Chapter 2: Genesis of Shadow, Part 2
After a heart-warming welcome home by her father and the staff for both Dale and Sarah, they were finally alone in their bedroom.
"Wow Dale, I figured your father would have the servants turn out to welcome you home. But I felt that they actually meant every word they said. The really surprising part was that they included me in that as well."
"Well, we actually prefer to call them 'staff' instead of servants," Dale said kindly. "I know they all meant it. I grew up with these people. I view most of them as aunts and uncles. José, the gardener, and Lupé, the upstairs maid, are brother and sister. We grew up together right here. They come back here during the summer break from college to help their parents take care of this place. In fact, I suspect Lupé will be by later tonight for some girl talk," Dale explained.
Sarah sighed; "I've always wondered what you did over the summers when we weren't together. I really missed you, and I wished for school to start again practically from the day we both left."
"Well, you won't have to wonder anymore. We just have to get you healed up so we can start to plan our lives together."
Their conversation was interrupted by a soft chime from the phone next to the bed. Dale reached over and pushed a button. "Yes?"
"My apologies for interrupting you, Miss Dale, but Miss Sarah's mother will be arriving shortly. I thought you might like to know."
"Yes, thank you, Simms. Could you please ask Nurse Karen or someone to escort me to meet her?" Dale remembered at the last moment that she needed to keep up appearances, thus asking for the escort. "I could probably make it down there by myself, but I don't think I'm ready to try that yet."
"Certainly, Miss."
"Oh god! My mother is here? Dale, I haven't told her about you, about how I feel... But why didn't she come to see me sooner?" Sarah paused almost long enough for Dale to answer those questions. "OH MY GOD! She knows! That's why she didn't come to see me, because she knows and is going to disown me! Dale, she probably hates me for loving you! But I love my mother, I don't want to lose..."
Dale finally forced a kiss on the nearly hysterical woman, cutting off her diatribe. When she felt Sarah finally begin to respond to the kiss, she tenderly broke it. "You need to relax, my love. We don't know anything yet. I'm sure there is a plausible explanation for her not coming to see you sooner. I love you, and I know you love me; more than that we are very much in love with each other. Let's just give her a chance okay? She might not approve, but I can't accept that she would condemn us without even seeing us together. She raised you after all; so she can't be all that bad."
There was a light knock on the door. "Come in!" Dale called across the huge room.
Dale was surprised to feel Sam on the other side of the door instead of Karen or one of the staff. She was tempted to read the other woman, but had been trying to keep herself from doing so automatically. Dale felt that people deserved some level of privacy, so beyond identification, she would try to tune the person out.
"Hi!" The woman said as she entered the room. "Karen was still getting settled in so I offered to escort you downstairs, Dale."
"Okay, let me grab that damn cane and I'll be right with you." She reached over to the end table where she had left it, trying to make a show of feeling for it.
Sam hurried forward and put the white stick into her hand. "Here you go, sweetheart. I know it'll take some getting used to, but you are doing remarkably well."
Dale frowned; "Yeah, well, I don't feel like I'm doing remarkably well. I feel like I am fumbling around in the dark. Do you mind if I try to guide us down? I do remember the layout of the place and I should be able to get myself down to the entry hall, I just didn't want to take a chance on the stairs."
"No problem. I'm told that if you count the steps so you know how many there are, it helps to navigate them." Sam paused; "Also, in some cases like yours, there is a heightened sense of hearing that can aid in getting around. Have you noticed any increase in your hearing? That is, other than that hyper-sensitivity you went through at the hospital."
Dale looked surprised for a moment, then recovered quickly, seeing an easy way to explain away some of Sam's suspicions. "God's yes! I was afraid to say anything because I thought that someone would try to cut me open to see how I worked. Yes, my hearing is very much more sensitive. Sometimes I can almost hear where things are in a room. I was afraid people would think me a freak if I mentioned it." She tried to look ashamed.
"Nonsense! It's a scientifically documented fact; though every patient has differing degrees of increase, it is a normal occurrence. I kinda thought that might be the case with you, since I didn't actually need to guide you that much when we got into the helicopter at the hospital. You almost had me wondering if you could actually see. But remembering the CAT scans and other tests I reviewed, I knew there was no way that could be the case."
Smiling, Dale stood and kissed Sarah, softly, on the lips. "We'll be back in a few minutes, love. Remember, I love you, and so does your mother. Everything will work out."
"You know," Sam suggested, "I think it would be good physical therapy if 'Miss Sarah' hauled her pretty ass out of that bed, and onto a wheel chair. Then we could all go down and meet her mother."
