The Pandora Effect

by Olivia Darnell

  “Angelica, really, I must protest,” he told her. “I am prepared to die if that is what he wants. I believe that he thinks I will stand between him and Maureen if I am left alive. He is madly in love with her...”

  Falco got up stiffly and staggered back to where they stood. He stood resting his hands on his knees with his head down, breathing hard.

  He looked up at Angelica. His eyes, visible through the slit in his helmet were wide with wonder.

  “When did you get your promotion?” He asked her.

  “Only just recently,” she told him smugly turning her nose up slightly.

  “Congratulations, Primus,” he said and then straightened up slowly. He still held the sword. “Now... please step aside, if you don’t mind.”

  “I will not. I do mind,” she told him. “You will have to kill me first.”

  “Angelica, you are embarrassing me,” Perry told her in a low voice. “This is not your affair.”

  “Oh, yes it is!” She answered without taking her eyes off Falco. “I would not want to lose you after having just so recently found you. I intend to keep you for a while.”

  “Excuse me?” Perry leaned toward her neck.

  “I said...” she began and then had to move quickly to block Falco’s next move. She grabbed his wrist as he passed her and threw him to the ground with very little effort. “I heard what you said.” Perry told her as he watched Falco turn over very slowly this time and get up on his hands and knees. “I just can’t believe you said that to him.”

  “It was not to him!” She turned to frown at Perry.

  “I can’t tell! You were looking right at him.” He gestured toward Falco.

  “Then let me make myself clear. I would not want to lose you, Peregrin Caelum Aliger!” She said angrily. “Does that clear it up?”

  “Not necessarily,” he said. “I would not want to lose my watch. It doesn’t mean that I would be particularly attached to it emotional speaking.”

  “I wish you would stop this nonsense,” she said as she waited for Falco to get up again. “I believe that I may be in love with you, Peregrin, but I am not sure. I don’t want to hurt him, but he is so persistent.”

  “Just toss him over the cliff,” Perry suggested and took off his helmet to look over the edge which was perilously close to their feet now. “That should do it.”

  “I will disarm him and you can toss him over,” she told him as Falco approached again.

  “I don’t want to do that. It's not for me,” Perry shook his head.

  “Well, I’m not going to do it.” She looked at him in dismay.

  “Then I suppose it’s settled then,” Perry said as he stepped past her and once more presented himself to Falco. Angelica tried to stop him by using the same technique she had used on Falco, but when she touched him, nothing happened.

  Falco had regained his feet again and was watching them from a few feet away. He quickly realized that something was amiss. Ever the fast thinker, he changed his tack.

  “I would presume to think that you have had enough, Primus?” He asked and took off his helmet. His hair was plastered to his head. Perry eyed him coolly.

  “Yes, I have!” Angelica answered him instead of Peregrin and looked at her hand. “Put down that weapon immediately!”

  Falco dropped the sword to the ground and smiled at her. “You didn’t really think I would have harmed him, do you?”

  “I have very little faith in your integrity, Falco,” she told him.

  “It’s alright, Angelica,” Perry assured her. “I believe we have a visitor. I would like a bit of privacy to speak to my father.”

  They turned to see a tall, man of a slightly more portly build walking toward them across the rocks and clumped dirt clods. The man resembled both Falco and Perry. He wore a brightly colored Hawaiian print shirt, white trousers and sunglasses.

  “Your father?” Angelica frowned up at him. “Why, that’s my father!”

  “I am sure you are both mistaken,” Falco told them. “That is certainly my father!”

  The man drew near them as they stared at him bewildered. He took off his glasses and smiled at them enigmatically.

  “There is no need for alarm, my children,” he greeted them and walked past them to look out over the cliff at the sea. He inhaled a deep breath of the fresh sea air and turned to look at them. “This is where it all started.” He held up the Pandora Box Perry recognized as the last one. The one that Louis Parks’ had ended up with. “Do you know what your policeman wrote in here, Peregrin Caelum?”

