Note: All persons used in this novel are fictitious. Although the areas used in this novel are real, the streets, buildings, roadways, recreational areas, and other points of interest used to make this interesting reading for you, are neither at the exact heights, or in the location described. If you are looking for a great deal of explicit sexual activity, this is not the story for you. As I have it noted, those scenes will be evocative rather than aggressive. They also will be a few and far between. This is going to be a "STORY" for your reading pleasure," with no more than "FIVE HUNDRED CHAPTERS." With the exclusion of certain scenes, this story could easily have a fit into the category of "NON-EROTIC" as easily as it will fit into a Novel or Novellas. As always please remember this is "A NOVEL."

*Note: I informed you several chapters ago that this story could take off into the realm of Science and Science Fiction. Much of this story is developed from Factual Science, although I have taken many liberties with it, and expanded the truth liberally. If you read this story in 25 years, most of this will be 'OLD NEWS'. If you are laughing at me at this moment, remember I am laughing at you. I have done the research before putting fingers to keyboard. Trains do not touch the rails they used to ride on. It is currently happening. It's called levitation. Approaching light speed is no longer a fiction. It's done routinely at C.E.R.N. using massive amounts of electricity, magnets, in a vacuum. Space is the largest vacuum known to man. WE can make magnets of any size, shape, and polarity. Have fun reading this and the next several chapters, while trying to ferret out the actual facts; from the areas I have had a little fun with by stretching the truth a tiny bit.

**Need to Know: Speed of Light - 186,000 Miles per Second, 671,000,000 Miles per Hour, 16,104,000,000 Miles per Day, 6,000,000,000,000 miles plus or minus 2% in 1 Light Year.

*****

CHAPTER 9

37. Numbers

As I secured the gates, and the house, I said to my baby, "We have to talk in the morning."

"Why dad, what's wrong?"

"If we start now, none of us will get any sleep tonight. Let's do this in the morning when we are all fresh. Gordon is exhausted, and we will need his math skills. Some of your numbers don't add up. I didn't want to say anything while my colleagues were here. They didn't seem to notice. Please go upstairs with Gray, and get some rest. We will discuss this after breakfast."

"What numbers dad; what didn't make sense?"

"I'm taking my wife to bed. I'm going to get laid, because it cost me $10 for that privilege. I will see you in the morning. Good night my little love."

"You can't do this to me dad."

Jennifer said, "You're wrong, he just did. He promised me something and he is going to deliver. Young woman you are going to sleep. If Gray has to knock you out with a sleeping pill, you will sleep tonight. Are we on the same page Delicious?"

"Why is sex so damn important?"

"Why don't you ask the man who gave up 10 months of sex just to be with you."

"You don't fight fair Jennifer."

"You are not used to dealing openly with a woman. If you were talking to your father, you would have told him where to go, how to get there, and how long to stay. You do not dare tell me any of those things, do you?"

Delicious walked into my wife's arms, and hugged her.

"I'm beginning not to like you Jen. You are much too logical for me to be angry with."

"Why don't you go to bed, fool around a little bit, and go to sleep? Everything will be fine in the morning."

"If you screw him to death tonight, I don't have to worry about tomorrow morning."

"If he's dead, what am I going to do tomorrow night?"

"There you go again, logic, is there anything you are not logical about?"

"There is one thing I'm not logical about."

"Go ahead, this should be earth shattering."

Jen whispered in my daughter's ear, "I started fucking around when I was 14 years old. I got pregnant when I was 19. I thought all men were created equal. Each man I had was roughly the same size in every dimension. Then I met and married your father. The men I had before him were shaped like rifles. Your father is cannon shaped."

"That is too much information Jennifer. I didn't need to know that. Yuck, how can you take something that size?"

"I can't, I'm only able to take half."

Delicious screamed, ran up the stairs and into her room.

Gray asked, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her about my husband."

"Oh God, from now on she will think I'm a dwarf." He ran to be with my daughter.

"Why dad, what did mommy tell Delicious?"

"That is a tale for another time, my son. Now is the time for you to get ready for bed. Do you want another piggyback ride, or are you going to run up the stairs under your own power?"

"I'll run dad, you look tired."

My son was truly observant, because this was a very long day, and it was not over yet. My wife had a twinkle in her eye. I had promised to deliver, and I always keep my promises, always.

"What room would you like to sleep in tonight Gordon? You can sleep in Delicious' room, or the room next to ours."

"Why would I want to sleep in a girl's room? It's all pink and frilly."

"Tomorrow, when we go clothes shopping, we will buy you a bedroom set. You can pick that out also."

"That's cool dad, mommy never let me pick out anything."

"That's because you were only three, and I did not believe you knew what you wanted."

"I knew I didn't want to wear plaid."

"Young man, if you start with me now you are going to bed with a red behind."

"Dad, what did I say wrong now? Mommy asked me a question, and I told her the truth. How can I get in trouble by telling the truth?"

"It's very simple my son. Your mother is a woman. We are lowly men. Whatever your mother says is the law. Whatever we respond to her questions is automatically wrong. It doesn't matter if it's the truth, or a lie; we are always wrong. You are going to have to get used to that when we are in space with Brandy and Danielle."

"You are a dead man Even. You are polluting my son's mind with garbage. You know that's not true."

"Dearest, how many arguments did I win before we got married?"

"All of them, of course."

"Darling, how many arguments have I won since we've been married?"

"None of them, of course."

"Do you remember the rules I taught you Gordon?"

"Yes I do, dad. I understand them now. What do I do when mommy asks me a question? Do I lie to her so she feels good, or do I tell the truth, and get a spanking?"

"There is always one other option for a person your size. You can hide under the bed, until she calms down, or I save you."

"Can I have a cell phone so I can call you in an emergency?"

"I will buy you one when we go shopping tomorrow."

Jennifer yelled, "No you will not. No four-year-old boy has a cell phone, and my son is not going to be the first."

"Mom, I could call my girlfriends."

Jennifer threw her hands up in the air and screamed, "I hate you both. You always gang up on me, and win."

"Dear, he doesn't have their phone numbers."

"Yes I do dad, they gave them to me."

"Son, you are very fast worker. Do you remember what I said to you about all those women living west of the Mississippi River Jen? I think I should amend that to South of the Canadian, and north of the Mexican border. I get more impressed with our little boy every day."

"You had better get us off this planet before he becomes potent, or Rod is going to be very busy in court with paternity suits."

"I wonder if we can incorporate him. If they sue him we could have the corporation go bankrupt, and they will not be able to collect any money from him."

"You're kidding aren't you? In 10 years there should be about 500 million people in this country. Fifty-three percent of them are going to be women. Thirty percent of them will be in their childbearing years. If Gordon gets to 5% of that 30% pregnant, he will be responsible for 14,375,000 babies."

"He would need a few knee replacements and a lot of sleep in between partners."

"Sleep, with that schedule, when would he have time?"

**********

Tuesday 9:30 AM

"I wonder if I can get breakfast in before she attacks me."

"If I was talking to you I would tell you there is no way in hell that was going to happen."

"If I was listening to you I would tell you I was not listening to you."

"Tell my father there was nothing wrong with my numbers Gray."

"It looks like we're going to have a fine day today Even."

"Yes it does. Another month or so we will start getting a little nip in the air and then the temperature will drop like a rock. It would be a good time to have a house on a cliff in Maui. What could be better than a vacation with my wife, my son, me, and my drawing board?"

"Hey you did you forget someone?"

"Jennifer did I forget anyone?"

"No one who you're talking to dear; I don't believe that person is talking to you either. How could you possibly ask, or get a response from someone like that?"

"Tell him I'll send him an email."

"I go through his emails, and anyone he's not talking to I don't deliver to him."

"There is a conspiracy going on in this house."

"Even have you written out her eviction notice yet?"

"I'm having Rod do it. He'll have it certified at the courthouse and a sheriff will serve it to that person whose not talking to me, and I'm not talking to."

"Who's going to make your engines for the spacecraft?"

"We decided not to go."

"When was this momentous decision made? Who left me out of the loop?"

"I told my husband he could have me or his spaceship, but not both. Of course I told him this while he was getting laid and he made the right choice."

"You bitch."

"That will be $10 please."

"I'm sure if you take your designs to NASA or to the Russians or the Chinese, they will happily help you along."

"They will steal my designs and take credit for them."

"I'm sure they'll give you honorable mention 34^th of 35^th on the list of credits."

"Can I talk to my father please?"

"It's not 10 AM; you have another 14 hours to go before you can talk to him."

"Talk to me please dad."

"If I ask her to get down on her knees and beg, do you think that's going a little too far Gray?"

"Are all the guns and knives in the house secured?"

"There are no guns, and Jennifer is standing by the knives; so I think we're good."

"I still wouldn't take a chance Even. She might pick me up and throw me at you."

"Good morning Delicious, welcome to breakfast."

"This good cop bad cop shit has got to stop."

Gray said, "Delicious, watch your mouth. We have discussed this at length. Also that is $10 please."

"I apologize for the use of inappropriate language. I will attempt, no, I will do better."

"Your apology is accepted. What do you have on your mind?"

"Last night you said there was something wrong with my numbers. What numbers are wrong and where?"

"You were way off on the times we are passing the planets. You were talking days when you should've been talking minutes. My colleagues missed it. I didn't want to bring it up last night, while they were here, because I did not wish to embarrass you. Once we leave the earth's gravitational field, and clear the arc of the moon, we will be passing Mars in a little more than 12 minutes, not 12 days. You said we were going to pass Jupiter in 87 days. We will pass Jupiter at one-quarter light speed in 58 minutes.

As soon as we pass Jupiter the computer will extend and start up the nuclear engine to push us as far past three quarter light speed as we can go. As you said this is just a theory of yours, but as soon as we get close to 80 percent of light speed, we should engage your Ion/H2 drive. There is no sense waiting until we leave our solar system. Between the two engines, if we don't reach 90 percent of light speed, we may as well turn around and come home. It will take us over 1 million Earth years to get close to the nearest star system if we are any slower than that.

By the 90^th day we should have maxed out our speed. We will shut down the nuclear engine, and cool it to minus 77° Kelvin. We can retract the engine into our spacecraft, without worry about radiation contamination, because you did not use metal in your design. Your plans call for Silicon Carbide, and Beryillium Oxide, ceramics with the lowest melting point of the containment vessel being plus 2780 degrees Kelvin. We will program the computer to extend the nuclear engine if the vessel reaches plus 2000° Kelvin. The temperatures of space will return the engine to minus 77° Kelvin without having to restart it, and circulating the Helium around the core. If it doesn't happen automatically, we will program the computer to wake me up, and I will do it manually.

We can leave the Ion/ H2 engine extended and working, while we pass through the Heliopause and into the Interstellar Medium(ISM). We may pick up more speed, after transiting completely into the Medium, and use the power from it for life support and all our other electrical needs, while leaving our other power sources on standby.

Boys and girls this is when we will really be in Outer Space. Our Sun will no longer have any effect on us. If the astrophysicists are correct, we will be in the area where 20% of the Universes carbon remains from the aftereffects of the Big Bang. We will be amongst the aftereffects of the building blocks of Stars and Exoplanets. There are comets and meteors here, but almost everything else is miniature. Molecules are the largest things, and you are going to have to search far and wide to find one. However, it has been proven that all the steppingstones of life are out here in abundance if mixed together properly. Amino acids and nucleotides, the raw materials of proteins and DNA are here. We began here in the stars. We belong here."

"Honey let's not get all sappy."

"Dad, I have one tiny question for you."

"Would everyone clear a pathway to the door for me please? I have a feeling I'm going to need room to run. Go ahead dear, keep calm, and ask me your question."

"I never gave you any information about the design specifications of any of my engines. How did you know I did not use metal in my nuclear reactor? You also knew that I was not just using an ion engine, but an Ion/hydrogen 2 composite engine. I know you are a brilliant engineer, but when did you become a mind reader?"

"You didn't know that you talked in your sleep."

"We never slept in the same room."

"I had a tape recorder in there to listen to you, because your mother used to talk in her sleep."

"Gray get out my way, I'm about to kill my father."

"Even it's been very nice working with you. I'll see you in the next world. If I get in her way she will kill me too."

"Honey, did you sign the property titles and insurance papers over to me. I will give Delicious her share, when she gets out of jail."

"Dad, you have 30 seconds before I tear your lungs out."

"Are you going to run away from home, like your idiot uncle did when he found out you broke into his computer files?"

"You broke into my files? Someone once told me no one has ever broken into his files. The codes are unbreakable. They are 36 increments long. It's not possible to break them."

"I ran a simple password hitchhiker, and it gave me a hint. It looked much too 'ladylike' for you, which is why I originally couldn't believe it was part of your password. Then I remembered what you said about the people that came up with your formula and disregarded it. I didn't. It turned out that I made the right decision. In a few more moments there were your engines. Someone has to teach you how to draw properly. Your schematics are awful, but your genius is in the outcome of the math. The Hexagonal design of the interface in the nuclear reactor is phenomenal. I've never seen anything quite like it. I believe you are underestimating the amount of electric power you will generate from it, but the outcome will be better for us that way.

I don't completely understand the Ion/H 2 engine but that's your baby. You say it will work; I believe you. I will stand by your decision to turn it on but I don't want to wait until we leave our solar system. We need speed, and we need all we can get, as soon as we can get it. Once we pass Jupiter, and approach Neptune, we should turn it on. We can't hurt anyone behind us. Let's go for the ride of our lives."

"Dad we have to go with just the facts as they present themselves at the time."

Gray asked her, "Who the hell are you Joe Friday?"

"Who the heck is Joe Friday?"

"A policeman from the famous cop show, "Dragnet." It was on TV in the late 50s and early 60s. They made a movie about it in 1987 with Dan Aykroyd.

"My dad wasn't alive in the 50s and 60s. How am I supposed to know about Dragnet?"

"You knew about Lawrence Welk."

"Do you really want to start with me this early in the morning Gray?"

"Next week, this will be the middle of the day for you and me."

"I think I'll fix all the clocks in the house, and paint the windows in our room black."

"Have you heard of something called a body clock?"

"Gray, you are almost there. If I were you I would stop talking to me about now."

"I love talking to you. It makes your cheeks rosy."

Gordon asked, "Dad, I thought sap came from trees."

Delicious laughed. "I'm going to eat your belly for breakfast Gordon. You are too cute."

"You just ate your breakfast, leave my belly alone."

Delicious got up from the table and ran around it to get him.

He was too smart for her. He slipped out of his booster seat, went under the table, and hid between a mass of legs.

"Come out here you cheater, and fight like a man."

"I'm not a man; I'm only a little boy."

"If you don't come out and play with me, I'm not going to take you tubing this winter."

