Internet Ready Fiction (IRFiction.com)

“These people need this technology,” Peter said firmly. He shoved his long arms through his navy jacket and gripped his car keys in his right hand. The disc was in his jacket pocket—he’d copied the program months ago. Did Mark know that Peter had it all this time? “This could help thousands. Millions.”

“You can’t do this, Peter,” Mark said in a slightly raised voice. He gripped Peter’s shoulder.

Mark’s hand on him was a threat, Peter knew, but he was a larger man than Mark. He could hold his own if he had to.

“I can’t just sit by, Mark. I have to do something.”

“Yes you can. You can sit right here and wait for Johnson.”

“I’m not waiting for him. He’s dirty, Mark. He doesn’t have the company’s mission in mind.”

“He is the company’s mission, Peter. He is the company.”

Peter looked at Mark with disbelieving eyes. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why do you think he was brought in six months ago, Peter? Why do you think the men upstairs have been shuffling around like they’re about to get the ax? Because they are, Peter. Johnson’s cleaning house, and it’s finally our turn to prove ourselves.” Mark crossed his arms. His explanation was painful. He didn’t want to tell Peter anything. Survival of the fittest.

“We developed this program to help people, Mark. Hospitals need this for all of their equipment and computers. We can’t sit on this one. I can’t. I refuse.”

Peter turned his back and left the room. He hastened to the elevator and pressed the down arrow several times. He shoved his hands in his pocket, feeling the small disc neatly tucked away. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he had to run. He hoped that all of the hospitals in the area would install the mysterious discs that had been mailed to them. He had a connection in a few local medical centers who worked in IT, so a few locations were a sure bet. Others, though, required his faith, and he had some left to give them.

He entered the elevator and pressed “CLOSE DOOR.” He felt safe as the metal box closed in front of him. That is, until a beefy hand shoved its way through, causing the doors to open.

“Peter Matius,” came a husky voice. “Mr. Johnson wishes to have a word.”

It was Johnson’s right hand body guard, Maverick—a pseudonym, to be sure. He entered the elevator with Peter and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

Peter said nothing. He felt Maverick’s thick fingers around his forearm as the machine slowly rose. He kept his hands in his pockets. He could still feel the disc. They don’t know about the other copies. They don’t know about the hospitals already installing the life saving software. Peter’s heart raced, but not in fear—in hope.

“Mr. Matius,” Johnson grinned. He was sinister, and his smiling mask only amplified his monster in Peter’s eyes. “Come into my office.”

Peter wasn’t led in the direction of Johnson’s office. Maverick gripped him firmly as he followed Johnson, who walked down a long corridor to a room with an unlabelled door. “Right this way, Mr. Matius.”

Peter’s jaw clenched as Maverick shoved him into the room. At its center was a large box with thick cords and colored wires attached to wrist and ankle cuffs. At the room’s perimeter were dozens of computers, all making up a large circle surrounding the strange machine. There was a bottle of Wild Turkey and an orange prescription bottle on a small table to the left of the machine.

“What is this?” Peter asked. “What’s going on?”

“Patience, Mr. Matius. You’re going to be the first to learn about our new information gathering technology,” Johnson explained. “Mr. Maverick, if you please.”

Maverick gripped Peter’s shoulders and shoved him toward the machine.

“I’m sure you’ll praise the technology’s efficiently, Mr. Matius,” Johnson said as Maverick forced Peter’s limbs into the restraints.

He heard several machines turn on. Johnson walked the perimeter looking at computer monitors. Something behind Peter surged into life with what sounded like incredible energy. It was the large, mysterious box behind him. It sounded like it could electrocute someone with the same power as a lightning bolt fresh from the angry heavens.

“Open wide,” Maverick smirked. He pulled Peter’s jaw down and threw several pills into his throat. He quickly poured Wild Turkey into his mouth, cupping his meaty hand over Peter’s mouth and jaw to ensure he’d swallow.

“Excellent work, Maverick,” Johnson said. “Let’s allow Mr. Matius to see what this technology is capable of.”

Johnson walked to Peter’s right and stood for a moment, looking at something behind him.

“What are you going to do to me?” Peter asked. His heart beat furiously in his throat.

“Patience, Mr. Matius,” John smiled devilishly.

Peter felt a surge of electricity come through his limbs. This would be his end, he knew. This would be how he would die. His vision failed him—he would be in eternal darkness soon.

“Give him some more Wild Turkey, Maverick,” he heard Johnson’s voice through the pain and the darkness. “The pills will keep him alive, the Wild Turkey will keep him buzzed, and the machine will make this feel like an eternity.” He laughed. “I wonder how many bottles of Wild Turkey it takes for a man’s liver to completely give out.”

