Dark Biology

by Bonnie Doran

  “Hildi, will you return to the CDC?”

  “Jasper, do you think we’ll beat China to Mars?”

  Frank continued to pose for the cameras as Nancy aimed a surreptitious wink at him.

  After a long few minutes, Barry held up his hand. He opened the door, eyebrows raised. Murmuring among themselves, the reporters filed out.

  The NASA PAO saluted the astronauts. “Good day, gentlemen. And lady.” After grabbing the flags, he strode out.

  Frank stared at the door, wondering what Nancy was thinking.

  ****

  Dan took a deep breath. It felt so good to breathe on his own. He pinched his nose, still itching from the things they’d inserted up his nostrils. At least he hadn’t been wearing them when the media visited. The brief encounter reminded him of old dreams in which he showed up naked for launch. Dan squeezed the hand of the woman he loved before turning his head toward Jasper. “What’s the word from the station?”

  “Joe says he’s fit as a fiddle and happy as a hog in slop.” Jasper grinned. “The old cowboy is determined to beat his record for days in space. Looks like he’ll do it, too. The Soyuz launch’s been delayed for another month.”

  “Where’s Joe from, anyway? What part of Texas?” Hildi cocked her head. “I never had the chance to ask him.”

  “Milwaukee.”

  Frank twisted the lanyard of his NASA badge. “Leonid’s still coughing, but Shorty and Maria are fine.”

  “And the pandemic?” Jasper turned to Hildi with serious eyes.

  “We’re winning the war.” Hildi’s smile warmed Dan down to his toes. They’d barely had time to talk with all the interruptions. Now her focus was back to her work. Would he ever have a chance to tell her what was on his mind?

  He turned wistful, his mind still centered on the mission. He gazed at his fellow astronauts. “We made a good team.” He glanced at Hildi. We’ll make a good team.

  Jasper quirked his eyebrow. “Well, next time, I hope it’s not quite as exciting. I’d hate to play another game of catch-the-water with such competition. You guys play rough.”

  “NASA grilled me within an inch of my life.” Frank grimaced. “I’ve been suspended pending an investigation. NASA’s still not convinced I didn’t cause the accident. Right now, neither am I.”

  Jasper laid a hand on his shoulder and tightened his grip. “We’ve been through this before, Frank. Just drop it.”

  “I’m having a hard time doing that.” Frank glanced at his watch. “I’m due back at the ranch. Another round of questions from the NASA director, no doubt.” His chair scraped as he stood and walked over to the bed.

  Dan wrapped him in an awkward hug. Why did Frank keep harping on this? Dan wished he had some relax juice for his friend. “I know you’ll be vindicated.”

  “I wish I had your confidence.” Frank left, head bowed as if he carried a heavy-lift rocket on his shoulders. Jasper followed hot on his heels.

  Dan squeezed Hildi’s hand “Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?”

  “Discussing our dangerous jobs, if I recall.”

  That wasn’t what they were discussing. Or at least not what Dan wanted to discuss. He stroked her cheek.

  Hildi stepped back. “Dan, we can’t keep up like this. It’s not just the danger. It’s our schedules. You could be gone for months on the next mission—”

  “And you could be working in the Congo for weeks, tracking down some new germ.”

  Hildi inclined her head. “Touché.”

  Dan cringed. It was a stale argument that started early in their relationship and apparently wasn’t going away anytime soon. Shorty had told him, “Go get her.” How?

  52

  “I” Plus Forty Days

  Frank shuffled into the room like a zombie and faced the jackals. He sat down at a table already crowded with Steve, Hildi, Jasper, and a geek named Nick. The scene seemed surreal after yesterday’s meeting with his boss.

  The camera flashes blinded him and made him wish for dark sunglasses. He hated press conferences under any circumstances, but this crowd was primed for an inquisition. They expected a beheading.

  Barry Stokes presided from the podium and glared everyone into his seat. “All right, people, let’s settle down. This is a press conference, not a circus. You all know Steve Walters, flight director for the Reconciliation and Valiant missions.”