"Uh, no offence, Doc. But my legs are still kinda numb. Are you sure I should be tryin' that?" Sarah asked.
Sam grinned; "It's either that or I strap a TENS unit to your butt again to make sure your muscles don't atrophy."
"Get the chair."
"I thought you'd see it my way," Sam said.
Dale's had been thinking about her vision; she had come to think of what she was seeing as the energy fields that everything has. Even inanimate objects have some energy, though it wasn't very much. With the sunglasses on, that vision was muted, but she could still see quite well and it kept the light from hurting her eyes.
She had been troubled though, when she looked at Sarah. She could see the brightness of her... aura from about mid chest, up. However, the lower part of her body was almost as dim as the bed she was laying on. Though everyone told her that Sarah was recovering, Dale knew she wasn't. Her aura below the point of injury was not getting any brighter; in fact it dimmed at times to the point the Dale couldn't see it at all. Conversely, at times it flared to almost as bright as the rest of her.
"Wait!" Dale said, stopping the other two women. "Sam, close the drapes and shut off the lights."
"What? Why?" Sam asked. "Mrs. Rodgers will be here any minute."
"Please, Sam. I'll explain everything, later, but for now, please just do it. Then help me turn her over, I need to see her back."
Sam looked at the woman as if she were crazy, but did as she was asked. When she returned to the bed, she gently rolled Sarah over onto her belly. In the dim light from the windows, she saw Dale remove her glasses, and pull Sarah's top up. Dale was gently tracing up Sarah's spine with her hand, and then abruptly stopped.
"There! Right there! Those bastards didn't get everything!"
"Dale, what in the hell are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"Doc, I know you won't believe me, but I can see. Just not in the way you would normally define it. I can see... auras for the lack of a better term. I noticed that Sarah's aura below her injury was sporadic and not getting any better. If I look closely at her spine, I can see something blocking the flow of energy right here." She held her finger to the spot. "Those idiots at the hospital didn't get everything out of her in that surgery, and it's pinching her spinal cord."
"Dale, I've seen the x-rays. There is nothing in there. But you're right, she isn't getting any better." Sam sighed; "All right, I'll order another round of x-rays, and this time I'll also have then run an MRI. I was thinking about doing that anyway. " Sam then turned directly to Dale. "Right now we need to get downstairs, but I want a full explanation of this 'ability'. I assume there is a plausible reason you haven't told me before now." She sounded a bit angry, and a little hurt.
"Sam, yes there is. I just knew that doctor at the hospital would have done something to me if I had even hinted that there was something else going on. You have to admit, we really just met, and while I do trust you, it's just... this could be really dangerous to me if word got out. I hope you can understand."
Sam sighed again, realizing the young woman was right. "You're right. We really don't know each other. I've known your father, mother and Pappy for so long; it just seems natural to me that you are included on that list. I'm sorry about being catty there for a minute. I'll keep this to myself for the time being as well."
"Wait a minute! There is still something wrong with my back?" Sarah asked, once again sounding like she was on the verge of panicking.
"Relax sweetheart, we don't know for sure, but we'll find out as soon as we can. For now, I just want you to relax, and let us take care of you. I'll want to get those tests done as soon as we can make the arrangements," Sam assured her.
"Well, let's get her back in bed, and decent, so her mother can see her. I wouldn't want my new mother in law to think we aren't taking excellent care of her favorite daughter." Dale chuckled, more to put Sarah at ease than to make light of the situation.
Together, Dale and Sam got Sarah back under the covers, and made sure she was comfortable, and as Dale had said, 'decent'. Once Dale had her glasses back on, they opened the shades, but left the lights off at Sarah's request. There was more than enough light coming in through the windows.
Grabbing her 'blind man's cane', Dale led Sam to the door, and hurriedly down the hall.
"You really can see, can't you?" Sam asked at the head of the stairs.
"Probably better than most normal people, Doc. But I have to act like I can't to allay suspicion. So please help me if you can."
"I will, but would you allow me to investigate this?" As Dale stiffened, she continued, "No! I don't mean cutting you open to see what gives you this ability, I mean me asking you questions, or performing non-invasive tests. We don't need to make any of this public, but if something happens to you, we are going to need to know how it works."
Dale looked at her, and felt Sam's mind. She meant every word she'd said, at least on the surface. Dale would have to scan her deeper later, to make sure. "Let me think about that for a bit, okay? This is still all new to me, and it's a bit unnerving."
"No problem, dear. At the very least you can talk to me about it. Now, are you ready to go meet your new Mother in Law?"
