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THE WHITE HOUSE.
The President inserts a video disk into the player, returns to his chair, and presses play on the remote. He eats a piece of his club sandwich while he watches the news broadcast from Washington State, recorded earlier that morning. The picture is of a young male news broadcaster sitting behind a desk.
“The Governor has been forced to call in the National Guard to stop the fighting in the gasoline lines. Once again, until the refineries are distributing gasoline, he is asking you to refrain from driving and use the metro bus system. For those of you with oil heating systems in your homes, please try to stay with friends and relatives until this crisis is over.”
“A man and a woman were shot while robbing a grocery store in Lynnwood yesterday. The owner of the store said he has to keep himself armed at all times because of the constant robbery attempts. This is just one of the many incidents caused by the lack of transportation to bring food supplies into this part of our state. We go now to our reporter, Jan Smith, who is live with a representative of the Teamsters Union in Tacoma.”
The picture changes to show a dark-haired oriental woman talking to a gray-haired man, both standing in front of a large truck and trailer rig. “What seems to be the biggest problem with delivering supplies here to the West Coast? Jan asks. “We have reports that transportation is continuing in Eastern Washington.”
“Once the trucks come over the mountains to bring in supplies, there isn’t any fuel available for them to get back. The trucking industry on this side of the mountains is at a standstill until more fuel is available. If we don’t get any diesel soon, even the trucking in Eastern Washington will stop.”
“Is it true that trucks are being hijacked from the interstate highways?”
“Yes it is, and I’ve asked the Governor to have the National Guard patrol the interstates, but he says he doesn’t have enough people. I’m hoping he’ll ask the President for military support.”
The President stands and switches recordings to one from Los Angeles, returns to his desk, and presses play.
On the screen is a view from a helicopter flying over the city, showing live pictures of burning buildings and fighting in the streets as the voice of a male broadcaster narrates.
“It’s a war zone in Los Angeles as people panic. They are literally fighting their way to the gas pumps. Our latest report is over three-hundred people have died as a result of domestic shootings over gasoline.”
The picture changes, showing the broadcaster sitting behind a desk in the studio. “One of our biggest concerns is agricultural production. Without fuel for their equipment, farmers cannot operate, and even the early harvest won’t make it to market if the trucking industry can’t get fuel. If this oil crisis continues, California’s economy will be devastated. People are lining up outside grocery stores to buy anything they can before commodities run out.”
The President shuts off the player, picks up the phone, and waits a moment until Martin Donner answers. “Hi, Martin. Oscar here.”
“Yes, Mr. President. What can I do for you?”
“Have you heard anything from Mr. Cave?”
“Not yet.”
“I see. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says the Navy has a submarine standing by off the southern coast of Alaska. When you hear from him, tell Mr. Cave to inform his people to start sending the tankers.”
“Yes, sir.”
The President hangs up and stares at his half-eaten sandwich. “Less than a year in office, and this has to happen.”
ALASKA:
Alex enters the small cement building near the pier and sees Christa leaning over a microscope. “Anything new?”
Christa turns to face him, her eyes slightly bloodshot. “No!”
Alex raises his hands, palms out. “Sorry.”
Christa grins at him. “Oh, it’s not you, it’s this crystal. It doesn’t conform to any mineral standards I know of, and it doesn’t fit any biological standards, either.”
“How about taking a break? I’ve just received word Mike Broden is coherent. I’m about to fly up to Anchorage.”
“Give me a few minutes to change clothes.”
“Fine. Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”
Alex walks her out to his rental SUV, drives through the little town of Valdez to Christa’s small apartment complex. It was built during the boom days of the pipeline’s construction, but cosmetically has been neglected.
“It’s not much, but the rent’s cheap,” Christa tells him as he parks in front of the building. “You can come up, if you like.”
Alex follows her up one flight of stairs and into her unit. Her apartment is a living room/kitchen combination, with one door leading into a bedroom with a bathroom, but it’s tastefully decorated.
“Make yourself at home. I’ll be out in a moment,” Christa says over her shoulder as she walks toward the bedroom.