  Perry shook his head and the Optimus held the box out to him. “Go ahead. Look inside.”

  Perry took the box reluctantly and read the little slip of paper where Louis had written his request that the Aligers go back to where they had come from.

  “I don’t understand,” Perry frowned at his father.

  “Here on the Trojan plain,” the Optimus said wistfully and waved one hand about the dreary landscape. “This is where you came from. It was my first visit to this place. I noticed this terrible little skirmish and came to observe.”

  “But...” Angelica began and he held up one hand to silence her.

  “I watched as the two opposing factions tried day after day, week after week and month after month to annihilate one another. I watched as they built the great horse and I watched as the Achaeans massacred the entire populace of Troy. Such a waste and all for the love of one man for one woman. I did not even begin to understand it."

  "When the Achaeans had retreated, I went into the ruins of the city trying to grasp what had happened. That is when I found three survivors. Two Trojans and one Greek barely alive. I didn’t want to interfere and so I sat and watched as they drew their last breaths almost in unison. Then a sudden thought occurred to me. Why not re-incorporate their souls directly into the universal element and take them back to the Center. That is when the study began. The study that you three have been conducting for the past two millennia. I took you and made a few minor changes as you may well have deduced by now and sent you back here. Your missions were all united, but unique. We wanted to know if we could come here and live as humans. The center was rapidly deteriorating even then, but we wanted to be sure that our kind would be compatible with these people before we made the final decision. Your work has enabled us to make an intelligent choice. We will now be able to implement the change. The transition should be quite successful.”

  He looked at each of them in turn as they stood silently listening to him.

  “Stop looking at me like that, Peregrin!” He said at last. “She is not your sister. She was the Greek soldier. A professional soldier unlike you and Falco. I am sorry, Angelica, but I couldn’t allow you to come here as a man. You were much too aggressive. And, oh, by the way, Peregrin, congratulations on your... promotion as they say here.” He extended one hand to clasp Perry’s hand in his and numerous blue sparks erupted between their fingertips. “Optimus.”

  “Thank you, Optimus!” Perry nodded solemnly, shook his hand vigorously, mouthed the word 'Ow!' and then winked at Angelica and made a face at Falco.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven:.

  They were back at the apartment over the Gift Shop sitting uneasily around the table looking at each other. Falco had a bottle of wine from the cooler in the store sitting in front of him and was drinking from it glumly. Angelica sat nervously clicking her fingernails against the side of her cup. The little gold box once belonging to Julia Parks sat on the table in front of them.

  “All this time,” Falco said miserably and picked up the bottle. “We thought we were conducting the study and we were the rats. I can’t believe it!”

  “Believe it! We were in the maze all this time!” Angelica said angrily and slapped one hand to her face. “It is no wonder that I have had such a hard time with my studies. I have been repressing my emotions for over two thousand years. If I had only known...”

  “If you had known, the study would have failed,” Peregrin to
ld them and picked up his tea cup to savor the aroma. “At least it is over now and we can go about our own business.”

  “Yes,” Falco nodded. “At least we can do that.”

  “There is one thing, Primus...” Perry said slowly. “If you plan to pursue this relationship with Maureen Fitzgerald then I will have to know your true intentions.”

  “My true intentions?” Falco looked at him incredulously. “I want nothing more nor nothing less than you did.”

  “I doubt that seriously,” Peregrin shook his head. “I will have just a small peek and then we’ll see.”

  Falco stood up and Peregrin waved one hand casually. Falco froze much as Angelica had done the first night Falco had arrived.

  “You wouldn’t!” Angelica looked at Peregrin in surprise.

  “Yes, I would,” Perry insisted. “He was going to kill me, remember?”

  “Yes, no,” she frowned. “He said that he wouldn’t have harmed you.”

  “You are too gullible. Professional soldier, ha!” Perry told her. “You have a lot to learn about human nature.”

  “I thought I had already learned about human nature,” she said indignantly, glaring at him.

