by M.A. Harris
Crosswise
It was bridge night, he’d been unable to attend Fred’s bridge club for quite a few weeks, this week he’d made a special effort. Paul was glad he’d made the effort, it had been a fun and relaxing evening but it had kept him up far past his bedtime, and he realized that his reserves of endurance were badly depleted by months of intense work.
As they broke up the goodbyes were warmly felt but quickly over, the wind was cold, it was late and several of them had longish drives ahead of them. Standing at the curb he shivered inside his jacket, fatigue making the breeze more biting, he decided he was far too tired to drive back to the Hollow. His car was parked outside Betsy’s where he’d had dinner, the motel was a little further along, he was sure he could get a room there, head back early in the morning.
Strolling along the short boardwalk he saw a car he recognized pull out from around back. He waved as the driver saw him, she stopped, the window slid down and Clarice Smitherson called out, “What are you doing, wandering the streets at this time of night, Mr. Richards?”
Paul laughed and crossed over, “Hello Mrs. Smitherson, Ted, its bridge night, Fred and the others kept me up late. I’m going to get some sleep at the motel.”
Ted snorted, “No you’re not, hop in, no point in paying for a night in that soulless concrete chicken coop, we’ve got a spare bedroom you can use.”
Paul opened his mouth to argue, Clarice stepped in first, “Don’t argue Paul, the room’s there and it’s no trouble, you can get up as early as you like and head out. Get in, you’re dead on your feet, I can see you swaying in the breeze.”
With a sigh and a smile Paul opened the back door and got in.
Waking in the morning was a slow process, his body protested as he moved for the first time in quite a few hours; it wasn’t used to lying still that long. The deep downy plushness of the Smitherson’s extra bed made it worse; it was comfortable and confining at one and the same time. He was confused at first, but that lasted only a few seconds before annoyance at his own weakness took over.
Then as he pushed back the covers and rolled out of bed Paul realized that perhaps sleep had been more important than the meetings he was missing. Almost everything of importance had been done or decided long ago now. Implementation and schedule ruled today, not ideas and planning, he was in many ways just one cog of many in the well-oiled machine, a cog that wouldn’t be missed for one morning.
A knock on the door made him glance around, the door was closed; he called out, “good morning.”
“Good morning Paul, would you like some breakfast?”
The words seemed to lighten his soul a little more, he smiled, “That sounds wonderful.”
“Good, the bathroom’s the one that serves the rest of the house but I’ve closed the door to the hall, the towels are fresh. Breakfast’s in twenty minutes.”
Smiling Paul called out to the receding footsteps, “Thanks, I’ll be there.”
Feeling much more human than he had in a long time Paul arrived in Clarice’s large country kitchen on time and in time to receive an approving nod from the local commander.
Ted smiled at him from the other side of the small round table set up in the bay window, “Well, you look a lot livelier this morning.”
“I feel it thank you. I guess I’ve let things get a bit on top of me recently, what with the ahh, extra work.” He had to clamp down on his tongue in mid sentence, he’d almost said, ‘what with the flights to the moon every other day.’ It was shocking to realize how easy it would be to say something really stupid right now.
“Yes, the ‘Ahh…extra work,’ can get one down! When I was running a line battalion I found that flying and administration could really chop you off at the knees during a real live operation. It’s during extended live ops that you find out how good an organizer you are, if the important stuff still got done without all the paperwork and oversight you done good, if it started going to crap, well, you did a crappy job.”
A sharp cough of reproach from the working part of the kitchen silenced Ted, who winked at Paul while waving him to a place setting at his left hand.
Breakfast was eggs and bacon with toast, butter and preserves. They talked about homely things, the weather, how the Techs soccer team was likely to do this year and the latest scandals in Washington. Since both Paul and Ted had met the Senator who was currently going down in flames for a mixture of sex and kickbacks this last topic lasted for quite a while, and elicited several stern looks from Clarice.
Towards the end of the meal Paul’s pocketbook hummed in his pocket and he excused himself to check it. Before taking a shower he’d sent a general message to his scheduler that he wasn’t going to be in the office until after noon. There was a message on the screen asking that he return to the Hollow as soon as possible and call Olarik. Paul’s chest tightened and his cheeks flushed. He was fairly certain that the reason for the call had nothing to do with operations, everything to do with his unscheduled night off base.
Paul caught Clarice’s thoughtful look as he glanced up, she stood up and quietly started clearing the table. Ted studied him from across the table, “A call to arms?”
“More like a call to heel,” Paul realized his voice was rough with anger.
“Sorry…I thought you needed the sleep, you were far gone last night, like I used to get after a month or so in the field, didn’t realize I was about out on my feet sometimes. It’s amazing I didn’t kill myself.”
Paul shook his head, “Nothing to apologize for Ted, you’re right, I was an accident waiting to happen, I’ve been burning the candle at both ends and in the middle for too long. I’ve got to find a way to get more rest on a regular basis. I feel wonderful this morning, rejuvenated like I haven’t felt in a long, long time. And I don’t really think this is about the meetings I’m missing, it’s about paranoia.”
“The Ahh, work thing I suppose?” Ted’s eyebrows rose.
Paul grinned, feeling his flash of rage fade, “Yeah that. Aristide security people must have noted I didn’t come home last night and passed it up the chain.”