Dale ruefully shook her head, and started down the stairs.
Sam caught up to her; "Tsk, tsk. You need to take my arm and use the stick to 'feel' the steps. Slow down a bit, you're supposed to be new to this," she said softly.
They made it down stairs and to the entry hall, just as the door opened to admit Mrs. Natasha Rodgers, followed by one of Ben Connor's drivers carrying her bags.
Ben stepped forward and offered his hand to the woman. "Welcome to Eagle's Ridge, Mrs. Rodgers. I'm Ben Connors. It is an honor to finally meet you."
The woman was standing, looking around her in awe. She has so distracted that she honestly didn't see Ben's hand for a few seconds. "Mr. Connors? When you said you were sure you had enough room for me, I had no idea..." Her voice trailed off and she paused a moment, "It's so beautiful... and big!"
Ben chuckled; "Well, remind me to give you the nickel tour later, but first, I would like you to meet my daughter, Dale Connors." He had taken her elbow, and gently guided her over to stand before Dale.
Dale took the woman's outstretched hand, and couldn't resist a quick peek into her head, just to reassure herself about Mrs. Rodgers state of mind for the upcoming discussion.
The most prominent thought was that of awe of her surroundings, and the proximity of the handsome man, (Ben). The other thought that was entering her mind as Ben introduced her was that of how sexy these two women were. Tasha would never admit, except to herself, that she was attracted to women.
'Well', thought Dale, 'I guess she could go either way. I hope she doesn't take the news badly.' Dale answered the introduction verbally, "I am pleased to finally meet you, Mrs. Rodgers. Sarah has told me a lot about you. I look forward to getting to know you better."
"It's good to finally meet you as well. Please, call me Tasha. Sarah talks about you all the time when she's at home. I'm sorry to hear about your injuries and I would have came sooner, but your father convinced me that you and Sarah were doing well, and would be coming here as soon as he could arrange it. So I packed my bags and waited. I hope my daughter doesn't think I'm mad at her or anything."
"Well, she was wondering, but I think if we explain everything to her, she'll accept it. Uh, before we go see her, may I have a word with you in private? It is rather important; Sarah is worried about something, and I'd like to talk to you about it before we go see her."
"Okay, as long as it doesn't take too long; I really want to see her."
"It shouldn't take very long. Now, please let me introduce the wonderful woman that is treating your daughter and I, Dr. Samantha Rivers. Sam, this is Sarah's mother Mrs. Natasha Rodgers." The two women shook hands as Dale spoke.
"Ben said he was getting the best Doctor he knew to take of our daughters. Thank you for accepting them both as patients."
"I'm starting to view them more as friends than patients, Mrs. Rodgers. They are both wonderful girls that have been through a lot. I'll fill you in on your daughter's condition as soon as you've gotten a chance to see her," Sam answered.
Tasha nodded in acceptance. "Please, Doctor, call me Tasha as well. Mrs. Rodgers was my mother-in-law."
Sam chuckled; "I feel the same way about being called 'Doctor'. Please call me Sam."
During all this girl talk, Ben had asked the staff to take Tasha's suitcases up to a room near the girls'. Once her bags were gone, he led the women, Tasha on his arm, back to his study at the rear of the house. "I must admit, Tasha, that when I asked you to come out here, I was expecting someone that looked a lot older. You look more like Sarah's sister than her mother."
The woman beamed up at him. "Thank you, Ben. When I got here I was wondering if I had heard you wrong on the phone. I thought you might have been Dale's older brother, but I didn't remember Sarah saying Dale had any siblings."
He chuckled, "Thank you. No, Dale's mother passed away some time ago. We had planned on more children but..." He sighed.
Tasha patted his arm with her free hand, almost cuddling into him. "I understand. When my husband passed away, I thought my world had ended; but I still had three wonderful children at home that kept me from going crazy. Carl's insurance and investments took care of us, but we really missed him."
By this time, they had arrived at the study, and Ben guided Tasha to the couch. Sam had escorted Dale into the room, but let her sit on the overstuffed chair facing the couch. As Ben asked if anyone would like something to drink, Sam sat at the other end of the couch from Tasha.
"This is a very lovely place," Tasha said. "Granted, it's the largest home I've ever been in, but I can tell there is a lot of love here. This place could be the Taj Mahal, but if there wasn't love inside, it wouldn't be as beautiful as this."
"Thank you," Ben said as he returned with the drinks. He would have elaborated, but he knew Dale wanted to speak. He handed everyone their order, then sat between Sam and Tasha on the couch.
"Tasha, I don't know how you feel about what I'm going to tell you, but Sarah is very worried about it. So please try to keep an open mind."
