Ted Kowalczyk had stopped breathing the moment the television picture had been lost. His big hand squeezed Terry’s so hard she cried out in pain.
Not able to tear his eyes away from the television set, he released the grip and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK,” she said.
And then they saw Peter Grace, as he sat at his New York news desk, his hand to his ear, a look of consternation on his face.
“We seem to have lost our signal,” he said, expressing the obvious. “As soon as we can, we’ll go back to Los Angeles and …” He pressed his ear as he heard something being fed to him audibly.
“Yes … we now have Jack Spencer, the pool reporter assigned to the … Jack! Can you hear me?”
The voice was coming over a telephone line that was static-filled. Even so, it was impossible to miss the jubilance in the reporter’s voice.
“Yes, Peter. We’re on a conference line here. I understand that the television signal has been lost, so this report is for all of you out there. I can report to you that it appears this most incredible experiment is a qualified success! We’ve experienced a rather sharp earthquake here and in a few moments, I will be able to give you a better idea of its magnitude, but in the meantime, I have beside me a man who is not only responsible for the development of the technology allowing this earthquake to be predicted, but is an integral part of the team working … I think he can give you a better idea … Vance! Vance Gifford! Would you tell a waiting world what has just happened?”
Ted heard the familiar voice of Gifford as he said, “Yes, I’ll be happy to. All eight devices were detonated. The fourth device triggered an earthquake that was centered exactly where we expected it to be … a rather strong jolt, as a matter of fact. There has been some damage — that’s evident — but I can tell you that it is minor in relative terms. We’ve all just come in after looking at the buildings in downtown Los Angeles and they’re still standing.”
There was the sound of cheers in the background.
“We won’t know exactly how successful we’ve been for another seventy-two hours,” Gifford continued, “but if our calculations are right, I think we may have succeeded in doing what we set out to do.”
The reporter jumped in. “You had predicted that the quake would hit on the twenty-seventh or the twenty-eighth. Since today is the twenty-sixth, is that why you’re saying you won’t really know for another seventy-two hours?”
“Exactly,” Gifford replied. “We know we managed to release some of the pressure by creating this slippage. However, until we’ve had time to examine all of the data still being entered into the computers, we won’t really … Oh, they’ve just handed me some of the preliminary numbers here. The quake has been initially given a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale. That’s considered a strong earthquake. Then we had an immediate aftershock of 6.1. Both were caused by the devices, I’m sure. Again, we won’t really know for a while, but at the moment, it looks very, very good.”
“Thank you, Mr. Gifford. I’m sure we’re all — Oh! Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve just been joined by President Walsh, who, I’m delighted to say, is looking just fine. He’s covered in dust, as are most of us. I don’t know — Mr. President! I’m on a line here to all of the networks. Is there anything you’d like to say?”
There was a pause and then they could hear the president as he took the microphone.
“Yes, thank you. To those of you listening, I’d just like to say that …”
In Dallas, Terry Wilson removed some tissues from her handbag and gently wiped away the tears that continued to stream down the face of Ted Kowalczyk.
Epilogue
* * *
Ted Kowalczyk rolled over on his back and stared at the now-familiar ceiling. He stretched and closed his eyes. As usual, Terry was up and about and the smell of the coffee brewing in the kitchen was wafting into the bedroom.
They’d been back in Menlo Park for two days now and he was getting anxious to get back to his own apartment. In another day, he’d be allowed to enter the city again, as his was the second last area to be reoccupied.
They’d set it up in the same order as the evacuation process. Those in areas that had been the first ones evacuated were the first to be allowed to return. Ted’s area was scheduled for tomorrow.
The door to the bedroom opened and Terry entered, the wooden tray she carried holding mugs of coffee and plates of English muffins. She placed the tray on the bedside table and sat on the side of the bed.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning, yourself,” she answered.
She removed the morning paper from the tray and handed it to him.
He opened the paper and leafed through it quickly. Nothing much had changed. They were still reporting on the quake and its aftermath, the newspaper filled with updated estimates of the damage, now listed as topping two billion, and more of the continuing dialogue as to whether or not the quake had been the result of the nuclear devices alone.
The debate that had started almost as soon as the shaking had stopped was now intensifying. Several hearings were scheduled and thousands of lawsuits were being filed. Scientists were lining up on both sides of the issue, their ranks almost evenly divided. As for the future of President Walsh, there was sharp division on that question as well. Some called him a hero. Others were much less kind.
Ted threw the paper on the floor in disgust.
“Idiots,” he snarled. “Why is it that every jerk in the whole damn world feels free to second-guess somebody who just saved his life? They interview some clown who hasn’t been out of his dusty office for ten years as though he were the ultimate authority!”
“Ted!”
He looked up at her. Her hair was glistening as it fell to her shoulders, and her eyes were tinged with anger. “I don’t want to talk about it any more,” she said. “I’ve heard enough to last me a lifetime. Can we talk about something else?”
He started to respond when the telephone rang. Terry picked it up, talked for a moment, and then handed the instrument to Ted. He cupped his hand over the mouthpiece and asked, “Who is it?”
“Somebody named Hughes,” she said. “He asked for you.”
Ted took his hand away and said, “Sam?”
“Yes. Ted! I got this number from your boss. I don’t mean to bother you, but I’ve been away.”
“Haven’t we all.”
Sam Hughes laughed. “I guess so. What I meant was, I was on vacation before all of this craziness and now that I’m back, I see there’s a big parcel here that you mailed to me some time ago. The covering letter says I’m not to open the parcel unless I’m unable to locate you. Naturally, I’m a little mystified. What the hell’s this all about?”
Ted felt the laughter well up in him. The report! It was the copy of Tommy’s report he’d mailed to Sam Hughes weeks ago! The irony of it all made him double up with laughter. When he finally regained control of himself, he said, “Not to worry, Sam. You can throw it out. I’ll fill you in when I see you in a few days.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure, Sam.”
“Okay, Ted. Whatever you say.”
Terry took the receiver from his hand and replaced it in its cradle. “What was that all about?”
He shook his head. “Long story,” he said. Then, “You said you wanted to talk about something else.”
“Yes?”
“How about this? I get out of bed, get down on my knees and ask you to marry me. Is that something we could talk about?”
She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Did anyone ever tell you that you aren’t exactly the most romantic person on the face of the earth?”
He shook his head. “You have a suggestion?”
“Yes,” she said. “You get showered and shaved. Then you can come back here and make love to me. After that, you can get down on your knees and ask for my hand.”
“And what will you say?”
Her lips were upon his, giving him his answer.
Biography
* * *
Harrison Arnston
Harrison Arnston’s success as founder, chairman, and CEO of an automotive accessory manufacturing company enabled him to retire in 1984 to pursue his dream of a writing career. He had several novels published including THE BIG ONE, THE WARNING, ACT OF PASSION, and DEATH SHOCK. He also enjoyed playing jazz piano, reading, and traveling in the United States.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Epilogue
The Big One Page 36
