Alex Benedict 07 - Coming Home (36 page)

*   *   *

Alex and I arrived in Andiquar shortly after sunset and grabbed a taxi. “First thing we should do tomorrow,” he said, “is get in touch with Marissa.”

“I’ll set it up,” I said.

“No hurry,” Alex said. “Let’s take care of it in the morning.”

We watched the gathering darkness settle over the western half of the city. Then we picked up the Melony, and, within a few minutes, we were starting down toward the country house. “I’ll be getting off here,” Alex told the autopilot. “Take Chase to 451 Khyber Lane.”

“Yes, sir,”
said the AI.

“But,” I added, “you’ll have to wait a few minutes for me. Okay?”

“I’ll put it on the clock.”

“Why?” asked Alex. “Did you forget something?”

The country house had once been an inn, providing services for hunters and travelers. But the surrounding forest had been substantially replaced by crystal houses and carefully manicured lawns. “Look.” I pointed down at it.

The lights were on in Gabe’s office.

O fortunate, O happy day,

When a new household finds its place

Among the myriad homes of earth

Like a new star just sprung to birth.

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
The Hanging of the Crane
, 1875
C.E.

He came out onto the front porch as we descended onto the pad and waved at us. Alex was out of his belt and opening the door while we were still a few meters off the ground.
“Premature,”
said the taxi in a stern voice.
“A penalty will be assigned.”

“Whatever,” said Alex. We touched down, and he climbed out. Gabe broke into a huge smile, came down the steps, and hurried across the cobblestones. They both stopped, stared at each other for a moment, and, without a word, fell into each other’s arms.

“Gabe,” Alex said, “I never expected to see you again.”

“I don’t feel as if I’ve been gone.”

They both laughed. “We thought you were dead.”

“That’s what I heard, Alex. I couldn’t believe it when they first told us what was happening. I’m glad you didn’t change the locks.”

Alex nodded, and Gabe looked my way. “Doesn’t show on you at all, Chase. You’re as beautiful as ever.”

I moved in and hugged him. “Welcome back, Boss.”

The taxi informed us of the amount of the penalty. Alex paid and told the taxi good-bye. It rose into the soft moonlight.

“It’s great to have you back,” said Alex.

“Do they know how it happened?”

“The physicists do. It had something to do with damaged space and the Armstrong drive.”

“Well, I’m grateful it turned out okay.” He released me, and we stood there looking at one another and shaking our heads. And, finally, we started back toward the house. “It’s strange,” he continued. “I don’t feel as if I’ve been away at all. I mean, I just packed my bags the other day. But this place is sure changed. The offices have been overhauled, and the bathrooms are different. The rear deck’s been rebuilt.” He looked down at the cobblestones. “Even the walkway.
Everything’s
different. And I see the property is home to your company. Rainbow Enterprises, is it?”

“Yes, Gabe.”

“Well, congratulations. I hope it’s doing well.”

“It is.” Alex sounded a bit tentative. He didn’t expect his uncle’s approval.

Gabe caught the reaction and laughed. “I see he was smart enough to hire
you
, Chase.”

“How’d you know?” I asked.

“The picture of your mom is still on your desk.” He took my bags, and we went inside. “Good move, Alex.”

“Chase isn’t bad.” He grinned at me. “She tends to be a little standoffish sometimes. But she’s a good accountant.”

We dropped the luggage just inside the front door, walked past Gabe’s renovated office, which was located opposite the conference room, and went into the study at the rear of the building. Shelves of hardbound books lined the dark-paneled walls. It was my favorite room. Gabe’s framed photos were still there: an abandoned temple with an ugly idol overwhelmed by forest, a broken column lying in a bleak stretch of desert, one of his excavation teams gathered in front of a pyramid beneath twin moons. A reproduction of Marcross’s portrait of Christopher Sim’s
Corsarius
hung beside the door. There were individual sketches of Gabe’s colleagues, and one of a four-year-old Alex.

Gabe produced a bottle of Saraglian wine and filled three glasses. We drank a toast to ourselves, another to Robert Dyke, and a third to JoAnn and Nick. Then we finished off the bottle, and Alex lifted his glass one more time. “To
you
, Gabe. For all the good years.”

“Thank you,” said his uncle. “I can’t imagine them without you, Alex.” He finished his drink. Then: “I’ll need you to bring me up to date. I’m glad, by the way, you didn’t get rid of the property.”

Alex looked surprised. “I always loved this place. I grew up here. No way I’d have sold it.”