Tasha nodded, then remembering Dale was blind, "Sure, Dale. But I thought you wanted to speak in private."
"Daddy and Sam both know about what I will be talking to you about. I'd like them to stay for moral support, if that's okay?" Dale asked.
"It's fine with me."
"Okay," Dale paused to gather her thoughts. "This might be slightly embarrassing to you, so if you get uncomfortable, please tell us. I've never been any good at diplomacy; I always say exactly what's on my mind. So if I offend you with my direct words, please forgive me. Now, the reason I wanted to talk to you, and the reason Sarah is worried about what you will think of her, is that she and I are in love. I realized this during her last visit to you, but she tells me that she has loved me for quite a few years. I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't a clue about it. She was always my best friend, and still is, but I just didn't realize that every time she looked at me, it was with far more emotion and feeling than I could understand at the time.
"She would have told me sooner, but the first roommate I had developed feelings for me as well, but was very domineering toward me, and almost raped me the night she admitted her feelings. I didn't feel that way toward her, and she ended up moving out. I tried to remain friends with her, but she was nasty to me every time I tried to call. I believe Sarah was afraid I would reject her the same way. I guess, to be honest, I might have, because I wasn't ready for a relationship, and with what my first roommate did to me, I guess I was gun shy.
"Now, we have both admitted our feeling for each other, and I have asked her to be my mate. She has accepted, but doesn't want to lose her family's love. I feel that she is caught between her feeling for me, and her family. I have tried to reassure her that you would at least try to understand. I felt that any family that could produce a woman like Sarah had to be an understanding one. I love your daughter more than anything else in this world, Tasha. I would do anything to keep her from getting hurt."
Tasha sat for a few minutes staring at her hands in her lap and thinking. "When I was fourteen, my first sexual experience was with my best friend, Lori. One night, during a sleep over at Lori's, her mother caught us having sex. I was sent home with a scathing explanation about how I had corrupted their daughter. Mom and I talked the rest of the night about sex and love. She quickly figured out that I was in love with Lori and it hadn't been about sex. That didn't matter to Lori's parents. My Mom found out where they had sent Lori, but we couldn't contact her. I never got to see Lori again until years later; that's when she told me about the reality of what happened to her. Her parents, concerned about her immortal soul, gave her over to their church. She was sent to a catholic girl's school and was watched like a hawk. She wasn't even allowed to make friends with the other girls. The Nuns treated her like the spawn of Satan and she was punished severely for every imagined infraction." She looked up at Dale.
"The last I heard Lori had committed herself to a mental hospital. She is a very messed up person. She would punish herself for every impure thought. I had already met Carl by then, but I never told him about Lori. I vowed that if any of my children where to even indicate that they might be gay or even bisexual, I would do everything in my power to help them. Does Sarah falling in love with you anger me? Only so far as learning that I failed to let my children know that I would love them no matter how they chose to live. I am angry at myself. Will I support her in her love for you? With every fiber of my being. Dale, you are very beautiful. I admit, I only know you from Sarah's descriptions, and I guess I should have known from that, but you don't need to worry that I will ever condemn either of you for your love.
"I know it may seem silly, but for the first time since Lori was taken away, I can actually admit it; I am bisexual. I have denied half of myself ever since that time, but I think it's about time I let myself love again."
The silence that filled the room was finally broken by Ben. "Damn, and here I was going to ask you out!" He joked.
Tasha beamed at him again. It was Sam however, that spoke next. "Ben, you need to tell Dale. I learned from Pappy on the way over here, that you never told her about her mother. It's way past the time that you did. I'll take Tasha up to see her daughter so you two can be alone."
"No," Ben answered, "With Dale in love with her daughter, Tasha should stay for this as well. It's also time that you rejoined us as well, if you want to," he said to Sam.
"Huh? What's going on?" Dale asked. She was tempted to reach for the information, but one look from her father told her she'd better not.
When Sam nodded to him, he took a deep breath and began; "About two years before you were born, Dale, a group of friends found each other. We all were going to the same university at the time, and we all had been sharing some classes. It started out as simple study sessions, but quickly became much more than that. We fell in love. The group of friends was: your mother and I, Sam, Pappy, and a young genius named Dale Stevens. Pappy and I are not bisexual, but we still enjoyed the times that three or more of us could get together. For us, life was going great. We were young, we had our futures ahead of us, and we agreed that after graduation we would all continue the love we found." He took a long sip from the drink he had made himself.