Alex feels his phone vibrate in his coat pocket and answers. “What’s up, Martin?”
“The Navy has a submarine standing by to escort the tankers. Tell All Alaska to get them moving. Things are getting nasty on the west coast, so the sooner the better.”
“I’ll tell him. I’m flying to Anchorage in a few minutes to talk to my witness. I’ll call you back in a few hours.”
“Good. Call me at home if I’m not here.”
“I will.” Alex hangs up and calls the All Alaska office to inform Bull about the escort. A few moments later, Christa walks into the living room, dressed in light blue slacks and a matching sweater. They leave the apartment and drive to the airport, and Alex uses the All Alaska airplane.
***
ANCHORAGE:
Alex and Christa walk into the hospital and locate the director who escorts them through the hallways to Broden’s room.
“I’m not sure he’s really all that coherent,” says the director. “He insists we’re all going to die when some ship returns. Doesn’t make much sense, does it? Here we are.”
When they enter the room, Mike Broden is sitting up in bed, staring through the window at the fir trees in the small park.
The director stops next to Broden’s bed. “You have some visitors, Mike.”
Broden doesn’t acknowledge their presence and continues staring out the window, so Christa walks to the foot of the bed and studies his face. When they found him in the storeroom, she thought he was much older, but now it’s apparent he’s actually in his early forties. “We need your help, Mike.”
Broden slowly turns to look at Christa, a sad smile forming on his lips. “It’s too bad someone as pretty as you has to die.”
“See what I mean?” says the director.
Broden shoots a menacing look at the man. “I’m not talking to you anymore!”
Alex has an idea and looks at the director. “Perhaps you’d better leave us alone.”
“All right. You’re getting farther with him than anyone else.” He turns and leaves the room.
When Alex faces Broden again, the man is staring at him suspiciously.
“Are you a doctor, too?” Broden asks.
Alex smiles. “No, actually I’m a teacher at a College in Montana. My name’s Alex Cave and this is Christa Avery.” Alex extends his hand.
Broden hesitates, then accepts the handshake. “I’m not crazy. I know what I saw.”
Christa moves around the foot of the bed until she’s standing next to Broden. “Would you mind telling us about it?”
Broden chuckles. “Why should I? You’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Mr. Broden. Mike. When you hear what I’m about to tell you, you’ll think I’m crazy.”
Broden doesn’t say anything, so Christa continues and tells him about the oil tankers. When she finishes, Broden looks out the window for a moment. He lets out a deep sigh of relief. “That’s the best news I’ve heard since I woke up. For a while there, I thought maybe I really was crazy.” He looks at Christa, then Alex. “Okay. I’ll tell you what I saw.”
“Start from the beginning,” Christa asks.
“I was in the bathroom,” he says and feels his face blush. “I could hear the rest of the guys in the kitchen talking and joking around, then they started yelling. I thought maybe they were yelling at Roberts. He’s always playing practical jokes on everyone, but they didn’t stop yelling. I felt the toilet shake and heard Marvin scream to get out of the building. I thought it was an earthquake and hurried as fast as I could. When I got to the kitchen, everyone was gone, so I ran down the tunnel to get out of the building. I remember thinking about the light coming in through the windows in the doors, because it was too early for sunrise. I saw the guys standing outside, staring at the light, but it scared me. I ducked into the storage room, and that’s when the door opened and I saw it. Scared the living’ shit out of me and I ducked behind some boxes!”
“What did you see?” she asks.
“The, ah.” Broden looks down at the bed. When he looks up, his eyes are begging for understanding. “The spaceship.” He sees Christa and Alex exchange looks. “You think I’m crazy, but I know what I saw. I didn’t know for sure. I mean, not at first. Just that it was huge. Then they came out, and I knew what it was.”
“Who came out?” Christa asks.
