^^^^
Hal couldn’t believe it when they emerged through the front tunnel and the vision of the small town came immediately into his focus. “Whoa.” He lifted some in the seat of the moving Jeep. He could see people moving around. It was much bigger than he expected it to be. “We’re going to your office?” he asked Joe.
“Yep.” Joe turned the wheel taking Mcgruff Street--as Danny named it--to the utility building. “See that long metal structure?”
“Yes.”
“That’s where some of the offices are. I’m not going to explain a whole lot. You have all week to learn.” He pulled the Jeep up and parked it in front of his office. “Now before you walk in there, let me see if your brother has arrived as instructed.”
Hal nodded. He looked pale, worried about seeing Robbie again.
Robbie rummaged in his mind on how to explain the missing Jeep. He sat in Joe’s desk, rocking in his chair, tossing a ball up, and nearly hitting the ceiling. “I could . . . tell him Dean borrowed it and lost it,” Robbie thought, then shrugged and tossed the ball again. “Maybe he won’t notice it’s gone. Hell, he already knows it’s gone. Why else has he called me?” Robbie knew what he had to do. The moment Joe walked in the office, and that would be soon by the sound of the Jeep, Robbie would start rambling. He heard the footstep on the single step and Robbie cleared his throat.
“Robert,” Joe said his name as he walked in.
“Dad, hey. You know what? I was really thinking here lately. Do you think it’s possible that . . .”
“Robert, stop and what are you doing sitting at my desk?” Joe asked as he stood with the door partially open.
“Getting a feel for it.” Robbie rocked in the chair. “Yeah, you know I was the one that should have been picked for leader, not Henry. Hey, I’m more like you. Right? After all I’m the son that looks like you right?”
“What about Hal?”
“Dad,” Robbie scoffed and laughed. “Hal was the ugly Slagel. Man, you don’t want to say he looked like you.” Robbie was arrogant as he balanced his chair. “You want the pretty son to resemble you. Me.”
“Is that so? Hal not attractive?”
“Not from what I remember. No.”
“See what you think now.” Joe opened the door wider.
Hal stepped inside. No sooner had he walked in the door, a loud BANG rang out in the office. Robbie. in his rocking of Joe’s chair, took one look at Hal and rocked completely backwards and onto the floor.
“I think you’ll find it absolutely fascinating.” Dean’s words, spoken to her earlier, echoed in Ellen’s mind as she sat in a chair in Andrea’s office. Her elbow on the desk, her head leaning on her hand as she stared dumbfounded at Dean pacing before her and rambling about. “I think you’ll find it absolutely fascinating.” Ellen couldn’t help but wonder what in the world would make Dean think that.
“And then there is the intracellular toxin. That is the toxin produced in the bacterial cell. Contrary and not to be confused with the extracellular toxin which is a toxin produced and excreted by microorganisms.”
“Dean.”
“Wait. This is amusing. A toxin-antitoxin. I still have to chuckle at that. You would think they could come up with a better name for an immunization against Diphtheria. What do you think?”
“I think you’ve lost it.” Ellen stood up.
“No I haven’t. Sit down. We haven’t even touched the dermonecrotic toxin . . .”
“Dean.” Ellen stood firm. “Why are we discussing toxins?”
“When’s the last time we did?”
“Uh . . .” Ellen fluttered her lips. “I don’t know.”
“Then it’s time to discuss them again. I need you to sit down and be patient.”
“No Dean. Toxins, Drosophila, spirochetes. What the hell, Dean? You’re keeping me here for a reason.”
“O.K. I am.”
“Then don’t bore me to death. Unless you tell me you plan having sex with me right now, I have to get back to containment.”
Dean grinned and took off his lab jacket.
“Dean, I’m joking.”
“I’m not.” He stepped forward to Ellen, leading her back to the desk.
“Dean, stop.”
“No. It’ll be fun.” Dean began to kiss her, ignoring her mumbling gripes through his lips. He backed her down to the desk, pressing his body to hers.
“Dean, come in.” Joe’s voice called on the radio.
Dean stopped kissing Ellen and lifted himself.
“See Dean,” Ellen commented. “He knew what we were doing in here.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “He’s like God. Knows all, sees all.”
