by Karl Morgan
"It would be my pleasure, sir," Zeke smiled.
"Thank you," the president said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to call the FBI and then spend some quality time with my wife. I'll send a car for you tomorrow, Zeke. Where are you staying?"
"Mr. President, since Mr. Thompson has been in town, he's been held in a DIA detention facility," Tony noted.
"Tony, please get him a suite at a local hotel and then let the office know where he is," Ben replied.
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you again, Mr. President," Zeke said and then he and Tony left the room.
Chapter 20
Zeke Thompson was exhausted. Once he arrived in his hotel room, he pulled off his clothes and climbed into bed, falling asleep immediately. He dreamed about Bea Watson, the mysterious woman from the future who had come to save the world. He ached for her and longed to hold her again, but in the dream, she was an apparition, dissolving to smoke at his touch. A flash of light filled his room and he was shocked awake. And there she was. Bea stood at the foot of his bed wearing nothing but her underwear. She climbed on the bed and crawled to him, pulling back the covers and sliding next to him. "Am I still dreaming?" he whispered.
"What do you think?" she purred as she ran her hands up and down his body and then kissed him passionately.
He woke again, hours later, finding himself alone in bed. He looked around and saw her standing by the window, looking out on the city. He rose and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and squeezing her tightly. "Bea, I love you."
She turned around and kissed him. Zeke noticed her eyes were red and puffy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"Zeke, you don't understand," she said, taking his hand in hers. She pulled him over to the bed and they both sat. "What I have to say now is very hard for me. I wish more than anything else that I could stay here . . ."
"Then stay!" Zeke begged.
"It wouldn't work, Zeke. I have no identity here. There is no record of me because I won't be born for more than a thousand years," she said. "Plus there is no mention of me after the first volume of ‘A Simple Life.’ I am not meant to be here."
"But you said yourself that history hasn't been written yet," he noted. "Maybe the real books will be full of words about you."
"We can't take that chance, Zeke. This is a lot more than a love story about us. There is the world to consider, this world and the world of my future. Forcing more changes will make me worse than Fola Untor, and look at the havoc he unleashed. If not for you, my future would evaporate."
"So, just like that it's over?" Zeke gasped. "What about my dream? What about our wedding and our future together?"
"Zeke, do you trust me?" she asked.
"Of course I do. I'd have to be pretty stupid not to after everything we've been through."
"I will visit you as often as I can, but you have to promise not to write about me or tell anyone who I am. It has to be a private thing between you and me," she said.
"That's not a life, Bea. We were meant to be together always. I don't know if I can live like that, waiting weeks or months to see you for a few minutes or hours."
She smiled and patted his hand. "I know you're right, Zeke, but that's the best I can do. The Temporal Command won't allow me to do more than that. My grandmother, Aria, is already bending too many rules in order for me to do what I've done. If you trust me, I know it will work out." She stood and walked over to the window and glanced outside. Then she turned and said, "We all make choices, Zeke. You can find someone in your own time and have a long, happy life together with her. I won't be jealous, in fact, it might be better for you."
He rose and went to her, holding her tightly in his arms and kissing her face. "Bea, I do trust you. Let's just do what we both have to do and see how things work out."
"Okay, Zeke. I couldn't say it better than that," she replied. "Unfortunately, I have to get going." The room felt electrified. Static charges jumped off the carpet and stung their feet. A tiny black spot appeared and began to grow until it was seven feet in diameter and hung like a painting of death in the air. "Zeke, my love, there is so much more to tell you. If I could tell you everything, I'm afraid it would freak you out." She kissed him and then pulled herself away and moved toward the event horizon.
"Bea Watson, I love you and want to marry you!" he shouted.
"I left you a present on the table. I think your last phone is gone forever," she said. Bea smiled, turned and walked through the circle. A flash of light forced him to look away and then was gone, leaving Zeke alone in his room again. He went to the table and looked at the phone, searching the contact list. He sighed with relief when he saw her name. He set the device down and walked to the bathroom to prepare for his day.
§
"You have to admit that's an unbelievable story, Zeke," the president said. "Time travel, kidnappings by drug lords, a villain from the future sent to kill you and me. If I hadn't lived through it, I'd think you were crazy."
"I know what you mean, Mr. President," Zeke smiled. "Sometimes I have a hard time believing it myself."
"Zeke, I owe you my life. When you and I are alone, please call me Ben. In public, I know everyone has to respect my position, but here, we're just two men enjoying each other's company, okay?"
"Thank you, Ben. When I think about what happened, I try to cling to the things that made it all work, like those two injections I gave you. Those things give me clarity."
