Chpt 3 - Bob

Chapter 3

 

     I struggled to wake up.  My head pounded with each dull throb of my heart as if I were suffering from the worse hangover I could remember.  My fingers, my joints refused to work, generating a good deal of pain as I flexed them.

     I sat up, trying to figure out where I was, or more to the point, how I got here,  where ever here was.

     The throbbing in my head grew louder, more excruciating.  Someone was at the door.  As I tried to focus it slowly became apparently I was in my hotel room... in a bath robe.

     "Is Bob," the voice shouted, pounding on the door again.

     "Give a guy a minute will ya?" I called, tying the my robe.

     I barely had time to unlatch the door before Bob burst into the room.

     Behind him, almost pressed to his back, was another man.

     Although my first thought was Fred, I was surprised to see someone all together different.

     The door closed as if of its own accord.

    "Bob's friend alone?"  he asked, turning to look about the room.

    "I think so, Bob," I said.  Until a moment ago I wasn't sure were I was, let alone anything else.

    Bob took a quick tour of the room, the bath and the closet before opening the door to the hall to make sure no one was listening, closing it again gently.

    We just stood there quietly for a moment.

    "Bob, what the hell happened?" I asked,  pulling him closer as I spoke.

    "Bob hoped you know," he said anxiously.

    "I have no idea.  One minute I'm in the back seat of your car and the next you're pounding on my door."

    "Bob wake up in bed with wife.  Someone take out trash for Bob.  Wife happy, Bob happy.  Bob have sudden need find cousin and bring here...  not know why," he whispered, a thread of alarm showing through his usually controlled voice.

    "How did I get here, Bob?  You have any idea?"

    "Nit.  Bob driving, Bob happy, car happy... like Bob say, wake up in bed."

    "What happened to Fred?"

    "Fred home also," Bob said, holding his hands out in question.

     I had to think about it.

    "What about the woman?  What happened to Emma?" I continued.

    "Bob asked Bob the same," he said excitedly.  "Bob feel her elbows in Bob's back, when turn, elbows belong to Bob's wife.  Not see girl again."  He finished, clapping his hand as if she had just disappeared.

    "Who is this?" I asked, jutting a finger in the stranger's direction.

    "Is Bob's cousin... Dan," he said bluntly, thrusting a thumb at the man standing in the middle of my room.

Dan was tall, a couple of inches taller and heavier than Bob.  Dressed in a rumpled pair of slacks, a dirty shirt under a patched, corduroy jacket... he, stood twisting his hands as if washing them repeatedly in the air.

"Dan... any cousin of Bob's is a friend of mine," I said, offering my hand.

Dan stepped back, wringing his hands all the more, muttering to himself.

Bob stepped between us, pushing my hand aside.

"Dan father work at power plant.  Dan have problem...  not like touch people," Bob explained, waving a hand.

     "So, why is he here?" I whispered, not certain why I was doing so.

"You say we in trouble... I have cousin... Dan," he said, as if that explained everything, pointing at the man.

"What's he do?" I asked.

"Dan not... people - people," Bob offered.  "But very smart about... you know... flying things."

"I'm an astrobiologist...  Stellar evolution mostly," Dan answered softly, shifting his weight from foot to foot, still wringing his hands.

"You speak English," I said amused.

"I speak five languages," Dan answered defensively, thrusting his hands into his jacket pockets, retrieving a kerchief, twisting it around in his hand.

"Of course five, is Russian," Bob said with pride.

"So why is he here?" I asked again.

"I can answer that, oh yes, yes, I can," Dan said nervously, beginning to pace.

"Well," I asked impatiently.

"Ahh, sticky bug," Bob said, jumping to stand between Dan and me.  With his back to me, his fingers wriggled I knew the routine.

"How much this time?"

     "Oh, I'm not here for money.  Bob said you have a disk... a UFO disk," Dan offered, stepping closer, twisting the cloth in his hand.

"Dan not so well.  Having fever, mean to say two hundred dollars," Bob said, turning to give Dan the stink eye.

"I'll give you a hundred... if and I mean if Dan here has something interesting to say.  Deal?" I said, offering my hand.

"I'm only here for a copy of the disk, if its real.  I don't care about the money," Dan said, hastily, almost pleading.

"Nyet, nyet, nyet, not mean what he say.  Dan care very much for money," Bob interrupted, pushing a hand against Dan's chest, making him step backward.