"Three weeks before graduation, Linda, your mother, became pregnant. We didn't know who the father was, nor did we care. As far as we were concerned, you were our child and we would all be your parents. We bought rings, and one night, we all pledged our love for each other. Sam had gotten an appointment to Johns Hopkins, and Dale and Pappy were going to finish their PhDs at MIT while Linda and I were to go on to Harvard, me for business and her for law.
"We had decided that Pappy and Dale would wait, and we would go to the east coast. Sam would find an apartment with Dale or Pappy, and Linda and I would set up near Harvard. We would try to see each other as much as possible, weekends and breaks. Dale settled in with Sam since he had found a job near her apartment; Pappy got a consulting position, which let him travel a lot, but managed to spend every night with one of us.
"One Friday night, just before we were all to meet in Maryland, Dale was in an accident coming home from work." Tears escaped his eyes as he relived the past. "He was killed instantly. The drunk that had hit him didn't even need to spend the night in the hospital. It's hard to say what exactly happened to us, but we kind of drifted apart after that. Pappy took to spending more time away and staying at hotels. Sam seemed to have to work most weekends so we didn't get to see her except at breaks, and even then she still had to work a lot. Two months before you were born, we agreed that I should marry Linda officially, for our families' sake.
"Time passed and we drifted apart. I started a business and asked Pappy to join me. He agreed but kept himself separate from our small family. I do know Linda tried to get him to join us again, but he refused. I never did know why.
"Sam," he nodded his head toward the woman, "was offered an excellent research opportunity at the hospital and accepted the position. The last time I saw her was when we all met for your mother's funeral. We didn't really talk much; for my part the loss of Linda all but ended me. Dale was gone, and now Linda had left us. Sam and Pappy were not really part of the family anymore and that left you.
"I never told you about what our life had been like because, well, it happened before you were born. I didn't want you to think we were all some kind of perverts or something. It did bother me that I didn't tell you about the rest, but I was afraid of what you would think of us. I wanted you to remember your mother as the loving woman she was."
Dale was stunned. She would never have guessed that her parents had originally started out as a group. "I... I need to think about this. Don't worry Daddy, I will always love mom, but I just need some time to think. Maybe later, we can talk about this some more?"
"Sure, Baby. Anytime you want to talk, we will. I'm sure Sam would be happy talk to you as well. I'm not sure about Pappy. I think Sam and I should try to talk to him, too. It's time to put this whole thing behind us."
"I agree, if you want to talk to me, you can, Dale," Sam added.
"I think Tasha should go see Sarah now; she's probably just about ready to freak out. I'll be along later, I'm sure you'd like to spend sometime alone with her," Dale suggested.
"Thank you, Dale. I would like that very much," Tasha replied, and stood. "I know we don't know each other very well yet, but you show a remarkable amount of wisdom, young lady. I doubt I could have kept from getting very upset, given the nature of that revelation."
Dale gave a small smile to the woman, "I learned a long time ago, that to get mad and rant about something is not the way to get an issue resolved. Only if you can understand it can you deal with it. Getting mad helps no one."
Sam had risen with Tasha to guide her to Sarah. Tasha bent and gave Dale a soft kiss on the cheek. "I'm very glad Sarah has found someone like you. I gladly welcome you into my family." With that, Sam led Tasha from the room.
"Dale, I know this isn't the best time, but there is something else I need to talk to you about. I was hoping we would have more time to let you girls heal, but events are not going to wait for that. We have discovered who attacked you, and most likely why."
"That was fast. Who was it?"
"Well, we can't be exactly sure, but the money paid to those guys came from the United States Government. Our investigator discovered that a member of your school faculty has been supplying information about your new way of making 'Kevlar'. Apparently, their mission was to kidnap you and steal your research. They wanted your research for obvious reasons, and you to force me to give up the whisperjet to Los Alamos National Laboratories. We've known for a long time that our government was getting more corrupt each and every day. With every 'free' election things have gotten steadily worse in this country. You already know about the adoption of Christianity as the national religion; by the end of the year, they will be passing the 'National Moralities Act'. That bill, I'm sure you've never heard of because the press hasn't and won't report it until it's passed. Do you remember the rights that got destroyed because of the so-called 'Patriot Act'? Well, even though it was reported that those civil rights have since been restored, in actuality they haven't. Our government, under the guise of either 'National Security' or 'Civil Protection' can arrest anyone, at anytime, for no reason at all. They can then hold you for as long as they feel they need to, without legal representation, or even a single phone call.
"We got you and Sarah out of that hospital just in time. The security people we left there were arrested and taken off for questioning. Currently, we don't know for sure exactly where they are being held. All of our security equipment was 'confiscated' and is, at this moment, being dismantled by teams of government 'researchers'."
