real chip off the old block, she thought. It was a skill game with a twist and would present little challenge to Christopher. “What do I have to do to win that camel there?” he said indicating the large stuffed toy that had caught Mary’s eye.
“You have to toss a dime so it lands on one of these plates and stays there, three times in a row. A lot of folks been trying for that camel all day. I wish you luck.”
Christopher wouldn’t need luck. He could figure out the trick to these carnival games in a flash. He reached in to his pocket for some change. The carnival worker watched as he set three dimes on the counter. He picked up the first dime and tossed it in a high arc toward a plate. The dime flew into the air toward the plate with an evident slight back spin hitting the rear of the plate and rolling to rest in the center.
“Nice toss, mister, but if you want to win the camel, you have to do that two more times in a row without missing.” Christopher didn’t acknowledge the man, but simply picked up another dime from the counter and without hesitation, tossed it into the air. It was like an instant replay, duplicating the previous toss exactly. The man working watched Christopher closely as he immediately picked up the third dime and sent it into the air. As if in slow motion, the man saw his prize camel vanish as the third dime landed just like the two before it. “Mister, I’ve been doing this a long ti
me and I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”
“Here you go, Mom,” Christopher said handing her the camel.
They started feeling hungry, so he bought some food form one of the stands. He set the food and drinks on the picnic table in front of the hot dog stand where Mary sat waiting. “Now that’s a switch,” Christopher said.
“What is?” Mary asked.
“Me waiting on you.”
“I kind of like it,” she replied.
“After we finish eating we can go on some of those scary rides.”
“Well, maybe the Ferris wheel. I think that’s about all the scary I can handle.”
“Okay, Mom. The Ferris wheel it is.”
They finished lunch and soon found themselves on their way to the top of the Ferris wheel. After a few rotations, the ride came to a sudden stop, with Mary and Christopher at the very top.
After a minute went by without any movement, Mary said, “This is getting a little scary. I wonder what’s wrong.” Christopher couldn’t hide the large and very guilty grin on his face. “Christopher Adams. You had better not have done what I’m thinking you’ve done!”
“Well, since you wouldn’t go on any scary rides, I had to make this one a little scary.”
“I’ll get you for this,” Mary said laughing. “Just like your father.” A few moments later motion returned to the Ferris wheel and in no time Mary and Christopher were on the ground.
“Would you like another cotton candy or taffy apple?” Christopher asked.
“If I eat one more thing I’ll burst.”
The sun had long since hidden below the horizon before they grew tired of the games and rides. They had a terrific time. Mary hadn’t laughed so much in years. When they returned home, Christopher quickly built a roaring fire in the fireplace to remove the evening chill.
Mary said, “We’ll have to do that again sometime. I haven’t had so much fun in I don’t know how long.”
“Me too, Mom.”
“I’m going to make some tea, would you like a cup?”
“That sounds great, sure, Mom.” Christopher sat on the sofa watching the fire flickering in the fireplace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something different. Looking toward the front door, he realized it was just the large stuffed camel he had won at the carnival. He looked at it for a minute, watching as the light from the fire flickered and threw light into the dark corner where the stuffed camel stood. That is it! he thought. Of course, Egypt.
Christopher had always felt that the great pyramid was the ultimate unsolved puzzle. This was his chance to see it firsthand and take a crack at it himself. He knew several people connected to high government officials, so it would be easy to obtain the necessary permits.
Mary came with a cup of tea for him, and said, “How about we see if there’s a good movie on the television?”
“Sure, Mom. And, Mom, I’ve decided that since I have my problem taken care of, and since I still have a few weeks of vacation left, I thought I’d go take a crack at that big stone puzzle in Egypt: the great pyramid.”
“Are you serious? Really? I know how long you’ve wanted to do that, but what about this young lady Cindy?”
“I can sort things out with Cindy when I get back.”
“When are you going to go?”
“There’s a flight that leaves tomorrow night.” He didn’t know this, but knew it would be best for him to leave after the videotape aired.
After a hearty breakfast, Christopher was off to the mall to buy some clothes for his trip to Egypt. He found a shop that specialized in clothing and accessories for warmer climates. He bought several pair of shorts and shirts and a vest with more pockets than a billiards table. He knew they would be useful crawling around inside the pyramid. He also bought a backpack, and containers for storing food, two flashlights, with plenty of spare batteries, and a Swiss army knife. He stocked up on freeze-dried foods that wouldn’t spoil and a fair share of energy bars and beef jerky.
As soon as he got home, he gave Mary the food containers for a thorough washing. He took the remaining items upstairs to his old room and unpacked everything, laying it out on the bed and anywhere else he could find a place to set it. He carefully packed everything into the backpack and added a few notebooks and pencils for taking notes. Mary brought the cleaned food containers and canteens up when she had finished.
