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The Waterhole
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THE WATERHOLE
by
Warren Chazan
Copyright © Warren Chazan 2017
Cover Copyright © Ravenswood Publishing 2017
Published by Devil’s Tower
(An Imprint of Ravenswood Publishing)
Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher and/or author.
Ravenswood Publishing
1275 Baptist Chapel Rd.
Autryville, NC 28318
http://www.ravenswoodpublishing.com
Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN-13: 978-1543044768
ISBN-10: 154304476X
Friends and family-
“It is clear to everyone that astronomy at all events compels the soul to look upwards, and draws it from the things of this world to the other.”
~Plato
CHAPTER ONE
Janine stared out at the bleak, barren landscape. She tapped her long, slender fingers on the windowpane and looked down at the phone she was holding. It was time.
She dialed the familiar number.
“Hey, sis, what’s up?” answered Kath.
Janine’s voice was shaky and soft. “Hey, Nunu, just checking in … um … I just needed to hear your voice.” She was unable to stop the phone from trembling in her hand.
“What’s wrong, Jay? Talk to me.”
“No, nothing. Really, I just needed to talk to you,” she said, a knot forming in her throat.
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“Are you okay? Are you ill? Have you got yourself into trouble with the Australian authorities?”
“No, no nothing like that. Kath, I just want you to do me a favor,” she said, desperately trying to sound calm and upbeat. “Could you please take little Jake and Lyle and give them a big hug … I mean a really big hug, and tell them how much their Aunty Janine loves them.”
She held the phone firmly against her chest, squeezed her eyes tightly, fighting off the tears, eventually bringing it back up to her ear.
“Sis, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” said Kath, her voice rising.
“Just do it, Nunu! Please just do it for me.”
“Of course I will, but why?”
Janine ignored the question. “Um, there’s something else too. You have to stay indoors. Please don’t ask me to explain, but you must stay indoors and be extremely careful. Don’t open the door for anyone you don’t know.”
There was a pause. “Now you’re really scaring me. I—” A note of panic was etched in her sister’s voice.
“Promise me, Nunu!”
“Jay. What the hell is going on?”
“I’ll explain as soon as I can. Now I have to run. I’ll call you when I can. I love you, and I’m … sorry. Oh god Nunu, I’m so sorry I have to do this to you.”
Janine quickly hung up, cradled her head in her hands and burst into tears. A minute or so later, she blotted the salty liquid from her face, tried to force a smile then called out.
“Jack, we can go now.”
CHAPTER TWO
Six days earlier
September 12, 2051, 07:50 Pasadena, California
Denny Smith opened his eyes and stared into the face of Jess Kelly. He stroked her hair with his large, thick fingers and whispered into her ear, “Damn you’re beautiful.”
“Not too shabby yourself, General,” she responded with a cunning smile, running her index finger slowly over his rough cheek.
He pulled her soft, voluptuous body toward him as he gently caressed her left breast. “We sure as fuck make a good team,” he continued.
“An even better team when you once and for all divorce your wife,” she hissed, sullying the mood.
He leapt out of bed, irritated by her untimely remark and began dressing.
“Now we’re not going down that path again!” he grunted. “I told you when the time is right and we’ve accomplished what we need to, that’s when I divorce Kate, not a moment before. Jess, think about it, no more bleeding liberals looking to do what they like, ruining our economies, our security and our integrity as a people. They’ll be forced to act responsibly or face the consequences. Damn, Jess, those stupid Democrats have ruined this great nation. The GFC, the Islamic State fiasco, wasting billions on the blue energy schemes. It’s a fucking miracle this country pulled through all that.”
He paused, looking for the tie to his uniform. He found it on the floor near the bathroom, picked it up and continued.
“Leftist agendas, global warming crap, Mexicans flooding across the border and now these damn Islamic apologists. Without all that, who knows where we might have been by now?”
“Yes, honey, we’ve all heard your speech before many times, but think. If all that hadn’t happened you wouldn’t have risen to the rank of general, about to become chief of staff and be on the huge salary you’re on, would you now, sweetheart?” Jess grinned, then opened up a bottle of nail polish and began painting her toenails. Denny was now standing in just his shirt and underwear. A large scar ran from his left thigh all the way up to his groin, and another smaller one was evident on his left side. He noticed Jess staring at them for a moment, dreading what was to come.
“Denny, when are you going to tell me about those scars? You keep telling me soon, well I want to know, and I want to know why you’re so afraid of me seeing you completely naked. You’re a wonderful lover, darling, but sometimes a girl wants to see what she’s getting.” She stood up and shuffled over to him, then grabbed his left buttock playfully.
“For god’s sake, Jess, just drop it. I satisfy you, don’t I?” he asked, pushing her exploring hand away.
