by Ted Iverson
Dinner tonight would be interesting, but he’d have to put that out of his mind for now. Right now he needed to relax and he hoped that Ty was doing the same. He set an alarm and, although his mind was racing a mile a minute, he managed to doze off.
Ty’s watch chirped and he realized that he’d have just enough time to get himself cleaned up before meeting up with Alec. He accomplished this in no time and walked out to get Alec. He just shut his door and turned around to find himself face to face with Alec. Ty jumped. “Don’t do that! That’s twice now!” he said.
Alec just shrugged. As they waited for the elevator Alec said, “Ty, we need to press Spencer a little. I mean about his knowledge of what Dad and Mom were doing, his last conversation with them and things of that nature. If we are to solve this, his information will give us a good start uncovering the many things we need to know.”
The door opened and they stepped into the elevator. Ty pressed the button and the doors closed. He stood there silently for a moment. “I know,” he finally answered. “We’ll do what it takes, won’t we?”
Alec then turned the conversation to more pressing matters: “Orion and Zach need to know about this afternoon and soon. No one knows Orion’s exact location, so he seems to be in the safest position. Zach, on the other hand, isn’t totally safe. We still don’t have any idea who gave out the information about Orion, and that isn’t good.”
“I thought you took care of that.”
“Captain Powers and I did to some extent. But until we actually uncover who was behind it, Zach will be at risk.”
“But he’s at Luna or the Lab. That’s got to be safer than down here.”
“True, but not one hundred percent. Captain Powers has his back, but if they—whoever ‘they’ is—want to get to us, they will. We need to at least let them both know about the possibility of problems. I’ll contact them in the morning.”
“That’ll be better anyway. We might have something new to tell after tonight’s dinner.”
The elevator came to a slow stop. The doors opened and they stepped out into a large room: fancy high-back couches and love seats sat in a semi-circle, with antiqued coffee tables next to each. Gold base lamps stood on top of these, with gold colored fringe hanging down from their lampshades. On the walls were portraits of great Americans. Placed about the room were pedestals encased in glass and on top of each were very old nautical instruments: an antique parallel ruler, a sextant, several chronometers, a gimbal compass, and a theodolite. Ty stopped to admire the theodolite. He motioned for Alec to come over and look at the antique.
“They used these to measure horizontal and vertical angles.” By the tone of his voice, Alec could tell Ty was excited. On he went, “They used it to determine triangulation networks. Our modern ones are used for metrology and rocket launch technology.”
Alec nudged him and tapped his watch. “Let’s go.”
As they walked away from the beautiful antiques, Ty stole one last look over his shoulder. They proceeded through the lobby and into the restaurant. Just before they went in, Alec put his hand up in front of Ty, stopping him. They looked at each other as only brothers could. Without saying anything, they shared the knowledge that all the hard work their parents had done through the years now squarely rested on their shoulders. Alec put his hand down, nodded, and let Ty lead the way.
Chapter Seventeen
As Alec and Ty entered the room, the hostess greeted them. She was dressed in black slacks, a white shirt, and a dark blue blazer. “Good evening, gentlemen. Will there be only two tonight?”
Ty started to reply, but Alec, normally reserved, jumped in. “No, we’re here to dine with Mr. Spencer this evening. Of course, if you wish to join us,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
The waitress blushed. “Thank you, but as you see, I’m working.”
“Sure, I understand. My name is Alec, by the way. Maybe we can chat some later, as I’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Well,” she answered softly, “we’ll see. Now, if you will follow me, I’ll take you to Mr. Spencer.”
She led the two boys toward the back of the room. Making sure she wasn’t looking, Ty reached up and smacked Alec in the back of the head.
Alec swiftly turned toward Ty with a look that clearly said What the heck did I do to deserve that?
As they reached the back of the main dining area, the waitress made a quick left and went down a short hall. About a quarter of the way down, she stopped and motioned toward a double set of doors on the right. Behind the open doors was a quaint room with a large, rectangular table able to seat six to eight people. Sitting at the head was Paul Spencer, dressed in his usual business suit. He stood as they entered.
