The Crying of Ross 128: Book 1 in the Ross 128 First Contact Trilogy by David Allan Hamilton

Author:David Allan Hamilton [Hamilton, David Allan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: DeeBee Books
Published: 2018-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Atteberry

Half an hour later, Atteberry retrieved Esther’s coat for her at the front door. Mary sat on the nearby stool they used for tying up their shoes and boots.

Esther knelt down and smiled at her. “Well, it was a lot of fun talking with you tonight. I learned all kinds of new things.”

“Thank you for coming over.”

Atteberry took Esther’s hand and went through the motions of helping her stand, but his mind was elsewhere. Then he patted Mary on the head. “Go get ready for bed, Mares.”

“Okay, bye!” She slid off the stool and dawdled down the hall, tapping her fingers along the wall.

When Mary was in her room, Atteberry whispered, “So you and Whitt aren’t just scientists?”

“We are researchers first and foremost, but our jobs comprise more than just space programming and the lecture circuit.”

“The politics, you mean.”

“Jim,” Esther looked him straight in the eye, “at this level—probably at any level, really—doing the science for its own beauty is rare. There are always other interested parties paying close attention to what we do: politicians, militaries, corporations, terrorists, and who knows who else.”

“I suppose that’s why someone was watching the house the other night?”

“I have no doubt. It happens more frequently than you might think.”

“But I don’t understand this other power you and Whitt have to arrest people. What’s that about?”

She hesitated, a hardened look on her face, then said, “It wasn’t always this way, but the war changed everything. The top scientists were all in bed with various generals and powerful leaders. They demanded, and got, these additional legal powers to curtail suspected espionage. It helped stop the infighting and allowed organizations like the TSA to operate without fear.”

Atteberry bit his lip. “Have you ever...?”

“Arrested someone? Yes, I have. At my previous job. A lunatic who kept showing up at the oddest times claiming to have been abducted. As I recall, he was a pretty smart mathematician, but snapped somewhere along the way.”

“What happened?”

“I had the security guards hold him in the detention cells at the lab. Left him there three months while the in-house shrinks looked him over. It was some kind of imbalance with his meds in the end, or so they believed. I wasn’t convinced.”

“And when you released him?”

“I haven’t authorized his release yet.”

Gazing up at him, her eyes suddenly teared and her face showed great pain. Atteberry squeezed her shoulder and rubbed it gently, and she leaned toward him ever so slightly, then pulled away.

She attempted a smile but her lower lip trembled. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. I’d love to do it again sometime. Would that be okay?”

Atteberry’s confusion dampened his excitement, and he was about to agree with her when the familiar sound of the radio alert chimed from the basement.

“Do you hear that?”

Esther cocked her head and dabbed her eye. “I do. Is it Marshall again?”

“There’s a way to find out. Come on.” As they descended the stairs, Atteberry shouted, “Another one, Mares!” She thumped down the hall and fell in behind Esther.

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