Chapter 37
The Green-Eyed Monster
1. The sons and daughters of Xander and Jerusha numbered six, three sons and three daughters.
2. The firstborn were twins, a daughter named Sharon after the rose that flowered on the day of her birth,
3. And a son who was named Simon Ulixes to honor both of his grandfathers as was tradition for firstborn sons.
4. The brother and sister grew in stature and grace and were taught in the ways of the Lord.
5. When they reached their eighteenth year, God spoke to Sharon and told her,
6. Find me a stone that was brought from your homeland that I may write upon it.
7. And Sharon and Simon began a journey to the far reaches of their new planet which had been named Eden.
8. They journeyed from city to town, through valleys and over rivers in their quest for the stone,
9. And none could help them until they reached a far village to the west of the great mountains.
10. There a rich merchant told them, I have what you seek.
11. My father brought it from our homeland that it should serve as his monument when he is dead.
12. And Sharon and Simon rejoiced that the Lord had guided their footsteps to the Kobol Stone.
The Cylon Scriptures, Book of Xander, Chapter 8:1-12
.
The table in the private dining room on the second floor of Mable House was crowded. In addition to Kara, Lee, Hunter and Maya, tonight Laura also had Bill Adama and Romo Lampkin as her guests for dinner. With her son in his high chair, it made her think of her family…of years past when her mother and father and brother were still alive…and of her husband and their children…of the ones she loved.
She looked around at everyone before she stood and lifted her glass of wine.
"I propose a toast to both Lee and Romo for the independent inquiry's findings. Lee, we all knew you and your fellow officers were innocent of any wrong-doing. Romo, we knew that with a little help from you, the entire panel would see it."
"Thank you," Lee murmured modestly. "Mr. Lampkin gets most of the credit. He stopped Zarek in his tracks when he tried to paint August Bernard as the innocent victim of a military massacre."
"Even with all the evidence pointing to your innocence," Romo said, "the vote still came back four to one in your favor. Zarek would never abandon his position that the three of you were guilty of causing the death of his former fellow prisoner."
"The important thing is that no one else sided with him," Laura replied as she smiled. "Your words about Mateo Oraibi's list of the dead were enough to sway even Sarah Porter. A four-to-one vote isn't a unanimous exoneration, but it's one more vote than was needed to close the inquiry and let our young officers get on with their duties."
Lampkin smiled. "Both Sarah Porter and Jacob Cantrell saw the handwriting on the wall and became the proverbial rats abandoning a sinking ship. As soon as my staff completes the comparison of the death list to the signatures on Zarek's petition, I think he'll be forced to admit that some of those signatures were forged."
Lee said, "He'll claim he didn't have any knowledge of it."
"Of course he will," Laura said. "He certainly isn't going to stand up and say he authorized his men to fake signatures on a petition although I'm sure that's what he did."
Bill, who had remained silent until that point, said, "He can disavow knowledge but it doesn't mean he's not responsible. Anyone with half a brain in the Quorum will come to the same conclusion. The public will, too."
Lampkin said. "Don't be so certain the public will buy his complicity en masse. He has a great many loyal supporters, especially among the Sagittaron contingent here in Caprica City. He's also got support among the anti-government faction. To them he'll always be seen as a political prisoner instead of a criminal."
"What does all that mean?" Kara asked. "If some of the petition proves to be forged, will he get to remain on the Quorum or not?"
"I'll defer that question to Romo," Laura finally said.
"This situation has never occurred since the Quorum came into being. Unless one of Zarek's men is willing to come forward and testify that Zarek was aware of petition forgeries, I don't think a charge against him will stick."
Bill said. "If it comes to that, one or more of his men will fall on their swords for him and admit they were responsible."
Lampkin said, "It's not worth the trouble we'd be going to. By the time we could mount a real investigation, Zarek's term will be up."
"True," Laura added. "Zarek was only appointed to fill Perah Enyeto's seat on the Quorum after she was killed during the holocaust. That term runs out at the end of this year."
"I think Coretta Howliss would be a good representative for Tauron," Lee said.
Bill said. "Mrs. Howliss would need major funding to run against Zarek. He's got the backing of the remaining tylium consortium members since they've got a monopoly on the tylium now."
Lee said, "But the people who are still alive on Tauron are in the north. They've always hated what the tylium consortiums did to their land. I think Mrs. Howliss would get most of their votes."
