Space Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 2)

by Paul Gillebaard

  PETER’S MIND WAS floating in a big fog. Where the hell am I? He was going in and out of consciousness as he tried to focus on his surroundings. He felt like a big blob of Jell-O lying in a bed. He was having a difficult time moving any part of his body. He took a few minutes to grasp his situation. As he struggled to clear his head, he saw a man in a military uniform with a stethoscope around his neck standing over him. The man appeared to be talking, but all he heard were muffled sounds. Come on, Peter, wake up.

  He looked away as he tried to recall what had happened. He closed his eyes. Bit by bit he started to remember the mission. Then it hit him—he and Jesse had crashed in the Pacific. The man standing over him must be a doctor. His first impulse was to try to find out if his friend had survived. He turned to the man and tried to ask, but nothing came out of his mouth.

  The sound of the doctor’s genial voice began to break through Peter’s haze. “Don’t strain yourself, young man. You’re lucky to be alive.” The man turned away. “Nurse, get him some water.”

  Hearing the word water made Peter realize his mouth was bone dry. He circled the outside of his mouth with his dry tongue, feeling the rough edges of his chapped lips. The doctor grabbed a cup with a straw from the nurse. He bent down and gently slipped the straw into Peter’s mouth. The first few sips burned flowing down his parched throat. He was starting to get his bearings. He tried again to talk, hoping his words wouldn’t come out gibberish. “How umm Jesse?”

  The man looked dumbfounded for a second before he let out a big sigh. “Oh, how’s your partner? He’s fine. He’s banged up too. You two are a couple of lucky sons of guns. Someone up there likes you two. So how do you feel?”

  Peter was relieved to hear that Jesse had made it. He tried to move his arms, but found he was having trouble. Obviously he was heavily drugged, yet still in a lot of pain. “I feel like I was hit by a wrecking ball.”

  The man chuckled. “That’s a good description. Your body did experience something like that. You sustained some serious internal bleeding caused by the blunt force trauma your body has been through. In fact, blood had stopped flowing to your left leg due to the pressure buildup from the bleeding. I was forced to do a deep cut in your thigh to relieve the pressure before I was able to stop the internal bleeding. The good news is you should be okay; the bad news is you have a couple of tough weeks ahead of you.”

  Peter cleared his throat as he looked around. “So where am I?”

  “You’re in the infirmary of the LaGrange, the Navy ship that picked you two up. You’ve been out for awhile.”

  Peter’s head was clearing by the minute. He assumed SpaceQuest couldn’t get their recovery ship to their location. He tried to sit up before the doctor put his hand on his shoulder. “Son, you don’t want to do too much. Remember you just had surgery.”

  Peter relaxed as he let his head fall back on the pillow.

  A slow grin began to emerge on the doctor’s face. “I have someone here who would love to see you.”

  “Who?”

  The doctor stepped back and motioned for someone to approach. All the pain miraculously disappeared when Anya stepped into the light, her face beaming with a joyous smile. She looked like an enchanted angel floating toward him. He thanked God once again for another chance at life as she leaned down toward him. The familiar scent of her coconut body lotion empowered him to slightly raise his head to kiss her soft lips. She cooed, “Thanks for sticking around.”

  Peter dropped his head as he remembered his promise to God. “Baby, I don’t plan on going anywhere. You mean too much to me. In fact, I’ve decided to make some changes. I don’t want you worrying about me anymore.”

  Anya rose with a twinkle in her eye. She caressed his hand. “I appreciate that, but we don’t need to make any hasty decisions.”

  EVER SINCE THE small infirmary had cleared out, Anya had been holding Peter’s hand. It was one of those simple moments in life he was pleased to be experiencing. He was savoring every minute as he stared at his soul mate. He had no opportunity to mull over Blake’s death; Anya consistently kept steering their conversation toward easier ground. Though he was still groggy and tired, he appreciated the light talk.

  One subject she talked passionately about was their wedding plans. She was giddy with excitement when describing the latest details. He was delighted to see her happy, and more importantly, glad he was going to be around to participate.

  During a lull in the conversation, he stared up at the ceiling. In his mind, the mission had still been a failure. His heart ached for Suzy knowing she had probably been informed of her husband’s death. He wished he could have been there when she was told, comforting her with Blake’s last words before the hatch was closed. He convinced himself the first thing he needed to do when he returned to Houston was to visit her.

  Peter’s concentration was broken by the sound of the door opening. “How’s the astronaut doing?”

  Peter turned to see the doctor entering with a small, blue duffle bag in his hand. “Hanging in there.”

  The doctor did a quick scan of the monitors before stationing himself on the opposite side from Anya. “Good. How’s the pain?”

  “Bearable.”

  “Let the nurse know if it becomes unbearable.” The doctor then passed the duffle bag over to Anya as he kept his eye on Peter. “I was asked to give this to you. It’s your personal items found in the spacecraft.”

  Peter was curious what exactly was in the bag as he watched Anya set it in her lap. “Thanks.”