“But you were living on Rambuckle. I’m surprised you came back.”

“You left it to me, Gabe. What did you expect?”

“To be honest, I never much thought about it.”

“The only reason I went to Rambuckle was that I needed to get closer to the area I was researching.”

“Okay. I thought you were upset with me. But it’s over, Alex. Let’s not revisit all that. Whatever you’re doing is your affair. It’s okay.”

“Thank you, Gabe.” Alex sighed. “I missed
you
. We both did.”

Gabe’s eyes locked on me. “How’s your mom, Chase?”

“She’s good. She’d want me to say hello.”

“I’ll call her myself in the morning.” He turned back to Alex. “You
do
live here now, right?”

“Yes. But I’ve been looking around. There’s a nice place over near the lake. I’ll be out of your way shortly, in a few weeks, if that’s okay.”

Gabe wrapped an arm around him. “You don’t have to go anywhere. For one thing, I’m not sure about the legalities here, but I think you own this property. I’m the one who should be looking—”

“No. I’m pretty sure there’s a legal provision for something like this. If there isn’t, I’ll turn it back to you as soon as Chase can put the paperwork together.”

“Thank you, Alex. That’s good of you. But this place is certainly big enough to hold all three of us. Chase, do you live here, too?”

“No,” I said. “I have a place up on the hillside.”

“All right. Anyhow, I appreciate your willingness to change the arrangement. If it’s okay, I’ll stay. But I don’t want
you
to leave.”

Alex hesitated. “Gabe, we run an antiquities business. I need some space for that—”

“It’s all right. I’m surprised you decided to continue the operation here.” He was referring to the fact that there was a lot more paperwork involved in dealing artifacts on Rimway than there had been on Rambuckle.

“I like the location. And Chase takes care of the details.”

“Well, good. Then you’ll stay, all right?”

“Yes. Of course. If you’re certain.”

“Absolutely.” He took a deep breath. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. Have you guys had dinner? No? Then why don’t we go celebrate? And maybe you can tell me what happened with the
Tenandrome
.”

*   *   *

I suspect anyone who’s reading this remembers the worldwide celebration that broke out two nights later. The rescued passengers, their families, and everyone connected with the operation got together in thirty-some sites around the planet and on the space station, using omnicron technology to shake hands, share drinks, and say hello to people thousands of kilometers away. It was unforgettable. Not only for the participants but for the millions who watched and celebrated with us. The Andiquar group assembled at the Miranda Hotel. President Davis said a few words but kept his remarks short. The families of JoAnn and Nick were in attendance, including JoAnn’s husband, Jerry, though they were on Sympatico Island. And Robert Dyke, the hero of the hour, who was
actually
in the building.

Gabe introduced me to people he’d met on the ship. They in turn introduced me to family members who teared up while talking about how it felt to have sons and daughters back, wives and friends, people they’d thought lost forever. The vast numbers who watched from home shared a similar sentiment. For the moment, at least, we had all become part of a single family. It was the event we would always remember. Not so much the rescue as the celebration. Nothing, they agreed, would ever seem the same again.

The
Capella
was declared stable within a few days. Its Armstrong drive unit was replaced, and it was brought home. As I write this, Orion has announced that it will relaunch the
Capella
in midsummer. When I told Alex that nobody would want to ride on it, he laughed and said how I didn’t understand human nature very well. He was right. They haven’t been able to print enough tickets.

We do not expect any more problems with time/space warps. There are, of course, other lost ships, and the recovery effort has been expanded.

The big party was followed by a more formal awards ceremony, which recognized the efforts of Captain Schultz and numerous members of her crew and the rescue teams. And, of course, Robert Dyke. And John Kraus, who told me later that, if they’d listened to him, the ship would still be adrift. But even in hindsight, he admitted, if he had it to do again, he’d make the same call. Take no chances.

Alex, Gabe, and I attended the soiree on Momma that Linda arranged for her husband. So we were present when Linda opened a door and showed him the Weinstein chair. It was the first time I’d heard a grown man actually
yip
.

*   *   *

Marissa was delighted to hear about her grandfather’s discovery. Alex did not lie about anything, but he was able to tell Baylee’s story in a way that emphasized his contributions. The explosion became a piece of terrible luck. But a mystery eight thousand years old had been solved. And without him, it would never have happened.

