The guard, outside Bellos’s office, did exactly what he promised Angie and paged Ralph Walker. No response recorded on his talker; but, within ten minutes of the page, Ralph appeared at the office door.
“Hello, I’m Ralph Walker. I heard your page.”
“Mr. Walker; yes, thank you; but I thought you would call me back. Ms. Angie asked me if I would relay a request to you.”
“Of course, I’ll do anything. But, I came to see her?”
“I’m not sure that’s possible. Dr. Bellos was very specific about instructions.”
“I see.”
Ralph looked down, and then said, “But please; consider this; I would only be a few minutes; and, confidentially, you see, she and I are really more than just friends. No one knows it, but we are engaged to be married, secretly, of course. So, keep that between us, will you? I really need to be with her. She needs me; you know?”
“Hold on just a minute.”
The guard turned and walked several steps away. He cupped his talker closely in front of his mouth and spoke. A minute later; he returned to Ralph.
“Mr. Walker, I can give you ten minutes.”
The guard opened the door and Ralph walked in. There was Angie, reading on the couch. When their eyes met, Angie jumped up and ran to his open arms.
“Oh my God, Ralphy; I’m so happy to see you. How did you get in here?
“I had to use the, ‘we are engaged’ story. Frankly, it’s the first time it ever worked. Jesus, Angie, what is going on?”
“Oh Ralphy; we have no time. Look, next to this door, it’s an elevator. I can’t get it to work. You have to believe me; we have to get out of here and; and get to Dr. Sheldon.”
“What?”
“I mean Rachel Sheldon, Dr. Sheldon’s wife. I don’t even know where they live…So much to do…Please, Ralphy? You have to trust me on this. I swear on our past. I swear.”
“Sure; of course. Elevator eh…”
They walked in and Ralph studied everything.
“Look at the panel, Ralph. It has 16 floors. Am I crazy? The hospital only has ten…Can you get this thing to work?”
“I don’t know. It looks a little strange. Under the frame around the numbers, there are no screw holes, anywhere; and all the material has a give to it. Feel it.”
“It’s warm, soft; sort of like, like skin.”
“Yeah; how the hell was it built? Everything in here is unfamiliar, when you really look at it. Look around out there. See if you can find a crowbar; something to pry this open.”
Angie ran out and through the other rooms, looking for anything to help. She found a metal back scratcher with sharp edges and brought it to Ralph.
“I just don’t see anywhere to pry this bezel off, Ange. What the heck is this stuff? This is not coming apart at all.”
“What about the wall panels?”
They both felt and examined the corners, ceiling and floor.
“Angie, I’m beginning to understand why this is in plain sight. There is nothing in here that I am familiar with. Nothing is screwed down, or snapped on, and no wires. I can’t even make out what the hell the material is. So; what are we looking at kiddo?”
As they stood wondering, the front door of Bellos’s office opened, and the guard peeked in.
“Hello? Ms. Angie? Nurse Walker? Hello?”
At the same time, the elevator door quickly slid shut, a security protocol.
“Holy shit; now what?
My God, look at the door, Ralph.”
The small room illuminated; and the elevator door became transparent.
“What the hell?”
The couple watched in disbelief, as the guard walked down into the oval room and started looking everywhere.
“Ms. Angie? Mr. Walker?”
“Hey! Over here, in here!”Angie and Ralph yelled and pounding on the door relentlessly. They could see the guard reach for his talker, but he couldn’t hear or see them.
“Dr. Bellos, I’m in your office. I don’t know how, Sir, but they are not here; they are gone.”
“You are sure?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’ll take care of it. You may get back to your regular duties.”
When the call came into Bellos’s talker, he was in ER-1 with Rachel Sheldon. He answered the call quickly and hung up from the guard. Then he whispered strange words into it…“Kshield#un, Klevil#un; Exhish Tuneel forktune; Childene #un, Klevel#sesh-Unitem Bellos Echvator’; Exish-Enubill tuke Tuneel-forktune….Shield one, level one; exit 14 with my child to level red 6 immediately!”