Dean grumbled and grabbed the radio. “Yeah, Joe.”
“We’re here, heading to the front door.”
“Thanks.” Dean grabbed Ellen’s hand. “Let’s go,”
“What’s going on?”
Dean opened Andrea’s office door for Ellen. “I had you here for a reason. We had to wait for Joe.”
“O.K.” Ellen stepped into the hall.
“El, your cavalry exists and the commander of the cavalry is with Joe now.”
“Oh shit. No way?” Ellen smiled and looked at the double glass door. She saw Joe and Robbie and another man walk in. The sun poked in brightly behind them and made them into almost shadows. “Wait a second.” Ellen took a step. Her words became breathy as she focused in on the third man.
Dean didn’t realize what his whisper would do. Seeing Ellen’s disbelief, he placed his mouth close to her ear. “Hal Slagel is alive.”
Dean’s words were an earthquake to Ellen. They trembled through her body and shook her stand. Her legs weakened. she swayed and began to drop to the floor.
Dean grabbed her, lifting her back up.
“Hal,” Ellen spoke his name, but it barely came out.
Hal saw her. He looked to Joe, then Robbie, then back down the hall. “Ellen!” he called out loudly.
“Oh my God.” Ellen recouped her strength and with the energy of his call, she raced down the corridor as fast as she could, leaping up at Hal, slamming her body into his, and wrapping her arms around him as she shrieked.
Clenching Ellen tightly, Hal lifted her feet from the floor. “Ellen. Oh my God.”
“Look at you. Hal.” Ellen’s hands grabbed his face as she still stayed in his lifting embrace. She exhaled emotionally. “God, you look at you.” She laughed and cried with excitement. “Robbie. Joe. It’s Hal.”
Hal’s head swayed back and forth. “I can’t believe this.”
“Hal!” Speaking his name quickly, Ellen held onto his cheeks as she stared at him. “Shit. Your men saved my life. They saved my life, Hal. They brought me home.”
“That was you?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Ellen kissed him. “Thank you.” She kissed him again, plastering his face with small, quick kisses over and over.
Hal laughed and then he embraced her, whole body, arms as tight as he could.
“Hal/” Joe tapped his shoulder. “Put her down. Put her down and meet . . . meet Ellen’s past and future husband.”
Hal slid Ellen to the floor. “Where?”
Joe pulled Dean into focus. “Dean Hayes, meet my son, Hal.”
Hal adjusted his views lower. “Oh.” He extended his hand to Dean. “Nice to meet you . . . El,” Hal whispered to her, “you’re marrying this guy?”
“Again. Yes.” Ellen nodded.
“But he’s so . . . so . . . little.” Hal commented.
Again Dean tossed his hands in the air. “I give up.”
Ellen snickered. “Little yes, but not where it counts.”
“Christ,” Joe griped. “Did we need that comment? No. Dean, thanks for your help. Ellen, go back to work.”
“Joe. No!” Ellen yelled “I want to hang out with Hal.” She grabbed his hand. “This is so great.”
“Yes, well, it’s not like you won’t see him again. Go. And find me Henry.” Joe shooed he
r away.
Ellen tgasped. “All right. Joe, where is he staying? Can he stay with Dean and me? Dean, you don’t mind, do you?” Dean opened his mouth, but Ellen kept on rambling. “Hal, Dean and I have the best house in Beginnings. And we have children. You have to meet them. You do. Joe, can he stay with us? I want him to stay with us. I can have Josh clean . . .”
“Ellen!” Joe snapped. “Christ, Yes. Go. Get me Henry.”
“You know.” Hal smiled. “I can’t wait to meet this Henry.”
“Yes you can,” Robbie said. “Trust me.”
“I can?” Hal looked confused, then wiped that look off his face. “You know I have this mental picture of him in my mind from hearing his voice. Is he like fifty, short, stocky and black?”
“Um.” Robbie thought. “Hal, that’s pretty good. You pegged him.”
“Thanks.” Hal grinned.
“Robert,” Joe scolded. “And Ellen. Go.”
“I’m leaving.” She kissed Dean then tip -toed up to Hal and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s good to have you here. Welcome back.” She moved to the glass doors and stopped. “I know for sure now, Beginnings just isn’t gonna be the same again.”