“Of course you do, sweetheart.”
“I told you, battle scars. I’m in the military, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Okay, Den. Touchy today we are. Sorry I asked.”
Denny finished dressing and gazed at himself in the bathroom mirror while straightening his necktie.
Although he was fifty-eight years old, people told him he looked closer to fifty. A bear of a man, tipping the scales at a solid two hundred and twenty pounds, he took comfort from the fact that he was no pushover. He didn’t like that his full head of hair had now turned completely silver, but apparently the women in his life did, or so they said. He studied the lines and scars on his face, each one telling a story of a place and a time where glimpses of happiness had been punctuated by brief visits to hell and back.
“Well, Jess, looks like duty calls.” He looked at his watch. “Same time next week?”
“Don’t be late!” barked Jess, lighting up a cigarette, inhaling deeply between her thick red lips and puffing out a large plume of smoke in his direction. “I’m not your stupid wife remember!” she said, trying not to choke on the smoke.
Denny rolled his eyes, recalling the first time he had met Jess. She was working for the CIA, and had been instrumental in cracking a terrorist plot. The dinner meeting had concluded with dessert in room 2014 of the Hilton. What had begun as a one-night stand had intensified into a passionate relationship, particularly after they realized that their ambitions were bizarrely similar, and that by working as a team they might just be more successful in their plight toward the highest office in the country.
Denny grabbed his tunic, buttoned it up, and headed for the door
.
“Door open,” he commanded.
The door to Jess’s apartment responded to his voice and he headed for the elevator. He stepped into the warm LA sunshine and felt the smallest flutter in his chest stir up a tiny flicker of excitement. Today could just be the day that everything changes, not only for him, but perhaps for everyone.
CHAPTER THREE
Inside the headquarters of NASA’s “EMB” project, Steve Winslow chomped on some peanuts and watched to his delight as the clock of the controversial trillion-dollar project counted down to zero. It now read T-1.20.45 and counting. He tapped his fingers on his desk with great anticipation as the minutes and seconds unwound to perhaps the greatest show in history. Then he looked at the clock on the wall which read 08:40 and excitement turned to concern.
He sighed, and wondered why on a day that was about to go down in the history books, Sheri Johnson would choose to be late. He gazed around the room in case he had missed her arrival, but all he saw were dozens of men and women, mostly in military fatigues, frantically doing final instrument-panel checks, making sure there would be no glitches or unforeseen errors when the signal from EMB came through at precisely 10:00
Just then, the electronic buzzer to the lab sounded, and the electronic one-way glass doors slid open with a slight hum. There she was, looking disheveled and upset.
“Where the hell have you been?” he said loudly. “This is your baby … thought you might miss the greatest show in all history?”
Sheri threw her briefcase onto the table next to Steve, put her hands over her face and started to sob.
“Hey, hey … I was only kidding … What’s wrong, babe?” He pulled her toward him and hugged her firmly. It was then that he noticed the glowing red wristband. He felt a knot grow in his stomach. “It’s red. Please don’t tell me he was back.”
Sheri nodded, her eyes a pool of tears. “He demanded to see Chloe.”
“Don’t those wristband thingies work anymore?”
“This is the second time he’s deactivated it. So much for the technology.”
“Well I guess the guy wasn’t top of his class at MIT for nothing. So no shock, nothing?”
Steve knew there was supposed to be a two-mile exclusion with the new Crimsafe system. Simon had once again escaped the rather unpleasant 2000-volt shock that was supposed to be generated wirelessly from the nearest electricity pylon.
Sheri grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. “He was drunk out of his mind again. Jesus, Steve, when will he leave me alone? When?” she pleaded. “What does he want from me? Why won’t he just go away?”
Steve felt his heartbeat quicken. He’d been there before. He gently touched her arm. “It’s only three more weeks until the hearing, just hang on a little longer, I promise it’ll be over soon.”
“I’m an awful mother, Steve. I can’t even protect my own child!”
Steve looked over at this beautiful woman, who he loved deeply, and pulled her soft hands gently away from her face.
“Look at me, come on, baby, look at me. You are the most caring, thoughtful, amazing mother I have ever known and I promise you that things will be okay. Just hang in there.”
Sheri flung her arms around him, and he felt her heart pounding against his chest. He still could not fathom how such an incredible woman had ever landed up with a man like himself, his left leg ravaged by polio after an epidemic resurgence of the virus in 2030. He still walked with a slight limp, despite years of physical therapy and the latest medical treatments, including an attempt at gene therapy. For some reason, which was not yet well understood, gene therapy only worked for certain conditions and the results still remained unpredictable.
