Reese grabbed it.
“Are you confiscating it?” Thaddeus asked.
“No.” Reese grabbed a paper cup. “I’m drinking it.” He poured some, set down the bottle back on the table and downed the drink.
Gene, with a smirk, lifted the bottle again to refresh Reese’s glass. “You look like a man with something on his mind.”
While his mind screamed, ‘you aren’t kidding, do I have something on my mind,’ Reese merely brought the cup to his lips, shook his head ‘no’, and informed them he just needed a drink.
CHAPTER SIX
It was a dream, so deep and so intense that Reese swore he’d slept in. REM really must have set in, and that was something that rarely ever happened to him, especially not when catching what could be considered a nap instead of a good night’s sleep.
He blamed the odd dream on David Hawk. It was a nightmarish comedy in which Ronald Reagan, dressed as Darth Vader, was pointing to the sky and laughing.
“I need water,” Reagan Vader told him. “Get me all the water you can.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Reese questioned in the dream, just before waking up, springing from bed, believing it was way beyond six AM.
But it wasn’t.
In fact, it was just a little after five. Enough time Reese thought, to have a quick work out, grab a shower, eat a granola bar and do something rare—send a text with one word to Hawk.
Asshole.
He arrived at the examining area a minute past six. He was not there to oversee the physical examinations of the winners, but present should any questions or problems arise. Something he had volunteered to do. About a half an hour into it, he realized he should have let David Hawk volunteer.
The ‘Sir, we have a problem with one of the lottery winners,’ worried him some. In fact, he thought for sure it was Mr. Bryk. He should have known better. The word ‘problem’ could really only mean one person.
Major Andrews looked frazzled. She was a physician at the center and had done many physical exams on would-be astronauts.
“He won’t say why, Colonel.” She reached for the door. “But he refuses to have the physical testing done.”
Reese mumbled a ‘Christ’ when the door opened and saw Kip was seated at the table.
“I’ll handle it from here, Major.” Reese nodded at her and shut the door. He stared at Kip, banking on using some intimidation tactics. After all, Reese was a big man, and Kip was barely beyond five foot eight.
Arms folded, Reese walked toward him. “What is the problem, son?”
“Oh, there’s no problem, Captain.”
“Colonel.”
“What?”
Reese huffed. “They said that you refused to get the physical exam done.”
“Yep, I did.”
“Why? Are you afraid you won’t pass? Because I’m pretty certain . . .”
“Not that, I don’t approve.”
“Don’t approve of what?” Reese asked.
“One of the tests.”
“Now, we’re getting somewhere. What test don’t you approve of?”
“The one with the big metal rod.”
Reese blinked a few times in confusion, mouthing the words, ‘big metal rod’ a few times before giving up. “What the hell are you talking about? There is no test with a big metal rod.”
“Yes. Yes there is. I saw it.” Kip said. “And you know what? It’s not going to happen to me. The other guys may have felt they didn’t have choice, but I paid good money for the lottery and I won, and they even said on the news, if the person wasn’t physically able, they would only have to sign a waiver. So pass over the waiver, dude, I’m not facing the rod of death.”
“Kip,” Reese snapped. “First, there is no rod of death. Second, what other guys? The other lottery winners?”
“No, Harry, Bear, Chick, Hound Dog . . .”
“Stop!” Reese held up his hand. “Who in the fuck are they?”
“The guys that rode the shuttles, you know the Freedom and Independence?”
At that point, Reese was really lost. “Are you high?”
“Not right now, no.”
“I have no idea who these guys are, I never heard of those shuttles. I haven’t a clue about the rod of death.”
“Ever see the movie Armageddon?”
“No.”
“There you have it, dude. That’s why. Before they went to space to save the world, they had to get the rod of death . . .” Kip paused to cringe. “Inserted into an area …”
“Hold it.” Reese closed his eyes. “Are you talking about an anal probe?”
Kip screamed.
“Kip!”
“What!”