"No, I don't," Dan protested.

"Alright.  Let's just watch the disk and then we can discuss money.  Okay?" I said, retrieving the disk.

Both men shrugged, nodding their heads in agreement.

"Anyone mind?" I asked, holding up my digital voice recorder.

Without objection, I clicked it on.

As the disk began I split my attention between the screen and Dan's reaction. 

"Oh my," Dan said as the single spot of light appeared on the screen.

"Karen," the voice on the screen screamed and Dan jumped in response, pointing at the video.

"Classic transformation... classic," Dan said excitedly, as the lights became two and then four.

"Oh my God," the voice on screen whispered and Dan stood up.

"She shouldn't be there.  Tell her to go," he said, pointing at the television as if we had any chance of warning the woman with the camera.

I looked to Bob as Dan began to pace, pointing at the screen with concern, running his fingers through his hair.

The images flashed by, and Dan grew more and more agitated as the orbs dove into the ground.

"Oh no.  No that's not good, not good at all.  You have to do something... tell her to get out of there," Dan shouted, his voice full of dread.

The tone in his voice sent chills rippling over my body as the picture shifted to the withering grass.

"The grass... it's radiation... the dose she's receiving... get away, get away,"  he shouted, waving his arm frantically as the grass turned to dust. 

Then, the low pitch sound from the video grabbed my attention and I knew what was coming.

Dan jumped back, pointing a shaking hand at the image of the blue light shooting up out of the ground.

"No.  It can't be," he gasped, at the moment the figure appeared.

I stood as the camera fell dark, snapping off the tv.

Dan staggered backward, the couch catching the back of his knees, forcing him to sit down.

Having seen the disk for the second time, through Dan's eyes gave me pause.  I hadn't taken it serious at first but now with Dan's reaction and this Emma woman somewhere in the wind, I didn't know quite what to think.

Bob sat on the arm of the couch, placing a hand on Dan's shoulder, patting him with sympathy.

"Not good, not good,"  Dan repeated, half to himself, half to us as he sat on the couch, rocking back and forth, twisting the kerchief in his hands.

"Can I get you something?  You want some water?  Soda?" I asked, waiting for Dan to regain himself.

"No.  I'm fine," he answered, moving to sit on the edge of the couch.  "Where did you get this?" he demanded. 

"It's a copy.  I got it from Professor Donald Thorpe.  Do you know him?"

"Oh yes, yes, I do," Dan said, rolling his eyes.  He began to tap his knees anxiously with both hands, looking to Bob to assure him as well, he knew Donald Thorpe.

"Dan, this is important.  Is this disk real?" I pressed.

Again, Dan turned to Bob, only this time he spoke in Russian.  As their conversation began to heat up, Dan stood, his hands waving frantically as he spoke.

"Fellas, fellas.  Not everyone on the team speaks Russian," I complained.

"He's crazy," Dan accused, suddenly turning to me, pointing behind to Bob.  "He says you have one of them."

"Bob, say had," Bob corrected, wiggling a disinterested hand.

"See?  He's crazy.  Having such a person in your possession could... would...  be catastrophic for all mankind," Dan exclaimed.  His eyes were open so wide, a small part of me feared they would fall out of his head.  Spittle began to form at the corners of his mouth, making him look like a mad dog. 

"Take it easy, Dan.  We're just trying to figure things out, okay?  Let's take it one step at a time," I soothed.

Dan sat down.

"Crazy talk," Dan said in disgust, sitting down, refusing to look in Bob's direction.

"Focus for me, Dan," I began.

"Crazy talk, that's all and you think he of all people wouldn't be involved in crazy talk.  Not Bob, oh no, not our Bob," Dan interrupted, tilting his head from side to side, crossing his arms, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Bob not crazy.  Bob say we save girl, not say what girl."

"Not this girl.  She's already dead," Dan said, pointing at the blank tv screen.

"How can you be sure?" I asked, moving to sit next to him on the couch.

"How can I be sure?  Please, I'm sure.  You saw the grass.  Do you know how much radiation it would take to kill grass that fast?" Dan asked, sticking his index finger into the palm of his left hand.

"Bob say, a lot," Bob offered, sitting on the couch, crossing his legs. 

"Bob say a lot," Dan mimicked sarcastically, pointing weakly to Bob.  "You see?  See how he is?  Do you know what his IQ is?"

"No idea.  A lot?" I sniped, with disinterest.