God, I hate this.

I unzipped my suitcase and let the cover hang onto the bed. It smelled stuffy like old, dusty air and a bit like cigarettes. I bought this suitcase set—seven pieces for the low price of $79.95—when I went to Toronto. My first passport stamp. A rite of passage.

I threw things into the suitcase. There wasn’t much time. Just some clothes and whatever else I needed to get through this.

Twenty-six years old and dead. Died on the surgeon’s table for an appendectomy. Sons of bitches with scalpels and degrees and cotton masks covering their smug faces but not their beady greedy eyes.

I exhaled. It was cleansing.

How many outfits would I need for four days? Well, one outfit was already decided. I pulled the modest black dress covered in a black trash bag from the closet and folded it in half in the bottom of the suitcase.

I grabbed a few books, one of them a Bible, and laid them all across the bottom, making a hilly foundation for the rest of the stuff going in there. My Bible was worn. I’d been reading Ecclesiastes and singing The Birds in my head as I read.

To everything

Turn turn turn

There is a season

Turn turn turn

I grabbed some jeans and t-shirts, critiquing their quality as I haphazardly folded them and tossed them inside. I grabbed underwear and socks. I grabbed perfume and deodorant. I threw in dress shoes and sneakers, one at a time. I would be wearing my flip flops on the plane.

A time to be born

A time to die

Why couldn’t I be packing for a better trip? Like going to the beach. Well, I live forty minutes from the beach. All I would pack would be some cash and sun block. Forty-five SPF. Water Babies. The serious sun block that pale blue-eyed girls like me cake on to avoid our porcelain skin to turn fire engine red because we can’t tan. I’d probably bring a book. Something small that I can put down at a moment’s notice. Something easy. Something lacking commitment. Maybe Eragon or Northanger Abbey. Something small. Something easy.

A time to sow

A time to reap

What about a trip to Europe? I would need a week to pack for a trip to Europe. Or just a backpack, rough it with as little as possible like you hear from other people. It’s the stuff of legend. Can it really happen? It would be hard for someone like me, who packs a variety of things to prepare for my wavering moods. Maybe Ender’s Game, Wuthering Heights, and Deathly Hallows—suiting all types of tastes and moods. And a notebook, so I can pretend I’m Orson Scott Card or Emily Bronte or J.K. Rowling and write a saga of my own.

A time to kill

A time to heal

Wait. Did I pack any books? Oh, of course I did. There was The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe next to The Once and Future King. She would describe Peter Pevensie as an admiring fan, making him tangible. I would read it to her, and she would swoon, “Oh, Peter!” in her best British accent. We should have been studying for exams, but what college sophomore actually studies? I took her to the movie for her birthday. She and I cried into our popcorn when the White Witch ran the dagger through Aslan. She always got extra butter and emptied a bag of M&Ms into the bucket and never gained a pound.

Liam Neeson has a beautiful voice. He should read books on tape.

I grabbed my hairbrush, mousse, and blow dryer. I couldn’t possibly leave without these.

I looked at her picture on my dresser. It was wedged between my mirror and its wooden frame among others from my life. Twenty-six and dead. She was happy in this photo, standing in front of our college dorm freshman year. That was so long ago. That was yesterday.

A time to laugh

A time to weep

I was her maid of honor. I helped her husband figure out a way to propose. I helped her pack her life in boxes to move to Cincinnati with her new husband and new life. I told her she would hate the cold and not to call me at Christmas to complain about the ice on her windows while I wore shorts and flip flops to deal with Florida’s constant summer in winter. (Florida always confuses the seasons, so it sticks with what it knows: blistering heat. There are a few days out of the year that I have to break out my college sweatshirt.)

College sweatshirt. Cincinnati is going to be cold. I grabbed that from the depths of my closet and threw it over everything else in my suitcase. It smelled like the suitcase. Would I have enough perfume? Never mind. She’ll let me use her washer and dryer.

Turn, turn, turn.

Oh, yeah.

He saw a man holding a cardboard sign that read “The End is Near.” What a tease. The same man trades off one cardboard sign for another every few days–the other is “Jesus Saves.” Does it still count for an immortal? What good does salvation do a man who can never die to enjoy it? That’s the point of salvation–avoid hell at all costs.

He sighed bitterly and tried to change his thinking from eternity to the present.

She’ll be here, he thought, feeling slightly anxious. She’ll be here.

He wiped down tables and the bar as people began coming in. The acoustic musician for the night was setting up on stage, freeing his evening of musical obligation. He would only have to leave her if something happened–something big. His staff, although small in number, could handle nearly anything.