Gabe’s arrival did not change life at the country house as much as we’d expected. Alex again offered to move Rainbow Enterprises, and his home, to another location, but Gabe wouldn’t hear of it. My job expanded to include transporting my old boss to various dig sites across, and beyond, the Confederacy. He spent most of his first few months back simply catching up. One former planetary president had been indicted for corruption, and another was caught in a sex scandal. The Temple of Muntra had been destroyed in an earthquake. Robert Blandon’s grave had been found. The Selian Pearls, which Gabe had been trying to track down for years, had been recovered. He was of mixed emotions about that. His suspicions about the fate of Christopher Sim and the
Tenandrome
were confirmed.

And then there were the contributions of his nephew: Largely due to Alex’s efforts, the mystery of the lost
Seeker
had been resolved, and relations with the Ashiyyur had greatly improved. He congratulated Alex, and we spent the better part of a week celebrating.

Eventually, everything went back to the old normal. Gabe began rolling his eyes at Alex’s activities, but he was no longer saying anything. In response, Alex usually just smiled tolerantly. So, okay, you have to recognize that some things never really change.

A few weeks after we’d returned, Alex took off halfway around the world for an antiquities conference, and Gabe joined an archeological team which had discovered a four-thousand-year-old space platform. I was alone in my office, holding the fort. I was happiest when one or the other was out of the building. Or preferably both. It made for a quiet, relaxed atmosphere.

I’d taken eight or nine calls that morning when Jacob announced one that surprised me. Lawrence Southwick, wearing a happy smile, was on the circuit.
“Chase,”
he said,
“it’s good to see you again. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, thank you, Lawrence. How’s the Larissa effort making out?”

“That’s why I called. Is Alex available?”

“He’ll be out of town for a few days. Can I help you?”

“You going to be in this afternoon?”

“Yes. After two o’clock.”

“All right. I’ll come by about three if that’s okay.”

*   *   *

“He’s carrying a package,” said Jacob. “And he has someone with him. A woman.”

“Do we know her?”

“I do not recognize her.”

I met them at the door, and my jaw dropped. Madeleine O’Rourke. She smiled defensively. “Hello, Chase,” she said. “I hope you’ll let me in.”

“Chase,” said Lawrence, “you know Heli, of course.” The package was tucked under one arm.

“Of course.” I kept my voice as level as I could. “You’ll be happy to hear, Heli, that we didn’t get eaten by sharks.”

She nodded. “I’d like to apologize. I guess we went a little bit overboard.”

“
You
did?”

“Chase,” said Lawrence, “Heli has felt badly about what happened. What she did was at my direction. So it’s really
my
fault. We needed something that would—”

I was staring at Tokata. “How did you know where to find us?”

She squirmed while Southwick responded: “I have to take responsibility for that, too, I guess. I stayed in touch with Luciana. She mentioned that you’d indicated you would go to Eisa at some point. So Heli simply called Khaled. I
am
sorry. We meant no harm.”

“Let’s let it go, Lawrence, okay?” I turned away and led them into my office. “What do you need?”

“Some coffee would be good,” said Tokata.

I got it for them. And poured myself a cup, though at that moment I could have used something stronger. “Have you been back to Larissa yet?”

They looked at each other and smiled. “We have. We thought you would be interested in seeing this.” He laid the package on my desk.

“You found something.”

“Actually, we found a few things. But we especially wanted to show this to you and Alex.” I looked at it. “Go ahead,” he said. “Unwrap it.”

I peeled off the packaging and revealed a curved, stainless-steel plaque. It was rectangular, roughly nine by eight inches, with two globes representing the Earth. And the inscription:

HERE MEN FROM THE PLANE
T EARTH
FIRST SET FO
OT UPON THE MOON
JUL
Y 1969, A. D.
WE CAME IN PEA
CE FOR ALL MANKIND

At bottom were the signatures of the three astronauts, Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. And, of course, Richard Nixon, identified as president of the United States.

“We found a few other items, as well.” He handed me a sheet of paper listing them. A display screen from an early starship, a radio from the Mars colony, spectacles from an unknown source. (It’s hard to believe people once ran around wearing those things.) Several other items. But they were all insignificant in comparison to the plaque.

“We’re donating everything to the Winnipeg Science Museum. In Garnett’s name.”

“You could never have kept it secret.”

“I guess not,” he said. “I don’t know what we were thinking. Anyhow, we’re making sure that Alex gets some credit, too. Both of you.”

“I just do the paperwork,” I said.

Heli got out of her chair and extended her hand. “Congratulations, Chase.”