"That's all right, my daddy will."

For the first time since I've known him, I had to disappoint my son.

"I'm sorry Gordon I don't go tubing. Only crazy people go tubing, that's why Delicious goes. It is very fast and very exciting, but I enjoy being on my snowmobile going a little slower but staying in control. Many people go tubing and they say it's fun. I will allow you to go only if you go with Gray at your side. Gray has a calming influence on Delicious. He keeps your sister from going over the edge."

"Does that make Gray my brother?"

"Yes it does."

"That is so cool. Gray you are my first brother. All I've ever had before was girls in my family. You have never seen so many dresses in your life. Every closet you hide in is filled with dresses. I was beginning to believe I was born to the wrong family."

"Gordon whatever family you were born into would have been blessed to have you. You are the smartest little boy I have ever been privileged to know. It's 10 o'clock, your program just came on."

"Thank you Gray. Today they're talking about The Stones of Stenness. The group of islands off the northwest coast of Scotland; where they found Monoliths that pre-date Stonehenge by 3000 years. It was such an advanced culture it was thousands of years ahead of Rome, Greece, Persia, and Egypt. Why we are just finding out about it now is a mystery."

"Sounds like another little bit of light entertainment for you."

"Yes, it's just something to keep my mind off math for a little while."

Gray started choking at the table. Delicious was only too happy to pound on his back.
"Delicious if you don't stop, I'm going to take you upstairs and teach you another lesson."

"Is this the good lesson or the bad lesson?"

"Do you really need me to answer that for you?"

"No, I think I'll stop."

"Excellent choice, sit on my lap and listen to the rest of your father's lecture."

"What happens if something pops up?"

"We will deal with it later, much later."

"Are we finished children, if so I do not have much more to go through."

Delicious settled her ass comfortably on Grey's lap, and received a nibble on her ear and a kiss on her neck in return.

Jennifer passed behind him, carrying a carafe of coffee, and smacked him on his head.

"Pay attention Dr. Thyme, but not to her; would you like more coffee?"

"No thank you, I'm good."

"From the sounds coming out of your bedroom, I would say you're a very good."

"Jennifer, stop that, it's embarrassing."

"No it's not Delicious. It's called sex; and it's wonderful isn't it dear?"

"I would bet my life on it, not my wife, my life."

"Would your father have uttered those words six weeks ago Delicious?"

"I don't think my father knew about sex six weeks ago, but you have taught him a lot very quickly."

"I got my PhD in sex very early in life. I found the love of my life little bit later."

"Here we go getting sappy again. Can we finish this little discussion and maybe Gray and I can go straighten up our room."

"Is that what they are calling it these days: Straightening up your room? When I was younger we used to call it, 'Getting something straight between us.' However, if it works for you it's fine with me."

"Jennifer, you are incorrigible."

"Yes I am, isn't it wonderful?"

"If you two don't mind, let me finish, and this sexual bantering can go on for the rest of the day, while I go to work downstairs."

"Go ahead Even; at least I will be listening to you."

"Thank you Gray, now where was I. When we go into stasis, whether we are at .9 or .999 of light speed it doesn't matter. When we get there, we get there. The computers will wake Gordon up first, and he will check our position. Once he verifies everything is okay, he will wake up the rest of us. He will probably have a party with Danielle and Brandy first, but he'll get us up soon enough."

"Dad that was awful."

Gordon came running into the room carrying a fistful of his money. "I heard you talking dad. How much money do I need to have a party with Danielle and Brandy?"

I looked at Jennifer and shook my head. "When we go out today let's see if we can find a stapler big enough to keep my mouth shut when he's around."

"Why do you need a stapler dad?"

"Sometimes son I say inappropriate things when I'm not thinking. It's not a good thing to do with a young man running around the house."

"Can I still invite them for the party?"

"We are busy this weekend, but if you give mommy their phone numbers, I'm sure we can set up a party for the following weekend for Danielle, Brandy, Rod's children, and a few of their friends. Maybe we will even invite you to your Birthday Party."

"Thanks dad, I think I'll invite you too." With that, my son disappeared in the flash.

I yelled, "We're leaving in five minutes."

His head popped out of the playroom door and I knew I was in trouble. "Is that a man's five minutes, or woman's five minutes dad?"

Gray tapped me on the shoulder and laughed as he walked away with Delicious.

"Do you remember what I told you about the rules Gordon? You are never supposed to talk about them when the women are around."

"Oh yeah dad, I forgot that part. I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

Before I could say a word, a towel hit me in the head. "You are filling my sons head up with garbage."

I walked over to my wife, with the towel hanging over my head and asked her a question. "I can walk out the door in less than five minutes. Can you? You told me you wanted to leave the house by 10:30 AM. The time now is 10:25 AM what do you think?"

"I think you're not getting laid tonight."

"I think you are going to miss it more than I am."

"That's not fair Even, I waited a long time for you."

"I waited longer for you. I waited a lifetime for you and it was worth it. Do you want to crawl into a closet with me for a minute?"

"Guess who would open the door."

"Do you want to take a shower?"

"I could use one."

"Do you need anyone to wash your back?"

"I have an itch on my back that I have not been able to scratch."

"I have been known to be a very good itch scratcher."

"We need a babysitter."

I know exactly where to get one."

I yelled, "Delicious could you come down here for a moment."

I waited a moment and called again. "Delicious could you come down here for a moment."

Jennifer was doing everything except undressing next to me, when I finally yelled, "Delicious come down here."

I heard her door open and she screamed, "DAD WE'RE BUSY!"

"I thought you were straightening out your room?"

"We are, sort of."

Jennifer said, "Now I really need a shower, a really cold shower. I'm going to kill you very slowly. You did this to me. You better make it up to me tonight."

To paraphrase the saying: The best laid plans... The only problem was neither my wife nor I was getting laid. Come to think of it, neither was my daughter, nor Gray. All four of us struck out. This turned out to be one hell of a morning.

"Gordon, I am going downstairs to do some work on Sequoia. Do you..."

My son was at my side before the last vowel of Sequoia was out my mouth.

He sat in the number one position which was now permanently his. The chair was set at his height, and I no longer told him what to do during his time on the machine. As far as he was concerned it was playtime. I just made sure everything he put into the machine was saved so Gray and I could decipher it later. Geniuses came in all sizes and shapes. This one was my son. I had to remind Rod to make that soon, and permanent.

******

We did go shopping that day, but we didn't leave until after lunch, and didn't get back until after dinner. Unlike my daughter, when we went furniture-shopping Gordon did not touch anything, he surveyed. He walked down the aisle casually, without stopping, and said, "No. No. No. We will take this one mom."

Jennifer was horrified. "How can you say that Gordon; you didn't open a drawer, you didn't sit on the bed. You didn't do anything."

"I like the style of the furniture and the color mommy. You are going to buy me a different mattress. Why would I want to sit on that mattress? Can I have this bedroom set please?"

I didn't say a word. I'm not sure I breathe. Gordon was looking straight at his mother and I was not going to let her out of this one by butting in.

"Are you sure honey?"

"Gordon let his shoulders slip down, and sighed, "Alright mom, if you're not happy with this one, you can pick one out for me. I don't want to see you to cry."

I could feel it in my bones. She was waiting for me to say something, anything to help her along. I wasn't going to do it. This one was for her. Big black eyes, staring up into bigger black eyes. Mommy's heart finally melted.

"You can have it Gordon."

Our son did a victory dance in the area his furniture was in. Now he opened the drawer's and tested the headboard and slid under the bed. Now he felt entitled to do the things a young boy would do with something he owned.

Meanwhile, his mother stood in the aisle being consoled by his father. She had given her son away to the Military for the next 20 years. Her four-year-old child had picked out his own bedroom set. How could any mother allow that to happen?

That was only the beginning of our afternoon. We picked up his suits and he looked wonderful in them. The owner brought in some extra slacks and shirts for him just in case we wanted more.

Jennifer said he didn't need any more dress clothes.

I thanked the owner and told him to box everything up that he purchased for us.

Jennifer turned a beautiful color rose before we left the store.

I could only guess what her blood pressure was. I had a feeling that I was in deep shit.

We went to another young man's store to buy casual clothes for him. Jennifer started looking in one area, while Gordon and I looked in another. Gordon could not believe the first shirt she put against his chest.

He said mournfully, "Mom, don't do it please."

"Honey it's a gorgeous shirt."

"Mom, please don't."

"Oh God, I forgot, its plaid, I'll put it back."

It turned out that my wife had a fetish for stripes and plaids for her son. Many of her clothes had stripes on them, which made her look taller. However, when it came to her son, her hands automatically went towards those styles. It reached the point that Gordon hid every time he saw his mother was an armload of clothes.

Unfortunately, for him, she knew where all his hiding places were. I could not see him. He was not visible on the floor underneath it, and his hands were not holding on to the top. If I didn't know where he was I could never have found him.

Jennifer handed me the heap of clothes she was carrying, and walked directly to the round he was hiding in. She looked down through the center of it.

"Young man when was the last time you were able to hide from me in a store?"

"I was two and half mommy."

"Does September 30 mean anything to you?"

"Yes mommy, it's my birthday. I become five years old."

"Would you like to live that long?"

"Yes mommy, I'll come out."

He crawled out from underneath the slacks, and looked up at his mother.

"How much trouble am I in mommy?"

"I will let you know after you finish trying on the clothes I gave to your father."

He looked at the armload of clothes I was holding and thought he would be here until the store closed.

I said to him, "Come on son let's try these clothes on."

Jennifer said, "I do that with him."

"I have to learn how to do it, don't I?"

I didn't know if she realized I was up to something or not, but she said, "Okay, go ahead."

We took the largest dressing room they had, and I separated the clothes by type, and maker. If she had five shirts from the same company, I held them up to make sure they were all the same size. I never believe the tags that are inside them. I did the same thing with the Jeans, corduroys, and everything else she gave me. When I was finished, I tried one of each item on Gordon. If one fit, they all fit. If one did not fit, they all did not fit. It took us all of 10 minutes to go through 35 items.

"I like your way of trying on clothes dad. It's much easier then mommy's way."

"It's another rule that you are not allowed to tell a woman about Gordon. If they find out we are all in trouble."

"How many rules are there dad?"

"There is not an exact number Gordon. Women keep changing the ground rules on us. Every time they change the rules we have to compensate for them by making new rules for them. It's a never ending battle between the sexes."

"Is it always a problem, or is it fun too?"

"Sometimes it's an awful lot of fun Gordon, more fun than you can possibly imagine at your age."

"I will be five soon, will I understand then?"

"No, you will have to be much older before you understand."

"Are you going to get me my cell phone?"

"I am going to give it to you before we leave the mall."

"That's cool dad, thank you."

I had Jennifer and Gordon go into the Chinese restaurant ahead of me to order dinner. I stopped at a kiosk and picked up Gordon's cell phone. It was the tiniest thing I had ever seen, but it was perfect for a four-year-old with tiny fingers. It measured 3" x 3". It could make and receive calls and text messages. It was a cute little phone. It was also expensive. I bought it for him anyhow, and had it set up with my cell phone carrier. By the time I entered the restaurant my food was on the table, getting cold, but that didn't matter when I saw the light in my son's eyes explode with delight, when I showed him HIS cell phone

"Wow dad, it looks like a spy telephone."

I humored my son by telling him it was a spy telephone, and it was the newest thing on the market. He was thrilled.

Jennifer said to me, "You do know I am not going to have any control over my son if you keep doing this."

I said to her that it would never happen.

"Look at me Gordon. All these wonderful things I buy for you is because I love you, and you are a wonderful boy. There is only one thing you have to do for me in return. You must continue to love and respect your mother as you do today. I love your mother very much. I will not allow you or anyone else to hurt her. If you want me to continue to buy you all these wonderful things, all you have to do for me is this one big thing. I don't think it will be very hard for you to do, because you already love your mother."

"I will always love my mommy dad. She was there when I was born."

"Yes Gordon I know. You were there also."

"I was going to say that."

"You already said that several times before. Now hug your mother before she starts crying."

He kissed and hugged his mother, and then he asked me, "Why do women always cry?"

"It's the way God made them. When they are very happy, or very sad, they cry. Right now I think your mother is very happy."

"Why is she happier now than she was this afternoon?"

"Your mother knows after we finish eating, and you stop questioning me about everything, and anything under the sun, we can go home."

"Can I make a phone call when we are in the car?"

"This was your last question, and this is my final answer. Yes you can."

"Thanks dad."

*******

Gordon sat in his safety seat, talking on his new cell phone with Brandy. The woman in the passenger seat was not happy with me. She looked at the amount of clothing in the rear of the Q7, and every time she turned a page in her magazine I thought she was going to rip it out of its binding.

"Was that my arm or my leg you were tearing out?"

"If I was your daughter I would say I am not talking to you. However, I am your wife, and I can do much worse than that."

"I will make it up to you by being extremely inventive tonight while we are in bed. I will ask you to forgive me my transgressions; all you have to do is tell me what they were."

"You are taking my little boy away from me. I have never had a man in my life, and he has never had a man in his. He has latched on to you as he would to his biological father from the day he was born. I can't say I'm not happy about it, because I always wanted you two to get along. I just never thought it would happen this fast."

"What would you like me to do? If I turn my affection for him off, he will think he did something wrong. I don't want you to be hurt. I don't want Gordon to be hurt. I don't care about me, I will survive, but you are my life, and he is my son. What do you want me to do?"

"Is there any way I can get involved in the spaceship project?"

"We have already decided that you were going to drive it."

"How do you drive a spaceship?"

"Very carefully."

"That's not funny Even."

"How else would you describe flying something off the ground that weighs 6,000,000 pounds, at 100 miles an hour, and two minutes later is flying at 16,000 miles an hour?"

"Hair-raising, mind-boggling, death-defying, are those good enough for you?"

"I can think of a few more, but those will do just fine. The computer will do most of the flying, but you will be the pilot in command. From now on when we go downstairs, you come with us; no more girly shopping."

"That's not fair Even. A woman has a right to shop. It's written in the Constitution. It's in the First Amendment. "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. If I can't shop I can't be happy."

"I will work to see if I can give you a few hours off on Saturday mornings."

"You had better see I get all day Saturday off."

"I'll think about it."

She reached down, retrieved her magazine, and began reading.

Jennifer's flowing skirt had risen slightly above her knee so I decided to tease her.

I slipped my hand under the skirts' fabric, made a very quick move to her pussy, and began rubbing my fingers into her slot.

She held my wrist in a death grip, and her panties became wet instantly. She said to me, "If you don't finish me I will cut off this hand."

"Babe we have company in the back seat."

"I don't give a fuck. You started this, make me cum."