“Young men, I am so glad you were able to dine with me this evening. I’ve been looking forward to visiting with you.” He reached out to shake their hands.
“Paul, thank you for inviting us,” Ty answered. “We’ve been looking forward to this visit as well.”
The three men sat down: Spencer at the head of the table, Alec toward the back on the right, and Ty on the left. The room wasn’t large, maybe eleven feet by eleven feet, but being brightly lit, it looked bigger. The décor was simple. In each corner sat a flower pot filled with exotic plants. A large crystal chandelier hung over the table, and, unsurprisingly, security cameras looked down from the upper corners of the room. Of particular interest to Ty were the portraits on each wall but one. On the wall behind Ty was a portrait of Spencer with Senator Axion. On the wall behind where Paul sat, a portrait showed Spencer with a woman a few inches shorter than him, dressed in a beautiful, flowing dress sprinkled with small spring flowers. This, Ty guessed, would be Paul’s wife. But the third portrait, the one directly behind Alec, showed Paul Spencer and Ty’s parents, staring straight at him. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. There, on what appeared to be the balcony of one of the hotel’s suites, stood Spencer. On his right, stood Ty’s father. The two men were dressed in casual attire: jeans and polo shirts. Standing beside his father was his mother. She had her left hand on his shoulder, while her right hand held onto a book, which was resting on the balcony’s rail. She was dressed in a sundress spotted with petite daisies. A spectacular harvest moon and a starlit sky were spread out behind them. Ty was mesmerized.
“Ty,” Spencer’s voice called in the distance, “are you feeling all right?”
“Yes,” Ty said, coming back down to earth. “I was just admiring your paintings.” Motioning to the one portrait, he asked, “The one with my parents, when was that done?”
Just then the waitress appeared and took their drink orders. After they were finished ordering, she said, “I will be back in a few minutes to take your meal orders.” Smiling, she walked away.
A heavy sigh came from deep within Spencer. “That was finished about a year before your parents’ deaths. They had a favorite suite, and we thought it would be nice to have the portrait painted there. I tried to get your father to dress more appropriately, but he insisted that we dress casually. I guess he wanted the painting to reflect him as he really was: easygoing.” Spencer smiled as he reminisced about the conversation.
“This room we are in now—did you know it was a gift from your father? He had it constructed for me so I could entertain the important dignitaries who stayed here. Of course, it was his to use as well when he stayed here. I told him I would like the painting hung here. Funny thing though,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “I had this room repainted about six months ago, and that painting is the only one we couldn’t remove from the wall. I asked your father about it and he just laughed. He had a wonderful sense of humor. Such special people, losing them was so terrible.”
A moment later he went on, “Your father was especially fond of his family and friends. He talked about you boys and Jennifer all the time.” Ty and Alec kept listening with great interest. “Alec, Jeff also brought your uncle up many times. He considered Nate his closest friend.” Spencer leaned back a bit
more comfortably in his chair and continued, “I can tell they brought you all up well. What a wonderful job they have done.” His face was beaming now.
Ty glanced at Alec, who looked deep in thought, taking in every nugget Spencer had to offer, storing the information within his vast archive of a mind for later processing.
“How close were the two of you?” Alec asked. “I mean, I hope we’re not being rude, but we have questions that need answers—about Mom and Dad and about your relationship with them.”
“Absolutely. Not at all. I fully expected that the two of you would be looking for answers. Back to your question, Alec, we were friends in the sense that whenever Jeff frequented my establishment, we were comfortable enough to sit down and have conversations that sometimes-involved personal matters. I deal with government officials and I hear many things. Your father, having gotten the grant from the OEC, had to appear in front of them many times to report on Space Tech’s progress. Well, I sometimes would fill him in on the ‘grapevine,’ if you understand where I’m going with this. He trusted me and I him,” Paul said with the utmost sincerity. “Understand this: Jeff worked with the government not for them. Because of the way he felt, he didn’t have every senator behind him. I wouldn’t call all of them enemies, but I’m sure there were a few who would prefer that his project be all government related. He felt, as you do though, that FTL was for the world’s benefit. As always, there are those who would wish to keep its successful flight a secret. Those are the same people who would use it for their own agenda.”
