Chapter 1

That could have gone better.

“What did Elroy tell you about the whole zealot thing?” I asked.

With an almost child-like voice, Hannah said, “Too much?”

Beth smiled. “Yeah, just a little. I think it would have been very possible for me to have gone that way, too.” She held her hand out, to help Hannah up.

Hannah took it and stood up, but Beth didn’t let go. She pulled Hannah over, wrapped her arms around her and bent down, giving Hannah a deep and lasting kiss.

When they stepped apart, Hannah winced. “Not so loud, you don’t have to shout!”

I said, “Um, I didn’t say anything.”

“Not you. Wait, what’s going...” She quit talking, then looked around. Then she grinned and nodded.

Beth said, “We had a bit of a discussion about this, once we saw and heard her readings. Even though Jennifer had obviously kissed and ... otherwise engaged her, I’m the catalyst. And I have to be physically present.”

“If nothing else, this pretty much takes care of everything else we were concerned about, regarding her possible disloyalty. And no, we’re not apologizing about that, because it really was a possibility,” Eve said out loud. “Now, the only thing we have to worry about is the same as before, people who don’t know.”

“That, and keeping mi Abuela away.”

I shook my head. “What’s up with her? I saw her get off a bus, and purposely avoided her.”

Dora shook her head in embarrassment. “Of course, we’ve been sending people up as we could from the Valley. Apparently, with this, she considers you somewhat more elevated in status.”

“More along the lines of what I was saying, eh? From what Beth just told me, it’s a good thing that I’m not the one that found you first. At least not with that attitude.” Hannah sighed. “It’ll take me a little while, but I understand. And no apology needed, Eve. I understand, because it was how things were being set up. I just simply didn’t know any better. I’m sorry.”

“Come on, let’s get back over there, so we can load up and get up to Tucson with everyone. I’d like to know what the hell was going on in the Valley that had you grounded.”

The five of us walked back over to the main area. Chuck saw us coming in. “Ah, there you all are. I was wondering if you’d run off for a little personal tension relief.”

“Just making sure that some introductions were a bit more private, Chuck. What’s up?”

He shook his head. “Nothing that the locals can’t handle. The Colonel has three ambulances that will take the people from the triage unit here up to Tucson, and other than that, he’ll have everything finished, with the last few people out of here no later than eight. They’ll break things down here, and head up to Tucson to continue providing support there.”

“Then, I think let’s make sure we have enough planes for our personal team, plus the immediate family, and get back to Hutchinson,” I said.

“That works for me, boss.”

It still took us until almost nine thirty to be on the road to Tucson, simply due to going around, thanking everyone for a job well done. Hannah wasn’t quite as clingy as she had been, but I saw her and Helen exchanging a lot of glances.

Even though it was a short ride, a lot of the family fell asleep on the trip. I was so proud of them, everything they’d done.

There were representatives from the Tucson School District waiting for us. Margie had the checks ready for them. We owed rental on ninety school buses for one full week, plus full maintenance costs for the entire fleet. In addition, there was a second check for replacement of the buses damaged or destroyed, and a third check that would allow them to purchase forty new buses. The last had basically been the bribe needed to use the other buses in the first place, because that got them out of the budget hole they were in.

It was, finally, just after noon local time when we got to the airport. Our 737 and three of the smaller planes were sitting on the tarmac, waiting for us. The pilots were all gathered by the nose gear of Salthawk One when we pulled up, and it looked like they had a folding table with something opened on it.

That was unusual enough that Mike was instantly on high alert. When our vehicles stopped, all of our personal guards immediately went into defensive positions outside the vehicles, with weapons out, while keeping us inside, with the engines running, just in case.

Mike spent a couple of minutes talking to the pilots, then nodded. He signaled an all clear, but expedite. I walked over to him with Elroy tagging along.

“What’s going on, Mike?”

“You’re a fucking psychic is what’s going on. Sorry, I’m a little stressed, I apologize for the language. It’s not World War Three. It’s more like the Messenger War is about ready to kick off.”

“WHAT?”

“Let’s load up and I’ll tell you.”

“No, Mike, you’ll tell me, now!”