Dale looked at her father in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense, Daddy. Why would they even need to do things like that anymore? Since we installed our border defenses, we haven't needed the office of homeland security. The last I heard, there was talk of disbanding it."
Ben smiled, sardonically. "Simple greed, dearest. We are running low on natural resources, and foreign trade has all but dried up since any international company can buy directly from a foreign government. The politicians are no longer getting their bribes and kickbacks. With the advent of the fusion reactor, Fossil fuels are being used less and less. I honestly think that the United States really wants to take over the whole damn planet. Just look what they did to the Palestinians in Israel, and the Muslims in Tripoli. Hell, I challenge you to even find a Muslim, or any religion other than the Christian ones, in this country. Three years ago, the New York Times placed the King James Version of the Holy Bible as the Nation's number one bestseller, and it has supposedly stayed there ever since.
"Anyway, we could discuss this all day, and still never get to what I wanted to tell you. The land of the free and home of the brave is now a land filled with cowardly slaves. It's no longer safe for us to stay here. I spent a great deal of money and resources to purchase a small island in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is not claimed by any government, but is closest to the Mexican Federation. We've been preparing for this for the last ten years."
"But how will that stop the government from simply coming after us? Surely they know all about that place by now. What about Sarah's mother and the rest of her family?"
"I was hoping that you and Sarah could ask them to join us when you got to visit them, which would seem pretty normal, all things considered. As for the Government knowing about the island, according to official government files, The Central American Coalition, through its Mexican member state, has laid claim to it for use as an impact area for its ships and long-range aircraft. The CAC's files also support that contention, though the files differ from member state to member state, so each one believes it to be held by another.
"There is one other thing I want to tell you before you agree to this. We have been holding a lot of stuff back from the Government. We have aircraft designs so advanced that nothing on this planet can hope to take one out. We have developed energy weapons: Lasers and a functional, man portable, rail gun. Our missile guidance systems are so accurate that we can fly a missile down an airshaft from low orbit. We have our own satellite network in place so we can watch every square inch of this planet and monitor damn near every communications frequency." He took a deep breath, almost like a sigh; "We have even used those resources. Iraq and Iran tried to invade Saudi Arabia three months ago. I ordered our forces to deploy to the Middle East and we stopped them without loss of life on either side. I think if we can slow down the deprivations of the more aggressive governments we will be able to slow down the descent that human civilization is currently going through. We don't want to take over, just work to prevent the more grievous tragedies that happen in our world."
"Daddy, I can already see a lot of problems that could really hurt us. For one thing, how are we going to feed and house all the people that we'll need to even attempt such a thing? How will we get recruits? Surely we will be infiltrated at some point. By interfering in foreign policy of sovereign nations, we will become the targets of every nation and terrorist organization on the planet," Dale said.
"The Island has its own defenses. We have several farms and ranches around the world that are supplying us food, as well as a large stockpile of comestibles on the island itself. As for recruits; yes, they have tried to slip a few by us already. We probably have the best background checking of anyone; after all we probably wrote the programs that they use to check on people. Sweetheart, we've been actively infiltrating them since the inception of this project; if not with people, then with software. No one government knows how diverse our holdings are. As I said, this has been a long time getting set up. Now it's time to remove ourselves from harm's way."
"Well, I think I can see what and why you're doing this, but there is one thing you don't know about. Sarah needs to have another operation; there is still a piece of something against her spine. Sam was going to talk to you about making arrangements to get her to a hospital where she can have the appropriate tests run, and perform the operation. I could see the fragment against her spine."
"You could see it? I take it then you told Sam about your abilities?" Ben asked.
"Only about the sight, I didn't think she was ready to hear the other stuff. The fact that I could see was plenty to throw her mind into turmoil. Daddy, she has a lot of knowledge on how the brain works. She'd be the first to admit that most of the brain is still a mystery, but her work at Johns Hopkins really advanced that knowledge. She asked if I would help her to further understand what has happened to me. She was very adamant about being non-invasive. She seems to think there are other tests that should be done. I told her I'd think about it. What about Sarah, Daddy? I won't leave her here."
"We won't. We have a fully staffed medical center on the island that is at least as well equipped as the medical center in Denver. I'll make arrangements for the two of you and Sam to leave tomorrow if they agree. I'll speak to Tasha, Sam and Karen today at lunch. We'll work out how to get Tasha's other children to safety as well. I'll leave it to you to talk it over with your wife."