“Testing,” said the musician while her help adjusted the soundboard. “Testing. One. Two.”

He checked the bar supply and made mental stock of what needed refilling.

“Are you nervous or something” his curious bar back asked.

“Why? Does it show?” he smirked.

“Just a bit. You’re doing my job for me. That’s all.”

He playfully raised both hands. “Sorry. It’s all yours.”

The bar back laughed. “So what’s the count?”

“No sweat. I’ll get it. I need to stay busy.”

He walked into the storeroom and grabbed several bottles without really reading any of their labels. He thought about several things at once–the woman on her way to his bar (or, perhaps, not on her way–but he wasn’t going to let that kind of negativity in), his future that was endless, and the books in his office that hadn’t been balanced in six months. He thought about those cardboard signs again. He thought about how he wanted a guarantee that he would end up peaceful and happy.

There are no guarantees.

Well, except his absurd age. It would only increase. That was a safe bet.

He brought his bar back several drinks and mixes and left him to sort through it all. He listened as the musician began playing the opening chords of her first song. He hoped for a simple, quiet evening–almost like a normal date. Sure, the meeting place was his bar, but normalcy may still be achieved. He was going to take what he could get.

“She’ll be here,” his bar back said. “She’s not the stand-up kind.”

You sure? he wanted to ask out loud. He politely smiled, hating how nervous he felt and how apparently transparent he was. It wasn’t like she was the first woman, and, thanks to his incessant aging process, she probably wouldn’t be the last.

He wasn’t a player. He didn’t just date a woman because of superficial and fleeting reasons. He still firmly gripped his monogamous beliefs thanks to his religious upbringing. But knowing that he would probably encounter several women who would somehow gain his interest, he winced at the naked truth of it all.

He was overreacting. Nerves make the thought process go awry.

He rested his elbows against the bar, conveniently in full view of the front door while under the guise of the nearby stage and the act performing there.

“So are you going to buy me a drink or what?”

He perked up only to find a strange woman in her little black dress batting her eyes his way as she approached the bar.

“That would be very nice to the rest of the lovely women here,” he benignly replied.

“I’m sure we could work something out,” she persisted. The thick, sultry cover in her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

The front door opened. The night’s breeze rushed in and livened his warm skin. It was her–the woman he was waiting for, shy and beautiful. She had arrived.

Albeit unwittingly, he rudely left the strange flirtatious woman who unabashedly fought for his attention. He felt his feet move him toward the one he really wanted to talk to.

“Hey,” she shyly smiled.

“Hey. You’re here.” Really smooth.

“You’re very perceptive,” she joked. She looked at her hands, which were fussing with the cuffs of her jacket sleeves. She was adorable.

“Let’s sit,” he invited, gesturing to an empty table for two.

He heard her exhale slowly when she saw the secluded spot, but she managed her composure as she sat. Could she be nervous at their exclusivity? He surprised her when he held her chair and slid it beneath her as she sat. He was still a man from a different time, and old habits die hard.

He kept his opinions to himself (mostly), but he had never fully grasped the women’s liberation movement. What Women Say vs. What Women Do. Women want an equal playing field socially and economically, but they are ready to put out a man’s eyes when said male neglects to open a door for any woman.  Women want to be treated like men, but they want to be treated like women.

All of this coming from a man who was still accustomed to women in dresses with no voting rights. He kept his self mocking chuckle inside as he sat opposite his date.

Date? Did she think this was a date? She was dressed fairly casually, but he couldn’t let clothes reveal truth. Women wore pants now, even to fine events like dates.

“There is a question I’m dying to ask you.” He tried to hide the self-appreciative smirk related to his unabashed pun.

“Shoot.”

“What’s your name?”

She laughed. Her laugh was wonderful–enthusiastic while enjoyable, bold but still feminine. “Charlotte.”

Charlotte. He pictured southern plantations and fields of dancing grain in summertime. “I’m James.”

He wasn’t sure why–maybe he was seeing things–but her body seemed to relax completely.

“It’s nice to meet you, James.” She said his name with a softened J, not hardened like most Js most people say. It was smooth, quiet, like her demeanor.

“And you, Charlotte.”

He read an expression on her face. She seemed curious but too shy to satiate her inquisitiveness. “So–”

“So–”

They laughed awkwardly at their simultaneous attempt at breaking the silence between them. She looked down at her hands and he watched her blush.

“You go first,” he said. “I’m terrible at initiating conversation.”

“You seemed fairly adept with taking the first verbal step this morning.” She smiled slightly still looking at her hands. “I was going to ask you where you’re from.”