“There was a NOTAM issued, at noon local time. Effective at 6 pm Central, so 5 pm here, all US airspace within 100 miles of the border between the US and Mexico is closed until further notice. So is the actual US border, and all border crossings, with Mexico.”

I was shocked. “What the hell?”

Elroy frowned. “Who issued the NOTAM?”

“We did. The United States government. Let’s get in the air, and headed home,” Mike said.

Elroy nodded. “Damned straight!” He looked at me. “Get on the plane, son, and we’ll tell you what’s going on.”

I think Mike was a little surprised when Dora, Beth, and Eve each went to one of the smaller jets. But he didn’t say anything, just frowned a little. It took fifteen minutes for everyone to get loaded and all of the engines spooled up and ready. Once that was done, the three small planes taxied out just ahead of us, so they could take off first.

I don’t think Tucson air traffic control was expecting all three of them to go at the same time, taking up nearly the entire width of the runway, but that’s exactly what happened, with us right behind them. Instead of immediately flying northeast, we headed straight north for a good fifteen minutes, before we began to turn.

“Dad, I thought we had three planes with us. Why are there six of them out there?”

I looked out the window. “Mike!”

“It’s okay, Cal. They’re only with us until we’re past New Mexico. As soon as the NOTAM came out, they started preventative sorties. Those are Arizona Air National Guard F-16s, not regular Air Force, and they’re making sure that we’re actually going home, and not taking a bunch of people into Mexico, since we just had our little adventure getting people OUT of Mexico.”

“And we’d do that why?” I asked.

“Because you’re very high on the Federal Government watch over list,” someone else said. “I never introduced myself. I’m Deputy US Marshal Jeremy Gage. What that list means is that you get a minder. We’re quite well aware that you have possibly the best private security group in the world working for you. I’m not talking Wackenhut, I’m talking Major Douglas and his merry band.”

Gage held up his hands. “I know, you’re not in the military any more. Your last mission, you ended up pulling my father out of a shithole, along with forty other men.”

“That’s why that was my last mission. Fuckers told me to ignore the POW’s. That wasn’t going to happen,” Mike said. “I thought that was still classified.”

“In case you didn’t notice, there isn’t a CIA anymore to bitch about things like that.”

“Point taken. So, since I actually thought you were here because of Elroy and Earl, I take it I was a little mistaken.”

Gage said, “Not really. As soon as word hit what you ... or rather, what he was doing, and the connection got made that Judge O’Connor was related, there was a loud word passed down from Washington to make sure someone was down here with a real badge. It’s all well and good for you to have your Wackenhut ID. That still means you could end up in jail.”

I frowned. “So, that’s where you come in?”

“Politely ... and I’m saying that totally non-sarcastically ... that’s right. There’s several reasons why I say politely. The easiest is because of my orders. Handle with velvet gloves. But make sure nothing ... and they mean nothing ... happens to you, or to anyone in your family. Again, I know that’s what you pay him for. Someone comes along and tries to shoot you, great, he can kill ‘em all and let God sort them out. My job is to make sure that when the local police show up and have a shit fit, or if the FBI gets involved, to simply tell them to have a nice day and go fuck themselves.”

I crossed my arms, leaning back. “Okay, what’s one of the tougher reasons you’re being non-sarcastic?”

“Because at my level, we all know who the Thug was. I have no desire to find out if you could rip my beating heart from my chest and show it to me before I died if I did do anything to irritate you.”

Elroy frowned. “I thought US Marshals were like Texas Rangers. No fear.”

That made Mike chuckle. “Elroy, there’s such a thing as no fear, and then there’s the sense of pure self-preservation that kicks in when you realize that the most dangerous man in the world is sitting across from you.”

Elroy looked at me, puzzled. “The kid with eight women? That’s a lover, not a fighter.”

“I almost wish we’d filmed the two fights. I know why we didn’t, of course. That way there’s no evidence. But yeah, I always knew Cal was good. I just didn’t know he was that good.”

“Speaking of me, I think I asked a question before we took off.”

Mike nodded. “Destroy the drugs. And the drug cartels. I didn’t think they’d start quite this soon, but I knew it was coming.”