"Oh, funny.  Now it's you," Dan returned.

"Sorry.  I just want to finish this up... I apologize," I said as seriously as I could.

Dan's hands wavered briefly, signaling his resign.

     "Okay.  Now, if, and I know it's a big if... these things we've seen are real... what are they and what they did... is it possible?"  I asked, pushing closer.

Dan's face squirmed under the question.  His eyes bounced back and forth in his head as if he were looking through a series of files, turning pages in his mind's eye.

"Theoretically... yes," he said, his face lit with surprise and self satisfaction.

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," I said, cheerfully, adjusting the recorder.  "What are they?  Let's start there."

"Well, it's anyone's guess," Dan began, delighted at the question.  "There are those that think them nothing more than swamp gas." He giggled.  "Government types mostly... no one with any ability to think for themselves.  Many, and I count myself among them, have other ideas."

     Dan stopped, looked around, turning his head as if checking to see if anyone was listening.

"Got peanuts?" he asked, patting me on the knee.

"I don't know.  In the mini-bar maybe," I replied.

"Bob look," Bob said, jumping at the chance to raid the bar.  "Ahh lucky day, Bob find beer."

Before I could object, Bob already had two bottles opened.  I hung my head in resignation, and waved him closer, to bring me one as well.

With a fresh pack of five dollar peanuts in one hand and a twelve dollar beer in the other, Dan began again.

     "Now where was I?" Dan asked with a full mouth.

"Swamp gas," I offered.

"Ho, ho, now that's funny.  Swamp gas.  Now I see it, Bob," he said, turning to him, spitting pieces of peanuts to the carpet as he spoke.

"Yes, Bob's friend very funny," Bob returned dully, lifting his bottle in my direction.

"Ahh, see that?  He likes you.  Bob doesn't like everybody but you... you he likes."

"I'm ­flattered.  Now, you were saying?"  I asked, trying to get the conversation back on track. 

"Oh, yes, yes.  Let me see... what do you know about Hawking radiation?  No, no, don't answer that.  I can see you've never read any of his stuff.  So, let's talk hypothetical... the lights on your disk are... ships... crafts...  ah...  transport vehicles for lack of a better description.

"The general theory is they are a interdimensional... a functional form of string theory if you will," Dan explained.

"I don't understand," I confessed.  I simply shook my head in response.  I had heard him speaking but had no idea what the hell he was saying.

"If, and you should know we're talking way out there sci-fi stuff,  Hawking is right, then these things can come and go in a split second because they're here," he said, taking a peanut from his mouth placing it on one end of the coffee table.  "And over here a split second later," he explained, producing another peanut, placing it at the opposite end of the table.

"Again, I don't get it," I admitted, looking to Bob for help.

"Yeah, I thought as much.  Look, I can tell you this..." Dan began again.  "Think of it as a black hole, like the one at the center of our galaxy.  It devours everything it touches with its gravitational pull... everything falls in and is torn apart down to its smallest molecular component...  even light can't escape.  Then, right on that razor's edge... right where matter gets stretched beyond belief and begins to be disassembled, the unbelievable happens...  an electron escapes.

"A new, powerful level of energy is released and that my friend is Hawking radiation."

"Dan, help me out.  Give it to me in twenty words or less," I pleaded.

He looked at me as if he had just laid out a twelve course meal and I had asked for a cheeseburger.

"I'm saying, the average size of a string should be somewhere near the length scale of quantum gravity," he said and shrugged, sipping at his beer.

"Christ, Bob.  What the hell?  Do you understand him?"

"Oh yes, yes he does.  If we can control that radiation, say reproduce it, then we can exist both as matter and as energy simultaneously," Dan said excitedly.

I wasn't certain if I was making headway or not.  Again, I turned my attention to Bob, hoping he could rescue me in some meaningful way. 

"Is saying, can travel in time," Bob said sharply, leaning forward.

"Yes, oh yes.  What he said," Dan cooed, pointing gleefully at Bob.  "With the ability to produce Hawking radiation you can travel faster than light... slipping from this time and space into another and then back again," he said, popping the two peanuts from the table back into his mouth, smiling broadly.

"Okay.  Let me get this straight... the lights are ships, right?"

"Oh, yes, yes, they are," Dan said, leaning back with relish as I struggled to wrap my head around what he was trying to tell me.

"And if I follow you, they are traveling through time...  possibly using some form of Hawking radiation... jumping from one dimension to another... right?"

