“Never.”
“How about this.” Dean folded his hands on the table. “That day you snatched up us from . . .”
Frank, arrogantly shook his head. “Go on. I’m waiting to hear.”
“Robbie was the real mystery man. Hal was covering.”
“I knew it.”
“Against the investigations wishes we desecrated Bev’s corpse and stole her uterus.”
“I knew it.”
Dean grinned. “Billy was pissed that you went on a date with Ellen. Did you ever find out he was the one, on the morning you took us, who went to your house, into your room, and broke three of your Journey disks?”
Frank stood up. “Fuck!”
Silence hit the room.
Frank’s hand raised then dropped “Thank you very much, Dean. You and your little man attitude slipped me back into swearing detox.” His voice moved up in anger. “Picking on me like you used to. Getting me to fuckin swear all over again. Fuck. I did it again. And . . .” Frank blasted. “Do you know how long it’s been since I have been pissed off like this!” Frank let the silence of the room sink in. And then . . . he smiled. “Too long.” He sat back down. “Thank you.” He swiped up the bottle and poured some into Dean’s glass. “Here, have another drink for me.”
With a smile, Dean did.
^^^^
‘God, she’s in . . . she’s in . . . she’s in the bathroom again.’ Dean rubbed his eyes, even his thoughts were slurred.
“What was that?” Ellen called for the bathroom.
“Huh?”
“You said something.”
“I thought . . . shit. I thought I thought it. No, I said something.”
“Dean? What?”
Grumbling with his notebook in hand, Dean stood up from the couch. He swayed back and forth then bumped into the coffee table. There was a slight delay between the bang and his agonizing. “Ow.”
“What are you doing out there?’
“What are you doing in there?”
“Bathing.”
“I’m working.”
Ellen’s giggles came through. “Working? On what? You’re drunk.”
“I am not. I was working on this.” He held up the notebook and laid it on the night stand. “I was thinking that we should get Joe into the clinic for a complete . . . complete . . . um.”
“Physical work up.”
“Thanks. Yeah. See. If we die in the next couple years, you know Joe. He blows us off every year for his physical. Let’s get him in, see if there’s something wrong, and get a jump on it. That way we don’t have to lose him.”
“Put the notebook down, Dean. We’ll discuss this when you’re sober.”
“I’m sober. I just had too much to drink. I’m still thinking clearly. Sort of.” He sat on the edge of the bed.
“I told you to slow down.”
“Frank did it. My glass never got empty.”
“I’m glad you stayed all night.”
“El, tonight, I had a really good time. I really did,” Dean said.
“Dean, wasn’t that funny the way Council looked when Frank swore.”
“I loved it.” Dean lifted the alarm clock, tried to set it, watched it go out of focus, and then gave up. “Come on, El. Get out of the bathroom.”
“I’m done. I’ll be out in a second. Too bad you got drunk.”
“Why?”
“Now, you won’t be able to perform. See . . .” She sighed dramatically loud. “You missed your chance. I was going to make love to you tonight.” Snickering as she tied her robe, Ellen shrieked when the door to the bathroom opened. “Dean,” she laughed his name.
“I’m tired of promises. It’s been twenty-two years . . .” He laughed. “Since we slept together. It’s wifely duty time, El.”
“Dean, no.” She stepped back and screamed again when he lifted her up. “Oh, God, you’re gonna drop me. You’re drunk.”
“I’m in control.” He carried her to the bed and plopped her down.
“Dean.”
“Shh.” He sat on the edge of the bed with an ornery smile. Tilting his head, he peeked under the edge of the robe. “Good. You’re naked.” He reached for her belt.
“What do you think you’re going to do?”
“Days, El. For days you been telling me we’re gonna be together. So, right now . . . I’m literally . . . binding you to your word.”
Ellen let out a slight scream hinted with a laugh when Dean tied her wrists together.
Grinning, Dean took the other end of the belt and tied it to the bed post. “Hold that thought.”