Dean chuckled softly as he looked up to the three Slagel men standing by him. All three resembled each other. And Hal, though lost for a while, proved to Dean he too had that Slagel connection with Ellen and why not? They were in a sense a family. As he stared at them once again, he knew Ellen’s last statement before she left the clinic didn’t even need to be said. With Hal’s arrival, Beginnings never being the same again was a given.
CHAPTER NINE
Binghamton Alabama
As much as the news of Hal entering Beginnings floored everyone there, it also floored George. “No,” he spoke on the phone. “When did he arrive there? Shit. I thought they wouldn’t find this out. Have you met him? I see.” George drew up a thinking look. “All right. I’m gonna have to head back to Quantico since my top man is there. If this is a joining of forces, I’m gonna have to move ahead with this plan. Are you ready?” George nodded. “Thank you. But . . . no. I take no chances with you. You’ll only do what I instruct you to do, no further. If they find you out they may kill you on the spot and then what? Huh? No. No chances. Just do what I tell you to do and no more . . . I know you want to help, but be patient, please. I have to go. I have to instruct my new CO on what needs to be done.” George snickered. “Isn’t that hysterical? I’ll call you back. Be careful. Yes. Bye.”
George’s inside person always brought a smile to his face. This person was so unknown, so brilliant on George’s part. But for as much as he wanted to smile in his aftermath of his call, he couldn’t. He had other things on his mind, the fact that Hal and Joe found each other. But that didn’t weigh as heavy as the scary portion of that thought. The UWA and Beginnings becoming one.
^^^^
Beginnings, Montana
Hal stopped walking in awe as he, Joe, and Robbie entered the living section. “This is amazing.” He looked at all the houses. “Everyone lives here like a little town. It looks so lived in.” He looked at the street sign. “Frank Street? That’s really nice.” Hal smiled. “This is so nice.”
Joe gave him a double pat on the back. “You know, Beginnings has enough land to expand this living section to easily house your people. But I have a feeling you want to expand your people, so I have a few thoughts we’ll discuss another time”
“Sounds good,” Hal said as they moved to Joe’s house. “Dad, is this your house. Look, flowers.”
“Yeah,” Joe grumbled. “Anyhow, let’s go in.” He opened the door. Joe grunted when Robbie sneaked in first, then Hal.
Hal sniffed. “Wow, is that brownies?”
“Halberd!” Andrea shrieked his name with excitement as she darted from the kitchen.
Hal immediately looked with a weirdness at Robbie to the woman who now plastered him with kisses.
“Meet our new mom, Andrea.” Robbie snickered.
Hal whispered. “Dad’s still doing the same thing?”
“Oh Hal!” Andrea caught her breath. “You poor boy, lost out there in this world while your father lives here. Are you all right sweetheart? Look at you.” She stepped back. “So handsome. Oh Joe, he’s handsome.”
Joe sort of cringed.
Hal flashed a gloating grin. “I like this mom. No mom ever thought I was handsome.”
“That’s because you’re not,” Robbie said.
“One hour,” Hal said. “One hour I’m back and you’re starting?”
“Yeah.”
“O.K.” Hal shrugged. “Just checking. Get ready though.”
“I’m the master, Hal. I’m worse now. Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
Joe shook his head. “Can we just sit down and talk what we need to talk about? Andrea? Are you staying?”
“Oh no, sweetheart. Not me.” She laid her hand on Joe cheek. “Got to get to Gemma’s. A few of us gals are cooking a community dinner for Hal tonight. Danny’s reprogramming a few of the SUTs again for waiters.” She kissed Joe. “See you. Robbie, take my brownies out of the oven in ten minutes, sweetie.”
“Sure thing, Mom.” Robbie gave a thumbs up.
“And don’t eat them” Andrea instructed as she walked to the door. “They’re for tonight.”
Robbie responded with an innocent smile and another thumbs up as Andrea left.
Grabbing the large ashtray because he knew it was going to be a smoke fest, Joe set it on the coffee table and sat on the sofa. Robbie sat in the chair and Hal sat next to Joe.
Hal took in the view of the house. “This is great. Your wife is nice, Dad. Robbie hasn’t scared her away.”