"Yes, yes indeed," Dan said, proudly, beaming all the more.

"You guys are yanking my chain.  Get the hell out," I shouted, standing.

"Oh, no, no, we're not... what did he say?  Yanking his chain.  I was sitting here.  I didn't touch anything.  I promise, I didn't yank, no yanking here," Dan replied nervously, patting his shirt pockets as if he were searching for something. 

"Bob's friend want to know... now know.  You believe, not believe, what difference to Bob?  No yanking.  Bob promise...  Bob never lie," he said, standing as well.

I was taken back by the tone of his voice.  The look in his eyes, the expression his face held, all pushed me to full belief.

"You can't be serious... you can't be," I said softly, sitting again.

"I said hypothetical.  Right?  You heard me... hypothetical.  No yanking," Dan prattled.

"Space men.  Is that what you expect me to write?  That's the story I'm suppose to turn in?  You think the paper would even consider such a thing?  I'd be lucky to get a boot in the a*s on my way out if I tried to get this s**t printed."

Both men glanced at one another before shrugging in response.

"You don't get it.  I could lose my job over this," I said in frustration.

"Nyet.  Dan say spacemen, Bob's friend can believe spacemen."

"Bob," I sighed, sitting down.  I could feel my future slipping away before me.

 

"Look, I need this story... understand?"

Both men gave me a blank stare and a shake of their heads.

"Things haven't gone so well recently... not for the past four years.  I used to be the number one guy... top of the heap.  All the big stories... mine.  Now, I'm in the middle of the second driest state in the union chasing a story that's not fit to wrap fish."

"Fish

At that moment we were startled by the sudden staccato of someone pounding on the door.

"Police.  Open up," a man's voice ordered, pounding all the more.

My heart jumped in my throat as I undid the lock and turned the knob.

The door was suddenly pushed from the other side, forcing me backward.

Two men, each dressed in a black uniform, came quickly into the room.  The man, closest to me, placed a hand on my face and shoved me out of his way.

Immediately, Bob stood up in response and was shoved back down on the couch.

Dan pulled his feet up onto the furniture, trying to hide behind his knees.

     The men stepped immediately in a different direction, openly searching my room, my closet, my bath, even my suitcase.  I was to stunned to speak as they flipped over the bed and pulled the dresser off the wall, sniffing the air as they moved about the room.

"Where is she?" one of the men asked, stepping closer in a menacing way.

"Where is who?" I asked in all honesty.

"She was here... I can still smell her on you.  Where is she?" he repeated, stepping closer still, sniffing at me.

"I have no idea who you're talking about.  Now, if you don't mind, who the hell are you?"

Bob tried to stand once more but was shoved back into his seat.

"Where did she go?" he asked, shoving me again.

"Pal, I'll let the first one go because we're just getting to know each other but that's the second time you've pushed me so as you can imagine... I'm not happy," I said, feeling the heat of anger beginning to overtake me.

"I won't ask again," he responded, shoving me for the third time. 

I pulled back and slugged the b*****d with everything I had to offer.

The room erupted in chaos as Bob jumped from the couch, attacking the second man, all in one seamless motion.

The uniformed men were surprisingly strong, fast, far more so than I, taking me out of the equation quickly.

Bob on the other hand, held his own giving his attacker serious competition.

The second man jumped in to aid his companion, turning the tide in their favor.

Straining to get to my feet, I found one of the drawers from the upturned dresser and smashed it over the head of the man closest to me.  It was enough for Bob to regain himself but as the fight began to turn in our favor one of the men removed an object from his pocket.  Holding it in the flat of his open hand, it appeared to be little more than a dark, blood-colored marble shaped object.  He released it and it hung in the air floating before our eyes.  It glowed briefly and then, to my shock, exploded, breaking all the glass in the room, sending Bob and I to the floor.

My ears rang loudly in my head as I labored to roll over. 

Tightly clutching his knees to his chest, Dan still sat on the couch, the room having been destroyed around him and now as far as I could tell, our attackers were gone.

I turned my concern to Bob as he made an effort to sit upright.  Blood ran down his face from the cut under his left eye.

"That will leave a mark," I joked, happy he and I were still alive.

"Is okay," Bob said, getting to his feet, offering me his hand to get up as well.  "I have cousin."

 

 

Reviews

[Wendy Seames Garner]

I wonder how many cousins Bob does have. Very good, Tegon!