“Why in the world would we use an anal probe on you?”
“They did on Harry, Bear . . .”
“It was a movie.” Reese was stern. “I assure you no one is going to stick any metal rod of death up your ass.” At that instant his phone rang.
“Your phone is ringing.”
“I know!” Reese blasted and answered the phone. “Reese.” He paused. “I called you an asshole for good reason. Now, Dr. Hawk, you have a chance to get back in my good graces. I’m putting you on the phone with someone.” He extended it to Kip.
“It’s for me?” Kip asked. “Who’s calling me?”
“No one is calling you! Ask him about the probe?”
Kip winced. “Dude, quit yelling.” He took the phone. “Hello? Oh, hey, Dr. Hawk, dude. Ever see the movie Armageddon?” Pause. “Cool. Ok, now remember when they were getting their physicals and they stuck that metal rod . . .” Another pause. “Cool. Ok, you remember. Are they gonna do that to me?” Pause. “Cool. Thanks.” He handed the phone to Reese.
“See?”
“He said yes.”
“What?” Reese brought the phone to his ear. “Hawk, I’m kicking your skinny little ass when I see you.” He slammed the phone shut.
“See, the cool dude said yes.”
“The cool dude was being an asshole. I am the commander. Trust me. There is no anal probe. There’s no reason for an anal probe. Now you will get that examination.”
“Dude.”
“Quit calling me, Dude. It’s Colonel!”
“Whatever.”
Reese’s mouth opened in offense. “Did you just say ‘whatever’ to me?”
“I did.”
“Let’s get something straight.” Reese walked to the table, his hands rested flat on the surface as he leaned to Kip with a graveling voice. “Listen to me, you will get in there, get that exam, and quit holding things up. And if you say ‘whatever’ to me one more time, I swear to God, I will find an anal probe and shove it up your ass myself. Understand that?”
Kip nodded.
“Now go!”
Kip ran.
Reese believed he had it under control. He would oversee and instruct the first day. It was going to be interesting, painless, and contained in a classroom.
<><><><>
“He’s gay,” Kip stated.
“Who’s gay?” Lucy questioned. The look on her face showed that she wasn’t expecting to be greeted with the ‘gay’ comment the second she walked into the classroom and waved to Kip, who was the only one there.
“The Captain.”
“Ken? Or is it Paul, I forgot which one was a captain.”
“Not them, the big guy.”
“Oh . . . Gray?”
“Not Gray, I mean, yeah, him but I wasn’t saying his name was Gay. He’s gay.”
“As in homosexual?”
“Yep.” Kip nodded.
“No, he’s not. How do you know?”
“I don’t. I’m guessing. He was very comfortable talking about my butt.”
“Really? Wow.” Lucy sat down. “He doesn’t strike me as being gay.”
Thaddeus entered the room. “Who’s gay?” He paused, hunched. “Sorry, that was rude. I just walked in and was being nosey.”
“That’s o
k, dude,” Kip said. “You might need the heads up. That commander guy is.”
“Gay?” Thaddeus asked.
“What do you think?” Lucy questioned.
“Well,” Thaddeus shrugged.“I had that sense.”
“Really?” Lucy asked surprised.
“My gaydar went off with him. Just something about the way he carries himself. Anyhow, you guys might want to keep it quiet.” Thaddeus said. “I think he’s in the military and they have that don’t ask, don’t tell rule.”
“Well obviously . . .” Gene’s voice entered the room. “You guys aren’t following that since your voices flowed into the hall. Thad, who set off that gaydar of yours?”
“Colonel Gray.” Thaddeus replied.
“Good God.” Gene laughed. “Your gaydar is broken. That man is not gay.”
Kip interjected, “Yeah, right.”
Lucy added, “He made a pass at Kip.”
This silenced the smirking Gene. “For real? Son, listen, if you feel uncomfortable, or feel he pushed boundaries with you, all you have to do is go to . . .”