  The doctor patted him on the shoulder. “Make sure you take it easy. If you need anything, just push the call button.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  As the doctor left, Peter turned to see Anya pulling out her picture from the bag.

  She wore a blushing grin as she eyed the photo. “So you took me along?”

  Peter tenderly responded, “You’ve been with me on every space flight. You’re my good luck charm.”

  Her smile grew larger. She then reached in and pulled out Matthew’s toy plane. “What’s this?”

  Peter’s heart sank at the sight of the toy. Though it reminded him of Blake’s death, it also reminded him of the smile on the father’s face when he received it. “Is there a spacesuit glove in there?”

  Anya searched through the bag. “I don’t see it, why?”

  “When I went to the spacecraft after the explosion, I found his glove floating with that toy attached.” Peter took a deep breath as he looked back up at the ceiling. He took a moment before turning back toward her. “That was the final confirmation Blake was dead. That toy is Matthew’s. I gave it to Blake as we were strapping him in prior to launch.”

  Her voice trembled with sadness. “Oh.”

  “I want to make sure Suzy gets both.”

  Anya’s voice rose. “Oh, she’s here. You can give this to her now if you want.”

  Shocked by the news, Peter jerked his head up painfully. “She’s here?”

  Anya nodded as she compressed her lips. “Yeah, in fact that’s why I’m here. After I learned about the explosion from Dmitri, I went over to her house to offer support. When she got the call to fly to the ship, she asked if I’d accompany her.”

  Peter assumed Allen flew her out. “Where is she now?”

  Anya gave a modest shrug. “Not sure. I was with her in the ship’s chapel when I learned you were starting to wake. She could still be there. You want me to go check?”

  “So she knows Blake didn’t survive?”

  “Yes, I was there when she was told.” Anya looked to the floor as she shook her head. “It was devastating. I held her in my arms as she cried.”

  Peter fought through the pain as he forced himself up, yanking out the wires and tubes connected to his arm. Instantly the sound of alarms filled the small room.

  Anya frantically raised her eyes as she cried out over the screeching noise, “What are you doing? You know the doctor told you to stay in bed.”

 
; Peter was determined. “I’ve got to see her. Those men were my responsibility.”

  Anya put her hand on him. “Stay here, I can go get her.”

  Peter was not wavering. “No, I want to go to her.”

  A nurse came running in. She quickly determined the cause of the alarms and growled, “What are you doing?” She quickly flipped a couple of switches, cutting off the obnoxious sounds before pushing Peter back down onto his pillow.

  Not having the strength to fight, he gripped her hand and looked her directly in the eyes. “Sorry, but I just learned the wife of my friend who I was unable to save is on this ship. I must see her.”

  The nurse grabbed at the loose wires, preparing to reattach them. She answered in a frank tone, “You need to stay here. We can bring her to you.”

  Anya stepped between the two and gently put her hand on the nurse’s shoulder. Her voice was surprisingly fierce. “Clair, this is very important to Peter. I know he should have contacted you before disconnecting himself; we’re very sorry about that. But a man died on his watch and he wants to personally give his condolences to his wife.” She leaned in, whispering loud enough so Peter could hear. “I’m sure you can understand why he would want to go to her, and not have her come to him.” She straightened back up and resumed her original tone. “She is in the chapel. I can wheel him over in a wheelchair and have him back in a jiffy.”

  The nurse looked down at Peter. He flashed a pleading expression as she studied his face. “I couldn’t do this if we were on land.” She turned to Anya. “I’ll give you five minutes.”

  Anya soon had Peter wheeled up to the small chapel’s entrance. Suzy was sitting alone in the front pew in the dim room.

  Anya whispered. “Do you want me to push you in?”

  In a hushed but direct tone he answered, “No, I need to do this alone. Please help me up. I want to walk in.”

  “Honey, you should stay in the chair.”

  Peter gave her that look.

  Anya positioned the chair and locked the wheels so he could get up. “Okay, but you sure are being stubborn.”

  With her help, Peter used all of his strength to get out of the chair. He had an extra tough time moving his left leg, feeling the pain shoot throughout his body with each change in its position. Once he was standing, he reached for the open door handle to steady himself. He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “I’ll be okay.”

  She pointed down the hallway. “I’ll be standing right over there, waiting. Just call out if you need me.”

  He flashed a quick wink before reaching for the doorframe, struggling to hold on to steady himself. He patted his robe pocket to ensure he had Matthew’s toy before taking a few painful steps into the small chapel up to the back pew. With only three rows of pews, Suzy was only a few feet away. Her blonde hair glowed lightly from a soft spotlight aimed down on the multi-colored stained glass window pane at the front of the room. As he resumed his movements, the sounds caused Suzy to turn. Her face was blotchy, eyes red and puffy from crying. She instantly recognized him. She solemnly stood and reached her arms out toward him.

  Supporting himself with one hand on the pew, he reached for her with the other. As they embraced he softly said, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

  She pulled away a little, a tear running down her cheek. “You did everything you could to save Blake. Jesse told me how you risked your life for them.” She took a deep breath. “Jesse feels guilty he wasn’t on that ship when the explosion happened. But because Blake was the one scheduled to do the spacewalk, he didn’t have the connection for the oxygen pack.” She fell silent for a moment as she looked toward the stained glass. “I guess it was his time.”