"Is this a bad time to remind you that you owe the cookie jar $10?"

"Is this a bad time to say if you don't complete what you started you are going to need an oral surgeon?"

"Open your window a few inches; we need a little noise in the car."

"Do you always think of everything?"

"No, but he (Gordon) does."

I slipped my fingers behind the flimsy fabric of her panties, and touched the smooth clean flesh surrounding her vagina. I let my thumb slide down the center, and played over the hooded warrior, until the nerve center popped out from underneath it. It is such fun to play with so many reactive nerves at one time, and watch your partner become disabled at the same moment. There is no other section of the female body that has the same control over it then the tiny clitoris. I centered my play on this tiny piece of flesh. My wife's hips started fighting her safety belt, trying to get my finger to touch her harder, and in another area to satisfy her. She was grunting in annoyance with me.

My eyes stayed on the road instead of on her. I was using the braille method of sexual stimulation, and while you are driving it is the best way to stay alive.

I took a quick look at Jen and she had lost 4 inches in height. She would have lost a lot more, but that was all her safety belt would allow her to go. Her knees were spread as wide as the car would permit her, and her skirt was up around her waist. Thankfully, Gordon's seat was behind her, and not behind me.

My wife said to me, "Faster dammit."

Who was I to argue with a beautiful woman, my wife, my love, my life?

Her hips arched as high off the seat as she could. She was sweating profusely. She was right there when it happened. Another few seconds and it would have been over.

"How do you turn this phone off dad?"

My wife grabbed my wrist so I would not leave her in dire need. I also had to answer my sons question without any undue delay.

I said to Gordon and a slightly louder voice than normal, "Hit the red button that says End."

"Oh, thanks dad, I see it."

As I said this, I shoved three fingers into my wife's vagina. I was rewarded with a handful of fluids, and a moan that lasted forever.

She collapsed her thighs against my hand and said, with a sheepish grin, "Thanks dad."

I rewarded her by continuing to move my fingers in and out of her vagina until her hips started moving again.

"No, not again, he will hear me this time."

I held the steering wheel with my knees, and opened my window. The roar of the traffic passing us drowned out our conversation. I pumped and pumped my fingers into her and her hips responded as best they could. I moved my thumb into position above her clit and began pressing down on it.

"Fuck," was the only word she said as she approached her second climax. I felt her abs tighten, her legs stiffen, and her left hand was getting ready to shatter my Ulna.

She brought her right hand to her mouth and bit it as she screamed in ecstasy. Her body became part at the seams as she rested against back of the seat without saying another word.

When we arrived home I let Gordon out of the car. He ran to the front door and Gray let him in. He came out to help me with my packages, and saw Jennifer sleeping.
He looked at me warily.

"It's been a long tough day Gray. Wait until you have children and have them try on clothes for three hours. You would be unconscious also."

"It must've been torture."

"The medieval kind of torture. I was thinking about putting needles into my eyes to make the pain go away."

"That might have hurt a little."

"How did my daughter do today?"

"She had a smile on most of the day."

"Good work Gray, keep it up. She will become a human being soon enough."

"Did Jennifer have a good day?"

"No woman enjoys giving up control of the purchases that are being made. She allowed Gordon to pick out his own bedroom set. I thought she was going to collapse on the showroom floor after she said okay. Then we picked up his suits and other items at the specialty store, before we started our main shopping. That's where she showed her skill. I've never seen anything like it in my life. It has to be in the human genome structure that women are born to shop. Women are walking around the store carrying 200 pounds of clothes in their arms, wheeling a stroller, and have three other children walking with them. To them it's like an everyday occurrence, to me I would rather be run over by a concrete truck. Gordon tried to hide as his mother approached with an armload of clothes. She threw them to me and went straight to him. I'm telling you Gray, it's genetic. There is no other way to explain it."

"Are you two finished yapping back there? A woman can't even take a nap after a hard day shopping when two men get together, and don't remember to whisper."

"I'm sorry Jen; I just came outside to help you and Even bring in some packages. I'll be quieter for the next trip, and the next trip, and the next trip."

"You're not being funny Gray. I have barely scratched the surface for my son's wardrobe. Would you like to come with me tomorrow?"

"I'll check my schedule, but I'm almost sure I'm busy for the next 10 years possibly longer. I love shopping, but work must come first."

"You have to come up with a better lie then that one. Delicious will tear you apart otherwise."

As Gray walked away with some packages he said, "You have to give me some time; all this is new to me also."

Jennifer got out of the car and started walking towards me. She had a look on her face I couldn't quite read, but flashing back to my conversation with Gray I thought I was in trouble. Suddenly, she launched herself at me, with such power; she knocked me to the ground. She began kissing me everywhere she could reach, and started unbuttoning my shirt so she could get to more.

I did not remain idle during her attack. My hands were roaming all over her glorious body. I had every inch memorized, but memorization has no feeling. Touching her is heavenly. Many times Rod asked me what I was waiting for. Jennifer was it. Jennifer was who I was waiting for. She was everything I could have ever asked for in a woman, in a mother, and in a wife. I was fortunate to blunder into her, while I was running away from another woman in my life that I loved.

I grew tired of being attacked, so I flipped Jennifer onto her back and attacked her. I'm not sure how long we were at it, but I had her left nipple in my mouth, and my hand on her pussy, when my daughter said, "Couldn't you two wait until you got into your bedroom? This open display of sexuality with impressionable underage children around could be detrimental to their successful introduction to society. They may think all adults are animals."

Jennifer looked up at my daughter and growled. "Missy you are in deep shit. I was right there. No one steals an orgasm from me. You had better pray your father finds that one in a hurry. If I don't cum, I am coming after you, and you are not going to be happy with me when I catch you."

She was gone in a flash. She was here, and then she wasn't.

"Babe, I think you made my daughter pee in her pants. I've never seen her move that quickly."

"She's lucky I came before she got here. I would really have been upset otherwise. Would you help me up please; there is a stone under my ass and it's hurting me."

"I'll bend you over the hood of the car, kiss it, and make it better. Then I'll do a lot of other things while you are bent over it."

"I don't think so. Gray has been here. Delicious has been here. Guess who will be here next?"

"I guess we'll take the packages into the house, and get things straight between us later."

"That is okay with me, or we could straighten up our room."

"That works for me. Either way, we are going to need a shower afterwards. I love showers."

"Me too, and if you're good, I'll let you scratch my back."

Wednesday

After dinner, I tapped my glass, and my bride turned towards me to get a kiss. I looked towards her and realized what I had done, so I kissed her quickly.

I said to everyone, "I did not tap my glass to get a kiss from my bride, although it was wonderful, as always. However, it has been one full week, and my son has not said one bad word. He wins the contents of the 'COOKIE JAR!'."

Everyone at the table stood up and applauded, including Gordon. The first thing he did was take the $100 bills from under the cookie jar and hand them to his mother. "Buy something nice for yourself mommy."

The water works started instantly, and Jen ran out of the room.

"What did I do wrong now dad?"

"Absolutely nothing, what you did was positively perfect."

"Why is mom crying?"

"She's crying because she loves you, and you just showed her you love her very much."

"Dad, it was only money."

"Yes but it was your money and you gave it to your mother. It was a gift from your heart. I think you should go to your mother. I think she needs a hug."

"Even that boy is going to be a lady killer. I've never seen a child his age do everything so right."

"Maybe you should take notes Gray."

"I'm waiting to see the contract before I make any comments to you madam."

"How many times do I have to tell you I am a miss, not a madam?"

"Sometimes, I really wonder, not about your sexual status, but what is between your ears. You are brilliant. However somewhere deep inside your gray matter, I believe Rod is correct. There is evil deep inside you, and I have the scratches to prove it. If I had not taken the self-defense courses, when I was younger, you would be scraping me up off the floor, with pleasure written all over your face. You would be the Dominant personality, and you would expect me to be the Submissive. Well, MISSY, it's not going to happen. We will either be equals or you and I are going to need a referee. Jennifer looks like a good one to me."

"Oh no, not Jennifer, she is too logical. I can't get anywhere with her."

"I know that is exactly why she would be perfect as a mediator: Logic over Lying."

Jennifer asked, "How much do mediators make per hour Even?"

"I don't know dear, but at the rate these two are going, whatever it is and the amount of hours you are going to be working you will not need your inheritance. You are going to be rich beyond your wildest imagination."

"Thanks dad, I needed to hear that right now."

"I'm only too glad to help dear. I just raised your salary to $150 an hour. Jennifer is only going to charge you $300 an hour. Gray, because you are now family, we are going to give you a discount. Jen is only going to charge you $10 an hour."

"Why am I being charged $300 an hour, and Gray only $10 an hour?"

"It's only logical to charge the belligerent patient more than the calm patient."

"I hate you with every fiber of my being. I am not talking to you for the rest of today and tomorrow; possibly the next day also. I'll think about it. This session is over."

Gordon walked back into the room pulling Jennifer with him. "Mommy's feeling better now. She stopped crying."

"How did you manage that Gordon?"

"I hugged her and kissed her, and told her everything would be all right tomorrow when the Sun is up. She believed me."

"What happens if it's cloudy, or raining?"

"Dad, you should know better than that. The sun is always up in the daytime; sometimes we can't see because of the clouds and rain, but it's always there."

There is nothing in this world like being a world-renowned scientist, and being taken down a few pegs by a four-year-old boy. I dropped my head, and hit it against the table with a resounding bang.

Everyone was bent over laughing, including me. I don't believe I ever laughed that hard, and that long in my life. Later that evening I sent an email to Shelby and Robert Meil telling them what happened at dinner. I knew they would be laughing with me also.

The next order of business was to count the money that was in the pretzel jar. Gordon wanted to do that himself; but all the money was crinkled. We decided to divide and conquer. We dumped the money on the table; put it in stacks of 10s, 20s, 50s, and 100s. We straightened them, and placed them in front of Gordon. There was 11 weeks of improper language money in there and Gordon was going to be rich by the time he finished counting. His eyes kept getting bigger and bigger as he finished each pile.

"Where did all this money come from dad?"

Delicious said, "There is four weeks of my salary is in there Gordon."

"Do you want it back; I don't need all this money?"

"How much is in there Gordon?"

"$9310."

Jennifer asked, "Gordon may I have my $30 back?"

"Sure mom, do you want three 10 dollar bills or one 10 dollar bill and one 20 dollar bill?"

Jennifer replied, "I think I'll take you instead." She grabbed him and hugged him, until he squealed with laughter."

"Dad if I give you the money could you get me a subscription to Bloomberg's report?"

"We can do that online son."

"Can I start now?"

"Gray would you tell the person I'm not talking to, and who is not talking to me, to help Jennifer with the kitchen."

"Gray would you tell the person I'm not talking to that I will be glad to help Jennifer with the kitchen."

"Oh, luckiest person in this room, the person who is not talking to you and you are not talking to has granted your request. I am going to go with you and Gordon to take lessons on how to beat the stock market."

Delicious smacked him on the back of his head and punched him in his ribs.

Gray didn't bother to turn around.

Everyone stood up from the table and began moving towards their destination, except Gray. He made a 270° turn and smacked Delicious violently on her ass.

She couldn't do anything but scream in pain. Her feet were dancing on the floor, while her hands were holding her right cheek. Gray was standing right behind her waiting for her to start calming down.

When she did, he took her right arm, and bent it towards her shoulder blade. He walked her towards the front door, and yelled at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you to behave yourself? If you are not going to behave, I'm going to take you over my knee, drop your pants, and spank you until you are red. Do you understand me Delicious?"

She had tears in her eyes, from the pain, when she said, "I believe we've come to a meeting of the minds Gray."

"Is that where your mind is? If I had known that I would've talked to that area before."

"Gray a little levity right now is not called for. My ass hurts like hell, and a little TLC couldn't hurt. You can go downstairs and learn about the stock market, or you can come upstairs and put some cream on my ass. Which do you think is going to be the better choice?"

"I'll meet you upstairs as soon as you finish the kitchen."

"That was a very, very good choice on your part. Any other choice would have resulted in bloodshed."

"There was only one other choice."

"I am aware of that, I am also aware of where the steak knives are."

"I will see you shortly, don't start without me."

"I wouldn't have to start if it wasn't for you."

"Yes, but look at the benefits you will receive now."

"I'm still in pain, you will benefit not me."

"I'll kiss it and make it better."

"It's beginning to sound more interesting by the minute."

"I could accidentally miss my target."

"Would it help if I had a pillow under my stomach?"

"Oh yes, I could use my hands and my lips at the same time. You know me, I love to multitask."

"Yes multitask, I like that word. I'll finish the kitchen."

******

"You finished the kitchen by yourself Jennifer?"

"What was I supposed to do while you two were canoodling by the front door; sit on my hands? You two have to talk to each other more often, and not just after fighting. If you don't, you will start picking fights just to talk. That is not a good precedent to start."

"We talk all the time."

"You talk about work all the time. You talk about computers, you talk about space you talk about this project or that project; but you have to talk about each other. Even and I have only known each other for a very short time. I'll bet we know more about each other than most couples do. How many young women tell their husbands about their past sexual exploits? How many young women tell their husbands about their families, not only the good parts but the bad parts? What would a young woman do, when she's just about to get married finds out that her husband committed incest with his sister, and they had a child that lives with him? What would the young woman normally do?"

"She would smack him, and run back to her family."

"You are correct. She would not give him the opportunity to explain what happened.

Your father's case is totally out of the ordinary. For 16 years he never knew you were his child. What's worse is you never knew you had a father, who would have loved you, like Even Luck would have loved you. Close your eyes, and look back at your life. Picture it without Julius Mark in it. Think of Even and Divine Luck as your parents for those 16 years. What kind of person would you be right now? How happy would you be? That is the person you have to be. That is the person your mother wants you to be. As much as she defended you from your rotten father and the malicious kids at your school that is the person she wants you to be. Be that person Delicious; BE THAT PERSON."

Jennifer folded Delicious into her arms as she sobbed. "Where the hell did my father find you?"

"We were on an airplane on our way to Fairbanks. Gordon picked a conversation with him that lasted almost 4 hours. I was thoroughly impressed with him. If Gordon had fallen asleep I would've screwed your father on the plane. It would have hurt like hell, but he was the sexiest man I had ever known."

"My dad is sexy?"

"Your dad has the sexiest mind in the world. That weapon of his also comes in handy."

"Let's not talk about his weapon again please."

"I may be able to take the whole thing after I have a baby."

"Jennifer no more please."

"Are you jealous?"

"No, but I made a promise like dad did with you. I'm waiting until my wedding night, and you talking like that is not helping me."

"There is only one thing that separates the good girls from the bad girls."

"Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like this answer. Go ahead what separates the good girls from the bad girls?"

"The bad girls go to prison."

"Jennifer that was horrible. No it was worse than horrible, it was disgusting."

"You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Disgusting is giving a blow job right after you have anal sex."

"Oh yuck, that is disgusting."

"You're right those little brown things on his dick are not cornflakes."

"Jennifer you are awful. We did you hear these things?"

"That's what I learned when I went to college. For the few months I was there I learned dirty jokes, filthy jokes, and gruesome jokes. I missed most of my classes because I was busy getting laid and I wound up pregnant with Gordon. That was the happiest accident in my life."

"If there is a perfect little boy in this world, it is your son. I love him, I really do."

Gray asked, "Why aren't you in bed with your ass in the air?"

"My master calls. I was receiving counseling from my aging mother-in-law."

"What is it with this aging shit miss. "

Delicious walked to the table, picked up the empty pretzel jar, and handed it to Jennifer.

"Congratulations that will be the first $10 of this new round please."

Delicious walked out of the kitchen, took Gray by the hand, and started walking up the stairs.

Jennifer yelled, "I'm not talking to you anymore. I don't like you. I have never liked you, and furthermore I don't like your hair either. You should cut it all off and start again. I will do it for you myself while you're sleeping."

Delicious yelled back, "You're just jealous because you have black hair."

"I don't run around the house naked."

"That's a low blow Jennifer."

"Did you say you blew him while you were naked?"

"Four times, and he never got soft."

Gray said, "Really, where was I?"

"Shut up Gray."

"Good night children, have fun."

*********

Late Thursday Evening

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I couldn't sleep so I thought I would go for walk."

"Gray my eyes aren't open and I can tell you're lying to me. Would you like to try that again, before I get out of bed and scratch your eyes out?"

"I'm going to play high-stakes poker game with the boys."

"This is your last chance; the next time I see that thing of yours I'm going to bite it off."

"That is downright mean. I haven't used it on you yet, and you are going to bite off. That doesn't seem fair."

"If you keep lying to me, you will never use it on me. It will be in the contract."

"I will go back to work for NASA."

"It's been nice knowing you."

"Do you know how much I hate you?"

"Yes, a little bit more or less than I hate you."

"Bitch."

"Watch your language Gray, someone told me I had to watch mine."

He pulled down the covers, and sat on the bed beside her. His left hand moved between her thighs, and his mouth descended on her nipple. He played with her for several minutes and felt her respond.

She moaned, and licked his ear. "Now, where did you say you are going?"

"Doesn't anything distract you?"

"Yes, science, math, physics, analytical geometry..."

"Enough, I've heard enough. You are a bitch. You are as wet as can be, and you can still joke with me."

"You have no idea how close I am to cuming; but before I let you finish me, you are going to tell me where you going and what you're going to do while you're there. If you don't, I am going to turn over and go back to sleep. When you come back to bed your side will be filled with ice, and my side will be colder than that."

"This is top, top secret; you cannot tell Gordon, because it may accidentally slip out of his mouth."

"I understand, go ahead."

"I'm going downstairs to make chocolate pudding."

"You're dead man."

"I told you I didn't want it falling out Gordon's mouth."

"Goodbye Gray, I would check your bed when you come home. Whoever she is I hope she's worth it."

"I would never do that to you. I will never cheat on you. Well, maybe if they give me a chance to fly the F-35 that would be close but..."

"Leave, get out of our room, I'm finished talking with you, I'm going back to sleep. If you can't tell me the truth it means you don't trust me. If you don't trust me it means we are not meant to be together. I won't bother writing up a contract, I'll move back into my room in the morning."

"You said ANYTHING."

"That was before you started lying to me."

"I have not lied to you yet."

"Yes you have; we have no chocolate pudding in the house, which means you can't make it. You lied to me. You can leave, and do what you want to do."
"I'm going on a trip to Washington D. C. with Rod to file your father's patent for the radio waves as soon as the patent office opens. I will be back tomorrow morning. Your father is bringing you to the airport to pick us up. We will switch cars. Your father will come home with Rod, while you and I buy running shoes. Your father has a feeling something is going to happen next week and wants the patent filed before then. He wants Rod and I back before anyone notices we are missing. I chartered a Gulfstream 650 because it is the fastest aircraft available. If we leave Washington by 10 AM EST we will land here 11 AM MST. No one should know anything was out of the ordinary."

"Let me get dressed, I will go with you."

"No, you will screw up all our plans. Your father wants people to see you with him when he leaves the house in the morning."

"You stay here, and I'll go with Rod."

"Are you listening to this Even?"

"Yes I am. I'll bring in the ropes."

"Why is my dad bringing ropes in to this room?"

"We are going to tie to the bed. We knew you would object to our plan, so we had plan 'B' ready for you."

"Am I getting that predictable?"

"Does the sun rise in the east every morning?"

"I don't like you. You are making fun of me. You are taking advantage of a teenage girl. You are supposed to be the adult."

"Do you remember what you said about Gordon Monday night? The look on your face right now is just too cute."

Gray put his hands between her thighs, and rubbed up and down slowly. He kissed her, and nibbled on her lower lip.

I walked into their room and asked, "Is this what you needed the ropes for?" He turned and left the room instantly.

Delicious yelled, "Knock first dad."

"I was called for first. Let me know when you two are done please. I have to go wash my eyes out with soap."

"I believe your father is going to kill me."

"He will have to wait in line; I am going to kill you first. How dare you think of tying me to this bed?"

"I've had dreams about doing that to you, since I first kiss you. Having complete access to your body, and having absolute control over it, would be a dream come true."

"Make a list; I'll see what I can do about it."

"REALLY!"

"Can I go to Washington with you?"

"No."

"I hope you have an eraser for that pencil."

"Bitch."

"I believe that's $30, and someone has to learn to watch his language."

"Is it safe to come in there yet?"

"I only need one piece of rope Even; I'm going to strangle her with it."

"Can I watch?"

"I hate you dad. I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day."

"It is 11:30 PM, are you not talking to me for 30 minutes or all day tomorrow?"

"Why are both of you fucking with me tonight?"

"That will be $10 please."

"You are pissing me off dad."

"Do you want the rope or not Gray?"

"Baby do I need to rope, or are you going to be good?"

"You know me Gray; when I'm good I'm very good, when I'm bad, I'm awesome."

"Even bring the ropes in."

"Is it safe; the soap is still burning my eyes?"

"Yes dad, it is safe."

"How do you want to tie her up; across the bed, or to the headboard?"

"There's an easier way to do this. Take her car keys from her pocketbook. Don't let her out of the house for 30 minutes after I leave. I will drive Rod to the airport. She has seen me drive. She knows she will never catch me. We will be in the air before she gets to the airport."

"Bastard."

"That's close, but it's not $10.

Friday Morning

Rod walked up to me with a big smile on his face. "I got the same clerk as the last two times I went there."

She looked at me and said, "Oh no, not another one."

I laughed. "Where were you Wednesday, when I filed the last one? She didn't know if I was kidding or not. I paid the fee, watched her file it into the computer, and you are all set my friend. Patent pending as of 9:18 AM Eastern standard Time today. Anyone that files after that time it is out of 'Even Luck'."

"Thank you Rod, I'm glad that's over. Let's take the paperwork to the bank and put it in the vault. I'll take you to lunch."

"Lunch; I just had breakfast."

*******

Gray took Delicious into his arms and kissed her. "Good morning sweetheart, did you sleep well?"

"Do you know how much trouble you would have been in if you hadn't walked off that airplane?"

"Is that a nice way to greet the man that loves you?"

"I haven't grown up yet, but I'm trying. Trusting a man is hard."

"Baby I'm never going to hurt you. No, change that, I am going to hurt you. I am going to hurt you while we run. I am going to hurt you when you misbehave. I am never going to hurt you by cheating on you."

"You just lied to me again. You told me last night you would cheat on me if they let you fly an F-35."

"Leave it to a woman to remember the one thing a man would do to fly another woman."

"Why are airplanes always she's?"

"If you want me to explain that truthfully, I would need a 20 yard head start, because you would catch me, kill me, and then you would really start to hurt me."

"Give me the PG rated version."

"Okay, just don't hurt me. Where else can a man hold a woman completely captive in his hands, and have her do exactly what he wants her to do at the instant he wants her to do it. She will respond to the touch of his toes, his fingers, or with a look in his eye. A man has complete control over a woman, while he's the cockpit of an aircraft."

"Keep your feet on the ground cowboy, because it's not going to happen with me."

"I don't see wings on you, but you certainly do have a beautiful tail. Let's go buy your running shoes."

"Do we really have to buy them?"

"You bet your tail we do."

"Very funny Gray, we will discuss this at home this evening."

"We will discuss this at home this evening, only if you have enough strength to talk, after we finished running."

"I used to say to you, I'm beginning not to like you. The more I get to know you, the more certain of it I am. You are lucky I want to keep you around until I finish the contract. I want to see your eyes bulge out when you read it."

"Have you started on it yet?"

"I've been meaning to, but we've been busy. I'll get to it soon."

"As long as you remember that your 10 years started the day you moved into my room, it's fine with me."

"My 10 years start when you sign my contract."

"There is no way in hell I'm agreeing to that. You could procrastinate for five years before you write that contract. It would keep me in limbo for 15 years. That is not going to happen."

"Okay let's do the King Solomon routine. I have to have the contract ready in 90 days. If it's not ready we revert back to the day I moved into our room. If it is ready it starts on that day. Agreed?"

"90 days from when?"

"90 days from today."

"No, you have been threatening me with that contract since the day you moved into my room. It starts then, or all bets are off."

"Agreed, you are a pain in the ass, but you negotiate well."

"I was number one in my graduating class in debate."

"Dammit Gray is there anything you don't do well?"

"I decided when I was very young that if it was worth doing you should put all your effort behind it. When I saw you I knew I had to do the same thing with you, even though I knew it would be hard."

"It looks like you two are going to be a while. If we can exchange car keys, Rod and I are going to the bank. You two are on your own for the rest of the day. Please, no sex in public, I don't want to drive back into Denver to bail you out of jail."

"I will try to keep her under control Even."

"You are a real bastard Gray. It's not like I'm the only one involved."

"Guilty as charged."

************

39. Radio Daze

Everything was ready. Jennifer and Gordon were not happy that they were not going to be there to see the test. Even explained why he did not want them there.

Denver's police chief called and gave Even the number of police available for Wednesday morning, thinking it would be too many for such an event.

Even hired all 216 of them, and reminded the chief of police that they had to be wearing body armor, carrying assault rifles, and their sidearms. They had to carry two other things with them as security measures.

Rod made arrangements for all the dignitaries to stay at one hotel. It would be easier for them to be picked up in the morning and driven to his home. Every room was guarded during the night.

In the morning 30 identical black Chevy Tahoe's were lined up at the rear exit of the hotel. All of them would be driven by police officers, and all of them would carry a minimum of four passengers. Only 17 of these vehicles would be carrying the invited guests.

There was a black canopy erected from the exit door of the hotel to the entrance of each vehicle, blocking the vision of anyone trying to see who was getting into which vehicle. Even Luck was taking no chances with his friends' lives, and those captains of industry he invited to witness this extraordinary test.

He had a huge tent erected on his property Tuesday. The vehicles could drive through one end, drop off their passengers, continue on, and park further down his property. The only open parts of the tent were for the vehicles to enter and exit. Everything else was blocked from view.

Music was being played around the property to defeat anyone's chance of listening in to their conversations from a long distance. He had a feeling his property would be under surveillance; he felt it in every bone of his body.

The police escort was ready to leave at 8 AM. They were ordered to put on their orange vests to verify their identity as members of the escort team. Four men, in police uniforms, tried to escape. They were captured, arrested, and sent to jail.

They were now told to remove their orange vests and put on the green vests that were in the extra ammo pouches issued to them this morning at the armory. As they put on their green vests, no other men tried to escape.

Shelby Meil made a phone call to his associates. Three hours after those men were booked into jail, they were in 'FBI' custody on Federal Charges. Somehow, these men got lost in the system.

A phalanx of police cars took the lead and as soon as they entered Interstate 70, they blocked off and stopped every traffic lane.

The two Dunbar armored cars that were waiting on the siding moved onto Interstate 70, took the lead, and began the trip to Idaho Springs.

The convoy of police cars, and suburban vehicles fell in line behind them. There was no traffic in front of them, and no traffic behind them to worry about. They were motoring along at 80 miles an hour and not worrying about getting a speeding ticket.

As another precaution, Even, at his own expense, had that damn pothole fixed on Spring Gulch Road. He didn't want one of the armored cars to break an axle on the way into his property.

(Two months later, Rod informed him the county was suing him for making a repair, on county property, without a license or pulling a permit.

He told Rod to counter-sue the county for the next 6 years of their budget. He had asked for that pothole to be fixed for more than six years, and they ignored him. He told Rod, "It was time to get Even.")

The armored cars pulled up, one at a time to his front door. Cloaked in black, the heavy items were placed in each of the armored cars and then sealed. Even put his seal across the back doors of the armored cars containing a design that was not reproducible by hand. He reminded the drivers to wear the protective gear.

When that was done he went to greet his audience. Rod had handed out two copies of the nondisclosure agreements to each person he invited. One was theirs to keep, the other was for Even. He stood at the lectern in front of them and said without a hint of a smile, "You will either sign the documents, or you will leave now."

Dycke Schneider stood up. "Before we sign anything we have one demand, and if you do not agree, we will all leave."

Even was not put off by his brusque manner. He was a very wealthy man, and no one to fool around with.

"What did you have in mind Mr. Schneider?"

"We have decided to change your test site. We believe you picked a very difficult area, but we wish to be certain you didn't plant anything that would help your system work."

"I have no problem with that request. Tell the armored car drivers and police where you want them to go, and we will go there."

Celeste said, "I told you that you are an asshole. He is as honest as the day is long."

"I hope I can out bid you on this project. I want to shove it up that pretty ass of yours, until it comes out of your mouth."

Payne hit him. "The only ass you are going to shove anything up is mine. Leave her alone."

"Still henpecked I see."

"Still carrying those Michelin's around I see."

"Kill him Antonia."

"Why would I kill him when I agree with him?"

"What do you mean you agree with him?"

"I've wanted to milk those udders of yours since before Kimberly was born."

"Philip hit her."

"When did you think I lost my mind; the day she knocked me out?"

"Why is everyone so afraid of me?"

"I'm not."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Delicious Luck, but I do not want to take advantage of some old woman."

Antonia said, "Old woman my ass."

Father McAuley walked up to Antonia. "You must be the 'Most Holy' Antonia Gennaro. May I shake your hand please?"

