by Tom Holloway
Anna continues, talking fast, “You met Nikki, remember? Susan’s roommate and my sister? She’s great fun, and she will laugh at our being together. I am picking her up at the airport today; you don’t need to come. You probably have things to do anyway. I can only imagine what might be in the universe-problems job, waiting for your response. Scares me just to think about it! Nikki and I will have lunch together and catch up. You know, sister talk. You have the entire afternoon to do your thing. Then I think we should head out for London tomorrow and attend my movie premiere, with you as my date. You will need a tux. Then, in a couple of days, we’ll go to my place in Hollywood. I want to introduce you to my friends and cook meals for you. Is this still OK for you?”
I smile and just look at her, thinking, Never underestimate the power of the human female.
Then Anna grins. “Henry, if it’s not OK, too bad for you. You’re still going. We’ll pack tonight. Do we take the Cyclone, or do I need to call the airline?”
I laugh and reply, “We take the Cyclone!”
John Jacobs is back at Langley, thinking that all hell has broken loose. The phone has been ringing off the hook ever since the event at the senator’s farm. His report was clear and factual, and a forensic team from the FBI was out there, too. The site was clean, undisturbed; their report backed him up. They also had checked a military satellite, pulling the infrared photo scan of the area from the exact time. It showed the shape of a massive invisible aircraft of some sort that was hovering high above the confrontation. It also clearly showed a massive radiation shot of fifteen thousand degrees or more in a split second, simultaneously hitting all the locations of the shooters. They must have been totally vaporized, as there were no bodies. This was a really serious weapon using massive energy. Nothing like this existed on Earth. Yes, this really was alien, the real thing. Finally no one was laughing at him.
The White House was briefed, including the National Security Council. The president gave Jacobs the green light to use all resources to figure out what was going on. No contact was to be made with an alien civilization without discussion with the president.
Of course, thought Jacobs. What if I get a phone call from an alien? What do I do? Tell him I’ll get back to him? Actually he would like to thank them for saving his life, as Deforleo almost ended his career that day and could have made his wife a widow. He severely underestimated Luca Deforleo.
The following morning Jacobs would need to follow up on his wiretap on Deforleo, extend it to all his family and known associates, the bankers, too, and follow up on the twenty-four-hour surveillance on Henry and Anna. He had a crazy thought: could Henry be an alien? He looked normal, like a military guy, and did not fit the profile. Neither did Anna. Henry was charming and hard not to like. Anna certainly did not look alien. She might be a movie star, yet she is really nice. He actually likes them both, a nice couple, and they were good together. Learning more about both of them should be interesting.
At the King Georges Café in Richmond, Virginia, the two sisters are eating lunch, happy to be together. Nikki is looking at Anna, trying to eat her club sandwich and keep talking at the same time. They have been talking nonstop since Anna picked her up at the airport. She has brought Anna up to date on her recent activities, telling her she loves her classes and knows she will be a very good doctor. And then reading the tabloids that are talking about Anna with a new boyfriend, a Henry Johnson, spotted together in a restaurant looking very cozy. Anna laughs, saying it’s nothing, yet Henry is at the farm, and all of them will be having dinner together, as a family, that night at a nice restaurant.
“Anna, come on, quit stalling. Tell me about Henry! I can’t believe you’ve fallen for him. You just met him a few days ago. It’s impossible, yet I definitely see it in your eyes when you talk about him. They really light up. You’re flushed, and your face glows big time. No question, you are in love. Give it up, girl!”
“Nikki, I don’t know what to say. It is crazy, and you would never believe me. Henry is much more than he appears. I am talking earth shaking and world changing, nothing like you could ever anticipate. No one has a clue just looking at him. I don’t know what to tell you or what I can tell you. I think I’m hallucinating just thinking about it. It’s overwhelming, surreal; it changed my life forever. I am not sure about love, although this could be a real possibility. I have never felt like this before. I feel it necessary to be with him every minute. Is that love? I miss him even now. I know it is stupid and senseless.”