He fondly recalled their meeting at the EMB boardroom, and the first time he had laid eyes upon her. Her beauty was only surpassed by her immense kindness and charity toward others. She hadn’t even noticed that he walked with a limp, at least not until he had brought it up on their third date.
They both looked up at the clock, which now read exactly T-1.00.01.
“Exactly an hour to go,” said Steve.
The exhilaration of what was about to follow seemed to magically improve her mood. At least he hoped it had.
“How’s Canberra doing?” she asked.
“Great, they’re all systems go. The Aussies expect to get the signal about two minutes after us. There were a few guys down there singing ‘Waltzing Matilda’ about an hour ago. I had to switch off the link. It was making me nauseous.”
Sheri smiled and her perfect row of teeth sparkled in the brilliant morning sunlight that was streaming through the window.
“Excellent,” she responded. “I’m glad we took them on and not the Brits. They’ve proved to be great colleagues over the past ten years. It’s almost a shame that it’s over.”
“Really?” asked Steve. “So you want to carry on for another five years?”
“Nah.” She smirked. “But …”
“But what?”
Sheri’s face took on a more serious demeanor. “Well, I just can’t help but wonder, what if we’ve missed something … you know, something profound that we didn’t think about?”
“Like what? We’ve run simulation after simulation after simulation. We’ve tested the programs over and over and over again. We’ve checked the physics over and over again, and we have never picked up anything that spelled disaster. Not once!”
“I don’t know, Steve, maybe it’s just my paranoia, but something in my gut says we’ve missed something … something small yet important. Maybe—”
There was a tap on Steve’s shoulder. He spun around to find a solidly built marine standing behind him. “It’s time, sir. The President has arrived. The press conference is about to start.”
Steve shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we should get down there then.”
Sheri shook her head. “I’m not in the mood for answering questions, Steve.”
He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later, the pair entered the press room to a barrage of camera waving ravenous reporters, all eager to claim the honor of asking the first question. Steve and Sheri ignored them and hastily headed to the podium, where they joined the ranks of President O’Brien, NASA director Wesley Miles, General Denny Smith and Australian Prime Minister, Justin Manning.
The President was first to speak. “Ladies and gentleman of the press. You are here to witness an event that will no doubt go down in the history books. After a culmination of years of research, timeless dedication by a team of highly motivated and professional scientists from around the world, but led by the US and Australia, we are about to embark on a journey that will exponentially increase our knowledge regarding our place in the Universe.” He turned to face the Australian Prime Minister. “I want to personally thank the Australians for their unwavering help and support in this historical endeavor, without which we could never have gotten the program off the ground.”
The Prime Minister smiled, then scratched his bulbous nose, his beady eyes flicking across the room, as if he were seeking out someone in the audience. “Our pleasure. Always happy to help out a friend, and what’s the use of having all that open space if it can’t be of some use.”
Steve thought about that statement, and knew that the availability of land and geography was only a tiny part as to why they had teamed up with the Australians. The main reason had of course been their Australian chief scientist working on the project, Drew Murrey, who had single-handedly discovered and patented the ‘Murrey reverse graviton accelerometer’, without which EMB was doomed to fail. Right from the start, Drew had insisted on building EMB’s twin in Canberra, or else there would be no EMB.
The President said, “Before we get started with questions, I also would like to thank General Smith for overseeing the project. His involvement was crucial in protecting NASA from both physical and cyber sabotage in this age where terrorism continues to threaten our—”
She quickly gained her balance, straightened her tight black miniskirt, and brushed her curly red locks away from her scarlet face with her left hand. She was wearing a yellow bandana around her neck and a green beret on her head. She had an audience watching her with wide-eyed fascination.
“What the hell is she doing?” whispered Sheri to Steve, shaking her head.
“Making a scene, I’m guessing.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s Janine Fuller, and that’s what the woman does. And it no doubt increases her ratings. She’s popular, people love that kind of drama.”
“Popular she may be, but what was she thinking when she got dressed this morning? Halloween’s not for another month.”
Steve smiled, happy that Sheri seemed to have snapped out of her dark mood and had regained some of her spirit.
Janine found a chair and sat down, but not until she motioned her camera crew to take up prime position in the room.
The President spoke, “Okay, let’s begin. To my left is chief NASA scientist Doctor Sheri Johnson and her lead team member Steve Winslow, who will take any of the scientific questions.”
Fifty hands quickly shot up, but they needn’t have, because Janine Fuller was already on her feet and talking. “Miss Johnson, could you please explain to our viewers around the world what exactly this incredible machine you have built can do?”
CHAPTER FOUR
The three-dimensional camera zoomed in on Sheri from multiple viewpoints. Almost every home in the world now had Sheri Johnson in their living room, talking. The impromptu question had caught the scientist off guard. She hesitated slightly before answering.