"You're right. Doctor Hampton was shocked that all my organ and bone injuries were suddenly healed. There's not a physician on earth today who could do anything like that. So, what are you going to do now, go live in the future with that girl?"
"I wish it could have been that easy, Ben. I begged her to stay here or take me with her, but she said I have a job to do in my time. I guess I'll do that."
"And what job is that, Zeke?"
"Well, you'll find this hard to believe too, but I want to help you stop nuclear war, and I want to help people by telling them the future."
"Ah yes, Tony told me about your prognostication ability. Did that come from the future people too?" the president asked.
"No, that's just me. For most of my life, I thought it was a curse. When I was arrested and kidnapped, arrested and kidnapped again, chased by a man from the future, and then killed, only to come back to life, I realized my gift is a true blessing. Ben, I don't know the future any more than anyone else. But I can sense what could happen if a person keeps doing what they're doing. I think that gives me the chance to help them make better choices."
"That's a noble goal, Zeke, and I would be honored to be your friend and first client. What do you see for me?"
Zeke gently touched the president's hand and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them and sat back. "Whew! You're a busy guy!"
"It comes with the job title. What did you see?"
"You won't get much sleep for the next few weeks as you deal with the Iranians and convince the Russians and Chinese that there is no risk of nuclear war. That will negatively affect your relationship with Alice. You'll give a eulogy for the vice resident who will commit suicide in the coming days. Further down the line, I see a second term."
"What? I don't want to hurt Alice or see Andy kill himself," the president said. "Those things can't be true?"
"Ben, that is my point," Zeke began. "I sense the ways things will go if you don't work to keep them from happening. Now that you know, you can spend more time with Alice. She has been by your side every day since the accident. And you can find support for the vice president and try to help him through this too."
"I'll do my best."
"That's all any of us can do, Ben. Please remember that Alice, Andy, and everyone else make their own decisions on how to feel. The vice president needs serious help, but while there is life, there is hope," Zeke concluded.
"Thank you, Zeke. I appreciate your advice. Let me put my direct line into your phone. I know I'll be call
ing you from time to time," the president said.
"It is my honor to help you, Mr. President."
Chapter 21
Zeke traveled back to Hawaii where he was reunited with his family. Abe went back to writing books while Zeke traveled from city to city and country to country, trying to help world leaders and individual people understand their lives and be empowered to change things for the better. Bea did her best to visit him at least once per month, and somehow with his travel and schedules, that was okay for Zeke as well. He began to realize that she had been right all along. This was the role in life he was meant to pursue. El Tigre's men assumed the security for the Maui house while his family built an estate near the Sacred Life Tranquility Retreat.
After a few years, Peter Smith left his job in New York and joined Zeke. Peter arranged the travel and schedule while Zeke focused on the people he met. Later, Stephanie Marshall did leave the government and moved to Hawaii where she and Peter became a couple. Eventually, Peter and Reverend Paul Isaac discovered their own ability to foretell the future, and the three split to cover more people and places to dispense their knowledge. When it was winter in the Northern Hemisphere, they would all return to Hawaii to relax and celebrate the holidays together, eager for the coming spring and the opportunity to work again.
The years flew by, until one day Zeke found himself in the Oval Office again with President Jack Lancaster and Peter Smith. He smiled as he recalled the painting he saw of this meeting in the college in the future. It struck him again how old Peter looked. For some reason, Zeke had not aged very much. He had even taken to dying his hair gray so he wouldn't look so young. "I don't know how you do it, Mr. Thompson," the president said. "You look as young as ever, while Peter and I are old men."
"Thank you, Mr. President," Zeke replied. "I can't believe it's been fifty years since my first visit to this office. I feel young, but the calendar says I'm seventy-two years old."
"Frankly, Zeke, I think you're Dorian Gray and I'm your painting," Peter laughed.
"Personally, I hope you both keep doing what you've been doing," Lancaster said. "You both have done a lot to keep the peace for the last half century."
"Thank you, Mr. President," Zeke said. "It's been a great joy for all of us. It's just hard to deal with the passing of so many dear friends. I suppose that's the price of age."
"Zeke, do you realize it's been ten years since Paul passed away," Peter said. "God, I miss that man every day."
"Me too, Peter. That man saved my life," Zeke replied.
"And you made his by telling him about Judy," Peter said.
"Gentlemen, I'm afraid we have to get going," the president said. "We're due at the ceremony soon. Let's get one last picture here in the office and my car is waiting outside."
"Yes, sir," Zeke said. "And thank you again for the honor tonight." The cameras clicked and the men left the Oval Office.
