“You’ve never been on my plane, have you?” asked Dr. Zell. She had noiselessly walked up behind him. “How about a quick tour?”
Dr. Zell showed Juan some of the unique features of her jet. Her office, and two bedrooms, each with a private shower were found in this hallway.
“Wow, so much luxury!” exclaimed Juan. “How often do you use all these things?”
“I sleep on the plane about a week a month. And I do have guests regularly. The bedrooms are especially nice on overnight, intercontinental flights. It’s great to show up in London, Berlin, or Dubai, all fresh and ready to go.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Juan again. “You live an incredible life. I’ve often wondered what you did when you weren’t at the ranch.”
“It is a good life. And it comes with many responsibilities. My companies and foundations require a lot of my energy to manage. I have offices on six continents, and I spend a lot of time schmoozing other rich and powerful people. I’m not boasting, it’s just what it takes to keep the world running. But believe me, I love spending time at the ranch. It’s there that I can decompress, relax, and do my best thinking.”
As she spoke they were walking up the hallway towards the main cabin again. Juan liked all the nice things on this plane, and was imagining what it would be like to travel around the world. He was thinking it would be a great traveling home base for exploring other countries, like Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco. But his mind wanderings were cut short as Dr. Zell continued talking.
“Of course, I don’t keep it all to myself. I’m always looking to help others, but I’m not talking about charity. I don’t believe in charity. Take Judd, or Carl. They had skills and interests we needed, and we could provide them a good life. Or take you and your dad as another example. Not everyone wants to live on a remote ranch, and serve random guests, but it was a perfect fit for your mom and dad. It’s what they needed at the time. With your mom cooking and your dad tending to the ranch, what could be better? Of course, I’m very sorry we lost your mother. But the ranch is good for you, too, and as you grow, I’m sure we’ll have other opportunities that will be mutually beneficial.”
At this point they had come back to the front of the cabin and crossed over to the other hallway. Juan noticed that Judd and Carl were sitting on the white couches opposite each other, but not talking. It occurred to Juan again that Judd had a look of weariness about him.
The second hallway held a small gym and two more bedrooms.
“I don’t use the gym as much as I should,” said Dr. Zell. “In fact I haven’t used it for a long time. I just keep extra clothes in there,” she chuckled. “There’s a huge pile…oh, well, it’s been knocked down. Maybe from a rough landing.”
Then in a serious tone she said, “Juan, I want you to know I appreciate how you and your dad, and Lily and the rest of the crew, keep things nice and comfortable at the ranch. It is my refuge. I can count on you to be there, ensuring it is in good order, always ready for me, and my guests, if necessary. That means a lot to me. I’ll make sure you get a nice bonus for this trip, to help with some of those college expenses.”
“Oh, uh..sure. We like it, too. And thank you, thank you very much. It’s a refuge for lots of…” But the sound of loud voices in the main cabin caused Juan to stop speaking.
Carl was shouting, “You knew they would come again. You had almost a year to prepare. If you’d only paid attention and done your job, we wouldn’t be wasting time now.”
Dr. Zell pushed passed Juan and walked briskly to the front of the plane. Juan followed quickly behind her. As they arrived Judd began yelling at Carl.
“I warned you not to pin this on me you fat, lazy, jerk. I did my job. My men keep a secure perimeter and no one gets in. You and your team are the ones who-”
“Gentlemen, enough,” interrupted Dr. Zell with a stern but steady voice, as she and Juan entered the main cabin.
Judd and Carl were standing face to face in middle of the room, and Judd was jabbing Carl in chest with a thick index finger.
“Save your energy for tomorrow,” she continued calmly. “You’ll both need it. After we find her then we’ll review and correct mistakes that have been made. But we must focus on finding her before something worse happens.”
Dr. Zell smiled at Juan. “It’s been a long, stressful week for them. And Judd,” she turned to him, the smile now gone, “you know I don’t care for name calling. See to it that doesn’t happen again.”
At that moment Kyle, the co-pilot, poked his head out of the cockpit. “Hey, we’re about ready to land. Buckle up!”
Juan sat down in the same recliner as before, and clicked his seat belt. Much to his disappointment, Judd sat next to him this time.
“Man, I do love take-offs and landings,” said Judd. “It’s quite a rush even on a large airliner like this. You wouldn’t believe what it’s like to take-off in a fighter jet. Especially from a carrier.”
“You’re in the military?” asked Juan.
“Not anymore. I did sixteen years in the Navy. Yeah, what a rush. I miss it.”
“Were you a pilot?” prodded Juan.
“No,” was Judd’s simple reply.
Juan felt the plane shudder and thump as the landing gear deployed. Looking out his window he saw only darkness.
“There’s nothing to see out there. Not at night, anyway,” continued Judd. “Tonight you’ll sleep on the plane. Tomorrow, we’ll leave before light to track this girl down. And we’ll make Carl drag his fat ass with us. ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,’ as they say. Tomorrow will be hot, too. We’ll make the heat work for us, trust me. And don’t forget to watch your back, you’re not at that ranch anymore. This is a dangerous place. The ranch is a theme park compared to this.”