Joe lit a cigarette. “Where’s she gonna go? Now let’s . . .”
“Joe!” Henry came barreling through the front door. “Whoops forgot to knock.” Henry walked out, knocked then barreled through again. “Joe!”
Joe held up his hand. “Hal meet Henry.”
Hal turned around on the couch and looked. “Henry?” Hal turned to Robbie. “I thought you said he was fifty, stocky, and black.”
“No that’s what you said he looked like. I merely agreed. He looks that way to me.”
Henry flipped Robbie off then shook hands with Hal. “Nice to meet you. Wow do you look like Joe.”
“Thanks. You look a lot different than I thought.”
Joe only looked up from his seat on the couch. “Henry is one half of our Asian community.”
“Joe.” Henry tsked. “I’m Japanese, so technically I’m not . . .”
“Henry, I don’t want to hear it. I’m always hearing it,” Joe bitched. “Anyhow, we’re gonna be busy for . . . Robbie? Where are you going?”
Robbie pointed backwards. “To check the brownies. I don’t want them to burn.”
Joe groaned. “Back to you, Henry. I need you to take the wheel for a while. I’m gonna be busy with Hal, catching up.”
“Sure thing, Joe. I have to get back to fixing generator two. It’s making this noise.” Henry shrugged. “I’ll just beat on it again.”
Joe winced. “You do that.”
“Worked before.” Henry raised his hand. “Hal, nice to meet you. Hope we can get along better than Robbie and I.”
“I’m positive of that, Henry.” Hal winked. “I’m the nice Slagel brother. Always have been.”
Henry snickered amongst the Joe moans. He waved once more then left.
Joe waited until Robbie returned and sat down. “All right, Hal. I’ve waited long enough. Where the hell have you been for seven years?”
Hal whistled and let out a long breath. “It’s a difficult story.”
“Try me,” Joe told him.
“Wait,” Robbie interrupted. “When I spoke to you and when Dad talked to you, you were sick.”
“Yes, I was.” Hal nodded. “I had the plague.”
A ‘what’ came from both Robbie and Joe.
“I had the plague like everyone else. I was
on border patrol outside of Honolulu when I started getting worse. I dropped about eight hours after I talked to you, Dad.”
Joe closed his eyes and blinked. “Then you didn’t have the plague. No one we knew beat it.”
“Ah.” Hal held up his hand. “No one you knew. I knew thirty-seven guys that beat it. Elliott Ryder is one of them. We lost contact when we left the Islands. We met up again. We were all at the same med station.”
“What?” Joe was lost. “We had the top scientist working on it. He didn’t beat it until last year.”
“He was using modern medicine, wasn’t he. He used the resources science gave him.”
Joe nodded. “Yes he did.”
“Well that’s why he didn’t get a reaction. He needed to go back to basics, back to nature.”
“And that’s exactly how he ended up beating it.” Robbie said. “Using all natural stuff. But how did you . . .”
“Not me,” Hal answered. “I was out of it like I said. Had all the symptoms, bad too. There was this Korean doctor who was working the med station I was at. He was a homeopathy specialist. He tried these herbs on us. He said it was his cure. It sort of was. It took me three weeks to come around but I did. I remember reading his notes on how in his tents he had over two thousand patients, including himself. The herbs worked on fifty of us and everyone else died. Eventually thirteen more died in the next three weeks. They weren’t strong enough to fight the symptoms I guess.”
Joe was astounded. “Wait until Dean hears this. So this doctor, what happened to him?”
“Died of the plague. His medication prolonged him for a week but that was all. It didn’t work on everyone, just some. I guess it was our gene make up.”
“Dean is going to be fascinated by this,” Joe commented. “Be prepared for a lot of questions and tests.”
“And . . .” Robbie added. “Be prepared to jerk off in a cup.”
“Robert!” Joe yelled. “Then what, Hal?”
“Then . . . then . . . jerk off?” Hal shuddered in confusion. “Then we searched the islands, all of us, for survivors. They were all men. The herb didn’t work on any women at all, not even to prolong their life. We started thinking that the female species was wiped out.”
The Big Ten: The First Ten Books of the Beginnings Series Page 396