"Of course, Father, how do you know about me?"

"I have never been so honored in my life. I received a phone call from Cardinal Delphini, the Archbishop of Milan. He told me what a gentle person you are. He gave me his private number. He told me to call him and tell him about your exemplary behavior while you're here. I couldn't understand why he would want me to call, but it would be my honor to do so."

Antonia turned to Celeste with fire in her eyes. "Did you call him?"

"No."

She saw Philip sitting there with a wide smile on his face.

"Wait until you see what I am going to do to your books, Philip. You are going to be poorer in a church mouse."

"I have the Cardinal's number too, mini me."

"I am going to wish more children on you Celeste."

"I can't have any more children."

"Why do I have to be right all the time?"

"You could always wish more children on your mother and father."

"My parents would kill me for real if that happened."

I asked, "Any time you have finished arguing we can continue this meeting and go to your test site. If you wish to continue arguing, we can leave you here and the rest of us will go."

Payne said, "Dycke has finished arguing and is ready to sign the document, if he knows what's good for him."

Antonia agreed. "Philip is ready to sign also, or I'll break his fingers."

"Stephano aren't you happy we only argue between ourselves?"

"That's not exactly true dear; we have a set of triplets we argue with all the time when they get near the Cray. Thank goodness they decided to go to three separate graduate schools. If they had gone to one they would have shut the place down."

Laura said to her father, "Dad, we've been meaning to talk to you about that."

"Please, not now, I want to see this test before I die."

Patti said to her husband, "Neither you nor I will die if they go to the same school. It will be their professors that will run into the ocean and swim across to England and beg for asylum."

Laura said to her mother, "I've decided not to go for my PhD."

"Not now dear, there are too many policemen around for me to be acquitted of premeditated murder."

"You didn't go, why should I? It will be a waste of my time. Besides that, I have a job offer that I'm going to take."

"I will buy the fucking company before you leave home as a minor."

"Mom watch your fucking language, there is a priest here."

"I don't give a damn; you're not leaving home unless you're going to school."

"We will just see about that mother. I want this job, I was meant for it."

Stephano called out, "Officers, officers, can I see you for a moment please?"

"Yes sir, how may we help you?"

"Would you please search my wife and my daughter for lethal weapons please? If this argument gets any further out of control they may kill each other."

"Are you serious sir?"

"I am very experience with both of them sir. Patricia, Laura, what do I say to this nice man?"

"Do I have to give him my pen dad?"

"No you can give that to me."

"Are you carrying your gun Patricia?"

"Yes."

"Would you give it to the nice officer please, before I break your hand? Two fingers only please."

Stephano placed Patricia's gun into the plastic bag. "Officer, she has a federal permit to carry this thing."

"I'll look at it before I get it back to her, or you. Nice work sir."

"It's what grownups do when children fight."

"Stephano you and I are going to be spending an awful lot of time in that room at home."

"As long as I don't have to look at you through bars for killing our daughter over something as stupid as an argument, I'll deal with it."

"As for you young lady, keep a civil tongue in your mouth with your mother."

"If you rewind every word I said to her during the course of our discussion, there was not one word out of line. I wish she were more like the way she said her mother was to her, then the way she is towards us. She doesn't inspire innovation she chokes it out of us. She is afraid of what we might find or do when we work with her precious computer. Well I'm leaving home. If I have to hire an attorney to become emancipated as a 15-year-old I will. She can't keep me away from every computer there is on this planet. I'll do what she is afraid I will do if I am out from under her thumb. I won't take any more of this crap from her dad, I just won't do it."

"Can we at least talk about this when we get home?"

"Will you let me leave if I want to?"

"I can't promise that, but I'll make you a deal. You can stay with your grandfather and Jemma, while we figure out how to work this situation through. There is only one condition, and if you break it I will have every law enforcement agency in this country looking for you. You must not run away while you are staying with them."

"How long do I have to stay there?"

"It won't be forever, I promise Laura, I will work this out with your mother."

Father McAuley asked Stephano for a moment of his time.

"Mr. Valentino everyone here heard the conversation between your wife and daughter. If you would prefer not to join the group going to the testing site, police cars will return you to the hotel, where we believe you will be more comfortable. We are about to leave, this decision has to be made now I'm afraid."

"Patricia what do you want to do?"

"Let's go back to the hotel."

Laura shouted, "It figures, something new comes along and because she didn't come up with it, it's not worth her time. I'm going to the test site dad, you go with her. I'll meet you back at the hotel."

Harold Chase said, "Patti, I'll take her with me. What's happened to you; everyone has noticed you've changed. It's like you're not you anymore. Maybe you should see a doctor."

Those two sentences sent Patti reeling back to the Apple Orchard in upstate New York, where she didn't remember who she was or where she was. Days later she was diagnosed with a slow growing tumor on an artery in her brain. It had threatened to take all the memories away. It had threatened to take all her cognitive functions away, and she would no longer know right from wrong.
"Stephano call Joyce Nall, and get me an appointment for tomorrow. Harold, would you mind taking Anna and Robert with you?"

"Not at all Patti, they are like my own children."

Laura walked over to her mother, and without touching her said, "You are not allowed to get sick to keep me at home." She turned and walked away.

Patti said, "That certainly was heartfelt."

Stephano responded, "That was like the young woman I was courting."

"Don't even joke about that."

"Who was joking? Do you want me to name the discussion, day or time?"

"You are supposed to be on my side."

"There are no sides when it comes to family. We all win or we all lose."

"Mr. Valentino your car is waiting outside."

"Thank you father; is there a prayer to make women understand each other better?"

"I'll pray to the Holy Mother, and ask for her guidance. I hope she helps you and your family. Money can't do anything at a time like this."

"You are so right, father, you are so right."

As the Valentino's headed east on Interstate 70, a phalanx of police cars blocked off Interstate 70 for the armored cars to lead the parade westbound. There were two additional vehicles in the group. Delicious and I were each riding in our Q 7's in the front of the convoy headed towards our new destination. I did not bother to ask where it was. It didn't concern me because I knew my transmitters would work. I just wanted to make sure the drivers of the armored vehicles survived what I feared was coming.

"Even, this is Shelby over."

"Loud and clear Shelby, go ahead."

"We are 1 mile behind and 5000 feet above your position. The road is clear in front of you. No unknown vehicles stopped along the side. No suspicious activity along either side of the roadway over."

"That's great news Shelby. I hope this is just a bad dream of mine. I'd rather be safe than sorry though."

"It's not like you can't afford it."

"Jealous?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"Just think of all the diamonds you could have given to your mother."

"She would have scratched my eyes out with them."

"That's what we get for being honest."

********

As Interstate 70 made the sweeping turn to the south Shelby shouted, "Two missiles inbound; emergency stop, emergency stop."

It was too late for the armored car drivers to do anything but brace themselves. Behind them, in the box of the armored car were two extra layers of ceramic protection covered by Kevlar.

I had anticipated multiple rocket propelled grenade attacks from ground level on these trucks as they passed by an exposed point on the road, but never did I expect an adversary to have access to missiles. At this moment I didn't give a damn. I just wanted the drivers to survive.

The back of the trucks blew open like wooden sticks. 6-inch cold rolled steel doors disintegrated, and what was in the back of those trucks was gone. The police tried to keep me in my vehicle, but there was no way I was not going to verify these drivers were safe. I had to make sure I had protected them as well as I could.

The police did not have any trouble opening the drivers' doors. There were no doors to open. The driver of the closest armored car was slumped over the wheel of the remains of his vehicle. He was wearing his bomb suit, protective helmet, and ear protectors, but he was unconscious.

A police officer gave me thumbs up. This man would survive, and live to spend the money I paid him to carry cement blocks.

I rushed up to find the driver of the first truck standing outside his vehicle getting out of his bomb suit. I hugged him.

He said to me, "Mister, they were paying me a lousy $700 a week to get this stuff thrown at me in Iraq. If they want to play this game with you again, I'm your man."

I wrote down my name, and phone number. I asked him to call me two weeks. I said I might have a more lucrative and less hazardous position available for him and his less fortunate friend behind him. I joked with him and asked how we felt about wearing suits instead of uniforms?

He just smiled at me.

We shook hands and parted company.

I went back to check on the driver of the second armored car. He was awake.

Police were all around the accident area; accident area my ass.

I returned to my vehicle.

"Shelby this is Even, over."

"Go ahead Even."

"Were you able to see where the rockets came from?"

"Of course, they came from behind me. Other than that we are working with air traffic control to try to find something from the area the rockets came from. The problem is it doesn't have to be a drone. It could be a twin-engine, or a single engine aircraft like the one I'm flying now. We will never be able to trace who fired them or from what type of aircraft. We have four other sources who may give us that information. I'm sorry about your radio."

"Why, what do you think I'm talking to you on? I have another one in Delicious' car. You didn't think I would be stupid enough to put them in the armored cars did you?"

"Even you are a man of many talents; stupidity is not one of them. You let these people go with one thing we can't charge them with unfortunately: Murder. Attempted murder we have in spades. Let's hope we have enough evidence down there to lead us back to the source."

"Let me speak to my guests, and make sure they've calmed down and want to continue on to their new site or if they would prefer to go to my old site."

"Good luck Even, I'll keep watch from up here."

Traffic was stopped in both directions on the interstate, so my guests were free to walk about as they wished. When I asked for their attention one of them said, "I just received an email that Atomic Systems Limited, out of San Diego. They just filed a patent for the same type product you claim to have Dr. Luck. I guess this test will no longer be necessary."

"Rod, if you would be so kind. My attorney, Rod Laver, will now pass among you, and show you a photocopy of my patent dated last Friday, at 9:18 AM Eastern Standard Time in Washington DC. Anyone filing a patent after that date is too late and has yet to demonstrate his product. This will be my third demonstration; and my first public demonstration. If you do not wish to continue. the police will take you to your hotel, but you will still be bound by your nondisclosure agreement."

Celeste asked, "Where did you hide your radio in my car?"

"I would never hide something so sensitive and so small in your car. The midget, I mean Antonia might've found it."

Antonia growled. "Even, you just ran out of Luck."

I called out, "Delicious."

"Yes dad."

"Why don't you take the aging Mrs. Gennaro to see if she can help Father McAuley with the two drivers?"

"Mrs. Gennaro, if you wait right here I'll get you a wheelchair."

"You and I are going to talk and not with our mouths very soon little girl."

Gray yelled, "Delicious be good."

"Gray not now, I'm just beginning to have fun."

"If you have the type of fun I'm thinking of, you are not going to like the kind of fun I'm going to have with you later."

Delicious stamped her foot on the ground, and pulled Antonia towards the wreckage.

"Who is he?"

"He's my cross to bear."

"Yours is taller, but mine is beefier. What's your real name?"

"Delicious is my real name. Please no jokes, I've heard them all."

"The Doc named you Delicious?"

"We didn't know we were father and daughter until a little more than a month ago. My mother didn't even break cherry when she tested my dad out for sex. He was very sick when she did it. She put him in just far enough when he came inside her and there I was. She never told him. The only reason we found out was my mom died in a car accident with my grandparents. The people clearing out the house found her diary. It kind of shakes up your life when you find out your uncle is actually your father."

"Listen Dell, they need us over there like they need another missile. Why don't we sit down and talk. I'll let you in on my introduction to life on the outside."

*************

90 minutes later, the wreckers had nearly cleared the Interstate of the wreckage, and soon reopened the highway. The police were getting everyone back into their vehicles, and ready to move on.

Celeste pulled my arm and asked me what his daughter had done with her midget.

"I've been looking for Delicious. I sent both of them to help Father McAuley. He's back but neither of them is here. We better check the sides of the road for body parts."

"You're not being funny Even."

"It wasn't meant to be funny. Gray had to warn Delicious to be good as she walked away with her. I sent him to look for them, because she does not always listen to him. Okay, they are both alive. Here comes Gray with the two of them in tow."

"Dad, if you wanted me all you have to do was call. You didn't have to send the goon squad to get me. It makes me look like an errant teenager."

"You were an errant teenager, no one could find you."

"I was with an adult; I was not by myself."

"Are you calling my dwarf an adult? Not even her husband or Cardinal Delphini has the nerve to call her an adult. Give her another 30 years, and then maybe it will happen."

Antonia was pissed. "Celeste would you tell my boss I have just given myself a 2 million euro per year raise, because of your insult. If he doesn't like it, tell him I quit."

"You wouldn't leave me if your life depended on it. We live next door to one another, and your mother lives on your other side. Our kids play with each other every day. Where would you go?"

"How many of your competitors would love to have me on their payroll? Let me think about that for one second. Switzerland has a much better tax environment, and eight or nine multinational corporations that envy everything that you control. I think I could do quite well."

"Are you threatening me?"

"You bet your tits I am."

Celeste cried out as she hugged Antonia, "My little girl is growing up."

"You see Dell, it works every time."

"Do you really think it would work with my dad?"

"My dad hasn't killed me yet, and I've given him grounds to do it."

**********

When they reached the Loveland Ski Area, and pulled into the parking lot I could not believe it. When everyone was assembled by the restaurant I asked, "Are you sure you want to do this here? The mountains are much lower here then Republican Mountain, and not as wide."

Dycke said, "Are you afraid your device will not work here?"

"Mr. Schneider all I'm trying to do is make this test as hard as possible to show you and the rest of my guests how easily my invention works in the hardest possible conditions. If you don't believe it, you may leave with no hard feelings."

Celeste said, "Shove it up his ass Even. He is getting much too big for his britches."

Payne shouted, "Celeste leave his ass alone, it is mine."

I said to them, "Are you guys sure your friends?"

"We are the very best of friends Even."

"It sounds like me and my daughter."

"Not now dad or your machine could blow up for real this time."

"That's fine with me; I have another one in your car."

"Are you out of your mind? That missile could have been aimed at me."

"Only through the grace of God my dear."

"You're not being very funny today dad."

Gray asked, "Isn't it me that normally argues with her?"

"Yes but sometimes she needs a little harsher tone then you give her."

"Ladies and gentlemen where would you like me to set up my radios?"

Philip downloaded a Google map and pointed to an area with grid coordinates on the east side of Monarch Mountain. He put a sensor necklace around my neck so he could track my movements and verify my position.

I asked if anyone wished to accompany me to verify that I did not do anything along my way to the site to help the test achieve its goal. The Army and Marine Corps members from the Pentagon asked to come along as well as a member of the teams from Boeing and IBM. Twelve police officers were going to accompany us. Then I asked them to select a frequency for me to transmit my message to them.

They selected an Extremely-Low Frequency (ELF), which is used by submarines to receive messages, while submerged deep under water. They set their receivers to the frequency, while I went to my car and selected it on my transmitter. My voice came through loud and clear.