“No.” Kip shook his head. “I’m cool. If I were a dude loving dude, I would hit on me, too.”
Gene nodded. “Ok, let’s just keep this under wraps so nothing interferes with the mission, and I’ll handle it for you.” As Gene laid his hand on Kip’s shoulder, Reese walked in.
It was clear that Reese felt like the odd man out. He somehow knew he’d walked in on them talking about him. He set down a folder on the desk. “People, if you’ll have a seat. I’ll be your instructor this morning.”
Lucy and Kip were already seated. Thaddeus took his, but Gene walked up to Reese.
“Can I speak to you a second, Colonel?” Gene whispered.
“Yes, sir.” Reese inched to the doorway with Gene.
“Look, whatever you do is your business.” Gene laid a bracing hand on Reese’s shoulder. “That’s how you do things, handle things. But Kip there, is just a boy. You’d be better suited as a father figure. Got it?”
“Absolutely, sir.” Reese nodded.
With a ‘thank you’ wink, Gene walked to the desks.
Reese was pretty sure understood he understood exactly the advice Mr. Bryk was trying to give. Kip was unnerving and was trying Reese’s patience. Perhaps Reese was a bit stern with Kip and Mr. Bryk saw that. Maybe taking a more mentor or fatherly approach would work best all the way around.
It wouldn’t hurt to try. Reese made a mental note right there and then to thank Mr. Bryk if his advice worked.
<><><><>
Lucy seemed interested, her eyes never once straying from Reese and his presentation. Mr. Bryk took notes, and Thaddeus, to no one’s surprise, was quite versed. When Reese would ask a question, one of those three would always have the answer.
How many times was it? Four?
Patience. Patience.
No, wait, five yawns.
Reese ignored it. He continued on, despite Kip’s loud, over extended yawn. It was the same thing every time, a long yawn, stretch of his arms, and a gaze out the window.
“As I was saying, to lift the 4.5 million pound shuttle from the pad into orbit which is 400 miles above the Earth, the shuttle must use the following . . .”
Yawn.
“Mr. McGregor.” Reese drew Kip’s attention from the window. “We started at nine hundred hours. It is now nine hundred thirty five. You can possibly be that bored that fast.”
“Dude, I’m not really. OK, I am. The older dudes, like they may like the science stuff. But me . . . when are we going to the beach?”
“Excuse me?” Reese asked.
“We’re in Florida. Dude, I can see the water. When are we gonna go there?”
“We’re not.”
“Why?”
“Why would we?”
“It would make us focus and give us a tan.”
“You don’t need to get a tan. You need to get educated on the shuttle before you start training.”
“And you can’t educate us on the beach?”
“No.” Reese shook his head.
“Do you burn?”
“Why is this important?” Reese said. “The longer we go round and round on this the longer it’s going take to get you out of here. Understand?”
“To go to the beach?”
“No!” Reese barked. “To rest, to eat, whatever. Not go the beach. Can I continue?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, before I go into what is needed for the launch,” Reese said. “Does anyone have any questions?”
Kip raised his hand.
Reese tried, he really tried to ignore him. “Anyone?”
“Me. Me. Me.” Kip said, waving his raised his hand.
“Yes, Mr. McGregor?”
“Wouldn’t we absorb more info if, like, we had the cool ocean breeze going through our hair.”
Reese closed his eyes briefly. “Oh, my God.”
“Excuse me,” Lucy spoke up. “In Kip’s defense, he’s really just a kid and . . .”
“In his defense?” Reese barked. “He doesn’t need a defense, ma’am.”
“Wow, are you a dick.” Lucy shook her head.
“Maybe you need a break,” Gene suggested.
Reese shook his head. “I don’t need a break. I have a ton of information for you to learn and I just want to get through it.”
“How about a drink?” Thaddeus asked.
“It’s nine thirty in the morning.”
“Just a suggestion.” Thaddeus shrugged. “Are you usually this high strung before a mission?” When he received the sneer from Reese, Thaddeus cowered back. “Maybe not.”