He quietly clipped his Knofer back into his hip holster and returned to consoling Rachel about Jack’s death. At that same moment, Angie had touched the elevator panel, leaning so her body weight forced her right hand to palm over the numbers on the bezel. The elevator moved and she flinched.
“Ralph, do you feel that?”
“Yes; look out the door. We are moving…Shit.”
The elevator made absolutely no sound of any kind. They barely saw the guard exit the room, as the bottom of the front door closed behind him. Both of them leaned back against the wall and watched.
“I hope this is what you wanted, Luv?”
Then, they both startled again. The entire elevator became transparent; and, Angie and Ralph could see outside the hospital. It was as though they were floating down without walls around them, suspended in space.
“Angie; what the hell is going on? Isn’t that the parking lot?”
“I think so…”
They stood transfixed.
“Ralph, look up at the stars; so beautiful.”
The ride took several minutes; and, when they stopped, the elevator changed back to an opaque white. After a few more seconds, a door slid open from the opposite wall. They stepped out into a lighted rock cave. The door closed behind them; and the elevator became part of the tunnel’s wall.
“Cute trick; now where are we? What are we into Kiddo?”
“I think it is a tunnel, Ralph? Look at that, though. Is the rock glowing?”
They looked at each other; and then, they started to walk, holding each other’s hand tightly. Ralph began jogging and pulling Angie, in the only direction before them. After 100-yards, or so, the tunnel became dark. They could see an opening, ahead, and they walked out of the tunnel into the moonlight.
“Jesus, Luv, look at that sky? And this is not the parking lot.”
“This is wrong, Ralph. It’s just desert.”
Always prepared, Ralph pulled his trusty key chain, with a flashlight and compass.
“Okay, according to this, we go that way. We should see the hospital in no time. Angie, are you with me here?”
“Yes, I guess. This is undoubtedly the strangest night of my life.”
They began slow jogging again. After several minutes, Ralph checked his compass.
“Ralph look, street lights. Where the heck are we? Let’s try flagging down a car, and get to a police station.”
Two, three, four, vehicles passed but no one stopped.
“Well, Babe, it’s 3:30 in the morning. Nobody is going to pick up hitchhikers?”
“Really, Mr. Smarty; I remember college. You are so wrong.”
Angie did a few sexy poses in front of the next cars. Then, finally; “Look! Ralph! Look! They’re slowing down.”
Angie started jumping and hugging Ralph.
“They are slowing, Ralphy. They’re slowing. We’re saved!”
The dark blue van approached in front of them, slowed to a stop beside them. The van’s side door slid open. It all happened so fast, Ralph had no time to react. Three men were dressed in what looked like reflective dark blue jump suits. Two men jumped out very quickly. They forced the two nurses apart. While one man pushed Ralph to the ground, another grabbed Angie’s arms, and turned her into the van doorway. A third man behind her, in the van, put a black hood over her head and pulled her so she sat on the edge of the door guard. The first two then gra
bbed her on each side; and, they swung her into the van. The last man slid the door shut; and the van sped off. It was a total of ten seconds; and they were gone, leaving Ralph laying on the roadside in disbelief. He looked up to see the van a quarter-mile away.
“You bastards; you fucking bastards!”
He was in the night, alone, with only the streetlights and nothing but sand in sight.
“What the f…?”
As Ralph started to walk in the direction the van disappeared, he could hear a cell phone ringing. He walked in the direction of the sound, found the phone, picked it up and pushed the round blinking button.
“Hello, hello; who is this? Please don’t hang up.”
“I’m not going to hang up,” the voice said. “Just walk a mile in the opposite direction, back to the Complex. Good luck…If I were you; I would get back to the hospital, as soon as I could. You don’t want to miss any of this, do you?”
The phone went dead and Ralph stood with his mouth open.