Gage said, “It’s about to become a very bad time to be a drug dealer or grower in Mexico. We’re shutting the border down completely. With Cuba out of the picture, and our military cooperating with everyone else, and vice-versa, we now have several carrier groups available.”

From the other side of the plane, Chuck said, “Oh, crap. That means they’ve done the same thing for Florida and the Gulf Coast, too. That means anything trying to come in through a closed border isn’t going to get a friendly greeting.”

“Nope. I’m not sure what the ROE are in total, but they’re going to be pretty simple. You might get a warning shot, and then again, you might not,” Gage said.

“What about civilian air traffic?” Margie wondered.

Chuck shook his head. “If they’re doing this, then until we’re done with military operations, there won’t BE any civilian air traffic coming from Central or South America. I’d bet that the no-fly zone is going to keep moving south, as the military advances. And make no mistake. They WILL advance.”

Mike nodded. “Probably about like shit through a goose. I’m making a guess right now, but I’d say the Marines will advance south from California, secure the Baja, and then stage an amphibious assault on the west coast of Mexico ... right about where we got these people from. First Armored will just cross the border, and with the First Cav in support. The Mexican military will either simply move out of their way or join in, because they sure as hell don’t want to go up against us. The Air Force will have plenty of snake and nape available for the druggies.”

Earl said, “I think it also helps that the Soviet Navy will be right there supporting operations as well. They sent over two brigades of blue beret Spetznaz, and everything they have that can fly is coming this way, too.”

“Um, why?”

“Cal, you’re not that naïve,” Mike said. “The Soviet Union rather quickly figured out that, yes, there’s going to be a world government. Sure, all nations are equal. But some nations are still going to be more equal than others. At the same time, they’re pragmatists. They’ve got this great big, beautiful military. Well, it’s that way in their eyes, anyway. Now, suddenly, no worries about the Fulda Gap. No worries about Afghanistan, or China, or anything. There’ll probably ... maybe ... need to be some kind of planetary defense program, just in case the aliens aren’t all friendly. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Marcia spoke up. “That’s got to be why we’re getting the bases now. No need to have a full base set aside just to train military pilots. Go clean up the drugs, then cut the size of your military to what you need for border defense, or more precisely, border patrol.”

That caused Margie to nod. “So much for the argument about ‘guns versus butter.’ This is going to make all of the economic theory guy’s heads explode.”

“So, what’s the deal with Cain and Abel? Good guys, bad guys, a little of both?”

Gage laughed. “I like that. A little bit of both. Keep in mind that normally the State Department runs our diplomatic affairs according to how they want to do things, not necessarily how whoever happens to occupy the Oval Office wants them run. Here’s the thing. They’re not stupid, they just act that way sometimes.” He paused, then said, “Okay, maybe a lot of the time. I think it’s the nature of Foggy Bottom. But they do have people that can read the tea leaves. Who was the biggest and most influential name in the private sector, from before World War Two up until, oh, say, ten years ago?”

“Howard Hughes,” Margie said instantly.

“Exactly. Now, who’s making Howard Hughes look like he didn’t have a clue, in less than six months?”

That caused Margie to frown. “These comments don’t sound like what I’d expect from a US Marshal.”

“That’s because you’re not the only one with an MBA, although I joke that I got mine out of a cereal box,” he said.

“Kellogg School of Management,” she said. “I would have thought that you’d have gone into a different branch of government service with that.”

“G.I. Bill. I got out in ‘73, got the degree because it was about as far from humping a pig as I could get, and then found out I still wanted to hump the pig instead of count beans.”

Mike said, “Hang on. Where were you in country, hauling an M-60?”

“Garryowen! There’s a reason I pulled a few strings to get this posting. I was the door gunner on one of the choppers that flew top cover for you coming back across the border into South Vietnam. I didn’t know you were carrying my Dad on your back, just you were bringing back some of our boys.”

“He sure seemed like the oldest Sergeant First Class I’d ever seen,” Mike said.

“That’s because he was a fucking bird colonel, that knew if they thought he was an officer, they would have separated him from his men. He’s in the Veteran’s Home in Quincy now. He still lost the leg, but other than that, he’s fine. Mom died a couple of years ago and he couldn’t handle the house by himself any longer.”

