by Lakes, Lynde
Olsen pounded his desk. “The hell with speculating! Find out what it is and if there’s any danger associated with it.”
“We need to bring in spacecraft experts, sir,” Parker said.
Olsen began to pace. “Do it!” he said. “With the potential danger to the country, I want up to the minute facts as they become available.” He turned to the lieutenant. “Fox, arrange a conference call, as soon as possible, with Captain Boyer, Commander Green, Admiral Hindecker, the President and myself.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Cortz, don’t let them electroshock you.” Darli purposely called him Cortz. It was important to talk to him privately before Dr. Steina returned to her office. Whether he was Gregory Harris the inventor or Cortz the alien, this could destroy him. He turned from the window, smiled and came forward, meeting her in the center of the room. She gently placed her hand on his arm. “Please.”
His smile faded. “I’ve made my decision. Mona says if the treatments work, I’ll know myself again.”
Darli tightened her grip on his arm. “You don’t understand what’s involved…the pain, the damage. It’s too great a risk”
“Dr. Steina wouldn’t do anything to harm me.” Cortz turned away. He went to the window, folded his arms, and stared out.
“Darn it, Cortz, don’t close me out.” She jerked him around to face her and blew at the wisp of hair that fell into her eyes. “Even Dr. Steina isn’t one hundred percent in favor of the procedure. Please, promise me you won’t let them give you those treatments.”
“I can’t live in this mental black hole. You’re not going to talk me out of this.” His voice was low, steely, final.
Darli shuddered. “There may be another way to accomplish the same thing. A safe way.” She held her voice steady. “You remember flashes of things. We have to work on connecting those snatches of memory.”
“That hasn’t worked.”
“But it can work. I thought about possible solutions all night and came up with an idea. We’ve got to convince the doctor and your sister to let you go back with me to Honolulu.”
“I want to go with you.” Cortz gently brushed the unruly wisp of hair from her face. His touch sent a warmth coursing through her. “But not until I remember. I don’t know the world outside these gates.”
“I’ll be with you. Please.” She clutched at his sleeve, feeling desperate. “What do you have to lose but a few days? I have your belongings in my closet. Seeing them again might do the trick.”
“Trick?” Cortz drew his brows closer together.
“Help you remember!” She hadn’t meant to shout, but her patience had worn thin.
“If you believe that, bring them here.”
“There’s a better chance for success in familiar surroundings. You have to try this before you do anything rash.”
The stubborn set of his jaw didn’t dissuade her. “I’m going to hammer at you until you agree. So you might as well give in now.”
“Give me one good reason.”
“I’ll let you make love to me.”
He grinned. “Done.”
Later that afternoon, once she had him in her corner, she tackled Dr. Steina and Mona. He had insisted he didn’t need anyone’s permission, but Darli wanted everyone’s cooperation. Dr. Steina was all for the trip, but Mona was skeptical and only agreed on one condition. If, after seeing his belongings his memory didn’t return, he would come back and undergo the shock therapy. He not only agreed, but also insisted upon it. Darli knew then that this trip might be the most important she’d ever made. His life depended upon it.
****
Darli and Cortz sat close together in the taxi as they left Honolulu International Airport heading toward town. Everything had gone according to plan. The hardest part about getting him released from the institution had been persuading him to go. She tightened her grip on his hand. Seeing his things had to make him remember.
Tiny droplets of rain splattered across the front windshield then quickly dried. When the highway curved, Darli saw the sprawling line of buildings piercing the sky, gleaming like bricks of gold. The walls of windows picked up the rays of the late afternoon sun and slanted them back in a glaring brightness. As a stark comparison, Diamond Head Crater jutted seaward beyond the buildings, above it a rainbow.
“Look, Cortz, a rainbow. That’s a good sign.”
His reaction to the sights appearing before them wasn’t what she hoped for. He had the eager eyes of a child seeing his first big city, not the knowing eyes of a man coming home. She had the driver stop at the bank long enough to get the diamonds out of her safe deposit box. With tightened nerves, she clung to the shopping bag containing the stones. By the time the taxi left her and Cortz in front of her apartment, Darli’s shoulder muscles felt taut, and the tightness increased with every second. Surely the diamonds would jog his memory. She tugged at Cortz’s arm, hurrying him up the steps.
Darli dropped the keys twice as she fumbled to get them in the lock. After the second failure, Cortz took the keys from her and unlocked the door. “Thanks.” She forced a half-smile and motioned for him to enter ahead of her.
Cortz set the suitcases inside the door and looked around, smiling. “This looks like you warm, inviting.”
“And, beyond utility?” she asked, hoping his former words would raise a response.
“What?” Cortz wrinkled his brow.
Damn, he didn’t even recognize the words as his own. She refused to accept failure. “Do you remember staying here with me?” She stepped toward him.
“Did we make love?”
“Darn it, Cortz! Concentrate.”
He frowned and shook his head. “You’re counting on this too much. Coming to Hawaii was a mistake.”
“No! It’s going to work.” She opened the closet. “Help me with this box.”