"It won't matter," Lampkin said. "You can't forget about the large number of Tauron refugees on Caprica. Most of them came from Hypatia and Tauron City. The consortium has been buying their votes for years. There's nothing to stop them now that they're the only game in town."
Laura sighed. Lampkin was right as usual. "I guess I'd better get used to dealing with Zarek even if he's gotten his wings temporarily clipped."
"Temporarily is the key word," Bill said. "Like the rest of his kind, he'll use the opportunity to paint himself as a man of the people. He'll visit a few soup kitchens and homeless shelters until the publicity from the inquiry blows over. Then it will be business as usual for him."
"Until he screws up again," Lee said to them. "I'm sure you'll all be up for the task of reining him in just like you were this time."
As Lee took a sip of wine, his mobile phone vibrated. He discreetly glanced at it thinking that it would be Kendra wanting to talk about the inquiry, but the number was blocked.
Kara said, "Why didn't anyone mention the Galactica was taking the Cylon's remains to Gemenon tomorrow?"
There were several long moments of silence. Bill finally answered her.
"I don't think anyone was trying to keep it a secret."
Laura asked," How did you hear about it?"
"Out at the airbase this morning. Colonel Spencer asked for a volunteer for the burial detail."
Laura and Bill glanced at each other and then she said to him. "I thought you told me that was handled late last week."
"It was."
Kara said, "Karl had volunteered. He had to drop out because of Sharon having her baby. I volunteered to go in his place."
"You did what?" Lee asked in disbelief. "Why?"
"Because of Karl…and Sharon. They're my friends."
"Did you not think of how that would look to everybody considering your relationship to Laura?"
"It's me doing it, not Laura," Kara said defensively, but even as she said the words, she knew what Lee meant. Jackson Spencer had said the same thing. Kara lowered her eyes. "I won't go."
"I can't believe you even volunteered in the first place…" Lee started.
"Lee," Laura interrupted him. "I'm sure when Kara did it she was only thinking about her friends not about how it would reflect on me."
Kara took a deep breath. "It's not like I care about the Cylons," she said with defiance in her voice. "They murdered billions of humans and…and put that virus into birth control patches and kids' vaccines. In my opinion they got exactly what they deserved."
No one said anything.
Bill finally said, "I think you've made a wise decision not to go. No one would look at it from your point of view. It would be the lead story on the six o'clock news. Laura's opponents would use it against her."
"With Tom Zarek leading the bunch," Lampkin said. "There're already rumors being spread on the internet that the suicide bombing was a government-sanctioned action to keep the Cylons from being put on trial and revealing the theory that the government of Caprica and the military were complicit in the holocaust."
"That's total bull…baloney!" Bill said adamantly.
Lampkin added, "But apparently some people don't have enough to do with their time so they sit around dreaming up theories and then look for a way of proving them. We'd like for the issue to die a quiet death, not provide fodder for the extremists in our midst."
"Kara," Laura said gently. "It was a nice gesture for you to make for your friends. I understand why you did it. I'm well aware of your loyalty to Karl and why you feel the way you do, but I'm also sure you understand why it would be very unwise to actually do it."
Kara nodded. "Colonel Spencer said if I wasn't out there in the morning, he'd go in my place."
Now it was Bill's turn to show surprise. "Jackson Spencer is going to accompany the Cylon's ashes to Gemenon?"
"Yes, sir. He wants to see how the planet looks now. He was born there."
"I didn't know that," Bill mused. "He's probably not too pleased his home planet was chosen for their final resting place. Of course it's not really the planet. Their ashes will be released far above the atmosphere."
"We didn't talk about that," Kara said. "I told him I thought it would be a mistake for him to see what Gemenon looks like now. I wouldn't want to see Picon."
"Gemenon didn't look nearly as bad as some of the planets," Lee said. "Some scientists hoped to find survivors in the mountains at the monotheist compound because radiation levels were very low there. It looks like they all starved to death."
His phone buzzed again. He glanced down. Another blocked number.
"Who keeps calling you?" Kara asked.
Lee shrugged. "The number's blocked."
At the end of the table, Braedon banged his spoon on the highchair tray several times and said, "Down."
Maya stood and lifted him. Hunter stood also.
"Excuse us," Maya said. "Time for someone to get a bath and get ready for b-e-d."
After Maya and Hunter had left with Braedon, Laura said, "Thank you, Kara, for considering my position on the Cylons."
"Which is?" Kara asked. "Just so I'll know."
Laura was no longer surprised by Kara's directness. Then she smiled slightly. "Officially or unofficially?"