“Damn.” Mike blinked rapidly a couple of times, turned towards the window for a couple of seconds, then turned back.

“So, you’re saying that our Cal here has caught some attention in Washington?”

“Christ, yes. Let’s put it ... hang on ... I have to think of how I can diplomatically phrase this, because again, polite. VERY polite. Most of the time, a quiet word gets passed along, to keep an eye on things. Contrary to popular belief, there actually are people in Washington who can put two and two together and not come up with mangoes as the answer. Remember I said I’m just here as a minder, and it was a loud word? That’s because, briefly ... very briefly, as in less than five seconds ... there was a consideration to give you a lot more protection. Then, saner heads prevailed, and so I’m here to be your ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

Chuck looked puzzled. “Um, how the hell are you going to get more protection than what we already give Cal, unless you ... oh, hell, not that!” He looked horrified.

“Yes. That’s why saner heads prevailed.”

I shook my head. “It wouldn’t have worked. They could invoke the National Secrets Act all they wanted. I’m still a minor, and really? Trying to actually FORCE me to create things just for them? The lid is off the bottle; you can’t put the Djinni back in, any more than Oppenheimer could undo things in New Mexico.”

“Damn. I was told you’re smart. That’s exactly the line of reasoning that was reached. Far better to simply ... go with the flow. And let’s be realistic. We hire Wackenhut to guard nuclear weapons, for God’s sake. You’re more important than they are. Nukes, I mean, since we’re going to start destroying those in the spring.”

I looked out the window of the plane myself for almost a minute, then I turned back in. “Thank you,” I said to Hannah, who had brought me a cold iced tea. “Marshal Gage, just so you know and can plan accordingly, here’s what’s going to happen over the next few days.”

“We’re going home tonight, and I suspect that even though it’s New Year’s Eve, there’s not going to be a lot of people staying up late. Tomorrow being New Year’s Day, we’re going to get things organized. Wednesday is January 2^nd. I’m not exactly sure what time they’re going to arrive in Hutchinson – that’s something we’ll find out tomorrow – but I’m going to have two Japanese engineers show up with some plans. Once they arrive, we’ll be taking this plane on a long great circle route.

“Hutchinson to Seattle to Adak to Narita. I anticipate being on the ground in Tokyo for no more than twelve hours. Tokyo to Hong Kong for fuel, then to New Delhi, India. Two days there, maximum, and that includes half a day travel time to and from the area we need to visit. New Delhi to Riyadh, simply as a courtesy to King Fahd. A quick stop in Munich so I can visit Siemens, then hop up to Heathrow, so we can swing by Hannah’s house and get some more of her personal items, then to Gander for fuel and finally back home.

“I figure three pilots, plus one mechanic. It’ll be me, Hannah, Margie, and Helen. Chuck, Angela, Wendy, and Sharon for protection. Fourteen people on board for the first part of the flight, so that’ll put us well below ten thousand pounds of weight, even with carrying half a pallet of cash, and enough clothing for almost a week in the plane. No leg will be so long that we won’t have at least four hundred miles of extra range. And yes, I’m well aware that I’m talking about nearly twenty thousand miles, and what would normally take a lot more than a week.

“January 2^nd is Wednesday. January 7^th, the following Monday, is the last day to register for classes without paying a late fee. I don’t have an issue paying those for me, but there’s no reason for everyone else to do so. Classes start the Monday after that, on the 14^th. I hadn’t realized we were cutting things this close, but we have the smaller jets, we have the buses that can drive there, and we’ve already got our housing situation taken care of, as well as ground transportation. There is a lot of pre-enrollment testing needing completion for most of us.”

Gage nodded. “I’m specifically assigned to you. I know you have a shower in the back of this bird. Realistically, that’s your personal domain, for you and the ladies. I’m used to operating on spit baths as needed. I’ve got luggage and a credit card, and in those spots where there’s more than a thirty minute refueling stop, I have access to airport lounges with showers so you won’t have to smell me.”

“That’s good. I don’t think I’d like it, if your body odor was offensive. Wouldn’t bother me, of course, but I’m going to have three pregnant women along. Can’t have their delicate stomachs upset. Otherwise, you’d find out ... very briefly ... that I really can.”