It took us 18 minutes to circumnavigate the mountain roads to reach the GPS coordinates given to me by Philip Castronova.

As a joke I transmitted, "Are we there yet?"

The Marine Corps Col. doubled over laughing, while the Army Col. Used his satellite phone to verify receipt of my message.

The Air Force Lieut. Col. at the restaurant said everyone there was laughing at my transmission. They wanted me to transmit a longer sentence, and something a little more befitting such a momentous occasion.

I repeated my wedding vows to Jennifer. If that wasn't fitting enough for this occasion nothing would be.

The Air Force Lt. Col. said, "Tell Even to stop that; there isn't a dry eye in the house. He made his point you can come back here now."

When I arrived back at the restaurant I received a round of applause. After that the questions started. I was prepared for this also.

Rod went around with the pretzel jar, which was not filled with money, but filled with numbers from 1 to 16. I would take those questions in order of the number drawn. One question and one follow-up, just as the President of the United States does have a press conference.

The Pentagon drew number 1. Philip drew number 16. Celeste hit him for being so incompetent.

He kissed her and told her she was on sexual suspension for week.

Antonia whispered, "I am always available."

Philip reminded her that Celeste was off limits.

The first question was handled by the Army Colonel. "What is the range of this new invention of yours?"

"I have not been able to test that yet. If my mathematical calculations are correct, depending on the amount of power put through, and the size you make the unit, between 350 and 500 nautical miles in all types of terrain."

"Holy shit."

"Was that your follow-up?"

"No, it was just an outburst. How does it work?"

"The Holy Grail of Science; everyone wants to know 'the how of years of work' can be answered in one simple sentence. It doesn't work that way. I'll give you a synopsis, or we will be here through New Year's Day.

I stumbled on the answer by putting the wrong heat coefficient into a program I was running through on the way air molecules affected radio transmissions in tunnels and over long distances. My computer went crazy with this new data. Every time I increased the heat by a very small percentage the radio waves bent a little further, until, finally, they met in the middle. I made a small model and transmitted it around lead shielding at a distance of 20 feet. It worked perfectly. I did field tests and it worked the same way. I was stunned."

"You can't keep this from the military, it is much too important to us."

"That is your third question, and I will not answer."

The questions came fast and furious and it only took 90 minutes to go through all of them. Each Corporation wanted control of my patent, and I laughed at all of them.

"I am keeping 30% of this patent for my family. No one Corporation is allowed to control more than 20% control of this patent. That goes for you Philip and by proxy, my dearest friend Celeste. The remainder of you can fight over it amongst yourselves. The bidding price starts at $500 million per unit. If all the units are not sold in this group, I will put it out to other corporations in three months. This meeting is adjourned."

The buzz in the room was deafening. I was asking for $35 billion for 70% of my invention. I knew it was worth twice that much in military sales alone.

Within moments each CEO was on his cell phone arranging board meetings to get approval to spend billions of dollars to purchase as many options as they could. Three people did not have to wait to get approval. Harold Chase was first in line. He handed me a check for $10 Billion.

Ten Billion for 20% of my invention, Philip Castronova was next, and Payne Schneider was standing with him.

I asked her why she was buying these options, and not her husband.

"If Dycke purchases them, he can never sell them. If I purchase them, I can do whatever I want with them."

I made an announcement to my remaining guests. "Gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you that there are only 10% of my shares remaining. 60% of them have already been sold."

The chairman of the Boeing Corporation asked me if I would reconsider keeping 30% of my patent. If I would reduce it to 21%, he would purchase the 19% now."

There was a series of counter offers, even raising the bidding price for the remaining shares. However, each of the bidders needed corporate approval.

I said to Mr. Stansfield, "Since I am making this accommodation for you I want a check for $10 Billion, for 19 percent of my shares within 24 hours, or our deal is off."

He agreed without pause.

I was no longer, barely a billionaire. I was now a multi-billionaire. I called Delicious to my side. "Our next project is looking better all the time."

"You keep making inventions like this over the next 10 years, and I would say it's a sure thing."

"Why are you thinking only about my inventions baby; how about Gordon, Gray, and you?"

"You are in a league of your own dad. I've never heard of anyone like you before."

"Not even Nicholas Tesla?"

"Well at least you're better than Edison."

"What do you think Gordon would do with $6 billion stuffed in his pocket?"

"I don't know about Gordon, but I would go to a really big bank in an awful hurry. Dad can I have a sports car?"

Gray tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "NO!"

"Dammit, who invited you to my party?"

"If I remember correctly, you did."

"I am absolutely sure I don't like you."

"I am positive you will like me even less when we come back from running this evening."

"We are not going out running again tonight, are we? I had missiles thrown at me today."

"It's all the more reason to go out tonight. You have to learn how to outrun them."

"I think I'm beginning to hate you."

"Trust me, Delicious, as time goes by, you will."

"Daddy, help me please."

"Baby you chose him, not me. Either fish or cut bait. Your wedding is next July. Make up your mind before then, because it is a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

"The divorce rate in this country is 52%. Some of those are Catholics who never remarry."

"What are you going to do if we are in Space?"

"I'm going to do to him the same thing Jennifer told me to do to you. Put you both outside the spacecraft, freeze dry you, and him, and watch you float away."

"Two premeditated murders; what do you think God will do to you? What do you think your mother would think of you?"

"You don't fight fair dad."

"I don't have to fight fair. I just have to help you grow up."

"I'm working on it. It's hard to change from what I was to who I want to be."

"You'll get their baby, I know you will."

***********

Harold called Stephano. He told him he had reserved a conference room. He wanted a meeting with the two of them now. No excuses will be tolerated.

Stephano knew Harold, and when he demanded something, he wasn't in any mood to be fooled around with.

Patti did not want to go, and she was obstinate about it.

Stephano said, "Dear if I have to throw you over my shoulder, you are coming with me."

"I am not going Stephano."

"Remember, you asked for this."
Patti backed into a corner to stay away from her husband. She was no match for his size and strength. She went to smack him, but he grabbed her hand and threw her over his shoulder as he promised. As he walked towards the door, she acquiesced.

"I'll walk, I promise I'll walk. When we get home I'm going to poison you."

"It's not like you haven't tried before."

"I have never tried to poison you."

"You could not prove that by me. Some of the food you make kills my stomach."

"That's because you always were a wimp."

"Start walking or get back up on my shoulder; the choice is yours."

"I said I would walk."

*******

They walked into the conference room. Callalily was seated with her two children, Christian, and Catherine, and Harold was standing behind them.

Robert, Anna, and Laura were seated at the far end of the table.

Harold said authoritatively, "Sit here, and listen to me. First, I just spent $10 billion of our dollars to buy 20% of Even Luck's patent. Philip Castronova purchased 20%, and Payne Schneider purchased 20%. Even was going to keep 30%, but he made a deal to keep 21% of his shares and sell 19% to Boeing. No one is allowed to own more than 20%. Even will always keep a controlling interest in his patent. If you're not happy with my decision, I will keep it for myself, and you can go to hell.

Second, what the fuck is wrong with you. You've been acting like an asshole for the past year. It's getting to the point where I don't want to be your partner anymore. If you want to break it up say so, because I'm tired of your whining. Laura is right. I've watched how you treat your kids. I'm sure Stephano has also, but he is afraid to call you on it. You are not giving them a chance to grow. Have you even asked Laura what she was asked to do with this job offer of hers? I have, and I think it's the most exciting thing I have ever heard of. I was skeptical at first, but I'm thinking of joining in on their project. It's an exciting opportunity for her, and for me. I think Robert should get involved with it also. I'm not sure if Anna would be interested, but I think she should sit in and listen to what they plan to do. Even Luck is a genius. His daughter Delicious is a chip off his block. She has found a way to neutralize gravity, and has proved it to eight great scientists. They are mulling it over now.

Delicious Luck spoke with Laura about trying to find a way to put people into stasis. That's why Laura is so excited about getting involved. Instead of encouraging her to do something as innovative as you used to do with your mother, you step on her like a roach and hold her back. Where is the Patti I used to know? Where the hell did she go? I want Christian to sit in with me tomorrow night, and as far as I'm concerned Laura, Anna, and Robert can come to live with me, and grow up into the adult you used to be."

Patti replied, "That is exactly what I'm afraid of Harold. They are approaching the age where my mother and I developed the programs that wound up killing her and nearly cost me my life more than once. I don't want them to have a young life like mine. I want them to be free of people coming after them because of what they can do, or because of what they know. I don't want the mob coming after them. I don't want the CIA coming after them. I want them happy. I don't want people shooting at them. I don't want them running for their lives. I don't want them to have to run away from their husbands, because of their family ties. It's no way to live, and it's a good way to die."

"You're killing them anyway Patti. You are killing their minds. If you don't let them grow they will stagnate. Where would Anna be without her math? Where would Laura and Robert be without access to computers? Where would you have been without access to computers? Come on Patti think about it? You've been a pain in the ass to everyone, especially your children. When has Laura ever talked back to you the way she did today in public? She may have talked to you that way at home when she was angry with you, but never in public.

I know Robert has had it out with you, because I've seen it.

God bless Anna, she must have the patience of a saint. She has taken as much crap from you as the other two. She has turned and walked away from you.

Heaven knows I have walked away from you too. What is it going to be Patti? Do you want to break up our partnership, and our friendship? Do you want us to go our separate ways? We have been friends for nearly 17 years, do you want to throw that out the window, or do you want to wise up, get your head out of your ass, and start treating people the way you used to treat them?"

"I don't think you've said that many words in succession in all the years I've known you Harold. Did you remember to breathe?"

"This is not funny Patricia. I don't find it funny at all. I am serious. I think you need help."

"Stephano has made an appointment for me with a doctor in New York tomorrow. She will know if there is anything medically wrong with me. If not, then I will get my head house of my ass, like my friend told me to do.

Children, I am sorry. I was thinking more about my childhood and my problems growing up than yours. I was protecting you from the things that haunted me.

Where will you be staying if you leave us Laura?"

"I will be staying with Dr. Luck and his family."

"If I asked you to stay at home with us, and let me work with you on this project for stasis would you think about it?"

"It would depend on two things. Your attitude towards us and your promise to get help."

"You can all sit in with me when I see Dr. Nall tomorrow. Whatever she recommends you will hear for yourselves. I will hide nothing from you. If she wants me to see a psychiatrist I will. If she wants me to do as Harold has suggested the three of you can help me pull my head out of my behind."

After a discussion between Laura, Anna, and Robert, it was decided to make a decision after their mother saw Dr. Nall.

Patricia accepted their proposal.

Callalily said, "Why don't we leave the children with the men. I still owe you one mean hangover."

"I gave up drinking for Lent."

"Lent, this is September."

"Yes, when you Lent me out to those three men in less than half a dress."

"That dress almost covered you."

"The operative word is ALMOST. It also ALMOST caused a riot in that bar."

"Aunt Cally, I think I hear a story coming on."

"Oh no you don't little girl. This one is for 18 years old and older. If I tell you that story, your mother will kill me."

"Mom?"

"Your aunt is wrong. This story is for 25-year-olds and older."

"Uncle Harold do you know the story?"

"Yes I do, but if I tell it, I will not have sex for the rest of my married life."

Stephano said preemptively, "Yes I do, and I won't. I like living too much to say anything about that night of bawdy behavior. Your Aunt Callie forced your mother to wear a dress that almost didn't cover her bare necessities. Your Aunt Callie left your mother with three strange men, while she was inebriated. They had to hold her close all night, to keep her covered, and they danced until the wee hours of the morning. I will not tell you that your aunt left the bar with another man, and had unbridled sex with him for the next five months. Remember, you did not hear any of that from me."

Harold laughed as Callie hit him with her pocketbook.

"How could you do that to me, Steph; my children are here."

"Do you think your children believed you were a virgin at 27 years old? Should I tell them how many times you tried to kill an undercover FBI agent?"

"I never tried to kill Robbins. I just try to maim him for life."

Catherine said, "Mom you must have been hot in your day."

"What do you mean in my day? I'm still hot, ask your father; if he says I'm not, he's dead."

"Children, your mother is on fire."

"See, I told you so."

"Mom, even I know, under penalty of death, a man will say anything to a woman."

"You're only 13, how would you know that young lady?"

"Mom, I'm a 32B. I take after you, and every boy notices me, and not the flat-chested girls in my class. I get asked to go under the bleaches with more boys than you can count."

"Do you go with them?"

"According to my civics class, "I refuse to answer on the grounds it may tend to incriminate me."

"Young woman you and I are going to the doctor. You are going on the pill immediately."

"You're too late mom. Dad took me there six months ago."

"You are a dead man to Harold."

"Rather safe than sorry dear. I didn't think you wanted to be a grandmother this early in life."

"Good thinking Harold, I forgive you."

Patricia said, "Stephano do I have to ask you?"

"Please don't dear; I can only get in more trouble than I am already in."

"That room in our house is going to be very busy."

Anna said, "Why mom, if dad is buying condoms for Robert, why shouldn't we be on the pill?"

"You are buying condoms for our son?"

"Thank you Anna, I would like a solid wood coffin with a cherry finish."

Harold laughed. "Didn't this meeting turn out to be fun?"

"You are sure that test was not rigged."

"Dr. Luck didn't bother to ask where the new site was. He told us when we got there it was too easy for the test. The mountains were lower than his original site, and they were not as wide. He said he wanted the test to be as hard as possible to prove his invention worked."

"You realize we are going to make a ton of money off this."

"The military is already chomping at the bit to get it to their ground forces. The faster we can get it to them the happier they will be. If we coordinate our resources with Schneider, and Castronova, we can beat Boeing to the market by months if not a year. Just remember the military loves Boeing, but they also love speed. I am hungry; does anyone want to go to dinner?"

"Stephano cancel Dr. Nall for tomorrow, and move it to the following day. We will go to the meeting tomorrow with Harold and the children to see what he has in mind."

Laura said, "Thank you mom."

***********

39. Backers

Good afternoon again, and welcome to my magic workshop. This is my wife Jennifer, and probably the brightest person in this room, my son Gordon. I am not making light of this, because this four-year-old boy has put several scientists from the California Polytechnic Institute on their asses in the last few weeks. Anna I understand you are a math whiz, I would like you to meet your equal, and possibly your better. Gordon is the finest mathematician I have ever met, and I am a graduate of MIT. You can talk with him after we finished this afternoon. You can play on Sequoia with him.

I'm going to turn the first part of this meeting over to my daughter, Delicious, so she can amaze and delight you with her part of our program. Remember this is not a magic act; this is pure unadulterated science.

