The Man Who Sold Mars (11 page)

I dialed one.  The phone connected. 
“Mom, I miss you.”

I disconnected the call and in response
the lights in the lobby flickered wild, frenetic, totally out of control, while
the elevator doors opened and closed randomly along with the entry doors to the
building.

Joshua pleased with his handy work
smiled, “By the time we reach the sidewalk, not one piece of YSR software, whether
it’s proprietary or off the shelf, will work properly and every backup will be
corrupted beyond use.”

“Except ours.”

Joshua nodded, “Yep.  Stealing a space
program is easy.”

“Writing the software to use it—“

“Priceless.”

Still well beyond livid from the
government’s intrusion earlier that day, I exited the private elevator to my
penthouse condo with Selena to find, even more FBI, Federal Marshals, and armed
soldiers intruding upon my home examining and boxing my things for the
government’s removal.

“Jesus!”  I shouted bounding from the
elevator and they moved to intercept me as an officer addressed me.  “Mr.
Young, unfortunately we cannot let you in.  This is now the property of the US
government.”

Unheeding and determined, I continued
towards a fireplace mantle.  A marshal stepped in my way to block me and I
plowed over him.  Reaching the mantle, I removed the most precious material
thing I owned, a very innate, sealed urn, carved from blue veined lapis and
filigreed with gold.

# # #

So afraid for Stephen, I watched another
officer attempt to take the urn from him and saw Stephen whirl out of his reach,
while throwing an elbow into the man’s nose shattering it.

Fearful of what was going to happen I
screamed for Stephen to stop.

# # #

I heard her and felt her, but I couldn’t,
wouldn’t stop.  With everything I’d lost that day.  I was not losing my . . .

# # #

The Marshall in charge ran down the hall to
see what was going on and Stephen angry and determined, ringed by federal
agents and soldiers, while outside the circle fearful for him I looked on.

The Marshal saw the urn in his hands and
immediately recognized its importance.  He looked into Stephen’s eyes, silently
asked a question and in silence Stephen answered it.

With great compassion he said, “Mr. Young
can take the urn with him—“

“But—“ one of the Marshals said.

“BUT!!!  Mr. Young can take the urn with
him!  Please see that he and Ms. Luce are escorted to the lobby unmolested. 
After they leave, properly secure the elevator like it should have been done a
long time ago.”

# # #

The lead marshal started to walk off, his
kindness still in my hands, I caught his eyes and silently mouthed, “Thank
you.”

The Marshal nodded.  
You’re welcome.

I with my . . . and my Selena entered the
elevator alone and the door closed.

Over and above livid, I fumed, standing
in the elevator clinging to my urn like it was a life raft.  Not knowing what
to do next, my dream destroyed I leaned against a wall.

Selena took my hand and I turned to her,
with tears of rage and loss running down my face.  She, tearing for me, leaned
forward to touch my lips with hers in tenderness and warmth.  And, I needed her
more than ever.  She was with me during my greatest loss and pulled me through
it.  She was doing it again and I kissed her with a hunger that was hungers for
so much and a desire that was physical for her and life and dreams.

“I’m yours Stephen.  I’ve always been
yours.  Share this with me.”

I did.  We kissed and for the first time
in my life.  I shared my weaknesses and my strengths, and my hopes and fears
with the same person, a woman I loved deeply and had from the start.

And sharing, we found ourselves at the Waldorf
Astoria making torrid angry love, working and sweating out our frustrations
with the day through one another.

Still spooning together in the silence of
the hotel room she asked.  “What are you thinking?”

“Much.”

“Much of what?”

“I can’t say.  I don’t know.  The
thoughts are coming fast and in vast numbers.”

“You don’t want to tell me?”

I was in overdrive and my thoughts were
coming fast and furious, but I wanted Selena to be happy and so I pulled her
closer to me and pulled some thoughts from the stream.  “YSeR.  Young Sea Resources.”

“Sea mining?”

“Mining and colonization.  It's a big
ocean.”

“Oceans.”

“And seas.  I'll hide my things all over
them.  Anything they can find, they can have.  And, I wish them luck in their search.”

“No trips to Mars?”  I could pick up the
slight trace of optimism in her voice that she tried to hide.

“I'm still doing that.  I've got too much
invested. And a promise to keep to the world.”

Selena tensed at the news.

“I'm not going.  I was only interested in
being first.”  I kissed her, “We should have done this a long time ago.”

“Yes.”  She kissed me.  “We had two first
tonight.  You and me.  And—-“

“And what?”  She was silent and blushed. 
Teasing her I grinned.  “And what?”

She blushed more.  “I swore I would never
do that.”

I teased her more.  “Say it.”

Her eyes sparkled with love and
eroticism.  “We’ll just call it the government and the tax payer.”

I laughed and she joined me.

I took her in my arms and kissed her.  “I
love you.”

“I know.”

“More than I can ever say.”

She kissed me.

I brushed hair off her face.  “Or show.”

We kissed again.

“Se, I am sorry.  We should have done
this a long, long time ago.”

“Ummhummmmm.”

We held each other in silence.

Then the ugly reality of where we were
and where we had been popped in and in intense frustration I said, “I can’t
believe Gerard.”

“Don’t be mad at him.  He was a pawn in
all of this.  Just like us.  He’s always been a good friend to you.  He didn’t
have to give you that model.”