“I see,” Alec said as he tipped back in his chair. Suddenly, a look of bewilderment appeared on his face. The chair fell forward. “Successful? So you knew that they’d had a successful attempt?” Alec’s glance went from Spencer to Ty, who looked back at him.
“Well, it was my understanding that it was successful. Jeff came in one evening before he had to deliver a report to the OEC, and we had dinner alone. He even had me turn off the security cameras.” Spencer motioned to the corners of the room. “He wanted to talk in confidence. He mentioned that they’d taken out an unmanned, what he called ‘Proto One.’ Well, no humans aboard anyway. There were two droids, though, and all had gone according to plan. He was ecstatic, so I naturally thought that it had worked.
“He delivered his report to the OEC the following day and when we had dinner that evening he said that all had gone well in the meeting and that the committee wanted a private launch the next time. He did mention that he was uncertain why it was to be private, meaning no reporters, no public knowledge. He’d always felt that the public should know about it, but that he had no choice because of the grant. That was the last time I saw him.” A frown spread across Spencer’s face. “The OEC wanted to keep the launch from any and every information source. It seemed strange to all of us. The holonet didn’t even have knowledge of the impending launch, as far as I know. It was not until after the accident that the news covered anything about it. As you know, the launch itself went off without a hitch, but something went terribly wrong, something...” He sat there in silence, shaking his head, eyes cast down toward the table.
“Did you know that the prototype is missing? Our sources think that our parents purposely destroyed it.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that. But then, your father could be unpredictable at times.”
“You sound unsure about it being destroyed,” Ty said.
“Unsure? Possibly. Boys, it just does not make any sense to me. Why would you destroy the only working model of something? Granted, they had another ship built, but it would be unproven in flight. What were you told?”
“That Dad took it out and went back to the station without it.”
“So when he went out and returned, where did he arrive from?”
“Uh, Space Tech, I believe.”
“So if he arrived from Space Tech, he would have had to fly the prototype back here to Earth. A ship that big without anyone noticing? You see my point? I knew your father fairly well and I just cannot imagine that he would have destroyed something so valuable.”
“Why couldn’t he have destroyed it and had a transport standing by to transfer to?”
“Because,” Alec said, cutting in as understanding dawned on him, “because of two things. He had a shuttle from Space Tech take him to the station. That means if he destroyed it, it would have had to have been done near Earth. And if that had happened, satellites would have picked up an explosion that huge. Debris would’ve surely found its way back through the atmosphere. So rule that method out. Dismantling it wasn’t an option either because of the amount of workers it would have taken. Paul, do you know something we should know? Like if it’s here on Earth?”
“Again, I am only giving you my opinion. I cannot say it is or isn’t.”
“You wouldn’t tell us if you did know, would you?”
Paul Spencer smiled. “If I did know, I would tell you. It is also my opinion that the second FTL ship was completely safe. The prototype successfully made the flight, so I cannot help but think that the second ship, the StarDancer, would have done the same.”
“You mean... I mean…” Ty stared at Spencer. “Just... just what are you implying?”
Alec cleared his throat and said, “Paul, are you saying that you don’t think that it was an accident? Because if that’s what you want to tell us, then just say it.”
“Boys, if it is honesty you want, that is what you will get. I have no proof, but there are rumors, undertones, that it was sabotage. My contacts find no tangible evidence of this, but I find it believable.”
Silence engulfed the table, none of them knowing what to say next.
The waitress returned with their drinks, took their orders, collected the menus, and walked off.
