Author Part 15
(Chapter 68 of "Senses")
LOS ANGELES
When Scott and Jim radioed in to the lab to briefly report on what had happened, the others were all a little freaked out. Once we returned to the lab, Mats, Scott, Jim and Karen went to the computers to start putting information together, while I told the rest of the group the complete story. Even Larry was stunned by Jim's actions, and Larry is a hard one to stun. Paul was the first one to recover from the shock and called everyone around.
"All right people," he began. "Our little science project is about to become public knowledge. Jim's cover is blown and it looks like from the preliminary reports Janis sent us and Jace's additions to the story that the rest of us are going to have to be blown as well."
"Weirdest blow job I ever heard of," A.J. said. The mood was such that there wasn't even a chuckle in the room.
"It's time to pack up the lab and move it elsewhere," Paul continued.
"Whatever for?" I asked.
"You're far too young to have had many dealings with our government," Rand said. "You don't want them in our shorts."
"Agreed," 'drink added. "Paul's right, we need a new location for the lab so that we can continue in peace."
I was full blown whopper gonzo confused. "Wait a minute," I said. "Supposing for a moment that we survive Dr. Hopkins' crazy machines, and even supposing that we aren't preempted by the U.S. government in our efforts, isn't this the chance you've been looking for? I thought you'd want research into your abilities to move ahead at full force."
Most of the others were just shaking their heads, except for Nicki, who seemed as confused as I was.
"Kid, kid, kid," Paul said.
"I hate that," I shot back angrily.
"But for once I'm calling you that with good reason. We have three alternatives facing us now that we're going public, and two of them are downright nasty.
"First, we could go with the government and build up the labs we've always wanted. The problem with that is that we'll never have our own lives again. Not one of us. They'll want to confiscate Janis, stick most of us full of needles and probes to find out what makes us tick, and basically keep us under wraps."
"I thought the cold war mentality was over with," I protested.
"It's just different freezers," Larry said. "These days it's the middle east, China, a million other places. Paul's right, we'd never see the light of day again."
"Option two is just as bad," Paul continued. "We continue as before, but now everybody knows. The problem there is that Jim, A.J., Karen, Angie, me, Carrie, and to some degree Larry over here are all public figures. Jim, A.J. and me are down right famous. People know where we live, and where we conduct our businesses. Jim's favorite bar on Montana Avenue has been written up so many times that the tear sheets from the scandal rags could wallpaper Las Vegas. It would get one hell of a lot worse. We'd become prisoners in our own homes, constantly under siege. I don't want to live that way."
I let that one soak in. I had been around this group just long enough to begin to understand the trappings of celebrity, and I for one didn't see how they could stand the levels of attention already upon them. I nodded, to concede the point.
"Option three is to pack up and move elsewhere," Paul said.
"Isn't that just as bad as being some kind of prisoner?" Nicki asked. Score one for the girl.
"It can be," Paul admitted. "But at least it's a chance to return on our own terms, and to interact with the world when we choose."
"Just fucking great," I said. "I'm not even published yet and I'm going to become Solomon Rushdie!"
"The analogy isn't a bad one," Debbie said. We all turned to face her. "It's not," she protested to our surprised stares.
"We're trying to put ourselves in the position of stopping the apocalypse," she continued. "If we loose, we'll spend our last moments being seen in some cultures as the avenging army. If we win, we'll be seen as being in the way of God's wrath."
"Fuck God's wrath!" A.J. yelled. "That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard!"
"So is the fact that in some cultures women must not wear pants for those are the clothes of a whore. So is the fact that more children own guns in this country now than adults did during the Vietnam war. So is the fact that many people have unprotected sex when AIDS is running out of control. They are all stupid things, but they are still facts!"
A.J. stared at Debbie for a moment, and shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Okay, let's pack," he said. "Does anyone have any ideas where we're going to move to?"
"I do," Larry said. "I've been thinking about it for a while and I've got an idea. A.J., I'll need you and Jim to come with me to arrange it."
"One more thing," Paul interrupted, "before we start making plans. We've only got a few days before the big moment, and then we won't have any time. If anyone needs to take a break from all of this, today's the day to do it."
"And any goodbyes we need to say," Morgana said. "If we're going underground there will people we will never see again."
"Jim will want to go to the bar," A.J. said. "Not to mention seeing the Blue Shift gang."
"Afraid not," Larry replied. "The three of us will have to be exempted from goodbyes. We will be hard pressed for time as it is. I'd like to borrow Janis but I think we're going to need her for packing and storage of equipment. We'll be driving for almost 16 hours."
A.J. squinted at his oldest brother. "Where are we going?"
Larry clasped A.J. on the shoulders. "We're going to go see mom and dad."