“All over, really.” That didn’t even resemble an answer.

“Am I getting too personal?” she asked quickly. “That’s the sort of thing people say when they don’t want to answer.”

She, too, was prone to defining, analyzing, and even naming the typical.

“Biloxi, Mississippi. That’s where I grew up.”

“You don’t have the accent.”

“I haven’t lived there in many years. I supposed I’ve lost it.”

“Except when you said my name. It was almost there.”

“Well, a southern name like Charlotte, rich with dignity and charm, should only be said with the truest of southern accents.”

“Actually, my name is French. I suppose the south adopted the name thanks to the infusion of French culture in Louisiana.” She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I was rambling. I’m a nervous rambler.”

He wanted to reassure her and tell her that she shouldn’t be nervous, but he couldn’t in good conscience. His own nerves were going to send him through the roof.

Did it show? Were his boyish ticks and sweaty palms blatantly obvious?

He nonchalantly rubbed his palms against his jeans. One down. Several hundred more to go. 

She had a theory.

Scientifically, it didn’t count as a theory. She formulated her analysis one afternoon during lunch in high school, and, well past college graduation, it stayed with her. She never uttered her theory out loud but often referred to it when the data was called into question.

If a woman’s name had more syllables than her husband’s or boyfriend’s, then their relationship would be successful.

Well, she would be the first to admit her theory’s lack of sensibility, and there would always be exceptions, but, usually, the theory held true.

It was true for her parents–thirty years happily married.

It was true for her best friend–yet unmarried with a series of bad break-ups with men whose names could not fit the equation.

It was true for her. A man with more syllables in his name wouldn’t give her the time of day. It was especially hard for her with her name only having two syllables. She watched out for the monosyllabic men, but most were far from her type–her type being single, straight, and remotely attractive.

She looked at her reflection. She was wearing the fifth outfit in a row. She was frustrated with excitement and anxiety–and nothing matched. Why did he surprise her like that? She had no time to prepare. She needed time to put together a knock-out outfit. She needed time to get her makeup just right. She was never girly. She wasn’t overly feminine. She still didn’t know how to fix her hair–she just moussed and teased a lot.

She remembered her friends from home who knew everything about clothes and men. She didn’t have friends here–just a job with adequate pay and a dead social life.

Her friends would probably frown upon her frequent visits to the same bar. They would understand, though, if they could see the man who owns said bar and who surprised her with hope in seeing her tonight. They would understand when they heard him sing, but she didn’t want that. Competition would run rampant among them, and she wanted him all to herself.

She returned to the third outfit she previously tried–a complimentary black sweater with her best blue jeans–and finally decided that casual was best for a bar previously encountered. As she inspected her choice in her full-length mirror, she pictured his face, his smile–how his mouth would move when he would say hello. Ideally, he would tell her how beautiful she looked when she walked through the door of his bar and he pulled out her reserved seat at an intimate table for two. He would say charming things as he looked at her in a manner she had only dreamed of (and, obviously, dreams of still). Then, when the moment was right, he would lean in and gently touched her lips with his.

She shook her head, refocusing on her reflection, and became angry with herself. She had another theory, one that always came true.

If she thought or fantasized about something, especially something in her near future, then she jinxed it. It wouldn’t happen. She would live in her mind, but it would never occur in reality.

Frustrated, she began to fix her hair (moussing and teasing). Just then, she feared what his name was. She knew it had to have several syllables–so many that only women blessed with names like Alexandria would stand a chance.

Five big syllables–who does that?

She was reluctant to leave her apartment knowing that she didn’t give her appearance her all. Her hometown friends blessed with polysyllabic names would’ve done wonders, but one must work with what one has been given. She stepped through her apartment door, and, while securing the deadbolt, felt nervous anxiety relieve her mind of her appearance to focus on her lack of verbal skills around members of the opposite sex–well, the ones she found attractive. What would she say? How would she aid conversation should things lull?

She had some great stories from college.

She had some great stories experienced by other people–she always kept the really good ones on file just in case.

Maybe he would take control and do all of the talking. He took serious initiative by approaching her this afternoon.

Yeah–he approached her.

Her steps on the damp pavement echoed against the cold brick buildings with a bit more confidence as she steered her two-block course to his bar. He probably wouldn’t care about her clothes–he wanted her.

She imagined him smiling, thinking that her overall awkwardness was cute.

“Oh, crap!” She exclaimed aloud.

Jinx.

