by Tim Blagge
“Are you serious?” Stella said in a much louder voice. “We need you at work tomorrow. If you don’t wait a little, we’ll be bailing you out of jail in the morning. I am certain that wouldn’t go over well with Dr. Brooks. Why don’t you lie down on the couch and rest for a while.”
“I think you may be correct.” I responded. “That’s right, I just remembered you’re a doctor, and I always obey the doctor’s orders.”
I assumed a horizontal position on the couch and quickly fell fast asleep.
When I woke up, it was after ten. Just as I sat up, Stella came into the room. She had changed into a mid-thigh length red negligee and looked, simply unbelievable.
“Have a good nap lover boy?”
“I am sorry.” I said still a little foggy in my brain. “I must have been more tired than I thought. The wine didn’t help either. Did you just call me lover boy?”
With that she sat down beside me and gave me one of those long ‘take your breath away’ kisses. Then she whispered “let’s go to bed, lover boy.”
I rose to my feet and she took my hand. She led me into the bedroom where she slowly, piece by piece, took off my clothes. Going on instinct, I slowly removed her clothes. As I looked at her naked body, it was as perfect as my imagination could create. And she was real, standing before me, not imaginary but real.
With that we both got into bed and did what people do everyday. But this was me that was doing it; I was having sex with a beautiful woman.
Sadly, the thing I feared most happened. I finished. I tried to stop it, but it had been a couple of years since I’d been with anyone and I was overdue. I apologized to Stella. I begged her for another chance.
Stella rolled gently toward me, and with her breast pressing against my upper arm, she nibbled on my ear
and whispered, “When?”
Her tenderness and gentle way sparked a new desire in me. I turned my head toward her and I whispered in her ear, “Now!”
We again engaged in what I would describe as controlled passion. We explored each other’s body in slow and tender ways. If I had any rational thoughts at all, it was to make this second experience with this physically perfect female form, go on as long as I could. We both took turns pleasuring the other. Her delightful body seemed to anticipate and respond to my every move and our experience together became a flawless collaboration of two lustful participants. Then our passion culminated with a grand personal gratification for both of us.
We both rolled onto our backs and held hands while we finished enjoying the grand passion of the moment, collected our thoughts and caught our breath.
I spoke first. “Dr. Morton, that was unbelievable!”
“Dr. Morton? Are you kidding me?” Stella said.
“Absolutely” I answered.
She was laughing when she said, “well Mr. Burton, maybe we should do this again sometime.”
“It would be my esteemed honor, Dr. Morton.” I answered
With that, I gathered Stella in my arms and we soon fell asleep.
When I awoke, I looked at the clock and it was 4 AM. I figured it would be better if I went home to clean up and put on fresh clothes before I had to go to work. I also thought it prudent to leave before Rolf got home. I knew he could snap me like a cracker if he disapproved of my time with his sister.
I looked at Stella sleeping there. She looked as gorgeous sleeping as she did awake. I pulled my arms away and she woke up.
“Stella, I think I am going to go home. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, I mean today.” She nodded her understanding. I got dressed and left.
The trip home allowed me to consider my life. Like I tended to do sometimes, I began to talk to myself out loud.
“Let’s see, I just had sex with one of the finest women on the planet. That’s a good thing, check. I just got together with the woman I had always considered to be my soul mate; a possible conflict but for now, another good thing, check. I just got a great job in my field making excellent money; third good thing, check. I have the entire scientific and law-enforcement community trying to find me; not such a good thing, no check.”
“So, to recap, I’ve got three out of four major good things in my life. This is better than most people I know,” I continued pondering out loud. “Unfortunately the bad thing in my life could result in 25 to life at San Quentin.”
I got home, tiptoed to my room, set the alarm for 6:30 and slipped into bed.
-14-
When I got up to get ready for work, my subconscious had concluded during my short sleep that I needed to talk to Pops and Jerry and decide if I should confess. I thought if I threw myself on the mercy of the court or world or whatever, they might be more interested in the Flying Wallenda than in punishing me.
When I went into the kitchen to grab an apple for breakfast and leave, Pops said, “Late night last night, eh, Billy boy.”
“Damn it Pops, you sleep like a cat.” I said.
“I fell asleep in front of the TV at Dr. Morton’s house. She took pity on me, covered me with a blanket, and let me sleep.”
“I’m sure that’s exactly what happened.” Pops said with an incredulous smirk.
Even Joanna chimed in. “You expect us to believe that lover boy?”
I thought it was ironic that Joanna used the term ‘lover boy’. That’s the word that kicked off probably the best night of my life.
“OK, OK, believe what you will. I’ve got to be at work in half an hour. By the way Pops, I’d like to get together with you and Jerry tonight if he’s available. Is that alright with you?”
“Sure, just call me and let me know when.” Pops said. “See you later.”
I got to work at one minute before eight, sprinted to the conference room and took my normal seat. I was the last one to arrive. When I looked around the room, the two FBI inspectors were also there.
