Chapter 5:

Guests of Honor

William wasn’t getting any work done. Instead, he worried about Lucifer 6, and marveled at how completely that stupid rock had hijacked his life. He worried about what was being done. The authorities, the director of NASA, General Smythe of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, even that lowly sap, Brion Mindur, had assured him they would keep him informed. Instead, he’d been completely cut out. Whatever was being done was now proceeding without William or Valerie, and nobody was bothering to tell him about it either.

William figured they must have other scientists; physicists and astronomers with higher clearance, working out the details, devising plans to destroy the rock. People tried and true and better at the sciences needed. But he was nervous nonetheless. What if they were doing nothing? What if they saw some insane advantage to such a catastrophe, and were simply allowing it to happen? He’d heard of stranger things.

After being ignored and put off for so long, William answered each call with the zeal of a desperate man. Ring, said his phone, and William’s hand flashed across his desk in response. He had no idea who was on the other end, but assumed each call was the one he wanted.

“Hello, William. How are you today?” said a kind and forthright voice.

“I’m good, thank you. How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you. My name is Harridge Wilborn. I met you a few weeks ago, at a debriefing in Washington.”

“What can I do for you, mayor?” William asked, excited to talk to a true authority, and not some sycophant, like Mindur.

“We’re throwing a gala to celebrate the sciences. In particular, we want to celebrate your rather profound and timely discovery,” Harridge informed.

“Then its public,” William stated, suddenly elated that he might be able to talk about it.

Mayor Wilborn laughed. “Not at all,” he said. “We’re just throwing a party.”

“Oh,” was all William could say. Questions rushed through his mind. Did this mean they’d destroyed Lucifer 6? Was the threat over? How had they managed it? Did Nathan Marvelous have anything to do with it? He couldn’t get a question out before the mayor continued.

“So we’ll see you next Friday? It’s at the Fifth Season in the Grand Ballroom,” Harridge elaborated. “There’s going to be wine, food, important people, and, of course, lots of money for the academy.”

This was a party about Lucifer 6?! Someone would have to tell him something! “Thank you, sir. Thank you very much!” William exclaimed.
“Yes, several patrons of the Academy are on the invitation list, lots of potential donors, too. Anyway, I might have overstepped my bounds a bit, since I’ve promised you’d be in attendance.”

“Well, this sounds like quite the party,” William noted, then promptly changed the subject. “Sir, can you tell me what they’re doing about the rock?” he asked.

“I can say that I don’t know much about it myself—but I can tell with a certainty that our good deputy mayor is doing excellent work on our behalf.”

William’s heart sank.

“Meanwhile, I concentrate on our city’s own issues,” Harridge continued. “Although this is important, it is an international issue, and we have local problems to attend. We can’t all gawk at the stars while our roads and bridges crumble under our feet, now, can we?”

“I’d never suggest otherwise, I was simply hoping you might have a bit of news…”

“But I bring the best sort of news, good man!” Harridge interrupted. “I bring news of a gala! I bring news of potential donors, of corporate and government grants! I bring news of funding for your most excellent endeavors!” The mayor exclaimed.

William had a sudden insight; this call would tell him nothing on the rock, and the party would likely run in a similar fashion.

“…The deans will be there, of course. They’re very pleased with your notoriety among all the right people,” Harridge continued.

“Oh,” William said.

“I’ve convinced them you’ll be there,” Harridge explained. “You can do that for me, now, can’t ya?”

“I’d love to come,” William offered, finding it hard to breathe. He wasn’t sure he should accept so easily—but the deans would be there—and patrons of the Academy.

“Good man! Oh, listen. Bring that cute assistant of yours. What’s her name?”

William went blank. Assistant? “You mean Valerie Williams? Doctor Valerie Williams?” He added.

“Yes, I do believe that’s her.”

“Valerie is my colleague. She’s an equal,” William insisted, only too happy to correct the mayor. Simultaneously, he realized the call he wanted for weeks was turning into something of a nightmare.

“She’s the one who helped with the rock?” Harridge’s tone was annoyed.

“Yes.”

“Then, right you are! Bring Dr. Williams, William, and bring your wife, of course. I hear she’s simply beautiful and quite the wit. I really can’t wait to meet her!”

“Sir, she doesn’t know anything about Lucifer 6. She doesn’t have clearance,” William noted.

“Well, I can’t help it if someone lets such a thing slip. But this is a private engagement, and I will invite who I want,” the mayor replied. “Yes, you must bring your wife.”

“I’m dumbfounded,” William admitted, knowing at once the mayor would read this as a compliment. Still, William realized this wasn’t an invitation. It was blackmail. On top of that, he was being forced to bring his wife! Bringing Valerie was one thing; she knew as much as he did about this rock, and wanted answers all the same. But dragging Emily into this mess was unconscionable. She had no inkling what was at stake, about the true severity of the situation—and William wasn’t interested in exposing her to such dire concern.

As worry stormed through William, the mayor continued to talk. “After all you’ve done for the world; this is the least we can do for you! Invitations are in the mail, so you’ll soon have all the details. With that being said, I simply had to invite you personally, let you know just how much we’ve appreciated your work!”

William fished for anything to say. “Thank you,” is what he settled on, with his face in his palm.

“You are most certainly welcome, good sir!” said the mayor. Then, just as quick as the conversation started, Harridge Wilborn hanged up.

William stared at the phone for a second before dropping his head to the desk, and banging the receiver against the bakelite base of the phone. Thump, thump, thump.

He looked up to find Valerie in his doorway.

“Rough day?” She asked.

William sighed. Mayor Wilborn had ordered her attendance—but he wouldn’t be so presumptuous. “I need a favor… There’s this thing. There’s this thing we have to do,” William fumbled.

“You’re channeling my father,” Valerie chided. “No ‘things’. No ‘dohickeys’. No ‘whatchamacallems’. Use your words.”

William locked eyes with his colleague. “There’s this party and we have to attend.”

“Is this about the rock?” Valerie asked.

“It is. The mayor said we have to be there. If not, he threatened our funding.”

“Did he now?” Valerie’s face went dark. She wasn’t about to be bullied simply because some idiot had a title.

“He wasn’t so crass as to say so directly, but yes, I think that was the gist of it,” William soft pedaled.

“That’s not very grateful, considering what we’ve done. Still, it’s a party. What’s so bad about that?” Valerie shrugged.

“For one, he wants me to bring my wife,” William noted.

“Did you tell her about the rock?”

“How could I?! We’re under order,” William stated. “Not that I want to tell her anyway.”

“Do you think the rock will be a topic of conversation? Are you worried that your wife will find out, or are you worried that with her around, people won’t talk to us?”

“I don’t know. Both I suppose,” William shrugged.

“There’s only one thing to do,” Valerie surmised. “You and I have to go. As for Emily, we’ll make up an excuse; we’ll say she’s at her mother’s, or caught the flu, or something. That way, anyone that’s willing to talk can do so, and you won’t have to worry about Emily finding out.”

“He pretty much ordered me to bring her,” William stated. “Everything he said was an order.”

“As long as we’re allowing ourselves to be blackmailed, I’d say there’s room for negotiation, if not incompetence and outright failure. I’m sure he’ll be fine as long as we offer a good excuse for your wife. After all, he’s getting two out of the three, and according to Meatloaf, that ain’t bad,” Valerie explained.

William slumped forward on his desk, “I suppose.”

Valerie stepped forward and tousled his hair. “Buck up,” she chided. “Maybe we’ll find out what they’re doing about this damned rock after all. And if not, well, we’ll wreck a party.”

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