Reese held up his hand. “Please, can we just get this done? I only made it through two pages. My agenda, which I marked up, had us on page 15 by lunch.”
“Maybe if we went to the beach,” Kip suggested, and then his voice went bright. “Cool dude!”
“Calling me ‘cool dude’ isn’t going to do it,” Reese said.
“Not you.” Kip pointed. “Him.”
Reese turned around. David was in the doorway.
“I’m sorry, I’m early, I know.” David said. “But I thought I’d sit in or help you out, Colonel, considering you were up early with the exams. Want me to do the morning classes?”
Reese with a sideways glance peered at Kip, and then a smirk, actually half of a smirk graced his face. “You know what? Would you mind? I probably am tired, early day. You had me up all night . . .” He stopped at the noise made by his two of his students, a snicker by Kip and a cough by Lucy. With a ‘what the fuck’ look on his face, he turned back to David. “Anyhow, would you?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great.” Reese handed David the binder. “We’re on page three now.”
“Three? That’s it?”
“Three.” Reese winked and walked to the door. “Gentlemen, ma’am, I will see you after lunch.” A nod and he walked out.
David set the binder on the desk and flipped through, mumbling, “What was said already . . .”
“Dude,” Kip called out.
“Yes.”
“Why did you have him up all night?”
Thaddeus and Lucy snapped, ‘Kip!’ sounding like parents, while Gene scolded, “None of your business.”
“Oh, nothing really,” David said as he tossed out his hands. “It was one in the morning, he felt the need to talk. Lonely guys are like that. I was the listening ear, you know, because I feel bad at times for him.” He lifted the binder. “Okay, I see where we left off. Components and how they are used in launch, right?” He looked at Lucy and she nodded. “Good. Any questions before I go on.”
Kip raised his hand.
“Kip.”
“Can we go to the beach?”
<><><><>
“Ok, so . . .” David looked at his students. “Does everyone understand, or have a basic understanding of the orbiting maneuvering system and reaction control system modules?”
&nbs
p; “Good,” Lucy said.
“I got it,” said Thaddeus.
“Well presented. I follow you.” Gene added.
“Dude, like how far did we get? Page 15 yet?”
“Actually, we’re on page 32.” David looked at his watch. “All before our thirteen hundred lunch time. Good job.”
They applauded David.
“Um excuse me . . .” David lifted his sunglasses, flagging and stopping the cabaña waiter of the private beach resort. “I’ll have another one of the blue drinks, please. Anyone else?” he motioned to his students.
They all held up their glasses.
“Make it five.” David said setting his empty glass on the tray. “Thanks.” He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, ejected one and lit it. He sat on his own chaise lounge which perched in front of Thad, Lucy, Gene and Kip, and set down the binder. His cigarette dangled from his mouth as he lifted his phone and punched in a text.
“Dude, there you go again.”
“Nah, I’m texting the colonel and telling him I’ll take the afternoon classes and we made great progress. The way I see it . . .” David hit ‘send,’ put his phone in his pocket, and kicked back. “We can eat lunch and just hang out here or keep going after lunch and see how much we can get done.”
“Let’s not stop,” Lucy suggested. “Can we have more of these blue drinks?”
“Absolutely.” His phone bleeped a response, and David read it.
Gene gave a ‘thumbs up’ and said, “I say plow through it, I’m grasping it.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” David smiled to the waiter when he returned with the drinks. He took his, informed the waiter that they’d be ordering lunch, put the phone back in his front pocket and vowed to ignore the ‘bring back my fucking students’ text he received from Reese.
Hey, they were making progress.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ken Kelly and his wife had been married for seven years. And he still, despite the length of their marriage, propped a picture of her next to his bed any time he was away. This time was no different. A small picture, not in a frame, one he could easily hold while he spoke on the phone with Mindy. Despite the flirtatious appearance he gave the media; Ken was a faithful man, heart and soul.
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