Cortz lifted it easily and placed it on the floor near the couch. Darli wanted to rip the box open. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Easy does it. He’ll remember better if I ease off on the pressure.
“Look through those things while I fix something cool to drink.” She rounded the counter that separated the kitchen from the living area. She met his gaze and encouraged him with a smile. “Go ahead. Look inside.”
He eased open the cardboard box and stared at the canvas bag inside.
Why was he taking so long? The tendons at the back of her neck felt like steel rods.
He lifted the bag out, unzipped it and reached inside, grabbing things and tossing them about. In seconds, he’d scattered everything over the couch. She put the glasses of iced tea on the coffee table and picked up the credit-card-sized black remote control. “Do you remember this?” she asked, handing it to Cortz. “You called it a retriever.” Darli studied his face, looking for any sign of recognition.
He examined the retriever, holding it first one way and then another. “How does it work?”
“I don’t know. It’s yours, Cortz. You tell me.” She clasped her hands until her knuckles turned white.
“I wonder what will happen if I pushed these buttons?” he asked.
“Do it! Let’s find out.”
Cortz poised his finger to press a button, then stopped, looking troubled. He stared at the retriever intently, then laid it aside and picked up the stun gun. “Looks deadly.”
“You told me it wasn’t.”
He put the stun gun down. “Did you believe me?”
“Not at first, but you were so darn convincing. I finally fell for the whole story.”
He smiled and the ruby flecks in his eyes brightened. “And for me?” He stepped toward her.
Recognizing the look in his eyes, she quickly backed out of his reach. “Yes,” she whispered, her breath shallow. It wouldn’t take much for this situation to get out of hand. She grabbed up the shopping bag full of diamonds like a shield. She took a deep breath and then thrust the bag toward him. “What about these diamonds? Do you know where you got them?”
&n
bsp; He sat down heavily on the couch, opened the bag of diamonds, and allowed a handful to trickle through his fingers. As they cascaded to the coffee table, rainbow prisms reflected onto the wall and ceiling. “Are they real?” he asked.
She shrugged.
“This isn’t going well, is it?” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him. “You expected a miracle.”
Darli gestured with her head toward the antique clock. “We’ve been here less than an hour. We have to give it time.”
“Maybe we could just relax a while and do that make love thing….” He slid his arm behind her, resting it on the back of the couch.
She glanced at it. “Let’s stick to business.” Although a shiver of excitement danced down her spine, her words came out firm. “Let’s try again. What about this computer?”
He shook his head.
Darli held up each item and told him what she knew about it. When she got to the retriever again, he took it from her and stared at the buttons.
Darli heart beat faster. “Do you remember something?”
“I…” He stared at the buttons. “7, 2…no…7, Z… No! That’s not it!” He slammed the retriever down.
Darli flinched. “What is it?”
“I don’t know…”
“Take your time, Cortz. Try again.”
“Forget it!” he said. “I was wrong.”
Darli’s throat ached as if all the emotion she’d felt in the last few days was lodged there. She went to the window, pulled the sheer curtain aside, and placed her forehead against the cool pane. It was getting dark outside. Cortz came toward her. His hands closed on her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that I want this as much as you do.” She felt his warm breath against the back of her hair. If she turned, she’d be in his arms and a second later their lips would meet. She closed her eyes, imagining the moist warmth…the tingling pressure. Tingling pressure, unlike any kisses she’d even known. No! She couldn’t give in to her emotions, her longing. He had to remember first, remember their days together…their love. She wanted more than a moment of passion with him…she wanted a lifetime of it. If she allowed her passion free rein before he got his memory back it would lessen the power of their love. Besides, she owed it to Mona to be responsible. Mona hadn’t agreed to the trip to Honolulu so they could play house. She stepped away from him. “Maybe you’ll remember if we go to the floating deck where we first met.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
It didn’t take them long to change into swimsuits, grab beach towels, and drive to Waikiki. They swam out to the deck and Darli sat in the exact spot where they had met the night the falling star plunged sizzling into the inky waters. The moon wasn’t as bright, the breeze cooler, and there were fewer laughing voices. But the music was about the same, and boats decorated with strings of rainbow lights still glided silently across the horizon.
She felt him looking at her. “The silver orb fell out there.”
His gaze followed the line of her arm and pointing finger. He moved closer and slipped his hand behind and around her…until it rested on her hip.
“Does being here like this make you think of anything?” she asked softly.
“Only this…” He kissed her bare shoulder and trailed his lips up to her ear lobe. She closed her eyes and allowed the tingling sensations to spread like wildfire through her body. Then, at the thought of violent electroshock waves coursing through Cortz’s body, she stepped away and dove into the cooling waters. How will I make it through another night alone with him? she wondered, as she swam toward shore like her life depended upon it.
****
Morning followed a night of fighting the temptation of Cortz’s arms. Everything he said or did carried provocative undertones. In desperation, she locked herself in the bathroom for three hours until Cortz fell asleep in a chair.