Confused, Ty broke the silence. “So the launch really was a success the first time. I would agree that the odds that something went wrong with the StarDancer would be slim if Dad had had anything to do with it. He was meticulous, always covered every angle of everything a hundred different ways. Sabotage? What you really mean is murder.”
“I had a feeling that we might end up along this line,” Alec said. “It would make perfect sense. Space Tech was set up to fail, and Mom and Dad were just the first dominoes to fall. Ty was told to have the schematics with him to present to the committee. Someone had to know that we couldn’t possibly have the originals. Without those the grant would be revoked, leaving the door open for some unknown company waiting in the wings. That is only my opinion. But what they don’t know is that we have prints that Zach and Orion have recreated from scores of notes and some incredible last-minute hypothesizing. We feel these will suffice and convince the OEC and Senate to continue the grant, though they may want the original working plans. If your opinion is correct, Paul, then someone else may have the original set of schematics and is hiding them to prevent Space Tech from getting that grant.” Alec became quiet as he mentally sorted through a series of incredible theories.
“Paul, if you had this in the back of your head, why didn’t you try to contact us right away?” Ty asked.
“As I said before, your father trusted me. I could not betray his trust by telling the first person who happened along. There are only three people on this Earth I could have told. I was asked, and was made to promise, not to seek them out if something were to happen. Your parents asked me to wait until you came to me, and I knew that if I waited, you would find me.” He stared at Ty, as if peering into his very soul. “Your father was correct again. You have come to me.”
Chills ran up Ty’s spine, raising every hair on his body. All of this was so unexpected, so out of the blue. Yet here was the truth. He could feel it. Paul Spencer had been waiting for them. Destiny, Ty thought, comes in strange forms. Ty’s emotions ran rampant: confusion, anger and, worst of all, fear. There seemed to be much more to this situation than met the eye.
“Paul, is there more you wish to add?” Alec asked.
Paul straightened
in his chair, his voice changing to an almost fatherly warning. “Young men, understand this: there is someone who opposed your father with passion. I have never figured out why, but you should take heed. Senator Pitor Axion is a greedy man who wishes for recognition, money, and who knows what else. He wants power and he believes that the kind of power he wants will follow recognition and money. Be wary of him, my friends. Ty, be prepared for your time in the Senate. Go in before you are scheduled to speak, if possible. Sit and observe Axion’s ways. He is a persuasive man, one who would twist his own mother’s words if it were to benefit his own needs.”
Spencer then gripped the table and turned to speak directly to Alec. “And you, Alec, while you are doing your research, you best beware of whose toes you step on. Be stealthy and watch your back. It could save you.” Pointing at the both of them, Spencer said, “Gentlemen, you and your brothers have been indirectly given an incredible burden to carry. How you handle this will define each of your lives, as well as the lives of those who follow you. Be sure to pass what I have told you on to your partners up there,” he added, pointing overhead. “They are not immune from danger either.”
With that last comment, their dinner arrived. As the waitress passed out the meals, she gave Ty a curious glance. It didn’t go unnoticed, but Ty didn’t think anything of it.
Alec sat with an even more puzzled look on his face than before. When the waitress had gone, he prodded, “Paul, if you don’t mind me asking, how do you know why I’m here and what I will supposedly be doing? It’s common knowledge why Ty is here, but me? I find it a bit frightening that you know my plans. Would you mind sharing?”
A sly look overtook Spencer’s face. “Alec, I have lived in the capital city all my life, and I’ve been running this hotel for over thirty of those years. Powerful men from around the globe come and go through my doors every day. I make it my business to know where they are going and what they are doing at all times, and I have many who help keep me informed. It helps business. Rest assured, I am the only one who knows the nature of your visit here, I promise. For a long time now, I’ve made it my business to know all about you four young men. You are in no danger from my staff or from me. We are here only to help you. I’ve helped your father also, ever since he joined on at Space Tech. Every big corporation needs a trusted informant.” He bowed ever so slightly. “I served your father, and I would be honored to continue to serve your company.” He leaned back and his face softened to a warm smile.
