salad and water for her and a dish of chocolate ice cream and a cola for me. Jane spoke again, “Please understand that I’m doing this for you, to get you out of that room and back into the world. I’m not trying to embarrass you. But I have to warn you, Dr. Philippe knows we’re here.”
I looked at her. “What do you think he’ll do? Will he try to center me out?”
Jane answered, “You know him, the good doctor loves an audience.”
I got halfway through my ice cream when the great man appeared. “Well, Jane, hello! I see you’re both having lunch. Good for you!” And he smiled at me and placed his hand on my shoulder and spoke loudly, “How do you feel today?” Every gesture of his was telling the room, “This is my patient. This is her, my creation.”
As he made for the empty chair, I looked up at him quickly and smiled. No, not smiled. I beamed brightly at him and answered just as loud, “I’m feeling wonderful today, Doctor, and how are you? Isn’t this just a perfect day?” He stopped as he half sat and looked from me to Jane. Jane just smiled back. Dr. Philippe finished sitting slowly. I was so nice that he knew I was up to something.
I started the conversation first, “I’m glad both you guys are here. I’ve been doing some thinking lately and have made some decisions, and I want to tell you about them.” What I didn’t say was “And I’m doing this in public so that you, Dr. Philippe, have to play along.” I was being so catty that even I wondered how much practice I’d had at being a bitch!
I continued smiling sweetly. “We argued, disagreed, back a while ago over who I really am. Who I was. Well, I thought about it, and you know, Dr. Philippe, you were right. It may be a moot question and of no consequence. The fact is the person I was is now dead. It doesn’t matter who I was because that person just isn’t the one sitting beside you.” I didn’t really mean that deep down inside, but the good doctor doesn’t know that. I decided that I would keep any thoughts about Dayana to myself. I just wish I knew who Dayana is.
I kept going, “Well, I’m not dead obviously, but it will make it very confusing trying to get a driver’s license or file a tax return. Government people will just keep telling me that their records say I’m dead and they can’t deal with me.” I could tell that Jane wasn’t sure where I was going either, but she was a trained professional, and she knew when to sit quietly and only observe. Dr. Philippe, on the other hand, looked upset. He realized I had him out in the public, and he wasn’t sure what I would do in front of his audience. What’s more, we both knew he couldn’t sedate me out here in public.
Looking straight at him, I continued, “So there is no point in worrying about who I was. I’m better off thinking about who I will be. So, Dr. Philippe, I’m hoping you can get me the proper papers or whatever I need to have a new identity. Can you do that, Dr. Philippe?” Again, what I didn’t say was “Yes, Doctor, I’m circling, waiting for my kill shot.”
Dr. Philippe started slowly. “Well, I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about that. I’m not sure I’d know how to start. Jane, do you have any experience getting identification papers?”
Before Jane could answer, I cut back in, “Aw, come on, Doctor, you’re resourceful. I’m sure you could figure it out. How hard can it be to get phony ID?” Here it comes, Doctor. Grab onto your chair, Doctor. “Maybe some of your military bosses could help.” He froze, staring at the table. I could tell from the look on his face he was thinking, “How does she know about them?” I didn’t even want to look over at Jane. I didn’t want to lose the moment. I smiled sweetly and continued quickly, “Do you want to know who I want to be, Doctor?”
Dr. Philippe looked at me carefully now. He was wary when he spoke quietly, “Please tell me. What name do you want on these papers? Who do you want to be?”
“The name on the papers will be the new me. My name will be Wildfire. Just Wildfire. Is that okay with you, Doctor? Truth is I like the name Wildfire. It’s like my file, don’t you agree, Doctor?” I didn’t give him a chance to answer. I wasn’t smiling anymore.
I stared straight at him. His forearm was resting on the table. I took his hand in both of my hands, as though we were shaking hands. That placed his hand on its side, exposing his wrist. At the same time, a fork on the table slowly started to slide toward his wrist. I was not using pressure on his hand, no holding, no clasping. Nothing. I was just letting him know what I could do in a heartbeat if I chose.
“There is another thing, Doctor. You have a property of mine, and I want it back. You have a picture in your file that belongs to me. It shows my mother and a horse she gave me for my birthday. Please return it to me…immediately.”
Chapter 6
Safe Landing
“Zeus Spaceport, this is BatWing 4718 requesting clearance to land. Do you copy, Zeus Spaceport? Over.” Peter Griffin was in the cockpit of his spaceship as he was approaching planet Hera. His copilot, Doug Garder, was beside him.
Griffin’s earplugs came alive. “BatWing 4718, this is Zeus Spaceport. You are cleared to land. You are number 6 in the landing pattern. We have you at an altitude of thirty-five hundred kilometers on orbital vector Charlie-Zulu 135. Please maintain present course but descend to twenty-five hundred kilometers.” The voice on his earplugs came back. “And BatWing 4718, change your hailing frequency to seven-four-six, repeat seven-four-six, on your com-one. We will give further instructions on that frequency as you approach.”
Griffin replied into his mouthpiece, “Thank you, Zeus Spaceport. We confirm your instructions.” Peter Griffin was a seasoned and professional pilot. He was a career space force pilot from the time he graduated from the Interplanetary Aeronautic Academy at twenty-two years old. Now at thirty-six, he is a retired military pilot and is flying for a commercial transport company. He is more comfortable in the cockpit of a ship than standing on firm ground. In his career, he had seen many life-threatening events, but his talent has always got him out of jams. He was about to use his skills yet again.
Doug, Griffin’s copilot, was making adjustments on the spaceship’s communications panel. Doug had just gotten out of the military space force. He had never made it to full pilot. He loved flying but could never pass the exams. He hoped to fix that in this new commercial job. He knew he was flying with one of the best. Doug spoke to his pilot, “Peter, I’m looking forward to seeing the Zeus Spaceport. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard a lot about it. I’ve landed at the Cape Messina Federation Space Base, and I’ve landed in Qulan, but I haven’t put down at Zeus before.”
“Well, you are in for a real treat. It’s a big base, maybe fifty kilometers square, but I tell you, Spaceport Zeus is known for having the best of everything, and I mean the absolute best! They have better defenses than the military and better ground to space guns. It’s tucked in mountains, so it’s hard to attack, and so space vessels and airships are safe here. They got the best mechanics, the best food, the best liquor—real Earth liquor, not that synthetic stuff. They import the best merchandise and have the best hotels and sleeping quarters.”
Doug came back, “How about women?”
“I’ll just give you fair warning. When I say the best of everything, I mean the best of everything. But you will pay top dollar for everything. No matter how high the price, it will be worth the money, every credit you spend. Trust me on that one.” Peter smiled and winked.
“Aww, come on. Is it really that good?”
“Spaceport Zeus has only one boss. A woman named Musica put together the whole place. That’s her name, just Musica. It is completely her brainchild. Nobody knows a thing about her before she came to the Bode Galaxy. Who she was, where she got her money, how much money she has, nothing. I’ve never met her and never seen her. They say she is an older woman but still a real good looker, and they say she has a lot of class.”
“Was she a madam? Made all her money running a brothel?” Doug smiled.
“Listen up and I’ll give you a big tip. When we’re