Delicious said, "Antonia would you stand by me please. Mr. and Mrs. Valentino pick any one of the four cushioned chairs and sit down on them. Mr. and Mrs. Chase pick one chair and sit together. Mrs. Schneider, sit in the remaining chair please."

"Mr. Schneider, you seem to be the 'Doubting Thomas' that is why I have not asked you to sit down. Pick any of the chairs and lift the hem of the fabric. Please tell me what is holding up the chair."

As Dycke looked, he said, "There's nothing there, the chair is floating above the ground. How are you doing that Delicious?"

"Would you look at the other chairs before I answer that question?"

"They are all floating above the ground. It's not possible. You cannot defy gravity."

"How do you explain what you're looking at?"

"I don't know, I cannot explain it."

"Would you please sit on your wife's lap?"

"We normally do it the other way, but it will be my pleasure."

"Would you look under the Schneider's chair and see if it has moved towards the ground please Antonia."

Antonia looked under the chair and said, "No, the fabric barely touches the ground, and the chair is still stable and floating above it."

"Ladies and gentlemen this is how it works. It is not a Las Vegas show trick, this is science. By super cooling helium to 4.2° Kelvin, and using negative magnetic plates, which is achieved by passing ultra-high powered electrical current through 2% pure non-enriched uranium, it keeps the Earth's gravity at negative 2%. If the size of the negative plates and the volume of the electrical current are increased, you can decrease the Earth's gravitational pull even lower and push the object, or spacecraft further away from it. It's like a basketball hitting the back of the rim. The ball can rebound as far as half court without any additional force being applied. Our spacecraft is going to have three forms of propulsion. We are only going to use one to get out of our atmosphere and push us towards Mars and then Jupiter. The other two are nuclear, and an Ion/H2 drive. The Ion/H2 drive is my own invention, and my own design. It will help us reach between .9 and .999 the speed of light.

Our expected gross takeoff weight is approximately 6,000,000 pounds. If we can keep it under that fine, but we are not going to skimp on anything. There would be no sense having a flat tire in space, and not having a lug wrench to take it off, and replace it.

Now we come to our dear friend Albert Einstein and E=Mc2. It does not matter how quickly we get off the ground as long as we keep moving against the earth's rotation. At lift-off, we will have eight ion drives producing 996 MW of power to our uranium core and super-cooled helium going to our negative magnetic grid. Shortly after liftoff we will be moving as slowly as 100 mph. As soon as we stabilize the spacecraft, and check all our flight systems, we will increase our speed rapidly to 16,000 mph.

As we pass through the exosphere, we will be traveling at more than 23,000 miles per hour. We will engage our second phase magnetic drives and use them to start pulling us towards the moon, and continue to move ourselves away from planet Earth. As we pass the moon we will zero in on Mars, and use its gravitational force to continue building up speed. It's like using a four-wheel drive vehicle. You push with your rear wheels, while you pull with your front wheels.

2 minutes and 15 seconds after we pass the moon, we will be passing through point one light speed, and increasing rapidly. We will pass Mars 58 minutes later at one-quarter (.25) the speed of light and increasing. At that time, we will extend and engage our nuclear engine. It will push us forward towards eighty percent (.80) of the speed of light.

As we close in on that speed, we will deploy the Ion/H2 engine which will accelerate us to our maximum speed of .999 the speed of light, hopefully. The minimum speed we hope to obtain is ninety percent (.90) of the speed of light.

I know this is going to sound ridiculous, because we asked this same question to eight prominent men and women of science. They did not know what to say, or where to start. Are there any questions?"

Celeste asked, "When do you plan to leave?"

I said, "In 10 years."

"Where are you going to get permission to build this thing?"

"I have a lot of friends in the scientific community that owe me a lot of favors. I was hoping, if the four of you come on board, you would use your influence, combined with theirs, to get the government to allow us to build it on a restricted military site in the desert. Building the craft would not begin for five or six years. All the science comes first. Mr. Schneider, Mr. Castronova, your businesses would be instrumental in keeping secrecy to the maximum.

Mr. Chase, Mrs. Valentino we are going to need thousands of miles of carbon fiber. We are not going to put one piece of metal into this craft. Not one nut or bolt will be metal. It would defeat the purpose of the magnets.

The exterior of the craft will be made of a tinted polycarbonate material, like the windows on the space shuttle. We are taking thousands of plants with us to help us purify the air and make oxygen and water.

In the next five years you can expect a minimum of 500 patents to evolve from our work. I will not be here to benefit from them. They will all be in your names, with a few exceptions. Some I am going to give to a few friends, and others I am going to give to Universities around the country. We can discuss which ones at the time; however, my decisions will be final.

The patent for the Anti-Gravitation Engines will be going to the University of Chicago at my daughter's request. They had the answer to the anti-gravity question in their hands. However, like 99% of the people on this planet they believed it could not be done. As you have seen here today, it can and has been done.

I don't expect your answer today, because you have a lot of thinking to do, and this will cost each of you billions of dollars. As I told Celeste, every penny I have is going into this project. There is no sense keeping any of my money, because wherever I'm going, I have no idea what the exchange rate is. I would appreciate an answer within one month. My daughter has already told me that Laura Valentino is interested in joining us. I welcome her with open arms, and hope that her family will give her permission to do so. We need expertise in every area of science. Stasis is one of our most important areas of concern. It is not possible for us to carry enough food for a journey of 200 light years.

I am finished. Refreshments are waiting upstairs, and if you have any preliminary questions we can discuss them there."

40. Decisions II

Since Patti had a doctors' appointment Friday morning, it was decided they would meet there to discuss their options on my proposal to them. They would be spending billions of their dollars on my project, and it was not to be taken lightly. However, if they looked at the long-term view, as I suggested, their return on investment would be enormous. The amount of money they would make on the patents alone would cover the cost of their investments over the 10-year period. As far as I was concerned, it was a slam-dunk; but that was me, and this would be my family's baby.

As soon as Patti checked in at Sloan-Kettering, she was taken to radiology for her x-rays, CT scan, and MRI. She was not happy about any of these tests, but her children were a few steps behind her, watching her every move. She dared not complain.

When she was finished she was directed to Dr. Nall's office, which was loaded with patients. Patti had no patience at all. She checked in at the window, and she was told to come right in.

She was taken directly to Dr. Nall's private office, where she, her son, and her daughters made themselves comfortable. Dr. Nall walked in five minutes later.

She walked over to Patti and hugged her. "My worst nightmare has returned. Stephano called me, what the fuck is wrong with you now."

"Watch your language, Joyce; my children are here."

"The only reason you are here is because of your children. What's up Patti, your scans are clear."

"It's not back; you're sure?"

"Am I a certified twin-engine aircraft pilot?"

"You are, really, you did it?"

"It took me a year to get into a glider, but once I did it, I was hooked. Do you know you're not allowed to fly a glider unless you can fly an airplane?

I had to learn to fly a single engine airplane to learn how to fly a glider. I found single engine airplane's too easy and too slow to fly. I am now the proud owner of a twin engine Beechcraft King Air 350. I got such a deal you wouldn't believe it."

"What did you do save the guys life?"
"How did you guess? I'm a very good Doctor you know. So now tell me why you're fucking with your children's minds?"

Robert said, "I really like this doctor of yours mom."

"Robert no matter what I do to her today, I can never get even with your mother. What she did to me while she was in my care is still to talk of North Westchester Hospital, and she was there before you were born. She was such a bitch of a patient; I was thrilled when your father kidnapped her. The only problem was, he brought her back; alive."

"Joyce remember I am still alive and I can still cause you trouble."

"No you can't, because I received a phone call from your father this morning."

"What the hell is going on in my life? Is everyone ganging up on me?"

Dr. Nall said, "Children, one, two, three: YES!"

"Fuck off Joyce."

"Be nice Patti or I will call your father."

"How does it feel mom?"

"It feels like someone's going to have to pull my head out of my ass. Joyce knows what I was going through at the time, and I am sorry I put the three of you in my place. Should I get some help Joyce?"

"Why, you are as dumb as the rest of us. Just let your kids grow up. Help them; do not stop them from doing what they want to do, as long as they are not going to hurt themselves. No smoking, no drugs, no guns, 'no sex'. Your father told me to put that one in. Let them be as normal as I am, not as abnormal as you always have been. Let them fix the world we screwed up."

"Joyce you always were a pain in my ass."

"If there was ever a pot calling the kettle black. Get the hell out of my office; you are wasting my sick patients' time."

************

"As they were walking down the hallway to the elevator, Laura and Anna grabbed their mother's arms.

Anna said, "Mom if I wanted to be a doctor I would want to be one just like Joyce."

"That is Dr. Nall to you missy."

Laura asked, "Are you going to hold on to Timeless?"

"Why would I hold on to Timeless?"

"So the three of us can help pull your head out of your ass."

"We still have a lot of talking to do Laura. It is not going to be as easy as all that. I admit I made many, many mistakes, and I will do better. You will have many more options, including the option to leave if you still want to go. There is a lot of money riding on the project Dr. Luck is proposing. Billions of dollars are going to be spent, and billions more possibly to be made. We are going to discuss that today amongst the adults. You do not talk about dollar amounts that size amongst children."

"I don't know why mom. It is just a number followed by nine zeroes."

"When you start making that kind of money, you can say to me it is just a number followed by nine zeroes."

"I never will, mom. I am going with them. Please don't yell, if you do I will leave and go to grandpas."

Using every ounce of control she had, Patricia reached into her pocketbook, took out $200, and handed it to Laura.

"Please go there now before I start screaming. If the two of you want to go with her, please do."

Robert went with Laura, while Anna continued holding her mother's arm.

"I know you wanted to go with them; why did you stay with me?"

"Someone had to stay with you and bring you back to dad. It always winds up being me."

"Was I so wrong this time?"

"She wants to uncover the secrets of stasis. Do you believe she would stay behind and not experience it for herself? She wants to live or die in space to find out if she was right. If you did it, would you stay behind and never know if it worked?"

Patti thought about all the work she had done in the past, and then wanted to hit herself. "I am such a fool. She is me, and I am her. Would you call her please and tell her I have to speak to her. Tell her I understand now. I will not yell. I just want to talk."

**************

41. Take Me To Your Leader

I received a phone call from Philip Castronova late Friday evening, East Coast time. It was only 7:30 PM here so I wondered why.

"Dr. Luck, we would like you and your family to be our guests in New York tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM. If you want us to be your partners in this venture you will be here to meet your boss. It's not that we don't think you are capable of doing it, but you are a scientist and not a leader. A jet has been chartered for you, with a 9 AM departure time from Denver International. There will be a limousine waiting for you at LaGuardia Airport to bring you to us. The decision is yours. Goodbye Dr. Luck.

Philip didn't wait for my reply. If I wanted them as my partners, we would be at the airport by 8:30 AM. There was no doubt in my mind we would be there.

I yelled to everyone, "Pack a bag; were going to New York tomorrow morning."

I heard Gray yell, "Stop, you're not dressed."

Their bedroom door opened a fraction and Delicious yelled, "Why are we going to New York?"

"The people who gave me $30 billion yesterday want me to meet my new boss in our 'Space' adventure. If I agree they will back us in that venture also. They want us all to come. I believe they would like you to be dressed however."

"Very funny daddy, we were just straightening up the room."

"You two do the funniest things at the weirdest hours of the day and night. Jennifer and I would be getting ready to fuck ourselves to death right now, but you two are just straightening up your room, while you are naked; how very British of you."

"Very funny, actually dad, I think you're hysterical. I believe that's $20, isn't it"

"I believe I can afford it. We will leave at 7:30 AM, if you finished straightening up your room that is."

"We will try our best to be on time.

Jennifer walked out of our room wearing a very tiny and sexy teddy. "Delicious, we will try to be on time also."

Delicious stared at my love. "Show off."

Gordon popped out of the bathroom, and saw his mother standing there.

"Mommy where are the rest of your clothes, you're almost naked."

"Yes Gordon I know. I was just yelling at your father, because he hid the rest of my clothes, and I can't find them. He's coming into our room now and getting them for me. However, he has to put you in bed first."

"I can get into bed by myself if you want. You must be getting cold standing there like that."

"Oh no Gordon, I am getting very hot standing here like this, very hot indeed."

"Dad I think mom means she's getting angry with you. You remember, the inappropriate use of the English language thing, where one word means something else."

"Yes Gordon, I know exactly what you mean. I can handle the trouble your mother is mentioning. Let me put you into bed. We are flying to New York City in the morning. I will pack your bag, after I wake you up."

"I hope you're not in too much trouble dad."

"Don't you worry about me son, I'll take care of your mother, even if it takes me all night."

"Thank you for being so good to my mommy. I love her a lot."

"I love her too, Gordon. I'm going to love her an awful lot tonight too."

*************

The limousine dropped us off in front of the Pierre Hotel, directly across the street from Central Park. On the outside the hotel looked like grand old lady. On the inside, she was totally awesome. Our bags were taken from us, and never seen again until we were in our rooms later that day. No one had their hand out looking for a gratuity. Apparently, our benefactors had taken care of everything in advance.

We were taken to a private meeting room, where fresh fruit, coffee, cake, and other desserts were available in such varieties they were too numerous to count. Gordon did a great job at sampling each and every one of them. I had to warn him not to get sick on the sweets.

Several minutes later, Philip, Celeste, and Antonia joined us. We had a polite conversation but nothing important until the other families started filing in. I was amazed to see the difference in Patricia Valentino. She was smiling and playful with her children. Something had happened over the past few days that had changed her. I wondered if she was now on medication.

We were all seated at the table, still talking in generalities until the door opened again. Everyone jumped to their feet, even my daughter.

"Dammit, sit down I'm not the President anymore."

The man who walked in behind him said, "They didn't stand up for you, mighty mouth, they stood up for me."

"Go back to your room Fred, and write a speech for the opening of the Supreme Court."

"You know me Mr. Grumpy; I did that day court recessed."

I asked Gordon if he knew who these two men were.

"Dad the tall one is President Atwater and the smart one is Fred Hastings the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."

Pres. Atwater asked my son, "What do you mean the smart one, young man?"

"I read about your relationship with Judge Hastings when I was two years old. If it wasn't for him you would not have been Governor of Connecticut or President of the United States."

"Where did you read such lies?"

"It was in your wife's book Mr. President."

"I never did get around to reading her book. I think I'll kill her when I get home."

Fred said, "Why Sir, all she did was tell the truth. I wrote all your speeches, did all your research, and told you which shorts you were wearing. The only thing I didn't do was dress you in the morning. I'm sure Ms. Julia did that for you."

"You mean you weren't hiding in our bedroom watching?"

"No sir, I was busy making love to your niece. You do remember what that's like sir, don't you?"