He wiped down his tables as the morning neared ten o’clock. He loved the quiet solitude of his bar every morning; he could think with no interruptions or distractions be himself for a short, blessed time without fear of someone reacting to who he truly was. His body superseded Homo Sapien status in that his superhuman cells allowed for speed, strength, and health, but he seemed a normal, common human man.

Common, that is, except for his heightened attractive quality. He was quite plain prior to his transformation, but he knew his alluring mystery was meant to help feed his addiction. His conscience, though, left completely in tact by that madman all those years ago, disallowed his primal wants to be fully met.

He threw his washcloth into a sink of bleach water and picked up the grocery list he compiled for his bar. He opened the front door and blessed the overcast, shielding his aged eyes and skin from the harsh sunlight. He heard singing birds in the small trees planted in the sidewalk. Something about this attempt at preserving nature never sat well with him, but he rarely understood twenty-first century humans with their lust for technology and progress for progress’s sake.

He entered the small grocery store, ringing the overhead brass bell, and found a small basket. He hated grocery shopping–he hated all shopping. A small boy ran from aisle to aisle in a feeble for still effective attempt to elude his clearly frustrated mother. Parenthood wasn’t entirely appealing–about as appealing as shopping.

Mentally groaning, he pressed forward and began gathering the items on his list. He started with the lemons and limes in produce and worked his way back to roasted peanuts and potato chips. There were times he would enjoy junk food and finer cuisine despite his everlasting lack of an appetite, but potato chips were is downfall. The salty crunch on his heightened sense of taste was almost a religious experience. He grabbed an extra bag of sour cream and onion for insurance, thankful that no one could hear his thoughts praising his extraordinary metabolism.

He stood behind the frantic mother and her rambunctious aisle-jumping son at the check-out. She had the boy’s small hand in hers, tightening her grip and pulling him back when he would try to escape. The small boy looked up at him with wide curious eyes, spotting the recognizable bags of sour cream and onion chips and, having been taught how to share with his peers in kindergarten, was anxious for his cut of the man’s snack.

“Stop staring,” the mother chastised, pulling her son down to their bagged groceries. They left with the boy glancing back at the chips.

“Hi, how are you?” the cashier mechanically asked.

“Fine.” No sense in attempting small talk. Why waste the effort when she wouldn’t appreciate it?

“Twenty seven thirty,” the cashier said.

He paid and left with a brief “thanks.” The birds in the caged sidewalk trees were still singing.

Then he saw her. She was across the street at an open coffee cart paying for her beverage of choice.

“I just want a blank coffee,” his super hearing eavesdropped. “Just black.”

The vendor pushed the daily special–a mocha something-or-other–but she knew what she wanted. He didn’t realize that a small thing like coffee could increase already growing affections and curiosities.

He crossed the street and silently stood behind her. Once she paid and picked up the steaming cup of black coffee, he said, “Hi.”

She turned around quickly with widened eyes that could compete with the aisle-jumping potato chip enthusiast. When was “hi” earth shattering? He held back a laugh and smirked instead.

“Hi,” she slowly replied.

“You look different in daylight.” He enjoyed the fair shade of pink that crept onto her cheeks.

“The same could be said for you.”

“It’s amazing what the time of day can do.” He tilted his head to the side. “Are you a connoisseur?”

Understandably, she was confused until he looked at the coffee cup in her hand. She laughed.

“You seemed pretty adamant about your selection.”

“I was pretty animated, wasn’t I?” She smiled. She had such white teeth. “And no. I don’t even like coffee. My boss requested some, and our break room is fresh out.”

“And your boss gets what he wants?”

“He’s one of those polite dictators. You’ll end up doing whatever he wants without realizing you’ve become indentured.”

She was intelligent. His attraction rose. He could smell her–perfume, scent, everything–and she was intoxicating. Would he maintain control? His senses were already near overdrive. If the wind blew in the wrong direction, he would lose his grip.

“I should be getting back,” she said when he didn’t pick up conversation. “My boss will turn the office upside down searching for his coffee.”

“Will I see you tonight?” He prayed that his hopeful tone and expression were enough to make up for his rude and awkward silence. He knew this infatuation was dangerous, but he couldn’t deny the exhilarating rush.

“Sure,” she smirked. He could almost hear her pulse quicken.

“Great.” He made sure to flash his bright smile before saying, “See you tonight.” He turned and crossed the street, smiling to himself. He heard her gasp “Oh, my God” under her breath, only adding to his already charged adrenaline.

She sat in her desk chair staring at her computer screen. A blank word processing document was open, the blinking cursor taunting her. She had been lapsing in and out of focus all morning. What was she supposed to be doing? She glanced down at her desk for help and found a hand-written document her boss wanted typed. Her boss wrote like an arthritic doctor. Sometimes she wondered if her boss had some vendetta against her to drive her crazy with menial tasks and bad grammar.