“Oh, my God.” She watched him get off the bed. “Where are you going?”
“No outside interference.” He walked to the door and lifted the ‘do not disturb’ card. He opened the door, put it on the knob, and then latched the door. In his walk back to the bed, he took off his shirt. Undoing just the top button to his jeans, knee first, Dean climbed on the bed, bent up Ellen’s leg, and slowly lowered his body to hers. After brushing his lips against hers, with his face close, he smiled.
“Oh, you think you’re real funny.” Ellen pulled at her bound hands. “Bet me any money, just about right now you’re gonna pass out and leave me . . . Dean?” Her eyes shifted down to Dean’s head that fell to her chest. “Dean,” she called him. “Dean. Oh, great, just great.”
Quickly, he lifted his head with an ornery boyish smile. “Kidding.” Reaching up to untie Ellen’s hand, Dean began to kiss her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Shifting his eyes, with his hand hovering over the mini recorder, Dean spoke in a soft, hiding voice. “Successful levels of absorption were achieved in the creation of the artificial wombs. We hope now, eight days into this ‘save the world’ project that we can get the artificial tissue of the wombs to flourish enough to implant. For some reason . . .” Dean peered down to the long case of wombs. “Levels of fluid keep dropping, making absorption impossible and creating a scientific equivalent of a typographical error in an experiment that should be stages ahead.” With a breath, he depressed the button and ejected the tape.
Lancing, looking over Dean’s shoulder, watched closely. “What exactly do you do with those tapes?”
“Take them back to the hotel and review. Then I erase them and use it the next day. One tape was all I had on me when I came through. It helps to refresh my mind for the next day’s work.” Dean faked annoyance, “Geez, if you were a man of science, you would know this.” He walked over to Ellen and handed her the tape. “Here, place this in your purse for me until tonight.”
“Absolutely.” Ellen took the tape, moved to her purse, and unzipped it. Eyes checking to see where Lancing was, Ellen slipped the tape into what she and Dean started calling ‘the Beginnings file’ which was the lining of her purse. “Done.”
A single knock on the lab door brought in Frank and Luke.
“Dean,” Frank spoke, “May I steal you for a couple hours?”
Ellen turned around with a smile. “Where are we going?”
“Um . . .”Frank hesitated. “Not you, El. It’s not safe. I thought maybe Dean wanted to do a real life try out of his Leps ammo.”
Dean looked in debate. “Really, Frank, I’m kind of busy. Let me know how it turns out.”
“Come on, Dean.” Frank tried being persuasive. “You made this. Don’t you want to see if it works? There’s a colony of them about a hundred and fifty miles from here. We’ll fly out. Let’s go.” Frank gave a motion of his head.
Dean looked at Ellen. “You need me here, right.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ellen replied. “Go. It’ll be fun to get a bird’s-eye view of the future. Billy’s here. Right, Billy?”
“Right.” Billy smiled. “Go.”
Dean just stood there. He tapped his hands on the counter a few times then nodded. “All right, but wait.”He held up his hand and walked over to Ellen. “Listen. This may be it.”
Wondering why he was whispering, Ellen lowered
her voice as well. “What is it?”
“I may not come back. Think about it. You can’t go. It’s not safe. They very well may be knocking me off in some sort of accident all to keep you here. So . . .” He kissed her. “If I don’t come back, I love you.” Exhaling a nervous breath, Dean walked over to Frank. “Ready.”
“Good.” Frank lifted his hand in a wave. “We won’t be long.”
Waiting until after Frank and Dean had left, Billy made his way to Ellen. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Oh.” Ellen giggled. “He thinks they might try to kill him in order to keep me here in the future.”
“He’s afraid of that?”
“Yep.”
“Hold on.” Billy darted out of the lab. “Wait,” he called to Dean and Frank as they walked down the hall. “Dean, I’m mean, Father,” He caught his breath. “I need the increase levels for the final ingredients in the acceleration formula.”
“Bill.” Dean looked oddly at him. “Final ingredients? We have to implant first. It can wait.”