"Why did I ask you to come down here? I was having a good day until now."

"Ladies, gentlemen, I must admit I have no idea what I am doing down here at this moment. Would someone care to give me the particulars?"

Everyone pointed towards me, even my traitor of a son. I stood up and introduced myself.

"Mr. Chief Justice, my name is Dr. Even Luck. Our group is here today to discuss a privately funded operation to send a large group of people into space. We will not return. Our destination has not yet been determined, but we have the means at our disposal to do it. We have the ability already to leave earth's atmosphere without using hydrogen and oxygen to blast our way off this planet as current governments do. That technology will be made available to our government after we leave the planet, not before. We want to be first to go to the stars."

"Dr. Luck I have read about your exploits in the paper a few days ago. It would appear some people don't like you very much, and they have access to some very powerful and illegal weaponry in this governments' arsenal. How do you propose to go about this venture of yours?"

"Believe it or not sirs, the hard part, the propulsion units, are already in place. We have conquered Earth's gravitational problems by negating them. For the next six years our total focus will be on the science of design and function. The craft will be totally non-metallic. It will be carbon fiber, ceramics, and polycarbonate materials that have an extremely high heat and cold resistant.

I have already spoken to eight prominent scientists to see if they would like to join us in designing this vessel. Once I announce it to the world others will come to join us.

I am putting my total fortune on the line for this project. These fine people will be adding many billions of dollars to that. The long-range gains they will see from their investment are unlimited, because I am going to put most of the new patents in their names.

My family will be joining me on this adventure. My wife Jennifer is going to be the pilot in command. My son Gordon is the navigator. My daughter, Delicious, is in charge of the engines. Dr. Grayson Thyme and I will be working side by side with me designing the structure itself. Currently he is working with NASA on the Orion project. He will be leaving that agency shortly.

Laura Valentino is going to be working on one of our most difficult problems 'Stasis.' We have to conquer that before we can leave this planet. We cannot carry enough food for 100 light years."

Laura said, "Excuse me Dr. Luck, but I won't be working on the 'Stasis' project alone. My mother has agreed to work on it with me."

"I noticed a smile on your face this afternoon Patricia. Have you come out of your shell?"

"Thank you for not putting it the way my children would have put it, but yes I have taken my head out of my ass and rejoined the human race."

"For myself and for this project can I say I could not be more pleased with your timing?"

"Thank you Even I will be as much help as I can. The rest will come from my family."

At that moment, the door to the room opened, and a large birthday cake was rolled in by a chef in a large white top hat. He was followed by Dr. Oyster and the six-member flight team from Orion, in their NASA flight uniforms. Each of them was carrying a large brown box.

Dr. Oyster said, "Mr. President, Mr. Chief Justice, please excuse this interruption. We found out the Savior of our mission to Mars was in New York and we had to take this opportunity to thank him properly. No it was not just Dr. Luck, but that little imp sitting beside him. The four year old monster named 'Gordon Luck', took my three PhD's and made them look like paper fit for kindling. He found seven errors in the Flight Program to Mars that would have killed these astronauts before they passed the moon, and we would never have known why. Then, Dr. Luck, Gordon, and their computer fixed the problems with my Newton-Milli-Thrusters. I had been working on that problem for nearly 17 months, and they fixed it in a matter of days. The computers at Cal Poly are now being reprogramed because of these two men, and their marvelous computer. Ours was giving us incorrect information, and we never knew it.

Gordon we were going to try to do this in Colorado, on your real birthday, but when we found out you were here, we decided to do it today. These are the men and women you saved. They are not pictures in the newspaper, or people you see on television. They are flesh and blood like you and me. I wanted you to meet them, and they wanted to meet you, just to say thank you. They also wanted to give you and your family a small gift to show their appreciation."

One by one every member of the Orion team shook Gordon's hand and thanked him for his work on their project. Then they took up a position behind us.

The mission commander put a leather jacket with NASA, and Orion symbols emblazoned all over it on him. The best part was on the back of the jacket. Emblazoned in gold was the name, "FLASH GORDON."

Everyone in the room applauded as Gordon the glowed in his new possession.

Suddenly, I was asked to stand. They gave me an identical jacket to my son's, but I was Dr. Zarkov, the good scientist, who was trying to save the earth from eminent disaster.

One by one every member of my household received a jacket.

Jennifer's jacket was emblazoned with the name of Flash's sweetheart; 'Dale Alan.'

Delicious was Princess Aura. Gray received the title 'Ming the Merciless.'

Delicious could not let this opportunity pass without commenting.

"Gee Gray, they don't even know you, yet they know you so well."

"Did you just say you wanted to run through Central Park tonight?"

"I only brought high heels with me dear."

"I'm sure there are sporting goods store in this big city."

"If you find one I'm sleeping in a different room. You can't say a word about it either, because we are not at home."

"I can say one word dear; BITCH."

"You know me so well."

"Are you two children finished now?"

"Yes dad, I've put him in his place, for now."

"If everyone would join me in singing happy birthday to our son; we can throw him into his birthday cake."

*****************

After the festivities ended, I asked Gray and Delicious to watch over the children, while Jennifer and I listened to what the President and the members of the four family's wanted from me to proceed with this project.

As I expected, Delicious wanted to stay, but Gray picked her up by her ear lobe and said, "Would the last teenager in this room, come with me please?"

"Not funny Gray, that hurts."

"You're moving aren't you?"

"You could be dead by morning."

************

Celeste took over the meeting, because she knew me the best and the longest.

"Even, you may be the most brilliant person and scientist I have ever known, but you do not know how to run an operation this large. You have given yourself a 10- year timeline. You told us you are going to need thousands of miles of carbon fiber. You can't be at the factory watching the men putting the fiber into molds to fit your specifications. You can't be at the extruders to make sure that everything comes out at the exact thickness, and hardness that is required to take the stresses of light speed. You need someone who knows how to run an operation this large. You and your fellow scientists take care of your work. Let President Atwater set up a team of top-notch administrators that will report back to him, and make sure everything is done properly. You do the science; let him do the administration part.

Stephano has agreed to take care of the financial aspect of the project. All the funding goes through him. All the purchasing goes through him. There will be no delays. If you need something, you will get it as fast as humanly possible. The same will go for your fellow scientists.

It would be nice to mass-produce everything locally, in the United States, especially that nuclear engine. The timeline for that is going to be a bitch. The Nuclear Regulatory Agency is going to go over that design with a fine toothcomb. Its internal workings are so radically new it's going to take them a while to get their heads around it. The ceramic casing is going to blow them out of the water.

If they piss us off, we will have it built in South Africa, transport it here encased in lead shielding, and load it onboard the spaceship, weeks before your departure. Our lawyers will be able to stall them in court long enough for you to leave their jurisdiction.

If the government will not allow you to build your spacecraft on federal property, we will buy a large enough tract of land for you to build it on, and launch it from safely. We will build a temporary building around the spacecraft, to fit the parameters of your design. We will guard it like the military guards Cape Kennedy. No one gets near that facility without proper authorization. All you have to do now is say yes to Pres. Atwater being in command of this operation and we are behind you, with our money, and our businesses one hundred percent."

I did not hesitate, because I hate paperwork. It takes too much time and energy. It also causes aggravation, because some kid at the other end of the telephone typed in a 6 rather than an 8, and sent the entire order to Saskatchewan, instead of Santa Fe.

"Yes!" If you would you like me to say it again for emphasis, I will?"

"I think that will do Even. I said you were the smartest man I ever knew."

"Mr. President I think she just insulted you."

"Fred, you insult me all the time."

"Yes, but I earned that right. I was still a teenager when I started working for you. I took your abuse, since I was still an impressionable child. After 26 years of working for you, you had to get rid of me, and put me on the Supreme Court just to get rid of me forever. I knew every one of your tricks, and you couldn't take it anymore."

"I told you I would get even with you."

"No sir, I am going to get even with you. Four of your pet projects are coming to the court within the next three sessions. Should I tell you which way I am going to vote?"
"You would not do that to me Fred. You haven't seen the merits of those cases. You have to recuse yourself anyhow. You wrote those opinions."

"Who me, I was a sick at the time."

"You lying sack of shit. You were on the phone with Sondra, telling her what to do, and what to write."

"I have no knowledge of those conversations at all. I was a very sick man."

"You still are a very sick man."

Payne asked, "Are you two secretly married? It certainly sounds that way."

Fred answered, "I was attached to this man's hip every day and night for over a quarter of the century. He breathes, my body takes in the oxygen. Every word that came out of his mouth during that time was mine, not his. He never made a promise he couldn't keep because I wouldn't let him say it. That's why his popularity as president never dipped below 50%."

"Is that true Mr. President?"

"Yes it is. I don't know what I did to deserve having Fred drop into my lap while he was at Harvard, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Until he met, and married my niece, he never worked less than 80 hours a week, or took day off. He stepped in front of two bullets that were meant for me, and nearly died because of it. He is and was as loyal to me as a golden retriever."

"Oh good, now I'm your lapdog."

"That's not what I meant Fred."

"It's what you said."

Celeste said, "We should record this conversation. We could make a fortune selling it to the scandal columns. Can't you just see it now, "Former President, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are secretly married. Listen to their live conversations, and you will believe it."

Clarke asked Antonia, "I believe I know the answer to this, but what do you call those things that protrude from the front of Celeste's chest?"

"I call them many things Mr. President, Udders, milk jugs, and backbreaker's, but the one I think you're looking for is Michelin's."

"That's the one. I will call those same newspapers, and put an ad with a picture of your Michelin's, but without your head. I will put up a $10,000 reward for anyone who can tell me who those Michelin's belong to."

"My lawyers will sue you for every penny you have."

"Just in case you haven't heard, two of my granddaughters have been made partners in a prestigious Washington law firm. I will take on your two lawyers, and raise you two of mine."

"Clarke you are a pain in the ass."

"Antonia, check her tire pressure for me."

Antonia reached out and pinched Celeste's nipples.

Philip yelled, "You are not allowed to touch those. They belong to me."

"You are only her husband. The President of the United States gave me an order. I am a citizen of the United States and I take that honor and privilege to heart. If my leader tells me to do something, I will do it regardless of how hard it is on me."

"Where is Frank when I need him to keep you in line?"

"Yes, just think of my ill-fated husband now. He is at home, in Milan, watching seven children. I'm sure he's having a joyous vacation, while we are here without our troublemakers."

"Marlon is with him."

"Marlon is 91 years old. He can't drive his scooter any longer, because his vision is so bad. I know his hands still work, because we can hear his aides scream every time he grabs their asses or their breasts. He is still a dirty old man, but he loves our children. God knows how he put up with you."

"He put miniature microphones in my jewelry. He knew where I was and what I was doing every second of every day. I wanted to kill him the day I found out how he kept track of me."

"Are we finished playing who is going to do what to whom, and get back down to business?"

"Even you are no fun."

"You are wrong. I am newly married. My son is out with my daughter and her fiancé. I have a room in this hotel that is empty. I know what my wife would like to be doing in that hotel room. I would like to be in the room helping her do it. Unlike many people in this room who started having sex in their teenage years, I didn't start having sex until this month, and it was with my wife. I have a lot of catching up to do. If you want me to start on this table, I am not adverse to it. However, I am not so sure about my wife's opinion on this subject." (I was sure a moment later when she hit me.)

Clarke Atwater said, "Has anyone decided where we will have our main offices?"

Stephano said, "I have to be in Charleston to work with Dycke at least twice a month. I have a built-in staff there, and there is plenty of room to grow. I can put additional staff in that office specifically for this new venture, and go there more often. Our telephone, microwave, and satellite communications systems are all secure networks. We only speak on scrambler's which makes it impossible for anyone to hear and understand what we are saying. I believe Charleston is the obvious choice."

"Julia will love you. She will get to fly me up and down the coast in her new airplane. She complains it sits on the ground more often than she flies it. If it's okay with everyone else, Charleston is fine by me."

Reluctantly Harold Chase agreed. "Okay, but I have to go back on that damn diet. If she sees me like this, she will put me on that exercise program that nearly killed me last time."

Dycke said, "How many times do I have to tell you to keep walking on the treadmill. When you have sex with Callie once a month, it's just not going to work for you."

"Once a month, you are an ass. We are like bunnies."

Payne giggled. "Have you ever watched rabbits fuck? It's not even 1, 2, 3. It's 1, 2, and goodbye."

"Payne you used to be my friend."

"I still am your friend, Harold. I want to be your friend when we are 90. Get that weight off. Do it the right way, and keep it off this time."

"Callie, we are going on a diet again."

"Do I look like I need to go on a diet, Harold?"

"You could stand to lose 6 or 7 ounces."

"I'll go to the bathroom and pee."

"What did Doctor Thyme call Delicious?"

The room exploded with one word. "Bitch!"

"That wasn't very nice."

"No, but it was true."

"Dr. Luck, we will have a meeting in Charleston the first Saturday in October. We will hold a news conference Monday morning. We will explain what we intend to do, and how we intend to do it. You will tell the world about your new engines, although I believe they should be patented first. What do you think?"

"The only problem I have with that is the United States Government has been known to go into the patent office and steal patented ideas for their own use. As Dr. Thyme has informed me, the Orion capsule is well on its way to being completed. However, it is so heavy; they do not have a rocket powerful enough to get it into an orbit that will send it into a Mars trajectory. If they steal my daughter's ideas that will no longer be a problem for them. They will be at Mars in 17 hours, instead of 87 days."

"I can see where that would be a concern of yours. Celeste do you want to get your hound dogs into this?"

"There is a contracts lawyer here in New York, who wrote the patent for Harold and Patti's inventions. No one has been able to duplicate the process even if they have seen the patent."

I said, "I will have my attorney, contact yours to work out the details. If they can agree that it will be safe, we will patent all three engines."

"Excellent, we will reconvene in Charleston in a few weeks."

"Mr. President, should I leak this to the press?"

"Keep your damn mouth shut Fred."

"As always sir, your wish is my command."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"You wouldn't know the truth if it hits you in the head."

"You are a lying bag of crap."

"I got you elected president didn't I?"

"I will never live that down."

"You are correct, oh great one, because I will not let you live it down."

"Shut up Fred."

"Okay dad."

"You are not going to say a word about this to anyone Fred."

"Sharon and I leave for Barbados in three days. We are stay with you until then. Ms. Julia is flying us down there. How much more secure do you need to feel about my whereabouts, if these are not good enough?"

"You are right Fred. I am sorry I doubted you."

"You welcome sir."

"I still don't trust you."

"Why don't you tie me up and put a muzzle on me."

"I thought about that while I was Attorney General. For some reason I knew it would not work."

"You must have terrible nightmares."

"Yes, and they all include you."

************

The End