She straightened up the sheets with scrawled script barely parallel to the lines and thought of him again. He helped her mind to clear all morning. She would recall the sound of his voice, the way his hand gripped the neck of his guitar, and how he smiled. There had to be something wrong with him–some fungus or insane hobby. He wasn’t perfect, she knew. No one was.

Maybe he murdered his wife.

Maybe he has back hair.

Maybe he saves his toenail clippings.

She shook her head to help control her gag reflex.

She heard loud, thumping footsteps. Her boss was approaching.

“I need you to send a fax,” he said, rudely laying a new document over her work. “This has to go out now.”

So you’re too good to push buttons? She rebelliously thought.

They were only ever thoughts. She wouldn’t risk her job for a few words wrought with pride and haste. She was not too good to push a few buttons. Anyway, she didn’t want to hurt his feelings–granted that he had any.

“Also, I need some copies made–the financial reports from the last six months. They’re for the auditors. Oh, and some black coffee would be great.”

All right–so he didn’t have any feelings. She still kept her lips firmly pressed together. She rose and gripped her coffee cup before she ventured to the Black Hole, the affectionately named work room whose reliable technology and steadfast operations beckoned all employees to enter at their own risk. Once you enter, it is nearly impossible to escape. She was comfortable and in a patient mood this foggy morning despite the urge to turn to a good book and her oldest set of pajamas while damning the civilized world and all its nine-to-five glory. She cradled the stack of papers with one arm and pressed onward. Upon entering the Black Hole, a small line had formed behind one of her coworkers who was intent upon faxing a ten-page document long distance. She held back a groan and looked longingly at her cubicle. Could she race back to get her portioned snack bag of diet cookies without losing her spot in line? She sipped her coffee in minor defeat and decided to play the hand dealt to her. Next time, though, she would not be so naive.

She allowed herself to envision the bar’s dark and smoky atmosphere. He would be on stage singing, and she would be at a solitary table for one directly in front of the stage. He would be singing to her, and she would be cool and attractive.

His song ended. He gently placed his six-string on the floor of the stage and stood, staring at her. He stepped forward and hopped down. She felt her heartbeat quicken. His boots lightly tapped the hardwood floor, echoing in the stillness. He stopped. He was standing over her–so close–

“I know it’s easy to fall asleep in here,” a man behind her said, “but it’s your turn.”

She looked up and realized that a line formed behind her. She profusely apologized, flushing a deep crimson. Embarrassed, she began her copies and wished the work room really was a black hole.

“Walk with me…”

She closed her eyes and exhaled heavily, as if something would get easier when she did. It didn’t, but she stood up anyway. “Okay.”

He gave her a reassuring look.

“Amy, you’ll do fine. You have been training for this for a long time. This is your big break. This is your chance to shine. Don’t let nerves blow it for you.”

“I won’t, Charlie; I’ll shake it off. How much time do I have?” she asked as she pinned up a loose strand of dark hair back away from her face.

“You only have five minutes. You better get ready. Those NASA guys hate to wait,” Charlie said with a smile.

She smiled back and moved to leave the room with her old friend. They’d been in this together since the beginning. It was only right that she would spend the last five minutes before the case walking the halls of the Senate building with Charlie instead of alone in a stall of the women’s bathroom.

“Well I won’t walk in a second early. They might think they control the universe, but I intend to prove otherwise. Do you know who’s presiding over this circus act?”

“Senator Petsick.”

“Damn.”

“I know. But at least he’s a horny old b—Joe! How’re you?”

She dropped her voice to a low whisper as they started passing people in the hallway. “Stop acting so happy; it makes me look nervous.”

“Does my smile give it away?” He was beaming hard enough to give her a mild headache.

“That and the fact that I’m trying to burn holes in your head without looking at you.”

“Nah. That just makes it look like you’ve got a thing for me.”

She elbowed him sharply in the ribs. He laughed and winced. She couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“That’s a little better.” He thought to squeeze her hand, but decided against it.

They’d arrived at the massive oak-paneled doors. She touched the dark grain, and her smile went weak.

“Don’t, Amy. Don’t unless you’re going to use it to get to them. And it’s a long shot, but…I think you can really kill them good.”

She pushed her thumb against the identification panel, her features resetting into the metallic angles of a driven woman. People called it her mask. He knew so much better.

“Trust me,” she said with a hint of fire in her whisper.

The door clicked open, and the sound of chairs turning to face the new arrivals leaked out. She looked at him one last time.