“Cutting it a little close Mr. Burton aren’t we?” said Dr. Brooks
“I’m sorry sir, but did Stella, I mean Dr. Morton inform you that we worked all day yesterday?”
“Yes she did and she also informed me this morning that you two have got some interesting analyses to convey to the group. Do you remember inspectors, Bain and Reynolds?”
“How could I forget them?” I said as I gave a ‘wrist on the desk’ wave to both men.
“First, let’s hear from Dr. Singh,” said Dr. Brooks.
Dr. Singh discussed his research in his assigned area.
“I am gathering information regarding any strange events that may have emanated from within the earth. I have heard from almost half of the seismic sensors across the globe. So far I haven’t identified any anomaly occurring anywhere on earth within an hour of the time shift. I am still waiting for other stations to report.” Dr. Singh went on for a while but added nothing to the puzzle.
“Dr. Johnson, How is your research coming along?” Dr. Brooks questioned.
“As you all know, I have been charged with analyzing any reports of unusual occurrences, sightings, rumors or any thing else that might lead us somewhere. It’s a huge task. So far the only thing I’ve uncovered is the sighting of a UFO over Burma about the same time as the time shift. The witness doesn’t look too credible so our people on the ground are searching for other witnesses. I may need help sorting through the data analysis here Dr Brooks.”
“I understand Dr. Johnson. Just let me know if more brains are needed and we’ll get them for you ASAP. Now Malcolm, how are things going with your research?”
“It’s tough sledding so far. I haven’t been able to identify any interference from outside the earth. There were some events that occurred in a distant star system, but the results were too weak to measure. I’ll keep looking for outside influences, but at this point, the cosmos seemed to be very quiet that night during the time shift.”
“OK, Dr. Morton,” Dr. Brooks continued, “so far we’ve got nothing of substance to offer the gentleman from the government. I hope you and Mr. Burton have come up wit
h something substantive.”
Stella stood up and looked stunning as usual. I couldn’t help picturing her naked standing there at the end of the conference table. I was jolted back to consciousness when she said, “Mr. Burton, will you join me up here please.”
I rose and stood next to her even though I knew that this was going to be her show. She proceeded to explain the basis of our research, the information we were gathering and the changes we had made in the algorithm we were using to analyze the data.
“Gentleman,” Stella began. “I have concluded that the time wave originated here in Southern California, and I don’t mean San Diego or Bakersfield. It originated somewhere in the greater LA area. With the data we have now, we are sure we can pinpoint the location to a more specific area. However we feel it would be premature to communicate that hypothesis until we get more data and can be certain. We should have all the information in and analyzed by this weekend. Dr. Brooks, if I may suggest, we reconvene on Monday.”
“It’s settled then,” said Dr. Brooks. “We’ll all meet here at 10 AM on Monday, a week from today. We all need to redouble our efforts to figure out more answers. Even if we find the exact origin of the time wave, it doesn’t tell us what happened or how it was done.”
When Stella and I got back to our office I wanted to thank her for last night. I wanted to thank her for using the pronoun ‘we’ in her communication to the research group. I wanted to tell her that I was feeling more than just friendship for her. But I didn’t.
I just said, “Are you ready to go back to work, Dr Morton?”
She answered “Certainly Mr. Burton, I’m ready whenever you are.”
I got home about 7 PM. I’d missed dinner but grandma had kept a plate warm for me in the oven. After I ate, I went into the living room where Pops, Joanna and grandma were watching TV.
“Pops, I’ve got Jerry coming over at eight. If it’s alright with you, could we meet in the barn?”
“Sure.” Pops said, “This program will be over by then.”
I went to the barn to collect my thoughts; to try to determine if there was an easy way out. I came up empty. I knew that I had to tell Jerry and Pops everything. I had put both of them in jeopardy. Even though Jerry was just an innocent bystander, he is in the Service and should have reported the incident to his commanding officer. Pops was an intricate part of the incident because he actually built the machine and he knew all along what it was designed to do. As I was considering my uncertain future, Jerry strolled in with Pops on his heels.
“So what’s so important that you needed to get together tonight, Bill,” Jerry asked.
“This entire time shift mess has gotten serious and I’m afraid for all of us.” I replied.
I began by telling them that my promotion to full time work with full time pay was a result of my experiment. I told them that I was on the government sanctioned team to find me; the guy responsible.
“Have you found you yet?” asked Jerry with a sly grin.
“Not yet, but I think it’s imminent. The person I work with is Dr. Stella Morton. She’s already asked me some weird questions that sounds like she knows I’m the culprit. Even if she doesn’t know for sure, she’s hot on my trail. She told our group today that she’ll know the exact origin of the time pulse by next Monday. And she will. I work with her and I know she will.”
“Pops, we’ve got to protect Jerry,” I went on. “Jerry, when do you go back to the Army?”
“I leave at 6 AM, a week from Monday.”
“Perfect, we’ll say Jerry was never here and that you know nothing about the time shift. Pops, we can say that you just made parts according to my design and I never told you a thing about what you were making or why,” I said.
“We’ll make me the bad guy, I’ll take the rap.” I added.