§
A week later, Peter Smith passed away. His wife and children were by his side when he slipped away. Zeke was trying desperately to get back from Africa on time, but arrived hours late. He cried for hours that night, holding Stephanie and praying with her. Now it was just him, he thought. "I'm sorry I wasn't here," he apologized.
"Zeke, do you remember the first time we met?" she asked.
"Yes, you were on the team that took me into custody and flew me back to San Diego."
"Zeke, you save my life that night. You told me to put on a second vest."
Zeke smiled. "Well, I actually put you in danger too. It was me El Tigre was after."
"Zeke, everything you told me came true. Peter and I had a wonderful life together and have three children and eight grandchildren so far. Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for my life, Zeke."
§
Three days later, the rain poured down on Peter Smith's funeral. He was laid to rest near the graves of Reverend Paul Isaac and his wife, Judy. Stephanie and the entire Smith family filled the area under a sea of black umbrellas. After paying his respects, Zeke moved away from the crowd to be alone with his thoughts. Everyone was gone now, although his team had recruited and started a new generation of prophets to follow their path. Soon it would be his time to pass, but he was okay with that. It was Nature's way.
"Hello, Zeke," a voice said behind him. He turned to see Bea Watson standing under an umbrella. "I'm sorry for your loss, my love."
He walked over and put his arms around her and hugged her. "I can't believe he's gone. I don't know what to do now that I'm alone."
"Come with me to the future, Zeke," she said.
He looked back at her with a stunned look on his face. "What? I thought you said I had to be here. What changed?"
"Nothing, my love," she replied.
"But I'm an old man now, Bea. I'm seventy-two years old. What good will I do in your time?"
"Did you finish volume seven?" she asked.
"Yes, it goes to print next week."
"Then your work here is done, Zeke," she said. "Now your life can begin in my time. We can get married and be together. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Yes, but that was so long ago. Didn't you hear me say that I'm seventy-two?"
"You're still a young man, Zeke. If you didn't dye your hair, you'd still look like you're in your mid-twenties. Did you ever wonder why that happened?"
He looked at her and she looked as young as ever, which seemed illogical. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind like a ton of bricks and he shouted, "The green pills!"
"Bingo!" she exclaimed. "Medicine is highly advanced in my time thanks in large part to the Kalideans. Zeke, I'm seventy-four years old."
"So, you were twenty-four when we met."
"I never said that. Zeke, I was seventy-two when we met," she stated. "Do you remember the shot I gave you after you woke from the lethal injection?" His mind was fumbling for thoughts or words, but he could not assemble anything meaningful to say. "I told you it would help you with the aches and stiffness, but that wasn't true. That shot contained nanobots that traveled through your body correcting your DNA. Both of us can live to be a thousand years old or more!"
"Huh? I don't know what to think. How did you age two years while I aged fifty? That's not logical."
She hugged him and kissed his lips lightly. "I know that time travel boggles the mind. But you remember how I came to you every month to spend a day or night together?"
"Of course, I'll never forget one of those visits."
"Zeke, in your time, you saw me once a month, but I actually came to you every night of my life for the last year and a half. You were always in my arms and my bed, even though it seemed rare to you," she said.
"Why?"
"Because you are the love of my life, Ezekiel Thompson, that's why!" she smiled. "I want you to come with me to the future and be my husband, if that's what you still want."
"Can any of this be true?"
"Do you trust me, Zeke?" she asked, smiling from ear to ear. "You told me before that you did."
"Until the end of time, Bea Watson," he replied. He knelt down and took her hands in his. "Bea, will you marry me?"
She pulled him up to his feet and kissed him passionately, and then said, "I suppose that depends on the carats." The air felt warm and electricity crackled as though a storm was approaching. "That's our ride, Zeke."
He turned to see the black circle suspended in the air two feet from them. "So, this is it. I won't be in my time ever again."
"You can come from time to time if you want," she said. "But you'll have to get clearance from Aria first, and I won't even ask her for you until after the wedding."
"Sounds like a deal to me," Zeke said. He kissed her and took her hand. They walked slowly up to and through the event horizon. The circle exploded in a flash of light.
###
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About the Author
Karl J. Morgan
Karl Morgan has a lifelong fascination with stories in the science fiction and fantasy genres, whether it was the Tom Swift novels by Victor Appleton he read as a young boy, or television like Lost in Space and Star Trek, and especially films like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. All of those tales put the protagonist in terrible situations where the odds are against them and, yet, somehow they prevail. The reader/viewer is always left with a sense that something greater than ourselves is watching over us.
The reliance on Divine Providence, the power of friendship, and the desire to learn and grow are cornerstones of the author’s Dave Brewster and Heartstone series. That continues in the Modern Prophets series, only the unseen forces are now out in the open.