Very few of the rest of us had any goodbyes to say. Karen had only Jim, and was still mentally working through her goodbyes to her patients. Rand and Constance had each other, while Morgana was already on foreign soil. Paul and Debbie were family, while 'drink and Mats had been on their own for a long time. Nicki had only her family. Scott had lost track of his father some years before, while Angie had never wanted to see any of her relations again. Carrie called her mother to say she'd be on the road for a while.
Funny how that all worked out.
As soon as Jim had finished with Scott he left with his two brothers for parts unknown, although I'll get to that shortly. While everyone else started inventorying things and packing, I sat in my room trying to decide whether or not to call my parents.
Consider this; I had been gone from Yosemite for several weeks now. My birthday had passed. My parents hadn't even sent word to find out where I was. It was that kind of life. Two hot shot lawyers trying to raise a single kid neither of them had any time for. Oh, there was love, but also a lot of unintentional neglect. They just didn't think about me unless they had to.
So I was fairly ambivalent about calling them. In fact I had been sitting on my bed for nearly twenty minutes staring at the phone without having reached any sort of decision when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," I said.
It was Angie. She looked at me and then the phone, and said, "Don't call."
I raised my eyebrows. "Is it that obvious?" I asked.
"It is. I've occasionally wondered about your family, but there never has seemed to be a good time to bring it up."
"There never is," I sighed. "I've been on my own mentally for a long time now. It's like I'd be calling two strangers."
"Then don't call."
I nodded slowly, then looked at Angie. "Thanks for the advice."
"Sure." There was an uncomfortable silence between us.
"We're not done here, are we?" I said. There was unfinished business between the two of us.
Angie shook her head. "Nope," she replied. "Not by a long shot. The hard part is that we could both be dead four days from now. No one has thought about whether or not we need to say goodbye to each other."
"We don't," I said. "That's far to pessimistic an attitude for what we're trying to accomplish here. You can't really be down when you're trying to save the world."
Angie chuckled. "No, I suppose not. But there's you and me to resolve."
I nodded soberly and thought for a moment. "Is there something to resolve?" I asked. "We've been seeing each other casually and intimately for a couple of weeks now. Isn't that a bit soon to try and find a resolution?"
"Normally," Angie admitted. She sat down on the bed next to me. "But these are not normal times and we're not normal people. I don't like the thought of death hanging over me." She shuddered a bit, and I put an arm around her shoulders.
"Me either," I admitted. I was silent for a moment, as it occurred to me for the first time that I should actually be scared.
Angie took my silence as a loss for words and continued. "Most people would say you're too young for me," she said. "I was in High School when you were born. I was in medical school when you were in grade school."
"And you've never really considered the consequences until now," I said.
Angie shook her head. "Nope." She put her head on my shoulder, and I reached up to stroke her hair. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I honestly don't know what to do anymore."
I kissed her on the forehead, more in sympathy than anything else, and the next thing I knew she had thrown me onto the bed and was pulling her clothing off. "Fuck me," she said.
I won't go into detail, but I did oblige her.
A short time we lie naked on the bed next to one another, me just a bit bewildered (and somewhat soaked in sweat) and Angie seeming much more relaxed. It was the first time in my life that I had experienced the concept of "needing a good fuck".
"Much better," she said.
"I'll take your word for it," I said breathlessly. That comment invoked the first smile I had seen in her all day. I rolled over on my side to face her. "Does this mean that you're willing to keep me?" I asked.
Angie laughed. "For now," she said. "Fuck all the others and the attitudes we'll get about our ages. I like the way you fit."
Now I laughed. "I don't want to fuck all the others," I said. "Just you."
She winked at me. "And me just you."
I winked back. "Deal. No promises for the long term future, though."
Angie reached down towards my waist. "What about the immediate future?"
I closed my eyes and let the erection happen. Angie was starting to use her tongue down there when I had a sudden jolt of thought. I sat up in bed and spilled Angie off of it.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"We don't have a backup plan," I said. "It just hit me. What happens if Mats becomes Dr. Hopkins when the formulae are supplanted? What if what happened to A.J. that first time happens to Mats? We'll have another madman on our hands!"
Angie climbed back on the bed and forced me to lie down. "We've thought of that," she said smoothly. "At least Carrie did and she brought me in on it." (Aha! Remember about 40 or so pages back when Carrie had pulled Angie aside and I didn't know why? Now I knew!)
The erection came back again, as Angie did her marvelous work. Between motions she said, "When we finish up here we'll go to Jim's house and see if we can't find a lapel microphone. I'll fill you in on the plan as we do."
She climbed up on top of me and grasped me in a way I hadn't thought possible. "In the meanwhile," she said, "it's about time you learned to be a great lover. And I'm going to teach you."