“Bill, you’ve been watching too many gangster movies” said Pops who continued on the same train of thought. “So if you’re going to ‘spill the beans,’ when will that happen?”
“I’d like to wait until the end of the week. If Stella is going to figure the whole thing out, I’ll know by then. If she knows, I’ll tell her everything. I’ll have her take it to my project head, Dr. Brooks so at least she will get credit for solving our little mystery. That’s the least I can do for her.”
“Why do you want to do anything for her?” asked Jerry. “And why do you refer to a doctor in physics as Stella?”
“Since I am probably going to jail anyway, let me tell you two about last night.” I answered.
Just as I finished the story there was a crash from the corner of the barn. We all looked toward the noise and out walked Joanna.
“How long were you listening?” I asked Joanna.
“I heard everything.” she said. “Now you are going to have to fill me in completely. And Jerry, what did you have to do with it. I was just starting to really like you and now it sounds like you are a party to a crime.”
We brought Joanna over, sat her down and filled in the information she didn’t already know. Jerry sat next to her with his arm around her shoulders. She leaned away from Jerry at first but then moved a little closer to him and relaxed a little more as the story unfolded. When we were finished, Joanna had a look that I’d never seen before. Her eyes got wide and a smile came over her face.
“We’re going to be rich. Bill, people will pay zillions for something like that.”
“First of all Joanna, we are not absolutely certain we can duplicate the original experiment.” I said trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation. “And secondly, before you go out and buy a new wardrobe and car to match, remember, I cost the world a bundle too. Not deliberately, but the zillions I’d get paid might all go to pay back the zillions I cost the world.”
Jerry piped in. “Hey, a zillion here, a zillion there, what’s a few zillion among friends?”
Next Grandma walked into the barn smiling.
“Grandma, how much did you hear?” I asked.
“Don’t worry Bill.” Grandma said. “There’s not much that gets by me around here. I’ve known about your invention almost as long as you have.”
“Good god,” said Pops, “so much for deniability.”
Pops reminded all of us of the requirement not to talk to anyone about what we knew. “If anyone tells someone, and the word gets out all of us could be in serious danger. So we all understand and agree?” he asked as he looked us directly in the eye one by one.
We all agreed.
After a short pause, Jerry looked at Joanna and said, “How would you like to go get some ice cream, young lady?”
“The young lady formally accepts, young man,” Joanna replied.
Grandma looked at Pops and said, “How would you like some ice cream old man? I’ve got a half gallon of chocolate on ice.”
“Thank you madam, I’d love some.” Pops said as both couples walked out hand in hand.
-15-
Stella and I agreed to meet at 7 AM on Tuesday and Wednesday. The data was continuing to come in from stations all over the world. We kept busy plugging the information into the computer and then we’d run the algorithm again with the new data included. Every time we recalculated, the target zone got smaller. By late Tuesday the computer had identified an area of about ten square miles. It went from Arcadia on the east to Burbank on the west with Pasadena on the south. The northern border went into the San Gabriel Mountains but we both agreed to eliminate that area for now.
“Bill, do you want to come over for dinner tonight? Rolf is away on business. Since you know the way, you could pick up some Chinese take-out.”
“That works for me,” I replied, “when do you want knock off today?”
“I think we’ve included all the data that came in today.” Stella said. “We’ll leave about six. I’ll go home and change and you get the food. I’ll leave the door unlocked so just come right in.”
As we were walking out, Stella again made a probing comment. “Now Bill, I know the
re’s something you need to tell me and tonight would be a good time.”
“Stella, I’m, not sure what you mean but a little wine and sweet female companionship might loosen my lips a little. In fact it could be like reverse torture. You pleasure me into telling you anything you want to hear.”
“This is important Bill. I’ll see what I can do.”
When I got to the apartment, Stella had changed into a shift-style dress, pulled her hair back a little and looked unbelievably cute and sexy. I opened up the small flimsy boxes and served the food.
After Stella and I finished our meal we sat down on her couch and she took my hand and said.
“Bill, there’s something I haven’t told you. When you were out of the office the other day, I installed a different version of our algorithm. It allows me to eliminate the data that looks out of place. That information is probably from poorly calibrated reporting stations. After I did that, I was able to pinpoint the location of the source of the time wave. The computer even generated an address. That address is 1577 Shady Oak Drive, Altadena, California. Bill, that’s your address isn’t it?”
With that I didn’t know what to say. I had trouble speaking. She had me. My words came out in half-syllables and grunts while my mind tried to figure out a strategic response.
Stella put her index finger up to her lips and said, “Shhh. We’ll deal with that later.”
She had me stand up and again led me into the bedroom. I’m not sure how she accomplished it but this sex was better than the first night. Not quite as gentle with just a little more fire. She did new things, wonderful new things. At the end we were both exhausted and fully satisfied.
“I hope the reverse torture worked Bill, because we need to talk. Let’s get dressed and go into the other room.” Stella said.
“I agree Stella. If I had to discuss anything with you when you were naked, I’m sure I couldn’t put two intelligent sentences together. So, clothes would be good.”