"Go slowly with Tasha, Daddy. She likes you; mostly it's physical attraction at this point, but this could easily scare her off."
Dale was surprised at how quickly Sarah had agreed to leave the country. Apparently, she had been very aware of the direction the government had been heading, as well as the situation overseas.
Not surprisingly, Tasha did become frightened, but once Sarah talked to her, she agreed to work with Ben to get her family away. The next morning, Sarah and Dale, Sam and Karen left for the island while Ben and Tasha left to visit her other children. The remaining staff had already begun preparations to move the household to the island.
When the four arrived at the island, everyone went to the hospital to get Sarah admitted and for Sam and Karen to register with the hospital. After ordering the tests for Sarah, Sam suggested that Dale go and get settled into her new accommodations. The test results shouldn't take very long, since Sarah was the only patient that was in the hospital at the moment. Sarah agreed and asked Dale to leave as well, since Dale was inclined to ignore the Doctor.
Dale finally caved in and left the hospital area to try and find her new home. A security guard escorted her to a rather nice, large apartment. What surprised Dale was that most of the buildings on the island where underground. She made a mental note to ask her father about that later. After showing her around the two-bedroom apartment, and what passed for a telephone on the island (it was a video phone), and how to operate it, the guard excused herself so Dale could get used to the place.
Dale returned to the bedroom to begin unpacking their cloths. After the somewhat brief walk outside, she was thankful for the air conditioning the apartment had. Curiously, they already had furniture in the place; a brief exploration of the cupboards and closets revealed that they also had cooking supplies, though no food; they had towels and wash clothes but no soaps or shampoos. She noticed that there were suit cases on the bed in the spare room as well, but she left them alone since she knew both Sarah's bags as well as her own were in their bedroom.
Luckily they had brought their own bath supplies, though food would be an issue until they could get to the store or commissary, or whatever they had here. Dale also noticed that Ben had shipped their computers here from school. She briefly wondered how he got their equipment from what she assumed was still a crime scene. She had a new monitor, but the rest of the system seemed to be intact. However, when she turned it on, she found that she actually couldn't see the screen. To her it appeared as a big square bright box. That would be an irritant until she could figure out a way to be able to read a computer display. Her written notes as well couldn't be read, but she could almost make out the differences where she had guessed writing to be. It was very frustrating.
The doorbell ringing startled her from her thoughts, and she quickly shut off her monitor before calling out for Karen to enter. Dale still checked to see who was outside the door.
"Hi, sweetheart. Are you getting around okay?" Karen asked.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to get a feel for the layout. I started in my bedroom, putting our clothes away. I figured that should work to fix it into my brain. When I finished that, I simply walked slowly around, running my hands over everything and into closets and such. I think I've gotten a good idea about what is where. Um, do you know whose bags are in the other bedroom? I didn't recognize the feel as either Sarah's or mine, so I left them alone."
The woman chuckled; "Yeah, those are mine. I hope you don't mind, but I asked if I could help you get settled in and used to living without sight, at least until Sarah can come home. I've gotten to like the both of you. I don't know why, but when your father asked if I would be interested in a change of employment, I quit the hospital and was packed by that night. I guess just being around you and Sarah, and to some degree your father and Sam, made me realize just how boring my life had gotten. I don't want to intrude, but I figured you might appreciate the help."
Dale smiled at her; "I'll appreciate it more than you will ever know. Sarah will too. I told Daddy that you were a good nurse and a person I trusted, and I didn't trust that doctor. That's when he called Sam. I honestly had no idea that he would offer you a position as well. Not meaning to change the subject, but how is Sarah? Did Sam get the test results yet?"
Karen chuckled; "Sarah is fine. Sam gave her a sedative and she was sleeping when I left. They should be taking her in for the MRI about now; the x-rays were inconclusive, but Sam thought she saw a shadow on one of them. She asked another doctor to look at them as well, and he agreed with her, but since it only showed up on one slide, an MRI would be in order. I'd give them another hour or so to get that taken care of."
"Okay, well, I guess I should stay away for a little while longer," Dale said, slightly frustrated. "Do you know what we do about getting food and stuff? I didn't feel anything in the refrigerator."
"No, I have no idea how that works, but I did find out that there is an interactive information center we can access with either the videophone or a computer. Let me call it up on the phone, and we can go shopping."
"Okay, this apartment is nice, but I need to be doing something right now. It'd be nice to get out of here for a while. I'll go change while you are doing that; it's really hot outside." Dale suggested.
"Good idea, I'd like to change before we go also. Just holler for me if you need any help. I'm told these apartments are sound deadened."