  “Of all the evil spirits abroad in the world, insincerity is the most dangerous,” he said quoting Froude from his book. “I have to know if he is sincere about Maureen.”

  “Mankind, in the gross, is a gaping monster, that loves to be deceived, and has seldom been disappointed,” she countered with a saying by MacKenzie from the same book.

  “Angelica!” Perry was genuinely surprised. “I see you have been reading.”

  “Yes, I have,” she said smugly.

  Perry pushed back his chair and stood up. He went around the table and laid one hand on Falco’s arm. The deed was done in less than two seconds. He let go the Primus’ arm and came back to resume his seat.

  “Well?” She asked when he said nothing.

  “I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse,” Perry told her using an inflection and accent with which she was unfamiliar.

  “Who said that?” She asked raising both eyebrows.

  “The Godfather, Don Corleone,” he laughed. "My favorite Mario Puzo movie. We'll have to watch them together some day. I believe you will appreciate them."

  Tyler McDaniels sat on his couch watching one of the day time soap operas. He held a beer balanced on the center of his chest. The show made absolutely no sense. He didn’t have the slightest idea what they were doing, who they were and he didn’t care. He was waiting on the phone to ring. When it did finally, he nearly killed himself grabbing the receiver from the cradle.

  “Hello!” He said breathlessly clutching the taped up ribs.

  “Tyler? Doc Peterson here.”

  “Yessir?”

  “I have the results of your test, but I am quite sure that you already knew the results before I did.”

  “I did?” Tyler’s heart sank. His mouth fell open and he dropped the beer on the carpet. He had been going crazy ever since he’d had the bizarre nightmare in which he had been tempted by the voice of Satan to kill Perry Aliger. He steadied himself to hear the worst. “I’m sterile?”

  “Of course not!” The doctor laughed at what he perceived to be a joke on Tyler’s part. “Congratulations! I just saw Paula Anne. It was her all along. She just didn’t want to believe it. With the advent of more and more successful fertility drugs, there is absolutely no reason why you and Paula Anne could not have a dozen more children if you like. Oh, and Tyler, by the way, there is a good possibility that this pregnancy could be a multiple birth. Most likely twins.”

  “Thank you,” Tyler whispered and sank back on the sofa in relief and shock.

  “You did what?!” Mrs. Morris’ could not believe her ears. Had Sam lost his mind?

  “I said I gave him the loan based on the marina for collateral,” he repeated and looked at her incredulously. “Surely you didn’t expect me to hold the deed on seventy-five acres of prime property for a lousy fifteen thousand dollar loan, did you? That would be... unethical.”

  “Sammy!” Mrs. Morris’ frowned at him and pouted. “You don’t think I would want you to do something unethical, do you?”

  “Of course not, Mother,” he said, smiling at her indulgently. “You just don’t understand the banking industry. We have codes and standards. There are rules and integrity... you know, all that kind of stuff. Sort of like the funeral industry.”

  “I see,” she nodded, but was unable to keep the disappointment from showing on her face.

  “Mrs. McDaniels’ recommendation was enough for me,” he continued and turned to pull up the stock market report on his computer screen. “I would have given Billy the loan just on her word, if you must know. That property with the marina is worth at least forty-five thousand. It’s a win-win proposition. If he doesn’t make his payments, I’ll sell the marina. The Savings and Loan won’t lose a penny.”

  “I see,” Mildred sniffed as she reached for the box of tissue next to the tortoise shell necessaire on his desk.

  Mike Padgett dusted off his clothes and stood up stiffly to stretch. He needed a break. It was past noon and he hadn’t eaten. Carla had left his lunch in the refrigerator. He walked out to the mailbox before going inside. A fat beige envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Padgett caught his eye and he pulled it out of the stack of junk mail and tore it open on the way back to the house. Inside was another envelope of the same nice paper. He pulled it out to look at it curiously. It was blank and the flap was open.