"Both."
"Officially I wish we had been able to put them on trial since they are sentient and long ago made a decision to destroy us. I would have liked to hear them try to defend their actions in court. And no, I wouldn't have been afraid of anything they might have given as a reason."
"So that's your official position?" Kara asked.
"I abhor violence, but on a personal level I can't say that I'm sorry for their fate. What I can't condone either personally or professionally is that young man taking the law into his own hands."
Kara said. "So if the Cylons had gone on trial and been found guilty and we'd executed them, that would have been okay, but since Tucker did it, it's not?"
"What are you trying to say?" Lee asked.
"Just trying to understand Laura's feelings about what happened to the Cylons," Kara answered.
"Kara has a valid question," Laura said. "The difference is that they would have had a trial first. Their sentence might not have been death. It might have been life in prison. Kara, certainly you understand that the government can't condone letting individuals decide who lives and who dies or even which crimes are worthy of death. That's up to our legal system."
"I understand what you're saying," Kara said. "What I don't understand is that Natasi was in with the rest of them who made the decision to destroy us and you're not putting her on trial."
Laura glanced at Romo Lampkin. "We haven't decided her ultimate fate, yet. She's been helping us, somewhat reluctantly I might add, but helping us just the same."
Lampkin added, "There might come a time in the future when she'll be called upon to help us again. It's in our interest to keep her happy and cooperating for the moment. With her we're operating on the premise that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
"She's like that Six on Nereid who was with my dad," Kara suddenly said. "The bitch who hit him. I wish I could have gotten to her but Dad got between me and her."
Laura felt her breath catch. "You mean she looks just like Natasi?" She managed to ask.
Kara wanted to say, Duh, Laura. Of course she looks like Natasi. She's a frakking Six. Instead she said, "Bleached white hair and all. He called her Sonja."
"Sonja," Laura said the name, envisioning a platinum-haired Six in a sheer blouse and black bra like Natasi had once worn, a woman who exuded sex from every pore. "How was she dressed?"
"Nothing special. Slacks and a blouse. I think the slacks were black. Low-heeled boots instead of stilettos. I was trying not to look at her. I knew as soon as she saw my eyes she'd know…" Kara's voice had grown soft with remembering how overjoyed she had been to see her father that day and how hard it had been to try to hide it. And then she felt the kick of pain at leaving him behind, knowing he was still on Nereid at the mercy of the Cylons. At the mercy of that bitch who had hit him like she owned him.
Lee's phone buzzed again.
"Just answer it," Kara said harshly. "If it's a wrong number you can tell them so they'll quit interrupting our dinner."
Lee got up without a word and left the table. Out in the hall he answered the phone.
A woman's voice said tentatively, "Lee?"
"Shelley?"
"Is this a bad time?"
"It's as good as any. What's up?"
"You told me…that day…the day we talked in your office. You said to let you know about any arrangements for Tucker."
"You got his body released?"
Shelley took a deep, trembling breath. "Your CO Major Parker is a very nice man. He made some phone calls and helped me with the paperwork. We're having a graveside service. Four o'clock Friday afternoon at Thanatos Cemetery. Go to the gate on Hemlock Street. It's exactly three tenths of a mile from there. You'll see us."
"You and Troy?"
"And a few more of Tucker's friends."
"Did you call Colonel Winters?"
"No."
"Do you plan to?"
"No."
"Why not, Shelley? Tucker worked for him at the Academy."
"You can call him if you want to. Winters and I didn't exactly part on the best of terms. Will I see you there?"
"I'll be there."
"Just one more thing, Lee. We don't want this leaking to the press. We don't want it turned it into a media circus. That's the last thing Tucker would have wanted. This is for us…for his friends. So be careful who you mention it to."
"I will."
He ended the call and walked back into the dining room.
Kara's look was a question mark.
Lee sat and took a sip of wine before he said, "Shelley."
"What did she want?"
"She wanted to tell me about Tucker's funeral."
"Ah, so someone is burying the young suicide bomber." Lampkin commented.
Lee nodded and took another sip of wine.
"I guess you're going," Kara said.
"We were Academy classmates…and friends."
"Aren't you worried about how it will look?"
"The public isn't invited."
"That's a sure guarantee that nobody will find out about it," Kara said sarcastically.
Lee glanced up at his father. "If you've got a problem with me going, now would be a good time to mention it."
Laura looked at the admiral. "What would you do, Bill, if you were in Lee's place?"