“He didn’t give it to me.  He gave it to
Tot.”  And there was something about the way he did it that set my mind a
whirl.  “He motioned to me with it, gave it to Tot.  Looked her in the eyes. 
She looked puzzled, like he was silently telling her something.  But she didn’t
know what it was.  He squeezed her on the arm and said, ””Take this as a symbol
of how high you can go, if you push yourself.””

I fell silent and thought about it. 
Still thinking I told Selena, “That was a message. . . He put it in her hand,
the bow pointed towards the ceiling, then squeezed her upper arm.  “high” . . .
“push”.  PUSH!”

I figured out the message, reached for my
cell and dialed Tot.  An instant later a message flashed on my phone indicating
she was simultaneously dialing me.  I answered her.

# # #

Nude, breathless, sweating and in bed, I
spoke on the phone with Stephen, as nude and sweating Will climbed out of bed
and walked to the bathroom.

# # #

With unabated sexual energy and out of
breath Tot asked.  “You alone?”

“You?  It doesn’t sound like it to me.”

# # #

I knew Selena, lay there silent,
listening, pretending she wasn’t.

“Doesn’t sound like you’re alone, to me
either.  Put Selena on the phone.”

# # #

“It’s for you?”  I handed it to her and
left to raid the mini-bar and glance at the room service menu.

Selena accepted the call, knowing who it
was.  “Hello?”

# # #

“That was HOT wasn’t it?”

I could hear Selena blushing.  “Ummmmmh.”

I was persistence, “Admit it.”

“Ummmmmh.”

I sang, “Admit it.”

She whispered, “It was.”

“Selena, I’m not mad at you.  But, I
haven’t given up either.—Are you in the Waldorf?”

“Yes.”

“Me too.  How about my friend and I come
by and we can—“

Selena very quick said, “Ummmhhh.  That’s
a very generous offer.  But—“

“But, what Selena.  We’re sharing the
same man.  You know, one day you and I should go get four bottles of wine come
back home and—“

Again quick, Selena said, “That’s a very
generous offer.  But, let me give you back to Stephen.”

I laughed, “OK.  Put our boyfriend back
on the phone.  But if you reconsider—“

# # #

Selena handed me the phone.  “Stephen,
it’s for you.”

I took it.  “Hello.”

“You figured it out.”

“Yep.”

Excited Tot said, “Me too.  So when do we
go—“

“Back to work?”

“Yep.”

I said, “Tomorr—“, but saw the sad look
in Selena’s eyes.  “In two days, I have a world before me that needs
exploring.”

Selena grinned.

But, Tot was saddened.  I could tell.  Her
voice didn’t betray her.  But . . . her sadness made me sad too.

With real excitement, Tot said, “Sounds
good—Hey have you realized everything we’re doing is applicable to sea mining
and colonization.”

“Great minds think alike.”

“Kisssssssssss.  In two days I’ll have
everything laid out.  See you then.”

Tot hung up.

Selena took the phone and kissed me. 
“Ready for more exploration?”

I grinned.

Selena’s eyes sparkled, “I take that for
a yes.”

“Yes.”

She glanced at a clock and in feigned
surprise said, “Look at the time.  It’s April 15
^th
already.  Tax
time.  And I owe a lot.”

She rolled on her stomach, placed a
pillow under her hips, stretched her arms out, and over her shoulder gave me an
inviting grin, which I accepted again and again and again.

In Atlanta, Georgia a CNN anchor spoke
into the camera.

“Young Stellar Resources’ stock dropped
drastically and has continued to do so on news that the Federal government took
over operations of its Mars flight division.  Despite its fall market analyst
are high on the stock.”

An industry analyst appeared, “The
government take over of the program is in my opinion a validation of how well
it was running.  Especially, in light of comments by the Head of NASA, Gerard
Hillard, and other ranking government officials.  In a few brief years YSR has
done what the world’s governments could not.  And, given the US government must
pay YSR fair market value for the program, the company will be intensely
profitable, though they will without doubt not be the first to Mars.”

Sitting in a silent, somber mood over our
drinks within a New York Bistro, while watching the CNN broadcast, I sat with
Selena, Tot, Kevin, George and Gardner and our ever watchful, unobtrusive
security staff.  While unknown to us, Hemmingson sauntered in wearing his
signature dark glasses on the bridge of his nose and one of his signature loud
Hawaiian print shirts, while sipping on an umbrella drink, and carrying several
folded newspapers under his arms.  He took one glance at our morose troop, and
stopped, struck by a wild thought and he laughed outrageously.

Puzzled I asked, “What?”

He laughed even harder, “Here we are
seven of the richest people in the world . . . homeless.”

We exploded with laughter and I said, “God,
we needed that so bad.

He tossed us the newspapers.  “I brought
you a treat.” He then took a seat while we read and filled us in on his activities.

“Last night, I found this strip club
where all the women dressed like clowns.  It’s so bizarre getting a nude lap
dance from Raggedy Anne, but in that hot erotic kind of way.”

Selena read from her paper, “Senator
William Symko arrested in Arlington, Virginia love nest with crystal meth and
distribution weight cocaine while in the throws of passion with a nude under
aged boy serving in his office as a Congressional page.  An anonymous tip led
to the arrest.”

Hemmingson pointed at himself, “That would
be me.”

George toasted him.  “The CIA trained you
well.”

Hemmingson toasted George back.  “I
trained me well.  I just apprenticed with the CIA.  Anyway, I’ve pumped my
intelligence sources, have the names of all the players concerned with our
little mishap and have started scorching their Earths one by one.  This will
never happen to us again.”