“What the hell is going on? This is the strangest night of my life.”
Chapter 11
Money Talks
Marion Brock was more than a successful billionaire philanthropist, although that would be enough for most. He had all the characteristics of a man of stature and power; not to mention six homes, in four countries, and worldwide contacts in top financial circles. He was a combination of being a self-made success, in his own right, and carrying on his many businesses and family empire, which grew to staggering value over generations. The Brock name was known globally as the ‘billionaire’s billionaire’. Among his many ventures, he also held several lobbyist positions in Washington D.C., managing that effort with a staff of Ivey League lawyers and future state and federal judicial candidates. Years ago, he committed to financing the completion of the Brock/Swanson Complex, in Arden, New Mexico. He was the link that allowed its completion. Gordon Swanson introduced Brock to Mathew Bellos and Jack Sheldon at a Complex fundraiser. After Bellos gave his stunning presentation ‘The Cure for the Common Cold’, Brock negotiated with Swanson and the Complex’s board directors that he alone would pay cash to finish the Campus in the southwest. Impressively, he wrote a personal check for the last fifteen percent of all construction costs and all the newest state of the art computer requirements. Additionally, he agreed to pay for updating all software and hardware, as needed. In return, he would have a personal 3000-sq ft, three bedroom suite, on the sixth floor of the ‘Fargo’ building, which lay in the remote area of the campus’s 600-acre landscape. And his name would appear first on the Complex’s advertising marquees. The one other proviso he had, was that he never be directly involved, in any regard, with the personnel working on the campus. They would know him by his name only. Any communication, with him, would have to be in writing and only come from Dr. Mathew Bellos, Chief of Hospital or Dr. Jack Sheldon, Chief of Research. Frankly Brock just liked Jack.
He was brilliant, all right; however, his financial partner, Gordon Swanson never trusted him. They were oil versus water. Brock was a classic venture capitalist, while Swanson was a philosophic old school monarchial type. Brock worshiped money and the profit tree. Swanson, so it appeared, could accomplish most anything without money.
Brock could never find any information or, more importantly, dirt on Swanson. Conversely, Swanson knew every move Brock made; primarily because he had such skilled network connections within all Brock’s worldwide financial circles. Swanson’s people were not just financially acute either; they were skilled regarding all matters of life, in every civilized country. Brock had billions and worldwide financial contacts that supported his hunger for power and greed. He had no idea Swanson was so interwoven within his empire. Theirs was a sour mix. The name Brock/Swanson was the only voluntary sharing they did. Brock thought Swanson was a minor player and unskilled financer, who could not complete what he started in the southwest. Swanson saw Brock’s involvement with the Complex as a way to monitor his deceptive activities.
After the new campus was completed, Jack Sheldon continued to work on his pet theory, C.P.T. However; with a child, and years of successes behind them; Rachel relinquished the urgent demands of career, and she moved naturally into managing their domestic affairs. The ranch’s needs, finances and raising Brian were more than enough, to fill her day. As the years passed, she distanced herself from Jack’s proofs. Eventually, she rarely visited the Complex at all, going only to a few special functions, maybe once or twice a year, if that.
It was early last January, when Jack first put it all together. He was studying one Saturday afternoon, downstairs in their home laboratory; and, quite unexpectedly, he surprised himself. Realizing what he‘d done, he was awe struck; like an artist feverishly painting one subject and, in a mistake of the brush, he sees something more beautiful than he could have ever painted intentionally. At 4:55 pm on January 12, the secret was his alone.
“My God, that’s it! This will change everything.”
Jack sat staring at his notes in disbelief.
“I’ve got to tell Rach…”
He got up and paced back and forth.
“…No, on second thought, not until I make it real, no doubts.”
He sat back down and chatted to himself, “I have to extract and inject into the same DNA. I can’t get around that. It has to be me. I’ll need two major pieces of equipment and I need money.”
