James Glass - Sedona Conspiracy

The doorbell chimed four times, and she went to the door and opened it.

Vasyl was standing there with a slight smile on his face, and Eric Price was standing next to him. Nataly felt heat come to her face, and a little gasp escaped her.

“Okay, so I lied just a bit,” said Vasyl.

Eric’s eyes glistened. He held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Eric Price. Mister Brown here says you might consider the application of a total idiot to help you run an art gallery you’re planning. I’m here to apply for the job.”

Eric blinked. A tear edged up in one corner of an eye, and hung there.

His hand was cold when she touched it. She squeezed lightly. “Why don’t you come inside, Mister Price?” Her chest was so tight it was hard to speak, but the instant she touched him delicious warmth surged within her, and she willed the flow of it to her hand and into his.

Eric brushed past her to go into the house, and Nataly turned again to usher Vasyl in behind him.

Vasyl was gone.

Nataly closed the door. Eric had walked to the balcony and was standing there with his back to her. She walked up to him, reached up to place her hand on a shoulder blade.

“Eric,” she said softly.

“I’ve been a damn fool, Nataly. I’m still carrying baggage I should have dumped a long time ago. I had no reason to feel betrayed, but I felt it anyway. I don’t know how you can love a person like me.”

She rubbed his back. “But I do love you.”

Eric sniffled. “I love you, too. I tried to deny it, and it just made me miserable. I’m supposed to be Mister Tough Guy, with lots of walls. I didn’t want to get hurt again, so I hurt you instead.”

Nataly grasped his arm and turned him around to face her. His eyes were red and puffy, and he looked at her with an intensity she’d seen before and had dreamed about seeing again. And then he touched her, his hands, now warm, sliding softly up and down her arms.

“I’m still here,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back to me.” She reached up and put her arms around his neck, pulled his head down towards her, and kissed him.

It was a forever kiss, soft and deep, and time became irrelevant, a folded-up dimension. Two souls kissed, and expressed the bond between them that would not be denied.

Their lips finally parted, and his cheek was pressed warmly against hers. “I’m back if you really want me,” he said.

“Oh yes.” Nataly squeezed him tightly, and held on for long seconds.

“Your friend told you one thing that’s true. I’m looking for something to do here.”

“Are you leaving the service?” Nataly looked up at him and ran a finger across his cheek.

“Not just yet. I called my section chief, and he’ll approve a phase-out to retirement over five years while I work as a consultant on what they’re now calling the Ariel project. I’ll be on call, but I doubt I’ll spend more than half time at the base. Leon really did tell us about your gallery project. He’s already been reassigned. He’ll be gone in a week, and there will be no more tax-payer-funded-art sales for local artists. But the Phoenix office really did set us up with some good contacts. I think those will be useful if I get involved with a new gallery here.”

Nataly kissed him quickly, and smiled. “So, do you want to be my partner?”

Again, there was that intense look that made her heart sing.

“In every way,” he said, and pressed her to him.

“We probably should have some sort of contract,” she said, and curled a leg around his.

“Whatever you want,” said Eric.

“I’ll show you what I want,” said Nataly, and she led him through the house to the bedroom and the big brass bed where they would conduct their first business together.

“It was quite a hassle, Gil, but we got it done,” said Arthur Evans. “I’m sorry I had to deceive you for such a long time, but if I’d told you everything you’d have switched to the Democrats and kicked me out of office.”

The President of the United States listened, then laughed. “I only let my antennae show after the fourth martini. There just isn’t any real difference between us, Gil. We come from the same stock, and nearly all of us born off Ariel are a mix. My blood is so diluted the people in the old country will call me Earthling. Your Eric Price will get a better reception, I bet. His was the first voice from Earth that they heard, and he’s a lot closer to pure blood. That will be something to watch when he arrives in the star craft. As for me, I’ll be sent through the portal, quick and dirty, after the initial excitement cools on Ariel. Not spectacular, but dignified. It’s a nice way to end my presidency.”

Evans listened, and shuffled papers on his desk. Len sat in a chair near him, waiting patiently.

“I’m not aware of anyone who had previous knowledge of Price’s heritage, Gil. It was just blind luck.” Evans lifted an eyebrow at Len, and the young man smiled, acknowledging the lie. “I think phasing him out with such interesting work was both wise and kind. It sounds like he’s found a new life, and he deserves it. You too, Gil. Lets both of us retire and go fishing.”

The President laughed again, and hung up the telephone. “Gave him a shock, I did, and he’s one of my oldest friends. Fortunately, he has a good imagination. What generation are you, Len?”

“Fourth, Mister President.”

“Gad, even my aid is closer than I am to the old world. I’d better look it up; I think it’s eight or nine generations for me. They’ll ask me about it on Ariel. Want to go with me?”

“I’d be honored, Mister President.”

“Then let’s do it. What’s next for today?”

“Senator Banesfield is here to argue for more wheat subsidies, and then there’s lunch with the Syrian delegation.”

“Ah,” said Arthur Evans, “that will certainly bring me back to Earth in a hurry.”

“You’re glowing again,” said Eric, and ran a fingertip over her lips. They had just made love, and lay on their sides, facing each other.

“So are you,” said Nataly. She gestured above his head. “There are some nice gold streamers here, and some red, but I still see a little patch of blue. We have to fix that.”

“As long as it takes. We have the rest of our lives.”

Nataly smiled. “We never talked about age. I’m not so young as you think. I’m actually a year older than you.”

Eric pulled her to him again, and kissed her softly. “Ohh, a mature, knowledgeable woman. Teach me what I need to know.”

Nataly giggled, but then there was a sound, a distant, high-pitched whine they heard together. “Oooo, I’ve got to see this,” said Nataly. She struggled out of Eric’s embrace, threw back the covers and ran naked towards the front room of the house. Eric was right behind her when she reached the balcony doors and opened them. They stepped out onto the balcony and Eric enveloped her in his arms as they looked towards the high buttes to the west.

A star colored red and orange was rising slowly above a butte, then stopped and floated slowly north before rising again. Colors brightened as it accelerated its vertical climb.

“Someone going home. Maybe it’s Vasyl,” said Eric.

“No, he’ll use the portal to the presidential building, and so will the rest of the council.”

“I’ll be going in on Sparrow. Vasyl wants to make a show of it.”

“He would.”

The star flared, and then rose faster and faster, dimming with altitude. There was a bright flash, the star winked out and was gone.

“Someone is sure to see it and call the police,” said Eric.

“And the report will be ignored as usual,” said Nataly, and leaned back against him.