“Yeah, but . . .” Billy shrugged. “You never know. What are they?”
Smugly, Dean looked at him. “Guess. Or wait for me.” He turned around, hoping that may secure his life, and he walked down the hall with Frank and Luke.
Billy laughed.
^^^^
The helicopter noise was loud and Frank held the earpiece to his radio close to his ear. “Yeah,” he spoke loudly. “Thanks, Bill. Got it.” He removed the radio headset and peered over his shoulder to Dean who sat directly behind him. “Dean!”
“Yes.”
“Why are you huddled and strapped in the corner like that.”
“I don’t know, Frank. I know the way you used to fly. I just don’t want you to make a wide turn, flip the bird on its side, have the door flop open, and I fly out.”
Lancing looked curiously at Frank after Dean’s long thought out explanation.
“You mean like this?” Frank asked as he tipped the bird.
Dean shrieked. “Yeah. Real funny, asshole.”
Calmly, Lancing turned to Frank. “Sir, I realize that the prankster in you is coming out over Dr. Hayes, but please, not at the expense of my stomach. My sanity this past week is twisted enough.”
^^^^
“Man.” Frank shook his head as he moved in a good walking pace ahead of Lancing and Dean. “Both of you look white.”
“Thank you,” Lancing said to Dean.
“For what?” Dean asked.
“This.” With a point of his hand, Lancing indicated to Frank. “A mild mannered man has resorted to juvenile tactics because of your badgering.”
“This is nothing,” Dean said. “He’s still mild to me. In Beginnings, whenever I would ride out at the crack of dawn to the mobile, Frank would chase me in his Jeep, pull me over, and cite me for speeding and not having a license and registration. We didn’t even have motor vehicle laws. He has a sick sense of humor.”
“Had,” Lancing corrected.
“Has. You don’t lose that no matter how old you get.”
“Had,” argued Lancing. “Sir, how much further up this hill are we walking?”
“Um . . .” Frank stopped and looked around. “I think this is good enough. Don’t you, Lancing?”
“Yes,” Lancing nodded.
“Good.” Frank pulled out his revolver. “Dean, it’s been real nice knowing you, but we can’t have you around much longer.” He aimed, stared seriously for a second, and then laughed. “Got you! O.K.” He let out a breath and started to walk again. “A little bit more.”
Nodding with a look to kill, Dean turned to Lancing. “You were saying?”
^^^^
“He’s sulking,” Ellen explained to Billy and Frank. “And he has every right. You two were mean to him today. Not . . .” She pointed her coffee spoon at Billy. “Not like you aren’t all the time to him.”
“Come on,” Billy disagreed.
“No.” Ellen shook her head. “Like it or not, sorry Frank, Dean is your father, Billy. You really should be nicer to him and treat him with respect.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Billy said. “I’ll make more of an effort. I promise.”
“Please.” Ellen looked at her watch. “I have to go.”
“El.” Frank grabbed her hand as she stood. “Where are you going?”
“It’s getting late. Dean’s back at the room. I mean, he wouldn’t have dinner or dessert with us. He’s alone. I don’t want him to spend the rest of the evening that way.”
“I understand.” Frank stood up. “See you in the morning.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Night, El.”
“Night. Night, Billy.”
Billy looked up with a smile. “Night.”
Ellen took a few steps to the door and abruptly stopped. “Whoops.” She darted back in. “My purse.” Giving one more smile, she paused by Lancing on the way out to tell him his ‘time watch’ was over, but he was welcome to join her and Dean for conversation. Lancing respectfully declined.
“I’m back,” Ellen announced as she walked into the suite.
Remote in hand, Dean looked up from lying on the couch. “You’re early.”
“Yeah. I thought we’d hang, just you and I.” She tossed her purse. It missed the dresser and fell to the floor. Some of its contents spilled out. “Shit.” She hurried over and scooped up the items, including some of the football notes that fell from the lining. She paused and picked up the jam sandwich. “I really should toss this out.” Shrugging, she stuck it in her purse and then walked over to the couch. “Dean.”