Nikki, excited, exclaims, “My God! Please tell me everything. What has happened? Is he some kind of prince? Is he in the CIA? Maybe he’s a government assassin like James Bond. Is he a billionaire? Are you having sex with him? I know you are. Tell me!”
“Nikki, much more weird than all of that, it will astonish you, if I can get you to believe it. You have to keep what I tell you secret. Tell no one; swear it. Lives are at stake. I am not kidding.”
“Anna, seriously, is this for real?” Pausing, she sees Anna’s expression. “OK, then yes, I swear. I will tell no one. I swear it!”
“Nikki, for you to believe this, I have to start from the beginning, from our first day together until now; otherwise it is unbelievable. I don’t believe it, and I lived it. Are you ready? Keep an open mind, and don’t say anything until I have told the whole story. You agree to this?”
“Yes, I agree. Please tell me. The suspense is killing me!”
Anna goes through the whole thing, every event: their argument while driving, the car going over the cliff, the starship, the solar system, staying on the starship, the tour of the ship, the telepathy, and a condensed version of their couplings. The visions of KA*AM and talking about the other worlds and the aliens are a shock. Her words sometimes widen Nikki’s eyes, causing a few groans and a few tears, some of it causing her eyelids to flutter, maybe a couple of looks of fear plus real concern, and then some fast breathing at times. Her face flushes with excitement or maybe astonishment.
Anna asks, “Nikki, do you have questions? Do you believe me? Are you afraid? What do you think? Do you have any advice?”
Nikki is pale, no expression. Nothing. She tries to talk, can’t, pauses, shakes her head, and then finally, slowly breaks into a big smile. “Anna, it is incredible, unbelievable, mind bending, and I do believe you. You are the only person I would believe with a story like this one. When I think about my meeting Henry, before, at our first meeting, I could not understand my feeling then. It all makes sense now. His eyes are so penetrating. No one I have ever met has eyes like him. It’s like he can read your thoughts. No wonder. He probably was reading my thoughts. Anna, there might be a lot more about him than you know. You need to be careful. This is one for the history books and much more significant to me as I’m your sister.”
“Anna, I should not encourage you, yet you know I like him. It’s hard to believe, yet in a strange way he reminds me of you. He also seems lonely, sad, too, very kind, and really miraculous, just like you. Intuitively my feelings are telling me he is a good man. And for sure, like every normal man I know, it seems he certainly likes sex!” They both laugh.
Nikki continues, “He is what you say: awe inspiring and definitely intimidating. He is certainly different, more than unique, not like anyone on this planet, to say the least. Anyway, for what it’s worth, I approve, as long as you stay on this planet.”
Anna laughs.
Looking at Anna with a loving, tender smile, nodding her head, Nikki goes on: “Yes, Anna, I like him, and I think you can trust him, if you can trust any man. And I really like that he makes you happy, more than I have ever seen you.” She laughs. “He is really hot, too!”
Anna smiles and tears come to her eyes. “I love you, Nikki. You always know what to say, and you always have my back.”
Nikki responds, “I wish I could do better. I don’t know what you should do about all this. I have no real advice for you. This is way too much information for me to respond to. This is way
beyond the world as I know it. You are in uncharted territory and you have not known him long. I have to think about this a long time. You’re right, this is life changing, totally astonishing. Please be careful.”
Anna, her face serious, says, “I know it’s unreal, totally outlandish. It is surely not your typical, normal relationship. I may be in way over my head, and there may not be a happy ending. It is so complicated.”
Nikki responds, “The question is, what are you going to do? What if he asks you to come with him? Will I see you again, and where would you go, out there in the universe? How can you be sure you really love him in such a short length of time? This is totally crazy. And you don’t have to answer this, but do you think Henry is an alien?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s too soon to seriously think about it. I know Henry is not an alien, not totally, or at least not in the normal way. He is mostly human, yet there are some good alien things about him, not weird, just good things. The telepathy is definitely good.” Anna laughs. “I’m not sure where the sex is coming from, but that part is outstanding!”