Elroy looked at me, puzzled. “Can what?”

“Rip his beating heart out and show it to him before he died,” I said, totally deadpan.

Mike sighed. “No, you wouldn’t. Oh, I mean, you could. But we all know better. Even more so now, since you know he’s former US Military. Christ, you would have offered the Thug a job if you hadn’t had to kill him.”

Gage nodded. “I appreciate that. But net result is, you need some modified visas for your ladies to attend school here? Cain and Abel will get those issued. You need some paperwork expedited because Gloria is now married to two men under, and no insult intended here, tribal law, then Cain and Abel will get that issued. You need all the papers done for the people who just got rescued expedited? Cain and Abel. Of course, they’re not necessarily doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. The US State Department freaked out when Ambassador Mondale walked in and told a bunch of them to hit the road, that they weren’t helping advance the cause of creating a unified world government.”

I frowned. “I thought I remember reading that they work for the Secretary of State.”

“They do. Technically, so does he. Thing is, the Senate unanimously rubber-stamped his appointment in what was probably the shortest session ever in history. But under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and the President’s letter of instruction, he can pretty well tell everyone what is going to happen, and the only one who can tell him ‘no’ is the President. Now, Mondale is the US Ambassador to the Messenger, and we’re the only nation with one of those. As far as every other country is concerned, until or unless the Messenger overrides him, Ambassador Mondale is speaking for the Messenger. That includes speaking to our government.”

I smirked and snorted. I’ll be damned. He did figure it out. “That doesn’t explain why Cain and Abel showed up, though.”

“They showed up because of you. And I mean you, specifically, Cal Lewis. I wasn’t kidding in the least when I said that you make Howard Hughes look like a preschooler playing with Lincoln Logs. Perception is reality, and the perception is that you’re on pace to be the most influential man on the planet ... not just in the United States, but so far as every other government in the world is concerned ... within the next decade. Especially in light of the way the world is changing due to the Messenger. The only thing Foggy Bottom is trying to figure out is your evil plan for world domination.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Good grief!”

That got everyone that heard what Gage had said to laugh, some with a bit more hilarity than others.

He looked around. “Heard that one before, eh?”

I waved at the girls in general, for someone to answer. Margie picked up the gauntlet.

“Marshal Gage ... as you’re no doubt well aware, Cal turned sixteen this past August. It’s completely and utterly ridiculous for him to have any kind of evil plan for global domination. That’s why he doesn’t have one.” She smiled at the look of relief on Gage’s face, then twisted the blade. “Of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a good plan for global domination. One that we’re ALL helping him with.”

I nodded. “That’s been a point of discussion at home for quite some time. The minor detail that things are going ... faster ... a lot faster than I anticipated is a good thing, I think. I’ve had this idea kicking around that I could help get power to the world, cheaper and easier than anyone else; and with what my Dad created, I could help make more of the planet inhabitable. Turns out that I’m not the only one who likes that idea.”

“I can imagine. There’s also probably a few people who don’t like that idea, too. All those people that mine coal for a living, for one,” Gage said.

“I actually understand that. At the same time, if they don’t have to risk their lives underground, and I can create another job for them, well, that ought to make things even out. Let’s face it, if we can get into space, there’s going to be lots of mining needing done on asteroids.”

Gage blinked. “Rock hounds, like in ‘The Rolling Stones’.”

I paused, my mouth half open, looking at Gage with a new interest in my eyes.

“What? I grew up on his juveniles. ‘Have Space Suit, Will Travel’, ‘Citizen of the Galaxy’, ‘Red Planet’ ... that’s the whole point of science fiction, to expand the mind so that when you run into something that doesn’t fit into the nice, square box, you don’t freeze up. Before I shipped out, my old man made me read ‘Starship Troopers’ three times. Once for pleasure, then twice more to understand what he meant.”

That made Mike laugh. “I can see that. Your dad made me promise before I ever strapped him to my back that if it looked like we were going to get captured, that we’d do a Kipling in Afghanistan.”