“What?”
“A hamburger and French fries again? No wonder you’re gaining weight.”
“I’m gaining weight because all I do is eat and lay around.” Dean sat up.
“What’s the movie from the front desk tonight?”
“King Kong.”
“Original or remake?” Ellen sat down.
“Remake.”
“See, that makes no sense. Why would they scavenge the world for good movies to run through the system and pick that one? Who knows?”
Reaching over, Dean took her hands. “I’m glad you come back tonight.”
“Thanks.” Ellen smiled.
“Because . . . .” Dean lifted the notebook. “I wanted to do our people review.”
With a whine, Ellen sat back. “All right.”
“You’ve been putting this off.”
“Well, it makes no sense.”
“No, El, it makes perfect sense. If some of these people die and we can stop it, why not try? And if we can’t.” Dean looked at her seriously. “We need to really change the way we are. I mean, stop taking people for granted. Or for that matter, even our lives for granted. Shall we do this and then we’ll put it to rest until just before we leave.”
“Yes.” Ellen sat up. “I’m ready.”
Dean stared down to his list of names. “Joe.” He saw the look Ellen gave him. “Next . . . Hal.”
“Vice President, stays in the UWA until then. No interference.”
“Our children. Billy, we know. Alex, living in seclusion. Josh?”
“UWA soldier. Bet.”
“I agree. And Joey is regular military. Nick?”
“Insane somewhere.”
Dean snickered. “What?”
“With the route Henry is going, bet me Henry raised him, made him neurotic, and Nick cracked up.”
“Good possibility.” Dean wrote down. “Henry.”
“Dead.”
“Dead. Robbie?” Dean looked at Ellen. “El? Robbie?”
“I hate to say this but I think Robbie died,” Ellen said sadly, “possibly in the war with the Society.”
“I hate to agree . . .” Dean said no more. “All right. Jason? I say dead. Stroke. Heart attack.” He got Ellen’s agreement. “Danny Hoi.”
“The only rich man in the country. He lives in Vegas which he started back up.”
Dean chuckled. “I like that.” H
e took a moment to write it down. “Jenny Matoose.”
“She’s fine, living in seclusion and running all the women’s lives,” Ellen answered nonchalantly.
“John Matoose.”
“Dead.”
“I agree. Johnny Slagel?”
“Johnny,” Ellen said his name with a smile. “I bet he’s some big doctor somewhere, not a scientist, but a doctor.”
“Teacher,” Dean gave his guess, “because he probably learned more to teach than to learn.” He snickered. “Anyone else you can think of?”
“Um . . . yeah.”
“Who?”
“King Kong.” Ellen picked up the remote. “Ready/”
Smiling, Dean laid his hand on hers. “I know I said this, but it really means a lot you coming back here tonight and more than to review our list, to hang out, and watch King Kong. Everything. I’m glad we have this time.”
“Time.” Ellen smiled out the word. “We should take advantage of it. Our lives are on hold back home in our time. Who knows how much longer we’ll be here. Not much.”
“Not much. A few days maybe of this . . .” Dean kissed her hand. “A few days because there is no way the experiment can possibly take any longer.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“After one month, four days, and . . .” Dean looked down at his watch. “Three hours.” Wearing a suit with his hair cut very short and cropped, and his face a little fuller from the ten plus pounds he gained, Dean faced the Joint Council over the late morning breakfast meeting. “The experiment has finally reached a successful level. We have . . .” Dean shuffled through his notes then looked at Ellen who was close by in the small dining room. “El? Where’s the . . .”
She handed him a sheet of paper.
“Thanks.” He looked again to Council. “I wanted to give you an exact figure. We successfully implanted, and have growing, thirty-seven embryos. We have prepared now in the lab, twenty-five more artificial wombs, which should be ready for implantation in about a week’s time. My son and his staff have the exact specification to build more wombs with just as much success.”
The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20 Page 181