She pauses, intently looking at Nikki, and smiles. “Nikki, you will love him. He is like an angel: kind, compassionate, strong, fun, charming, loyal, smart, and sure not boring. He has a lot of responsibility, too. You cannot let on you know about him. Promise me again. It is actually dangerous.”
Nikki responds, “Yes, yes, yes. I promise, and I do understand why. It is scary to think about it.”
Back at the farm, the senator is trying to figure a way out of making the call to Luca; he does not want to talk to him, although he knows Luca is waiting for his call. He dreads the reaction he will get from Luca. The situation is bad as well as tragic. He has failed a lot of people and he is totally boxed in, with no options.
The senator could tell Anna cares for Henry and wishes with all his heart it could be different. However, Luca will never give up. He will kill all of them, including Henry. He knows telling the police would not be great, as he would end up in jail. Somehow Anna must be made to understand. He will call her next week; tell her how bad it is for him. It will not be a pleasant call.
He has to call Luca, needs to get it over with, another nasty call. Before he can dial the phone, his special office phone rings. It’s Luca.
Luca asks, “This phone you are using is still secured, encrypted? Yes, good, I am not sure what happened out there today. Do you know anything? Why was the FBI there? What the hell happened to our people? No one returned, no word from anyone. They’re just gone! The Iranians are crazy, and they don’t trust us. They are saying we betrayed them, killed their people. They want to know what happened to the bodies. They want to know what happened. Who is this Henry? Where is he now? You say they’re going to London? And then they’re going to Anna’s house? When will they be there?”
“Senator, we are both dead. All of us are in our graves if we don’t figure this out. If the Iranians don’t kill us outright, we will suffer an even worse fate. They have nuclear bombs positioned in several major cities in the United States, and it will not take much for them to become desperate enough to blow up a few US cities, start Word War III. Believe me, they are freaking nuts and trigger-happy, too. They also have a lot of troops over here, maybe a couple of divisions hiding in plain sight. They’ve come over the Mexican border and mingled in the US population. Who knows what they are up to? They are wacky. We just need to go along. There is no other choice. They are even saying they have the Chinese and Russians backing them.”
“They say they want this deal with the airlines to go through. They want access to air power to break the economic embargo and prevent future embargoes, also to bring in critical stuff: technology, military stuff, more guns and ammo, and maybe smuggle cocaine out, export terrorism and arms throughout the world, and whatever else they want. Who cares? I don’t. I just want to survive, as should you.”
“I promised them the airline deal would happen; and Sam, if I have to, I will kill you and your daughters and your wife or anyone else. Senator, you can’t find a hole far enough away to hide in, and it will not be a quick death. Don’t screw this up.”
“By the way, Anthony will call Anna in a few weeks. He is flying to LA in our corporate jet. Make sure she sees him. Make sure they have mutual open calendar dates. Anthony can be persuasive. I told you they need to end up married. Say nothing to the FBI. Do you understand, senator? And don’t worry about the FBI; we have people higher than them. They can be handled.”
“Sam, remember, I have Excalibur Bank as a partner, with plenty of cash. These bankers have lots of friends in high places, higher than you, senator, people who will do what we tell them. They have already been paid off. Do what is right by your family. They do not deserve to die because of you.”
Chapter 24
Jacobs—Section 58
The Cyclone catches this entire conversation between the senator and Luca and relays it to Henry immediately. Henry calls John Jacobs as soon as Anna is gone. The Cyclone patches Henry’s call directly into Jacobs’s office, shutting down all monitoring devices hooked internally to his phone and securing the line.
Jacobs notices no ID on the call, strange, but answers, “John Jacobs, Section 58, to whom am I speaking?”