The plane bumped down onto the runway. Juan had no guesses as to where they were.
“Listen, Juan,” Judd continued, speaking softly. “I’m sure you don’t care for me, but Carl’s the one you should worry about. He’ll literally stab you in the back. Remember that.”
Juan looked at Judd, but said nothing in response. He realized his world had now changed, nothing would be the same again. Between the mysterious woman and these strange men, he wondered when, and how, this would end.
After they parked the plane, the pilots left for their living quarters. Dr. Zell showed Juan which bedroom on the airplane he could use that night.
“I’ll stay on the plane with you, so you don’t get too lonely. Tomorrow you’ll need to leave at first light. We’ll have breakfast before then. Make yourself at home, and get some sleep if you can. I’ll be back a bit later. And may I suggest a shower? You smell like a campfire,” she told Juan, before departing with Carl and Judd.
Juan tried to make himself comfortable in his bedroom. It was small, about the same size as his room at home, but this had it’s own bathroom. Before climbing into bed Juan did take a shower to rinse off all the dirt, sweat and smoke from the day. The hot water felt refreshing and relaxing. He was exhausted from his long hike, the life threatening predators, not to mention all the strange situations since then. He finished his shower, laid out his clothes for the morning, then climbed into bed. He still felt shocked by the girl in the cabin, and the airplane ride, and he was sure Judd was trying to frighten him, ‘quite successfully’ he admitted to himself. But, being young, he had a feeling of invincibility, too, so Judd’s words couldn’t hold him down for long. He thought about his dad and the girl, and wondered how they were getting along. And with those thoughts he fell fast asleep.
Some time later he woke to loud, but muffled, voices. He crept to his bedroom door and cracked it open so he could hear better. Dr. Zell and Judd were arguing.
“I still don’t see how you lost her,” Dr. Zell was saying. “It smacks of incompetence. I’m very disappointed. And now we have another person involved, and you know this place is top secret. We must be very careful of what he sees, because if he sees too much, he can’t leave.”
“Which is why I didn’t want his help to begin with,” replied Judd. “I’m not incompetent, we’re just not setup to intercept people arriving on the cargo ships. Our defense posture is towards keeping nosy people out of here.”
There were some mumbled words before Juan heard Judd say, “But what if we find her tomorrow?”
“You’d better find her,” snapped Dr. Zell. “Don’t come back until you do.”
“But what do we tell the boy about her? When we find her,” persisted Judd. “He’s going to see her, and ask questions. And if she’s alive, who knows what she’ll say.”
“I’ve got bigger concerns. I’m trusting you to handle the boy. Besides,” continued Dr. Zell in her usual smooth, calm way, ”I know it’s dangerous out there in the desert, very dangerous. And don’t think I didn’t notice your little change of attitude toward him when you learned about his mom. I’m not sure what your game is, but you’ve got twelve hours to find her. And if you do a good job, I might let you live.”
“Yeah, well, that reminds me,” replied Judd, calmly. “Carl better come, too. He never should have taken her out of the hangar. Or at least he should have alerted me sooner when she disappeared from the lab.”
“Yes, Carl will join you, don’t worry. He’s spent enough time indoors playing it safe,” Dr. Zell assured Judd. “But look Judd, let me be clear. We’re trying to save all of humankind here. We must keep our eyes on the end goal. Not everyone can understand, or are willing to understand, what we’re doing, or the steps we must take to succeed. You and I know this planet won’t last forever. We’re living on a ticking time bomb. Earth is already beginning to reject humankind. But we can save the human race. It’s within our grasp. This is a critical moment, we can’t afford anymore screw ups.”
Their voices grew quiet. Juan strained his ears to listen, but their words were indistinct. He opened his door and tiptoed down the hallway towards the front of the plane, until he could hear them clearly again.
“…Yes, of course,” Judd responded to something. “But why do you think they are coming back?”
“I don’t know. We’ve told them it’s unsafe. We’ve told them only machines can travel that far. We’ve told them at best they’d get sick and die. But somehow we’re being sabotaged from the inside. Word leaks that Earth exists, or something, and they are very curious and determined to get here,” revealed Dr. Zell.
“How many are out there?” asked Judd.
“So many questions!” barked Dr. Zell suddenly. “That’s not information you need to know to do your job,” she said curtly. “Now go get some rest before we fix things tomorrow. You look like you haven’t slept for days.”
At this, Juan crept back to his room and slipped into bed. A couple of minutes later he heard Judd leave the plane and shut the door. A moment later he thought he heard a light tap on his own door.
Juan’s heart began thumping fast. Did the doctor know he was listening? He sensed he was in even worse danger than he’d previously thought. What did she mean about people dying, and saving humankind? From what? And did she threaten Judd with death? He decided to pretend he was sleeping and not answer the door.
There were no other disturbances that night, and Juan eventually fell back into a fitful sleep. Before morning he woke several times, wondering where he was, and replaying the day’s events in his head until he remembered he was on the plane. The night dragged on and on, until suddenly it was over with a bang.
There was pounding on his door, “Juan, it’s 4 o’clock! Time to get up. We’ve got to get out before sunrise,” came the loud voice of Judd. “Let’s go!”