“I plan on it.”

***

In the year 2017, a year of no mathematical consequence or ironic coincidence, we heard the first radio signals of distant life beyond our solar system. In a hurried panic, the international space research programs demanded funding from their respective governments to help them win mankind’s second space race. The US–hoping to play more cards than just the financial aces up its sleeves–used its connections with the UN and NATO to begin renegotiating the political boundaries above ground level. To date, no one had measured the wealth of land by the stars its infinite vertical boundaries encompassed; no one—outside of science fiction novels and television shows—had seriously considered setting international property standards based on the three-dimensional quadrants formed by every metric unit beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Statesmen and attorneys the world over battled out rights on the national, provincial, state, local, and individual levels. In the end, they all wanted the same thing: to own the stars.

Within ten years, the Interstellar Property Treaty and Standards had been defined with every nation on the map securing some corner of the vast infinity of space for itself. Everyone waited for the first space battle to take place, for space commanders to be more real to the common citizen than costumes and characters, for their eyes to open one morning to find that their sci-fi dreams were realized in glowing Technicolor around them.

The consequences of this glory were more significant and immediate to a few members of the general populace than others. While John Doe still tuned in to the nightly space-wave broadcast, hoping to decode the messages still pulsing away from beyond Alpha Centuri, a small group of scientists declared war on the US Government.

Dr. Gordon Even, Ph.D. in Conservation Biology at SUNY, discovered a loophole in one of the IPTS articles that allowed governments to break land covenants and environmental protection laws in the name of greater science. The oversight specifically allowed deforestation to gain a better view of the sky or to reclaim land for the use of any given aerospece project deemed “necessary.” Aghast at what he assumed could only be a mistake, he followed the procedures, notified his congresswoman, held town meetings, signed petitions, and waited patiently for the inherent inefficiency of American democracy to slowly churn out a satisfactory answer. Around every corner, however, he found a calmly smiling face assuring him that no one would take advantage of the loophole unless absolutely necessary. But Gordon Even wasn’t smiling, nor were his colleagues at the SUNY’s Department of Environmental and Forest Biology. The Global Warming Crisis of the first decade of the millennium had taught them how earnestly the government would respond to gentle coaxing and hard scientific data, how quickly the absolutely necessary moment would arrive when one more launch pad was needed or when another few million acres of sky needed to be clear. To these biologists and botanists, the trees of the world were their last hope at reclaiming what had been a normal, balanced progression of life before human greed overran the environment. To the government, the men and women who stood in their way of winning the race to edges of the solar system were nothing more than hippies with diplomas, born a few decades after their time.

When the dissident professors and their well-connected friends at the EPA and the US Forest Service brought their case to the US Supreme Court to debate the Constitutionality of the IPTS, jaws dropped. The scientists at NASA believed themselves entitled to the land since it mathematically guaranteed them a more successful program: more land, more sky, more possibilities for domination. The bureaucrats believed it laughable that anyone took the case seriously. After nine painstaking months of scientific evidence from both sides of the courtroom and no visible answer in sight, Gordon Even took the stand to close his arguments.

“I cannot ask you to look at this evidence and understand it all. Our knowledge of the Earth and its biology is as far beyond them as their expertise on space is beyond ours, and to you nine–who excel first in being fair, discerning, and judicious–I cannot imagine we’ve made this decision easy for you. But I do ask you to lay your hands on your desks, to feel the grain beneath the varnish. Now imagine telling a child of nine or ten that it was once alive and stood twenty feet tall, just a dwarf next to its cousins. Tell them that it was once green. That it made a rushing whoosh when the wind blew in summer, turned thousands of colors in the fall, and caught icicles and snow in winter. Tell them that the wood they see is the last of its kind because we wanted to know about something that lived so far away we didn’t even have the technology to answer it, much less get to it. Imagine explaining the injustice we’d caused that tree, the injustice we’d caused that child. You cannot possibly accept that after all this fight they have no plans for these trees and that land. You cannot possibly imagine that they will be fair-minded when they’ve fought us every step of the way. You cannot—”

Gordon Even’s words were stopped by a bullet fired from somewhere near the tall, oak doors that led into the hallway. Amy Even, age thirteen, who hung on every word her father had ever spoken to her, watched him fall to the ground as if felled like a tree.

A week after his death, Amy read her father’s speech as his eulogy, hoping it would make a difference, that she could somehow manage to finish her father’s work by rallying the people around her. But NASA’s lawyers took advantage of the prosecution’s deflated morale and won the case as if no one had ever fought them. Within a week of the decision, three quarters of Yellowstone National Park had been passively rezoned as an National Center for Space Technology Development. Their mission accomplished, the directors of NASA sent Amy their most sincere apologies and expected to see the last of her. And Amy let them have their dream.