“I have some bottled water for you. I don’t imagine their water is as clean as ours and thought you might want to take some with you.”
“Thanks, Mom. That’s not a bad idea. I expect I’ll just drink bottled water while I’m there.”
“What time does your flight leave?” Mary asked.
“If I leave here about nine, I should have plenty of time to make my flight.” He still hadn’t booked a ticket, but planned to do so at the airport.
There were several hours before the video would air so Christopher decided to cut the grass around the house for his mother. Opening the door on the shed behind the house that his father had built brought back a lot of memories for him. He wheeled out the lawn tractor and topped off the fuel tank with gas. He turned the key and the mower came to life. Selecting a forward gear, he began driving the mower around the back yard leaving beautifully trimmed lawn behind him. After he had finished, he drove the mower back to the shed to add fuel. He went into the house for a glass of ice water before continuing. With a full tank of gas, he steered the mower into and around the front yard repeating the process. He was nearly finished when he noticed a car turn off the road and drive over the little wooden bridge. He became concerned when he realized it was an agency car. The car parked next to his and when the driver got out, he felt relieved to see it was an agent he knew quite well, Andy Carlton. He immediately walked toward Christopher on the front lawn. Christopher stopped the mower and turned off the motor. “Hello Andy,” he said as he waved. Andy just gave a quick wave as he approached.
“What on earth brings you out here, Andy?”
“Christopher, I have to make this quick. I’m not supposed to be here, but I owe you in a big way. You’ve helped me out, now I’m returning the favor. He handed Christopher a small package saying, “This was given to me to take to the security board of Operation Down-size. If I took it to them, you wouldn’t be around to see the sun go down. You know that. I don’t know what you think you’re doing and I don’t care. I’m putting my ass on the line here for you. Now I suggest you disappear—get out of the country. When the Security board finds out what I’ve done, they’ll be looking for me, too. We’re even now. Good luck.” Andy turned and walked back to the car and disappeared down the road. Christopher opened the package and looked inside. Inside he saw what he felt was man’s last hope: the tape he had made in the motel. His heart sank. If the tape had aired as planned, at least people would have a chance. Without it, he felt all hope gone.
Chapter Nine
Into the Stone
Christopher loaded his new gear into the trunk of his car. He turned to his mother and said, “Wish me luck. If I can figure out this puzzle, you’ll see my picture on the front page of every paper and magazine in the world.”
“I’d just like to see you do it for yourself, Christopher.”
“Well, I’d better take off if I’m going to make that flight.”
Mary held Christopher as close as ever. She seemed to sense that something wasn’t right, and realized she might not ever see her son again. “I love you, Christopher.”
“I love you, too, Mom. I’ll call you when I get settled in.” He climbed into the car and started the engine.
Mary reminded him as he began to pull away. “Be careful.”
Twenty minutes later, Christopher was in the airport looking for the best flights to take him to his destination. “We have a nonstop to New York that leaves in about half an hour. The flight is just about full, but there are still a couple of first-class seats available.”
“That would be fine. How does it look for a conn
ecting flight in New York?” The helpful girl behind the ticket counter looked at the information on her computer screen.
“It looks like you’re in luck. There’s one seat still open on flight two-eighteen. It’s also a first-class seat. That flight is a nonstop from New York to Cairo. Departs New York just a little more than an hour after your arrival. Would you like me to reserve that seat for you?”
“Yes, that’s perfect.” The ticket agent handed Christopher his tickets, checked his bags, and he headed for the appropriate gate.
In no time at all Christopher found himself in the airport in New York. He immediately checked on his flight at the gate and obtained his boarding pass. It would be a long flight, and even though they would serve a meal, he thought it might be best if he ate in a restaurant at the airport before the flight. He never had developed a taste for airline food. After eating, Christopher stopped at a pay phone near the gate.
“Hello, Barb? I’m sorry to call you at home, especially at this hour.”
“Christopher is everything all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Is your mother all right?”
“Yes, she’s fine, thank you. I can’t explain the reasons, but I’m resigning from the agency effective immediately. I’m sorry to do this without any notice, but circumstances force me to. You’ve been great, Barb, and I’ll never forget you. Bye.” With that he hung up the phone and boarded his plane.
The flight was very long and provided a chance for Christopher to get some much needed rest. It had been a long day, and a trying one at best. Christopher hoped he wouldn’t wake up till the plane touched in Cairo. He was pretty close to getting his wish. He awoke to the sound of a stewardess requesting he fasten his seat belt in preparation for their landing. He looked out the window to find that the sun had already broken free of the horizon. After landing, he retrieved his bags, and went outside to find a taxi.