Thinking of failures, he would make sure
that useless boy was at that meeting. He didn't care what strings he had
to pull to get it. Lucas would pay for his behavior. He knew the SeaQuest
crew cared for the boy. They would not be a large problem to deal with.
The main problems were Bridger and Westphalen. They had the most pull,
almost as much as he had. He laughed quietly as he smiled. The secretary
at the desk cringed. She made a mental note to look for a different job.
This man was insane.
The night continued for Lawrence the same
way it always did. He got home to a meal prepared by the cook. He finished,
making sure the cook knew there had been too much oregano for his liking.
The cook just nodded. He really could care less.
Lawrence settled in the den with the largest
selection of alcohol. He didn't see how people coped with life without
a drink. He sat back, pouring amber colored liquor to the top of the glass.
He considered what favors to call in.
The night passed. Lawrence was nicely drunk
by 2300 hr.. He was having a hard time getting up. He finally managed to
reach the vid link. It took him several tries to get the number right.
It seemed that his brain said one number and his finger found another.
The link finally was answered by a sleepy person.
He didn't even notice who it was. All his
brain knew was that he was mad. He lurched toward the screen.
"Well, well, look who has the intelligence
to finally answer the phone. You think you can get away with it, don't
you. Well, you have another thing coming. You think that stupid captain
can help you. He won't be able to save you from this. You will be at the
meeting. Then you get to come home to me. I can still make you pay!"
He had screamed at the person the whole time.
He was too drunk to notice the person's reaction. It turned from confusion
to clear anger.
He continued to berate the person on the
other side. Finally he noticed there were now two figures standing in the
picture.
"So, you got your captain to help protect
you!"
A clear british voice cut through the alcohol
fog clouding his brain.
"No, he heard everything you said from the
start. Let me make one thing clear to you Mr. Wolenczak, you will never
speak to me in that manner ever again. I will not be treated that way,
now or ever. Also you will not be getting near Lucas. Do you
think you can remember that simple thing?!"
Her voice was cold, clearly agitated, but
in control. Lawrence gulped, he hadn't counted on anyone else answering
the phone.
Nathan glared at the drunken man on the screen.
This man thought he was going to make Lucas pay. Nathan made sure the vid
link had recorded the conversation. This man would rue the day he tried
to hurt Lucas.
"This is a very simple warning. Do not ever
call here again. Don't bother Lucas or anyone else here. You have made
your intentions clear. Pull whatever strings you want, but I will make
sure you never touch Lucas again."
Lawrence's jaw almost hit the floor. He had
been slightly afraid, but now he was enraged. How dare this man tell him
what would happen with his own son!
"We'll see about that!"
Lawrence forgot he was using the vid phone.
He swung at the screen, effectively breaking the machine. He screamed at
the broken machine. The screaming tirade lasted until he finally fell into
a drunken slumber.
Nathan and Kristen watched as the picture
disappeared. They both were shocked, but also irritated. That man thought
he could talk to anyone however he wanted. He had threatened to hurt Lucas
in ways that made even the calmest person upset. Kristen looked over at
Nathan. He glared at the wall, then softened his look as he returned his
gaze to her.
"Want to take a walk?"
"Sure, it's not like we're going to be relaxed
enough to sleep for a while."
The walked to the laundry room and slipped
on sandals. The night air felt strangely soothing after the call. They
walked down the same path that Lucas had run earlier that day. Kristen
looked up at the stars above them. She smiled slightly as she remembered
a line from one of Katie's books.
The stars over head were unblinking. They
remained the same through wars, crucifixions, and resurrections. This too
would have pleased him.
It was a line from Stephen King's the Gunslinger.
Kristen started to relax. There were sometimes she wished she could have
the indifference the stars seemed to have. She looked over at Nathan. He
smiled at her. He had watched her watching the stars. She seemed to gain
control faster than he could. In a different situation he would have laughed
at the thought that popped into his head. Kristen seemed outwardly calm,
but she was just storing her reaction for when she could really make you
pay for it.
Kristen noticed the smile slowly forming
on Nathan's face.
"What?"
"Nothing, just lost in your radiant beauty."
She blushed as she looked inquisitively at
him.
"Radiant beauty?"
"Of course."
She shook her head.
"Nathan Bridger! You are trying to butter
me up."
Nathan nodded as he pulled her into his arms.
"Yup, but who better to butter up?"
He kissed her softly, laughing as he felt
her pull him closer. It was strange that she was as sexually aggressive
as he was. They finally pulled away from each other, then resumed their
walk. Kristen was the first to speak up.
"What do you think we
should do about this?"
Nathan shook his head.
"I'm not sure. Let's
talk to Lucas first, then decide how to keep him away from that drunken
idiot."
"I bet he won't even
remember what he said or did tomorrow."
"True, but that doesn't
mean it will be forgotten."
Kristen nodded.
"One of my ex-husbands
loved to get drunk, start trouble, then forget what happened. He expected
everyone to just accept it as ok since he was drunk."
"I had several officers
like that. At first I tried to help them, but I finally just had to let
them learn for themselves."
"He won't ever get near
Lucas."
"That's for sure."
With that they linked
hands and turned back to the path. They walked letting life become more
rational. They finally walked back to the house and went to bed. Tomorrow
was not going to be an easy day.
~~~~~more to come!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`