Again, Broden’s eyes plead for understanding. “The spacemen in white suits.” This time Christa and Alex restrain the urge to look at each other and let Broden continue. “They tossed the bodies of my friends into the store room. That’s when I realized. I mean, the way their eyes were open and all. I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t stop. I’ve never seen dead people before, but I just knew it. I felt like a coward, but I didn’t want them to kill me so I stayed behind the boxes. They just kept staring at me, my friends, I mean. I couldn’t stand to keep looking at them. When I thought it was safe, I stacked a bunch of boxes up in front of them. Later, I don’t really know how long it was, I felt the ground shake again, but I wasn’t about to come out. The next thing I know, I’m here, in this hospital.”
“Can you describe the spaceship for us?” Alex asks.
Broden looks baffled for a moment. “It was a gigantic silver hockey puck. Must have been at least forty-foot across and twenty-feet high.”
Broden sees Christa skeptical smile. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“No, Mr. Broden,” says Alex. “That would explain several mysteries.”
Christa glances up at Alex, wondering if he really believes Broden’s fantasy.
Broden’s mood lightens. “Then I can leave the hospital?”
“If the doctor thinks you’re physically fit, I don’t see why not?”
Broden smiles. “Thank you, Mr. Cave!”
Alex’s expression turns serious. “One man from your station is still missing. Gary Darven. Do you have any idea what happened to him?”
Broden’s brows bunch together in thought. “You know, come to think of it, he wasn’t in the storeroom with the rest of the guys.”
“What do you know about him?”
Broden shrugs. “Not much. Kind of a weird guy, though. He’d only been there for two weeks and didn’t talk all that much. He did some strange things, too.”
“Such as?”
“Well, I don’t know how to explain it, exactly. He just did things somewhat different and wasn’t very friendly, but mainly it was what he did the night before all this happened. I got off watch, and as I was walking past his room, I heard him talking on the other side of the door and stopped to listen. It sounded like he was praying and I started to leave. Then I saw a bright blue light under the door. It’s common courtesy not to invade someone’s privacy, but I couldn’t help myself.”
Alex sees the regret in Broden’s expression. Evidently, it’s not acceptable. “Then what happened?”
“I opened the door a crack and peeked into the room. Gary was kneeling in front of the desk, saying a prayer or something, and staring at what looked like a blue light bulb, but wasn’t connected to a lamp. I couldn’t hear his words clearly, but I heard him repeat the word ‘messiah’ a few of times, then he held up a small glass tube full of colored, sparkly stuff. He held it close to the blue light and I know it was just my imagination, but the sparkles looked like they were moving around in the tube. A moment later, the light got dimmer until it blinked out. I didn’t want him to catch me, so I closed the door. Of course, I couldn’t tell anyone. Then they would know I was spying and no one would trust me anymore. So I just went to my room and read for a while.”
“Do you know where he came from?” asks Christa.
“Not really.”
“Just one more thing, Mr. Broden,” says Alex. “Do you have any idea how this spaceship stole six-million barrels of oil out of the pipeline?”
Broden looks bewildered by the question and slowly shakes his head no. “I didn’t know anything about it.”
Alex smiles. “Okay. You’ve been very helpful. I’ll tell the director you’re free to go. By the way. You shouldn’t tell anyone else about the spaceship, if you know what I mean.”
Broden chuckles. “Damn right, I won’t. They’d put me away in a loony bin for sure. Wait. How and I going to get home?”
Christa reaches into her purse and hands Broden a company business card. “Call them when you’re ready to leave and they’ll arrange transportation for you.”
When Christa and Alex leave the room, the director is standing near the nurses’ station and approaches them as they stroll down the hall.
“Well?” the director asks. “What do you think?”
Alex smiles. “If he’s physically ready to leave the hospital, release him.”
The director’s jaw goes slack for a moment. “What? You can’t be serious! He’s been in a delusional state since he was admitted. I want to run a complete psychological evaluation, and that takes time. Our staff psychologist, Dr. Brandstrom, can’t fit him in until tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll see he gets the help he needs. Send the bill to the All Alaska Company.”
Alex and Christa leave the hospital. During the taxi ride back to the airport, Christa looks over at Alex. “Do you believe all what Broden told us?”