Gage nodded. “Of course. ‘When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, just roll to your rifle and blow out your brains, and go to your God like a Soldier, a Soldier of the Queen!’”

Mike said something very quietly, then. “Absent companions.”

“Absent companions,” Gage replied.

Mike looked at me. “He’s in. If it’s an act, we’ve got plenty of tunnels and pig farms. I don’t think it is. Use him, take him with you. He knows too much of the good stuff to be on the wrong side.”

“If Mike says you’re in, that’s good enough for me. That’s why I pay him, to deal with security. If he gives me advice, then it behooves me to take it, because he’s the expert.”

Gage shook his head. “That’s ... different.”

That made Chuck laugh. “Tell me about it. Oh, and Cal? Please don’t try to catch any cobras when we’re in India, unless you feel like you need to do so, to make a point. It’s bad enough sitting back and watching you catch rattlesnakes.”

I laughed at that, then Chuck and Hannah spent the rest of the flight home telling the story of the great golf outing.

It was just after dark when we landed in Hutchinson. Both of the big buses were waiting for us, since we had so many of our security team along. After a relatively quick ride home, I walked in and collapsed into my recliner.

“Girls, thanks for riding in the other planes, just in case there were issues.”

“Of course. It made sense, as you haven’t created something in case one of them has problems,” Beth said.

“Working on it. Mike, how are you doing on the material replacements?” I asked.

“I need to discuss some metallurgy with you, probably a couple of hours’ worth. I think it’s possible, I’m just not sure how well we’d be able to conceal it as being something that could have been made on this planet.”

I nodded. “Thanks.” I realized then that William Dangu had come into the house with us. “Have a seat, William. You’re family. That voice you heard from the speaker, that’s my created intelligence, Mycroft Holmes. Mike, this is William Dangu.”

Mike said, “Hello, William. From your name, and my analysis of you, it appears that you are also a member of the indigenous group from Uluru. Hopefully, you won’t find too many strange things around here, if you stay.”

William laughed. “It wouldn’t matter whether I found them strange or not. He is my King, and I am sworn to protect him.”

I nodded. “Then I guess you better get in touch with Leah Duwai and have her catch the next plane to California. Once I’m back from the trip, that’s going to be my home for the next couple of years.” I looked at Helen. “Unless you have anything to say that’s going to change that?”

“I’m just the High Priestess. And one of your wives, of course.” She walked over to the kitchen counter, opened a plastic container, and tossed me a chunk of gold. “At least you already know how to make the letters fit.”

I glanced over to where Hannah was sitting on the couch, talking to Dora. I zoomed in on her hand, then quickly fashioned the ring and started working on the pendant.

Marcia picked up the tub and carried it over to Hannah. “Here, you need to pick your stone.”

“Oh, that’s a pretty emerald,” Hannah said.

Marcia nodded. “Of course. Redheads and green stones, go figure. Here you go!” She picked it up out of the bin and tossed it to me. I reached up without looking and caught it. Marcia then said, “I’m sure somewhere in your jewelry collection you have a plain, gold necklace, right?”

“Of course. Just a second.” Hannah got up, went to one of her travel cases, opened it, then spent a couple of moments finding a necklace. “Here, Marcia.”

“Not for me. Take it over to the jewelry maker.”

She walked over. “Cal?”

“Thank you.” I took the necklace from her, then attached the pendant I’d just made to it. “Here you go, Dear. If you’d give me your left hand, I think this ring should fit quite nicely. And here’s your necklace, too.”

I didn’t realize I had a bit of an audience, until there was some applause. “Oh, I guess I’ve never really done that in front of people, before.”

Andrew frowned a little. “Does that ... I don’t know, hurt at all? When you shoot those beams out of your eyes, to heat up the gold?”

The girls all shook their heads. Eve said, “It hurt when we were first learning how to do it, like when I first started doing a lot of running for basketball. I was using muscle groups that I’d never used in the past. But, with properly working our way up to it, it’s no harder now to melt gold than it was before to shoot some hoops. You just concentrate, and you do it.”

“Holly!” She stopped what she was doing and looked at me, surprised at my yelling at her. “Not here, not now, and something you’re just not ready for. If it’d worked, you might have just killed Mahlee.”