  The PAO stepped aside as Steve commandeered the lectern. “Six weeks ago, we recovered the damaged Reconciliation after a hard-fought effort to control reentry. We transported her here to the Johnson Space Center. Our scientists examined every bit of information from our telemetry and transcripts as well as the spacecraft itself. We made a startling discovery. Allow me to introduce Nick Crane, chief of instrumentation. Nick?”

  The geek opened his laptop. His fingers danced over the keyboard as the screen behind him flashed his PowerPoint presentation. “In examining the system, we discovered a flaw in the controls. It appears a foreign object lodged itself in the mechanism.”

  Frank’s attention wandered from the droning analysis to the sea of reporters, his would-be executioners. He startled as he spotted Nancy, front row center. She winked. He hoped his face wasn’t radiating an embarrassing flush. Maybe the press would think it was sunburn.

  “Thanks, Nick.” Steve nodded him silent.

  Nick blinked at the interruption, a frown showing he wasn’t done. He opened and closed his mouth like a tuna.

  “That’s all we need at the moment, Nick. Good job.”

  Geek blanked the PowerPoint screen, closed his laptop, and sat without another word.

  Steve resumed command. “Nick’s team of investigators tore apart the instrument panel and found the foreign object. A screw. This one.” He held up a small plastic bag containing the small silvery item. Cameras clicked and telephoto lenses whirred as journalists yelled their questions. Stokes’s upraised hand silenced them.

  The flight director continued after nodding to the press. “This screw caused erratic behavior of Reconciliation’s thrusters and resulted in the crash with the International Space Station. Colonel Schotenheimer slowed the capsule and prevented total failure of the station’s integrity. When it was determined the spacecraft and ISS were locked together, he performed a rather unorthodox maneuver that separated the two without further damage.”

  Frank quirked half a smile. Steve had forgotten to mention that he acted without orders. Steve had given him a tongue-lashing before telling him about the screw.

  “Our analysis shows that without Colonel Schotenheimer’s extraordinary piloting ability, both the capsule and the station could have been damaged or destroyed, along with the catastrophic loss of all astronauts.”

  Gasps escaped into the room. Apparently, the news hadn’t leaked out. Frank’s composure slipped as the journalists’ faces morphed from condemnation to respect.

  Steve motioned Frank to the podium and grabbed his shoulder. He felt momentary stage fright as he stared into the crowd of correspondents, but he needn’t have worried about speaking. Everyone stood and applauded. Heat rose up his neck. Frank succeeded in diverting some of the ovation to the others but had to repeat “thank you” uncounted times.

  From villain to hero in sixty seconds.

  “Ahem.” Stokes quieted the reporters.

  Frank swallowed a billiard ball and turned to the flight director. “Steve, I appreciate your faith in me and your confidence that never wavered. All the crew at Mission Control were phenomenal in their support.” He glanced at his notes although he knew his prepared speech by heart. “I’m happy to report that Dan is doing fine and wishes he could have been here. As for the ISS crew, Shorty, Leonid, Joe, and Maria are all continuing their work.” He smiled. “And it appears Joe will beat his own record for total number of days in space.”

  Applause rang again, with Nancy clapping hardest of all.

  Frank’s billiard ball swelled to a basketball. “But the real hero of this missio
n was Larry Gomez, whose last act was to save my life.”

  He stepped from the podium as Steve motioned everyone to stand. “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, may we have a moment of silence to honor one of our fallen heroes, Lawrence Gomez.”

  All heads bowed. The press corps was silent for the moment, a calm before the storm. As soon as Stokes signaled the end of the conference, reporters jammed the door, eager to be the first to break the news.

  Frank caught Nancy’s eyes as she stuffed her iPad into her purse. She grinned at him.

  He would definitely give her an exclusive.

  53

  “I” Plus Forty-one Days

  Hildi resisted the urge to scream. Being an astronaut—or ex-astronaut—didn’t give her any special privileges with British customs. Finally, she escaped. She spotted her mom and gave her a bear hug that would have put Francine’s to shame.

  Mom sniffled. “Oh, honey. I’ve missed you so much.”