Ten years, three degrees, and a constitutional law fellowship later, she stood outside the chamber doors, filled with ice and fire. The chill came from the metal that filled the chamber doors, seeping the last dignity of the thin wood panels that masked the face–wood that was so rare that these now antique panels could financially free a family for life; the heat was her father’s passion, welling inside her again. What should have been her father’s closing argument echoed in her mind: “You cannot trust life to those who are unwilling to preserve it simply because they lack the foresight to question their own actions. This is not a fight for trees alone, it’s a duel the people are fighting against those who would carelessly cast them aside for the sake of their own gain.” The glove had again been thrown down; this time she intended to draw first and last blood.

Author’s Note: This is a continuation of “He was so mysterious.”

~*~

Of course he’d seen her–tonight was her third in his place. She wasn’t even a drinker, as far as he could surmise, since all she ordered was Coke “on the rocks,” she would joke. Her humor was dry, sure, but it was cute.

Yes, straight, single men have the ability to include the forbidden adjective in their vocabulary, especially when it pertains to women. He noticed more than her cute factor, though. She played with her hair frantically and constantly. She stirred her “Coke on the rocks” before each sip. Was she afraid of the layer of water the melting ice would create? He knew that she noticed him too. He was more than aware of her attraction toward him. As a matter of fact, he was aware of most women he’d encountered feeling attraction toward him. He couldn’t blame his dashing looks, for they were fairly commonplace. He couldn’t blame his dazzling charm and wit, for he rarely spoke to anyone outside of his bar staff.

He wasn’t human. Women were drawn to that.

He was dangerous, and he looked the part. He was rugged but quite urban all at once. He purposefully wrote tight fitting shirts and jeans. He almost completely lived in a pair of leather boots. He knew he was noticed by his customers, especially when he performed on stage, and that appearances were, regrettably, everything.

He loved the way she watched him as he made his way through the floor to the stage. He always heard her breath catch like clockwork. he never made direct eye contact, but he could feel her eyes on him. It was a safe bet, at least, since all eyes watched him, but her blue eyes were powerful.

It was a shame they were mortal. To have those eyes staring at him for an eternity–

No. None of that nonsense. He kept his curiosity in check night after night for three in a row. Routine would save him. He should balance the books–that would have him curing all to hell in no time.

Each of the three nights, he retreated to the back alley after his set, using the garbage as an excuse to feel the cool night air against his warmed skin. The bar was stuffy with his malleable temperature affected, but there was a consequential rush when she watched him. He felt a switch inside turn on, leaving reason and thought to rest while his color showed. The animal wanted out.

The animal wanted to feed.

It wasn’t survival based. His want for blood was more related to an addiction. Blood was heroin and cocaine–hallucinogenic with a lasting craving for more. He barely remembered how it happened, but his never ending life pushed forward without time and age hindering his progress. He did know why it happened, but he wasn’t ready to face it. One hundred years had passed, but he never so much as muttered one solitary word concerning the event that led to his immortality. He often thought of the face of the man who cursed him–damned him–to solitude everlasting. Not one day passed without his old, angry face filling his mind and taking over his senses. He could still smell the burning herbs.

All because of one mistake. All because of her.

“If you aren’t sick of me yet, I’d like to play one more song.”

The crowd applauded their assent, but it was meant for her. He allowed rhythm to control his body as he played an original composition. He felt her eyes watching his every movement, and, to his elation, she was enraptured. Sometimes it was too easy to get a woman’s attention, especially since he had such an advantage, but she was different. She hadn’t approached him as other women usually did. They do not hesitate to make their affections known, but not her. She was reserved. Her face told him everything he wanted to know, but he didn’t hear it from her. He wanted to hear her speak.

His song was finished. He thanked his attentive audience and caught her gathering up her things in departure. He would have to make his move now. Immortals can commit impetuous decisions as would any normal human in spite of their learned patience. He grabbed bags of garbage and went to the dumpster behind his bar. He knew where she walked to get home. Hell, he knew where she lived.

Clockwork. Her echoing footsteps bounced off of the walls composing the alley. He waited.

“My singing is that bad, huh?” He laughed. It was his attempt at small talk, something he rarely practiced.

“No,” she smiled. She was shy. He was adoring every moment. “It was nice.”

“Thanks.”

He was so close to creating additional conversation, but she kept walking in the direction of her apartment. She wasn’t going to make this easy. He was up for a challenge.

Bar Keeper.

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