After much pondering, he wrote the proposal requisition and submitted it for budget approval. Dr. Bellos received the request and studied it for three full nights. It vaguely reminded Bellos of his hypothesis that ‘viral based life could cure death’. He approached Jack the next evening after hours, in research lab-23, facility-four.
“Hey you, how are you? I need to talk to you about proposal 81114, you sent to me.”
“Yes, you like it? I thought you may be curious.”
“Well I am. You and I have known each other a long time. This kind of money has to be approved from the board. I can get us a meeting with one of the big guys to discuss it. You game?”
“Of course, who?”
“Gordon Swanson, himself; I’ve arranged for you, me and him to dine Saturday night. I hope you’re okay with that?”
Jack got up and hugged Matt.
“My friend, this is a long time coming, for me. I owe you one.”
“Have you told Rach anything?”
“Nope; I want to surprise her, when everything’s right?”
“So be it…We have reservations at Café Cher, at eight sharp. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
So, Saturday night at 8 p.m., Jack and Matt sat in the foyer of Santa Fe’s only French restaurant.
“Well, my friend; are you really ready for this?”
“I know you can’t know this, Matt. I’ve been theorizing, hypothesizing, formulating and testing for over four decades about this. I really don’t know, if I’m ready. But, I know one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“…I know that I have to see this through, no matter how it ends. I am going to see this through.”
Bellos put his hand on Jack’s shoulder.
“I can’t know what you know here, Buddy. We never talked about it; but I can support you, and I do.”
Just then, they both looked at the entyway, as the revolving front door swiveled, and the tall unmistakable frame of Gordon Swanson walked in. He saw the two immediately and smiled at them.
“Good evening, Mathew.”
“Good evening, Sir. You know Jack Sheldon, Chief of Research at the Complex.”
Swanson extended his hand.
“Yes, hi Jack…Too bad we only see each other during special occasions. I’ve always wanted to get to know you better.”
“Thank you. I’m speechless.”
“I trust that will not be the case tonight. Come, let’s sit, eat and talk. I’m most interested in hearing what you have to say.”
The maître d’ led the three to a small cozy room, with only
one table, and began serving them like kings. Gordon Swanson took the lead and got right to the point.
“So, Jack; you two and the Complex’s research successes have made quite a name for us all, in the quest to improve the human condition. I am here, because the recent request that Mathew has suggested is intriguing, but it’s void in some aspects. I want to understand the exact objectives of the equipment regarding your proposal. I’d like some details; sort of fill in the blanks, if you don’t mind?”
“Jack,” said Matt quietly, “the descriptions in your report are in most respects technically clear and reasonable. On the other hand, I’ve known you 25-years and there’s never been this kind of; of mist-fog, in some areas of your report. I-we, think we know why you are asking for the equipment; but truly, Jack; you are talking about reanimating a life; aren’t you? I’m not reading this incorrectly; am I? You can’t keep this secret to those you trust enough to ask for help.”
Then, Bellos sat back, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. All three were silent, until Jack spoke.
“I don’t mean to be selfish here. I know this is the biggest discovery of my life; and, perhaps it will change everyone’s perspective in general. It’s just that I, alone, have to take this to the next step, without anyone else in harm’s way. Let there be no misunderstanding; you are correct. I have completed the written proofs. The formulations and equations say it all. But, I have to be the guinea pig; no one else. I will let you read it all; and, if you agree, we go; I get the equipment. I don’t know how to say it any plainer.”
“Dr. Sheldon,” Swanson sipped his Champagne, “how soon can you give me the manuscript to study? The sooner I finish it, the sooner I can answer your proposal?”
“Sir; with all respect,” Jack seemed uneasy, “if anyone has to read my paper, I would prefer that only Matt here does it, if that’s acceptable to you? After that, he can meet with you or we can meet together again. I would like to move as fast as possible but with caution and security.”
Ever-Life the Two Book Set: The C.P.T Incident and Time Trust Page 8