Alex hesitates while he mentally compares Broden’s story with the events of the past week. Finally, he looks at Christa. “I think I do.”
Christa stares at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “What?”
“I don’t think it was spacemen, but people wearing protective suits. I’m not sure about the spaceship. Perhaps he saw a reflection off the chrome of an airplane.”
“What are you going to tell Bull and the people in Washington D.C? Surely you don’t think they’ll accept Broden’s story.”
“Nothing for the moment. At least not until we have proof. Are you with me on this?”
“Okay. Where do we start?”
“I’ll have Martin investigate Gary Darven’s background. Also, I think the crystal you found could be very important. I’d like you to take it to a more sophisticated lab for further testing. I’ll arrange it at the College in Montana. You can stay at my ranch while you’re there, if you like.”
“All right,” she answers, and smiles at the thought of staying with Alex at his ranch. She thinks this is a great opportunity to learn more about him. She hesitates to bring up another option, thinking he’ll cancel his invitation to the ranch. “Since you work for the government, why not have them check it out.”
“I don’t actually work for the government. I’m more of a consultant. That being said, I know how it works and it will take too long. The equipment at the college is top rate, so you’ll be fine. How soon can you leave?”
“I can be ready for the first flight out in the morning.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up and give you a ride to the airport.”
She suddenly realizes he isn’t planning to go with her. “What? Where will you be?”
“I’m going for a cruise on one of the tankers.”
She suddenly feels a deep, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If Alex leaves on one of those tankers, she’ll never see him again. He’ll end up like all the other crew members, either dead or horribly injured. Why am I feeling this way? I hardly know him! “How about dinner?” she asks softly.
Alex is staring out the window, absorbed in thought, and turns toward Christa. “Sorry, what was that?”
“I said, how about a last dinner together?”
Alex smiles. “You make it sound so final. I’ll be joining you in Montana in a few days.”
“You, of all people, should realize what will happen if you’re on one of those tankers.”
Alex sees the anguish in her eyes. “Listen, Christa. Now we know what can happen, so we’ll be ready. I’m not suicidal.”
Christa realizes it’s useless to argue, leans back in the seat, and stares out the window. She feels Alex gently grab her hand and realizes he must think she’s pouting. She looks at him and tries to smile. “So, how about that dinner?”
“I’d like that.”
***
That evening, Christa meets him in the hotel restaurant. She’s wearing a black satin cocktail dress, cut in a deep `V’ at the neckline, with thin shoulder straps. She wears silver and diamond earrings and a matching choker necklace.
Alex stands from the table when he sees her. As he slides her chair to the table, he smiles and moves his lips close to her ear. “You look ravishing.”
Christa smiles at his boyish manner and obvious approval.
After dinner, Alex walks her out to her car. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“No wait! I mean, would you like to go to my place for a nightcap?”
Oh, how I’d love to, but a picture of Sevi’s body on the stretcher flashes through his mind. No! I’m already becoming too emotionally attached to her. I can’t let it happen again. “I don’t think I should.” He sees Christa’s hurt expression. “I’m sorry.”
Christa wonders if he doesn’t like her. She has another thought. He must be missing his wife. She forces a smile. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Alex opens her car door and Christa climbs in. “Have a safe drive home.”
Alex waits until she drives away, then heads to his room. I did the right thing. It has to be this way.
The next morning, Alex carries her suitcase to the check-in counter at the airport, and the attendant informs her to board immediately. Christa impulsively throws her arms around Alex’s neck and hugs him fiercely. “Be careful,” she whispers in his ear.
Alex feels the moisture of her tears on his neck. When she releases him, he wants desperately to kiss her, but smiles instead. “I’ll meet you in Montana. I promise. Now you’d better get on the plane or they’ll leave without you.”
Christa tries to smile bravely as she wipes the tears from her cheeks. She walks toward the door, glancing over her shoulder once before stepping through. She sees Alex smiling confidently, and feels he means what he said.
Alex’s smile fades as soon as the door closes behind her, for he has a premonition he might never see her again. He swears to himself he will, as he walks through the terminal.