Thousands of miles away, deep in an underground warren of offices and meeting rooms, a group of men were gathered around at table.
"Does anyone have any information on who stopped the attack on Saudi Arabia?" The leader asked, obviously furious.
"No sir, none of the equipment used by the aggressors can be identified. We know what every country is working on as far as weapons development, and nobody has been working on anything that could do some of the things these craft could do. We don't even have any information that would suggest that an aerospace company was designing such a thing. The closest craft capable of doing these things is the American whisperjet built by Connors Aerospace, but those aren't really capable of some of those maneuvers. No one has developed a working laser small enough to be mounted in an aircraft that could still have enough power and precision to cut the tracks off of the tanks. We simply have no leads as to who could have done this," a man answered from down the table.
Another man, sitting closer to the leader said calmly, "That means that there is a superior fighting force out there, that we don't know anything about, and that we don't control. They can obviously repel an attack by a third world country on another third world country, but the question is, are they large enough to stop one of the superpowers? This is a threat and a challenge to us. If word of these 'super craft' gets out, we may start to lose control of the populace. If that happens..."
"You don't need to remind us about revolutions, Dmitri. We all remember what happens then. That is the reason we agreed to form this body. To control the populations of the countries of the world so order was maintained. An ignorant population is a happy one." The leader paused a moment in thought. "If we can't search them out, let's make them search us out. Make public the incident, but exclude the involvement of outside forces. Order American troops to invade Iraq and Iran to prevent something like this from happening again. Make sure that those troops are none too gentle in the invasion. If nothing else, we can see how well their intelligence services are. If those troops are stopped, we need to create a situation in another part of the world, like... Korea. There has been no other resolution to the conflict there since the signing of the cease-fire over a century ago. Have Korea happen as soon as we know if the forces in the Middle East have spotted these new aircraft. But keep Korea from going nuclear for now. Are we agreed?"
The other old men around the table nodded in agreement; it was a good plan. The leader continued, "Good, I would also like full satellite tracking and surveillance on these new forces. Track them back to their origin. We missed them last time because they took us by surprise. I don't want that to happen again."
"Good evening and welcome to NBC Nightly News. I'm Diane Smith." The beautiful blonde paused, dropped her smile, glanced at the screen in front of her, and then continued. "Our top story tonight; the nations of Iraq and Iran have attempted an invasion of the neighboring country of Saudi Arabia. So-called Divine Alliance forces attacked a number of small villages just inside the Saudi border last night. The Saudi military was waiting for the attack, but we are told that casualties are still very high. NBC's own Abdul Musheff is in Saudi Arabia: Adbul?"
The screen switches to a still picture of a smiling Arabian man, standing in a typical Middle Eastern village somewhere. "Thank you, Diane. Very early this morning forces belonging to the Divine Alliance poured across the border into Saudi Arabia. Elements of the Saudi military took the brunt of the attack, but I've received information that at least three unprotected villages have been shelled by long-range artillery fire. The Saudi government reports that Alliance forces have retreated back across the border; they are still quarantining the area until they deem it safe to enter. Unconfirmed casualty reports list the loss of life in the thousands.
"Saudi leader, Sheik Ahamed Hassin, told the press that he had no plans for a retaliatory strike at this time. He instead has asked the United Nations to intervene on behalf of Saudi Arabia while the Saudis deal with the civil unrest created by this attack.
"American President Michael Dobson has ordered the activation of the Hundred and First Airborne Division and elements of the Second Infantry Division. I am told he has also ordered a naval task force into the Persian Gulf. This marks the first time American Naval forces have been ordered into the Persian Gulf since the end of the American occupation of Iraq forty-two years ago. When asked when the troops will be deployed, the President only said, 'I haven't ordered deployment, only activation. I want the United States ready to go to the aid of its allies in the Middle East'.
"This action is counter to Dobson's domestic policies regarding Christianity, since Saudi Arabia is still a predominantly Muslim nation. However, the President's action was lauded by other world leaders, who joined with the United States in offering military aid. Diane?"
The beautiful Blonde reappears on the screen. "Thank you, Abdul.
We'll have more on the breaking news as we get it. In other news
tonight, Aerospace mogul Benjamin Connors has apparently gone into
seclusion since last week's attempted kidnapping of his daughter, Dale
Connors. Sources close to the Connors family said only that Mr. Connors
was taking some time off to spend with his daughter at the family home
in Eagle's Ridge, Colorado. Mr. Connors is scheduled to go before a
Senate hearing to address apparent security violations in three of his
aircraft development facilities. A reply of 'no comment' was given by a
representative for Connors Aerospace."