  Peter put his hand on her shoulder. “I feel like I let him down. That I let you down.”

  She turned with a stern look. “Don’t you ever think that. Thanks to you, he had a fighting chance. You were willing to lose everything for them. I will always hold that dear in my heart.” She put her head down. “I blame EarthOrbit for putting Blake in a faulty spacecraft.”

  Peter wanted to tell her the cause of the accident but couldn’t.

  Suzy grabbed his hand. “Blake looked up to you. He was constantly talking about your moon mission, especially when you two were training together. He was looking forward to flying with you.”

  Peter lifted his head as he looked directly into her eyes. “He was a great man, with a good soul.”

  She bit her lower lip. “Blake told me you were going to strap them in before launch. Did you?”

  With a bleak smile Peter tried to stay strong as he answered, “I did. They were both so excited and ready. Just before the hatch was closed, Blake did ask me to tell you something.”

  A ray of hope appeared on her face. “What?”

  Peter took a deep breath as he took a moment to look at the stained glass. He turned back. “He wanted me to tell you he was thinking of you and how much he loved you.”

  She tilted her head slightly as another tear started to trickle down her face. “Really?”

  Peter put his hand on her shoulder. “Yes, but I told him he could tell you that himself when he returned.”

  She looked away as she brought a tissue to her face, lightly dabbing her eyes.

  Peter removed his hand and reached into his pocket. “You remember the toy plane you gave me?”

  Suzy turned and answered with sadness in her voice. “Yes.”

  Peter took her hand and placed the plane in the center, closing her fingers around it. “This was with Blake up to the moment he died. While I was rescuing Jesse, he took the time to attach it to his glove, showing how much his family meant to him, that he was thinking of all of you up to the last minute.”

  Suzy lightly caressed the toy and fought back more tears. Peter bent down and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before turning to walk out.

  As he wrestled with the difficulties of leaving, he heard her muster up the strength to call out. “You’re a good man, Peter Novak. Thank you.”

  30

  WRAP UP

  Clumsily struggling with his crutches, Peter waddled down the final corridor to his boss’s office. Gavin had asked him to report to CIA headquarters for a debriefing once he was able to travel. While recuperating, Peter had spent the last two weeks debating over what he should do with his career. Though he loved the excitement involved with SID, he made a promise to God, himself, and Anya that he would make a change. He figured his only option was to quit. As he approached the last corner, he peered playfully around at Lola’s desk. The sexy grandmother had her head buried in paperwork, unaware of his presence.

  Disappointed on not getting a reaction, he worked his way toward the executive assistant. The sound of his crutches hitting the floor finally caused Lola to look up. She instantly took off her glasses, her eyes glowing with joy. A bright smile replaced her stale business look as she swiveled her chair around. Peter couldn’t help stealing a discreet glance at her athletic legs as she seemed to flash them before standing. His eyes did a slow journey up her short purple dress showing off her curves. He was always impressed the grandmother was never shy to flaunt her body. Her voice came out in a conspiratorial whisper. “Hello, Peter Pan.”

  Peter arched an eyebrow as he approached. “Peter Pan?”

  She answered with a little giggle. “Well you have been flying so much I, figured we should start calling you Agent Peter Pan. So how are you?”

  Out of breath, he stalled at the end of her desk. “I’m doing better. The doctor said I’m going to live.”

  “Good.” Lola circled her desk with her arms spread out. “Do you need any help?”

  Peter figured he probably looked like an idiot. “No, I’m fine. Of course by the time I figure these things out,” he said, indicating his crutches, “I probably won’t need them anymore.”

  “That’s usually how it works.” She leaned in to give him a hug. “You have to stop risking your life. You’re going to give me a heart att
ack.”

  He bent down and planted a soft kiss in her hair. “Love you too, Lola. Unfortunately, Gavin tells you too much.” As she looked up, he flashed a mischievous grin. “Of course I appreciate hearing that from such a sexy lady.”

  She stepped back. “That’s my Peter. Can I get you some coffee?”

  He figured he would probably spill it. “No, thanks. I think I’ll pass.”

  She grabbed his hand as her eyes softened. A hint of sincerity mixed into her voice. “I’m glad you’re back.” She abruptly let go and motioned toward Gavin’s office door, her voice rising. “The boss is expecting you.”

  He gave her a wink before resuming his struggles toward the doorway. He did a soft knock as he entered.

  The director looked up with a faint grin. “There he is, our own Superman.”

  Peter took the title as a compliment as he worked his way across the office. “Hey, Boss.”

  Gavin vaulted up and extended his hand, patiently waiting for Peter to approach. Once positioned, Peter settled his full weight on top of the crutches’ padding to steady himself before shaking his boss’s hand.

  “Looks like you got a little beat up.”

  “A little.” Peter gently set the crutches against the desk before falling into the comfortable chair, exhausted from the long haul.