  Hildi hugged her again, not trusting her voice. They walked through the airport, Hildi’s carry-on trailing her as they hailed a cab and headed for the hotel.

  “I wish you could stay longer, honey.”

  “So do I. Alan would only give me three days.” Strain showed on Mom’s usually peaceful face. Yesterday had taken its toll. “Did you see Chet? How is he?”

  “Oh, fine. How was your flight?”

  “Mom. I hate it when you change the subject.” Hildi smiled to take the sting out of her words.

  Her mother stared into the distance. “I thought your brother had changed. His e-mails sounded so positive. But when I saw him—”

  “Same old Chet?”

  “Only even more bitter.” Mom sighed. “He’s turned his back on God again. He even refused to accept Dad’s red tie.”

  “I don’t understand. Red tie?”

  “I guess we never told you about that, did we?” Mom’s tone turned wistful. “It was something I gave your dad after we reconciled. Just a birthday gift, or so I thought.” She leaned forward. “According to some website we stumbled across, a red tie represents both sin and forgiveness. Your father wanted him to have it.” She choked on her words.

  Hildi hugged her a long time. Grief and anger bounced around her heart with equal force. She missed her dad. Mom didn’t deserve this. Chet caused it all. Another thought intruded. What about Dan? Would they ever get past the roadblock in their relationship?

  Hildi turned to safer subjects—London’s Big Ben, the Thames, and the Tube they’d take for a little sightseeing the next afternoon. Dan was never far from Hildi’s mind. Neither was her brother.

  ****

  Hildi drank her morning tea in silence, staring over her cup at the London skyline. She just wanted to get this over with. “I’d better get going. I don’t want to be late for visiting hours.”

  Mom nodded as tears filled her eyes. “I’ll be praying.”

  Hildi took a taxi to the prison. As she paid the chatty driver, his face showed sympathy. If he only knew…

  She endured the indignity of being questioned, frisked, sign-here-pleased, and greeted with indifference by the guards. She stuffed her purse into a locker. Finally, she entered the visitor’s room and took a seat.

  Prisoners shuffled in. Hildi craned her neck for the first sight of her brother. He emerged, head down. Her heart sank. He’d lost weight. His curly red hair—so much like Dad’s—was cropped close. His haggard face haunted her. She tensed as he plopped in front of her. What could she say to this stranger? They picked up the handsets.

  “Hi.” She tried to smile.

  “Hi. I heard you found the key to the vaccine.”

  “Yes. Because of your help.”

  Chet snorted.

  Hildi’s words of affirmation stuck in her throat. Here she was, finally talking to Chet after all these years, and all she could dredge out of herself was a discussion about the virus. The virus he’d unleashed. Her blood pressure rose. Mom’s usual tactic suddenly seemed a very good idea. “Heard you’ll be arraigned soon.”

  “Yeah. Domestic bioterrorism.”

  Hildi cringed. It was one thing to hear the press coverage ad nauseum, another to hear it from her brother in such a dead voice.

  “So what will you do now, astro-sister?” He spat the question.

  Hildi bit back hot words. He was baiting her. “Go back to Level 4, I guess.”

  “Ever see Francine?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Give her my love. And say hi to old Danny-boy.” Chet’s sarcastic tone brought Hildi’s mama-bear defensiveness to the front. She throttled the handset.

  “OK.” She’d hoped his change from bitterness to peace had been the real thing, not jail-induced salvation that would evaporate in the desert of confinement. Tears formed behind her eyes.

  Chet scowled. “So that’s it, huh?”

  “No, it isn’t.” Hildi took a deep breath. “I’ll always love you. You know that.”

  “Tell it to the judge.” Chet slammed down the receiver, whirled out of his chair, and stomped back through the door. Back into prison. A prison of his own making.

  Hildi sat and put her head in her hands. It was all up to God now. It always had been.

  54

  “I” Plus Sixty Days

  Hildi’s nose itched.

  She ignored it as she gave the rhesus monkey a treat and placed her back in her cage. Smiley still showed no symptoms of the virus. The vaccine was still viable. She turned to Francine and grinned.