  Inside the second envelope was a satiny card with embossed bells and flowers on the front.

  Inside was an invitation for him and Carla to attend the double wedding of Christopher Wayne Parks and Cheryl Rene Martin and Robert Paul Greene and Joanne Clarice Parks.

  “Well, I'll be damned!” Mike cursed softly. He put the invitation on the table and opened the refrigerator to take out his dinner. He popped the plate in the microwave and picked up the phone to punch in a series of numbers.

  “Hey, Tyler!” He said after a pause. “Did you check your mail yet?” He asked excitedly...

  Mary McDaniels walked down her sidewalk to pick up her morning paper. She stood a moment looking across the street at the Gift Shop, listening to the mockingbirds fussing in the magnolia trees next door. The sight of the for sale sign in the window was most disturbing. She walked briskly across the street and went inside the store. The glass wind chimes twinkled and the man behind the counter looked up to smile at her.

  “Perry?” She eyed him sternly.

  “Mrs. McDaniels,” he said. “Not Perry. Fred. My brother isn’t here.”

  “Where is he?” She asked and looked about the store as if she didn’t believe him.

  “He’s on vacation,” Fred told her. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Why is that sign in the window?” She nodded toward the front window where the small plastic sign’s back was visible.

  “He’s decided to sell the store,” Fred told her. “I’m holding it down for him until he finds a buyer.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said frowning.

  “He and Angelica have decided to go back to... Houston,” he said and grimaced as if it pained him to lie.

  “That’s a shame.” She looked down at the paper.

  ‘Fred’ came around the counter to take her by the hand.

  “We have a new shipment of the cinnamon orange tea,” he told her. “It’s very fresh. And please, don't worry, you will be able to order all the tea in China on my brother's website as soon as it is up and running. You do have a computer, don't you, Mrs. McDaniels?”

  “Tyler does," she perked up.

  “Then you just tell your nephew what you need when you need it and tell him to use the code 'Falco' in the special box and he'll get free shipping. Ahhh, here we go. I believe that you would enjoy trying some of our chamomile blend.”

  “I see,” she nodded and allowed him to hand her a box cove
red with yellow and orange lotus flowers. "Oh, what a lovely box!"

  Billy looked up in surprise to see Hannah Lipscomb walking up the drive at his house. He was on his front porch, sitting in the swing with Smidgets in his lap.

  “Hey, Hannah!” He greeted her and stood up as she climbed the steps.

  “Hello, Billy,” she said and took a seat in a metal rocker and fanned herself with a thick packet of paper in a brown envelope.

  “Whatcha got there?” He asked eying the papers.

  “It’s some stuff from the government about grants,” she told him.

  “Grants?” He looked baffled.

  “Yeah.” She handed him the packet. “It’s about makin’ donations.”

  “What kinda donations?” He asked taking the papers out of the packet.

  “Land,” she said and reached to pick up the kitten. “I’ve been talkin’ to Louis Parks. We’re thinkin’ of makin’ a park down there by the river. We can get free money from the government to put in a RV park and a dump station. Roads and you know, that kind of stuff, solar powered light poles, signage, you know. There’s unlimited potential down there.”

  “Why you gonna do that?” He asked her.

  “It’d be a better memorial for the war dead than that little flagpole downtown,” she said. “The Larry Lipscomb Veterans' Memorial Park. Has a nice ring don’t it?” She looked up at the sky and spread her hands in front of her face and her eyes took on an animated glow as the kitten snuggled down in her lap for a nap.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I can see that,” he nodded and clasped his hands across his stomach. “It'd tie in good with the marina. There's a whole bunch of them magnolia trees down there. Larry used to love them when they put out in the spring. Hey! How about this: Magnolia Marina...”

  Louis picked up his report and squinted at his own scratchy handwriting and then sighed. His coffee was cold. He looked out his office window and his thoughts drifted down the street to the Gift Shop where Angelica used to live. What a beautiful woman she had been, but he was glad she was gone.