They did the rounds of places they’d shared, the floating deck, the restaurant and the night club. When none of them produced results, she took him to the men’s retail store where they’d shopped for clothes during their first days together. It was the longest shot so far.
The slight-built Chinese clerk followed them unmercifully, suggesting first one item then another. He held up a bright orange shirt. “You like? You work for airlines? I give twenty percent discount to crew.”
Darli shook her head. “Thanks, we’re just looking.”
As the man thrust the shirt back into the rack, Cortz stared at it. She remembered the first day he showed up at her apartment he’d been wearing an orange shirt. He glanced back toward the rack with the orange shirt.
Darli raced to the rack and pulled the shirt out. “Is there something about this shirt that you remember?”
“I like it.”
“But does it have a special significance?”
He shrugged.
“Please think! I believe you wore one like this the day you showed up at my place all sunburned.”
He shrugged again.
“What about something else…anything else?” Darli pulled him toward the rack where she had found the brown silk shirt he’d worn the night he’d disappeared. She rummaged through. There were similar prints but none exactly like it. “When we came here before, you were gone for a while. Do you remember where you went?”
He shook his head.
“Do you remember anything about being here?”
He slowly looked around the store and shook his head.
She wanted to scream, “Dammit, remember!” But instead she just said, “Okay the next stop is the beach.”
****
The beach where Cortz had saved the boy was almost deserted. The sky was overcast and the breeze chilly. Instead of blue waters, the sea was gray with restless white caps. Darli walked along the shore, matching her strides to Cortz’s. She pulled the collar of her white jacket high on her neck, and thrust her hands deep into the pocket of her jeans. It was too cool to strip to their bathing suits. Even the weather was against her. The thought of him writhing under the assault of brain-frying electrical currents forced her to keep trying. She told him everything that happened the day he’d saved the boy.
After an hour with no response, she decided to brave the cold. She stripped to her bathing suit, pulled her sarong around her, and swayed her hips as she sang “You Were Wearing A Blue Lei.”
After a few steps, she stopped, removed her sarong and threw it at Cortz. He grabbed it mid-air, laughing, and then grabbed her exactly as he had that day. His warm body against her chilled skin provided blessed heat. She intended to stay only a second, but her own internal fires instantly ignited and realizing even a second would be too long, she forced herself to step away, losing his heat but saving her self-respect.
****
For the remainder of their thirty-six hour stay, besides sidestepping his advances and driving to the places they had been together, Darli insisted that Cortz repeatedly sort through his gear. She did her best to reiterate everything he’d told her about the items. He would get an intense expression on his face, then after nerve-racking moments, he’d shake his head.
The frustration of Cortz’s failure to remember and the agonizing strain of avoiding his tantalizing advances made her edgy. Tensions mounted leaving her helpless to stop the invisible wedge that lodged between them.
She had tried to force him to remember and at times even believed she was making headway, but in the end she had failed. Too soon it was time to return to California and the inevitable electroshock treatments. After their taxi pulled away from the curb, Darli turned and cast a solemn glance back at her apartment. Cortz looked too. Darli saw Fox’s car pull up in front of her apartment. Cortz’s body went rigid. Darli looked up at him. “What is it? Do you remember Fox?”
Cortz rubbed his head. “There’s something about that white car…the emblem.”
“What? Tell me what you remember!” She leaned forward and shouted at the driver, “Stop.”
Cortz closed
his eyes tightly, as though trying to bring forth the images eluding him. “I feel trapped, like a moth trying to flee an inescapable net. Please, let’s just get out of here.”
Darli shot a startled look at him. Something was going on here. They had the same dream. “Think, Cortz. Something tells me this is important. Fox is with the Navy. Does that mean anything to you?”
He wrinkled his brow, then after a few seconds, he shook his head. “Nothing.”
The driver looked in the rearview mirror at Darli. “Which is it lady…stop or go?”
“Cortz?”
“Go.” His voice was impatient now. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss our flight.”
She glanced at her watch. “Go on,” she told the driver. She turned and stared out the rear window. The white car appeared to shrink as they continued down the street. She wanted to scream at the driver to turn around and take them back, but the urge was irrational.
Chapter Thirty-Four
When they returned to the hospital in California, Darli felt discouraged and helpless. Cortz and Mona sat nearby in the upholstered chairs. Dr. Steina added a notation to her notepad and then looked up expectantly. Darli wasn’t ready to admit the trip had been a failure. “Dr. Steina,” she asked. “Do you think dreams tell us anything?”
“Of course. But generally they’re so distorted that even the experts seldom agree on their meaning. Greg, are you having nightmares about colorless people again?”
Cortz nodded.
“I’m having odd nightmares, too,” Darli said. “And then Cortz…I mean Greg…described something that closely paralleled my nightmare.”
“You two have spent a lot of time together the last few days. You’re probably tuned into each other.”
“Dreams and nightmares are fascinating,” Mona said, “but let’s get to the point of this meeting. Did the trip trigger your memory or not, Greg?”
He shook his head. “Images came and went but nothing concrete.”
“It was a long shot,” Dr. Steina said, “but worth a try.”