  Any conversation in Level 4 resembled a shouting match, so Hildi yelled, “Done. Finally I can escape and scratch my nose.”

  “Last time to worry about that.” Francine chuckled as she strode to the airlock.

  Hildi followed, scrambled out of her blue suit, and scratched her patient nose with ferocity.

  “Same old Hildi,” Francine muttered. She headed for the showers.

  As Hildi hung her suit, she reached up to caress a sleeve. “Thanks, old friend.”

  Francine cocked her head as they dressed. “Did you say Dan’s meeting you in Houston? I thought he was still training in Alabama.”

  “He promised.” Hildi stared into space, lost in the swirl of her thoughts.

  “Earth to Hildi, Earth to Hildi.”

  Hildi smiled. “Just thinking.”

  “About what? No, don’t tell me. You’re thinking about that infuriating man of yours.” Francine strangled her tiny purse as she yanked it out of the locker.

  “Among other things.”

  Francine wisely dropped the subject and hugged her. “I’m missing you already. I can’t believe you’re giving up Level 4 to work in Houston.”

  “I will be back for visits, you know.”

  “You’d better be.”

  They walked through the final airlock. The burning, moist smell of giant autoclaves bid Hildi a pungent, final farewell.

  ****

  Hildi spent most of the flight staring out the window. Her clenched stomach had nothing to do with the plane’s turbulence. She had enough turbulence of her own to deal with. Quitting Level 4, moving away from Atlanta, moving closer to Dan…Was she giving up everything for nothing? Whiskers sensed her mood and meowed, the one comment from the feline for the whole flight. She scratched behind his ear. “Yeah, I don’t like it, either.”

  She’d hired a small moving company to pack her things and deliver them to her new condo in Houston. She’d sort it out later. Like her feelings.

  Hildi deplaned and stretched her legs on the way to baggage claim. She piled two heavy pieces of luggage onto a cart along with Whiskers and wheeled her life toward the exit.

  As she emerged into Houston’s record heat wave, she spied a sign. It obscured the holder’s face, but Hildi recognized the handwriting.

  Dan dropped the sign and handed her a bouquet of wilted carnations. He kissed her and whirled her around before placing her gently on the ground. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” Her stomach voiced an empty complaint.
Loudly.

  “Hungry?”

  “What do you think?” She grinned up at him, still a bit dizzy.

  “Texas Roadhouse OK?”

  Hildi would have preferred a candlelit dinner at someplace romantic, but romantic wasn’t in Dan’s vocabulary. “Sounds great. But let’s drop Whiskers off first.”

  The cat hissed as Dan peered into the cage. “We’ll get you to your new home soon, pal.”

  They drove to her new condo. The walls were lined with boxes. Hildi wondered if she’d ever feel at home. She rubbed her arms as a sudden chill seized her.

  Hildi placed the carnations on the counter then took Whiskers out of his prison and hugged him until she’d squeezed out all the purrs. Dan dragged in her suitcases. “What do you have in here, moon rocks?”

  Whiskers ran figure eights around her legs as she set out food and water. She showed him the litter box and his cat bed. He immediately started exploring his new domain. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised, reaching to scratch him behind his ears. Hildi glanced at her cat one more time before shutting the door. He always settled into a new place as if he owned it. Would she ever feel that settled with Dan? She gripped his hand as they returned to the car.

  They drove to a Roadhouse close to her condo. Hildi was grateful that Dan hadn’t picked something closer to the space center. It reduced the possibility of running into astronauts with awkward questions.

  She kept the conversation to pleasantries over dinner, the real issue dangling over her head like Damocles’s sword. As they shared the Big ’Ole Brownie, Hildi updated him on the virus. She still felt exhausted from days and nights of fine-tuning the vaccine and supervising the inoculation of dozens of volunteers at Grady Hospital. And her eloquent prayer throughout that anxious time? Please, Lord.

  “Chet really helped me in developing the vaccine.”

  Dan smile turned into a snarl. “Chet caused the outbreak. His help doesn’t negate his criminal behavior. I hope he’s locked away forever.” His expression softened. “I know he’s your brother.”