Ted frowned down at his last piece of toast, moving it around with the end of his knife.
Glancing down at his pocketbook Paul thumbed in a quick reply and tapped send before slipping it away.
Ted was still frowning, but now at Paul, “What’s going on with Aristide Industries at the Hollow, Paul? You know the rumors are getting more outrageous all the time - and it’s a fact that people have suddenly moved away, vanished overnight, no one knows where to. VanDoone and his wife were killed in that wreck, and some people claim it was no accident. I know for a fact that the Canal project is behind schedule, work originally planned, requiring extra workers, has been slipped; material that should have been ordered has been delayed. The financials for the company look - well - odd! These off shore companies often do, but looking back over time things have changed; it used to be as solid and transparent as any big multi-national - but not anymore. There are all sorts of rumors about things it’s connected to off shore as well.”
Paul’s chest tightened even more and his ears burnt, he couldn’t look his friend in the face. Trying to find words to answer without breaking his promise of silence and the trust of the people dedicated to the Luna Haven dream he just sat there.
Ted sighed, “OK, you can’t say anything. I suppose I can understand.”
Paul shook his head, rising to leave, “Ted I wish I could tell you all that I know, which isn’t much, especially about AI as a company. All I can say is that, as far as I know, the VanDoone’s accident was just that. Trust me, that haunts me, I’d kicked the props out from under his ego the day before and I suspect he was still angry, maybe driving too fast when he hit that curve. I wonder if I could have done something, gone and talked to him about it.”
“Damn it Paul, I’m sorry.”
“What for Ted? You only asked questions that a good person and good citizen would. I ju
st can’t answer them; one day soon I think it’ll all be clear...” Paul really wanted to sit down and tell Ted all that he knew, ask for help in deciding what to do. He knew that he was in deep water, maybe over his head. His dreams, loyalty, sense of history and honor were driving him forward, keeping him on track. But those same things told him that things weren’t right and that they might be heading for a train wreck.
“You don’t look happy about it anymore Paul, for a while I wondered if your feet ever touched the ground.”
Paul glanced at Ted, “Dreams never come true in quite the way you would like Ted.” He found he could not go on without saying too much; he half turned to Clarice, “Thanks for the bed and the breakfast Clarice, Ted. I really appreciate it, and I meant it about feeling like a new man.” He waved at the pocket that bulged slightly with his pocketbook, “Even including the dose of reality.”
As he stood to go Clarice came out of the kitchen and surprised Paul by giving him a hug, “Any time dear! Please, if you need a break, just drop by or give us a call, the bed’s almost always available.”
Paul gave her a gentle hug back and looked over at Ted who was nodding confirmation, “Thanks, thank you both.”
At the door Paul turned to shake Ted’s hand, the old eyes were serious but friendly, “Paul please do come back, you’re always welcome.”
“Thanks Ted, I’ll do my best to earn your trust.”
-o-
“Mr. Richards, so good of you to call.” The Kazakh’s voice was calmly businesslike; he was a good enough judge of character to know that Paul was unlikely to be happy.
“What can I do for you Colonel?”
“Ah…Well it has come to my attention that you spent the night with someone who rather worries me now that I’ve done a little digging. Your spending the night at the house of the chef at the local bistro would be odd but not particularly bothersome. Spending the night and morning with retired US Army Colonel Theodore Smitherson is.”
“I’m supposed to take the fact that you’re having me followed when I’m away from the Hollow in stride and tell you that I was so damned dead tired last night that it was unsafe for me to drive home. I was kindly offered a bed by friends who then let me sleep in because they were worried about my run down state.”
“Yes Mr. Richards you ARE supposed to take the surveillance in stride and reassure me that you are not violating the security of our endeavor.” The underlying hint of amusement in the voice grew a little stronger; now that he was sure that Paul would toe the line.
“I haven’t told him anything about our ‘endeavor,’ he did tell me that the rumor mill in town is getting out of hand though.” Paul debated saying more but uneasiness silenced him.
A sigh came down the line, “It was inevitable Mr. Richards. It’s amazing how many people are wandering around in the depths of the night, and the freighters are not invisible, just hard to see. No one has seen more than a shadow against the sky, but that’s enough, fortunately the UFO nut cases have blanketed out any credible sightings.”
“Colonel, I understand the need for secrecy from a corporate viewpoint, a cease and desist order would really make it hard for the corporation to keep supporting our efforts. I also understand your…other arrangement...but you can’t keep a secret forever, and using Gestapo tactics are likely to backfire, especially in America.”
A long silence, “I understand your concerns Mr. Richards, and I assure you that things will stay civilized. I just need your assurance that you will not compromise our security. In fact I would like to ask that you not leave the Hollow without telling the security detail where you are going and when you plan on getting back. I really hate having my mornings interrupted by calls from worried underlings.”
Paul sat back, not wanting to give up his freedom so easily, but he had already walked far into the devils den and no longer saw a way out, not one that let him live his dream or that was clearly safe. Olarik waited patiently and Paul finally gave way, “I will let them know my plans Colonel.”
“Thank you Mr. Richards, I appreciate your understanding of the situation. Good day.” The click of disconnection seemed very loud in his office. Paul sat staring at the wall for some time.