Henry replies, “John, we met yesterday out at Senator Jordan’s farm. This is Henry Johnson.”
Jacobs is astonished and stammers, “Yes, Henry, I remember you. Actually, I wanted to talk to you more. However, now is a bad time. I have to leave now, to meet my wife at the hospital, as I am picking up my daughter to take her home.”
“John, actually this conversation between you and me needs to be done immediately and away from your office. I will meet you at your house in one hour. Do you have enough time to make it there with your daughter at the hospital?”
“Yes, but I am not sure about this. My family is my private life.”
“John, I know all about your daughter Kati. I know about the terminal diagnosis of Hodgkin’s disease and all you and your family are going through. I am sorry for that, yet I have good news for you. When you get the results of the latest treatment today, you will find out she has no signs of Hodgkin’s. It is gone—a gift from me. Now, I need a return favor. Not a big one; you will not have an issue. I will explain more when we meet at your house. Can I see you in one hour? Can you make it?”
“Who are you, and how do you know about my daughter? What are you talking about, curing my daughter?”
“You will find out when you are at the hospital.”
“I don’t understand—” The phone goes dead.
At the hospital John and his wife hear great news from the doctor. Kati is well; the test results show no traces of the disease. She is more than healthy; there are no signs of ever having had any issues. Her body is perfect. They are all ecstatic. John is wondering how this could be. He remembers the conversation with Henry. It has turned out to be true. The Hodgkin’s is indeed gone, much to the amazement of the doctors. All say it is a miracle.
On the way home, John explains to his wife all that is going on—the suspicion of the alien contact and all the events happening on Earth. The first possibility, Henry Johnson might be an alien, then telling her all the confidential stuff, plus his last conversation with Henry. He tells her Henry saved Kati, then about the return favor, Henry’s request for a favor from him.
Judy is quiet, only staring at John, turning pale, with a look of fear and worry on her face.
Jacobs says in a worried voice, “Judy, I’m not sure who Henry is.” He pauses, then continues, “I am beginning to think he really is an alien. He will be at our house soon. There is nothing I can do to prevent it. Maybe you need to be somewhere else. I can drop you and Kati off, although she is asleep in the backseat now. What do you think?”
Judy responds in a firm voice: “John, please pull the car over. You need to look at me.”
After the car stops on the shoulder of the road, Jo
hn stares at Judy, afraid of what she might say. She is staring back at him intently.
“John, finally I understand why you have not been sleeping at night. This is inconceivable! Our entire world may change with one conversation, the conversation you are about to have in a few minutes. It is unbelievable and totally incredible, yet I believe you. I think it is happening. There is nothing you or I can do, much less the entire world. Every person on this planet will be affected in some way, all depending on what happens now. You are in the middle of it. It looks like God has appointed you to be part of this first contact with an alien civilization. It is terrifying if you think about it too much. I have confidence in you, John. You will do the right thing; you always do. Have faith, as this is your moment.”
She continues, her voice now firm, “Think about it. If Henry actually did this for us, it is a miracle, and we should thank him with all our hearts. If he needs a favor we should help him in any way we can. He saved Kati! He must have a good heart no matter who or what he is. I am coming with you. We will thank him together.”
She laughs. “After all these years, maybe this is your day, John. You will meet and talk to an alien!”
She is smiling, looking intently at John. “Really, John, what does he look like?”
Looking back at her, also smiling, he says, “He looks like a normal guy, maybe more like a military guy, not like an alien, and I think you will actually like him.”
When they arrive home, leaving their daughter in the car, they look around, look down the street, walk up the driveway, and peek in the backyard. Both are relieved. Maybe Henry won’t show. Then, to their absolute shock, the most astonishing event occurs, an event out of the movies. They look up: a spacecraft comes down out of the sky, moving fast, and lands in their backyard. It is a really tight fit, but it comes down easily, without issue except for some air turbulence.