Bill paused with the glass of wine halfway to his mouth. "If the man was a friend of mine, I'd go and publicity be damned."
Romo drained his glass. "I think I'm going to call it a night. Thank you, Madame President, for your kind dinner invitation."
"It was the very least I could do," Laura said. "And you don't need to rush off."
Lampkin smiled and patted his jacket pocket. "I'd better go before you notice the sterling flatware is missing."
Laura also smiled. "You told me you were attending Kleptomaniacs Anonymous."
"I've missed a few meetings recently."
"Go," Laura joked, "before I have Edgar search you."
Lee said, "Thank you again for today, Mr. Lampkin."
"It was truly my pleasure. Now let me get home and feed the cat. Lance is unhappy if his kibble is late. He complains loudly to the neighbors and they complain loudly to me."
When Lampkin was gone, Bill said, "Why would a grown man as busy as Lampkin want to keep a cat?"
"Lance belonged to his wife who died in the holocaust," Kara said. "That's what Mr. Lampkin told my dad."
Laura said, "I once had my doubts about him being an effective Attorney General. Now I feel ashamed for those doubts."
"I watched his interrogation of Natasi," Lee said. "Major Parker told me I should watch it and learn. It was probably the best interrogation I've ever seen."
Laura said. "Romo has established a bond of trust and rapport with Natasi that still amazes me. She cooperated with us again last week. I'm meeting with Gaius Baltar in the morning to see if he'll reward her for us since that's her heart's desire."
"Gross," Kara said. "Too much information about those two."
Laura poured another few sips of wine into her glass and couldn't help smiling. For all her maturity in some areas, Kara was a typical teenager in others.
Kara stood. "Dinner was nice tonight…as usual. And I do understand why I shouldn't go to Gemenon tomorrow."
Lee also stood. "We really do appreciate you feeding us every night."
"It's the least I can do…and it assures me that I'll see Kara at least once a day. She rarely makes it to breakfast with us."
Kara grinned. "What can I say? I like to sleep as late as I can."
Lee smiled. "So you can ride that motorcycle like a bat out of hell getting out to the base."
"I've got to keep my senses sharp and combat ready since I can't fly right now."
"What do you think of the Mark VII?" Bill asked.
Kara smiled. "I'll let you know when I see something besides a picture of one. I'm still doing the classroom part of the training."
As soon as Kara and Lee had left the room, Laura looked at Bill. "Let's go to my sitting room and talk. We'll be more comfortable and the staff can clean this room."
In a few minutes they were settled on opposite ends of the small couch. Bill had a glass of straight whiskey.
He said, "Just to keep you in the loop, there's a reason Major Parker was so helpful to Tucker's friend. Agent Darren wanted to know where the funeral would be and when so they could get agents in place ahead of time. By helping Tucker's friend, Parker got that information."
"What is Agent Darren going to do in regards to Tucker's funeral service?"
"Nothing except photograph everyone who attends the service and every vehicle they're driving. His agents will look like the cemetery staff or someone visiting another grave. They won't interfere with anything. No one will realize what they're doing."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Darren thinks so. They know Tucker had help, but every lead has dead-ended. Darren's team is frustrated and hopes to get some new leads in the investigation from someone who attends the service."
"They'll photograph Lee."
"He'll be eliminated as a suspect. Darren knows Lee couldn't have been involved. He was on the Penelope when Tucker was planning his suicide mission."
"Shouldn't you tell Lee what's going on?"
Bill shook his head. "He's going to mourn his friend. I don't want to take away from that. Lee wasn't involved in this tragedy. He doesn't know anything about it. I told Darren they should leave it be. This was about destroying the Cylons. Now that they're dead, it's over. In my opinion Clellan saved the government the cost of a trial and execution so I think continuing the investigation is a big waste of time and money."
"I'm afraid that's simply not in Agent Darren's nature." Laura got up and poured a small amount of whiskey into her glass. When she sat down, she said, "You were worried about the independent inquiry, weren't you?"
"So were you. Sending Lampkin to watch over them was your idea."
"Anything can happen when we're dealing with somebody like Zarek, but justice prevailed."
"This time…thanks to Lampkin."
Laura smiled. "Romo told me that Lee was very eloquent as well. And very cool under fire…just like his father."
A ghost of a smile played about Bill's lips. "He owes that more to his grandfather than to me."
She hesitated and then said, "I'm so very glad that Kara didn't insist on going to the Galactica with the Cylons' ashes. Two months ago I think she would have and I couldn't have stopped her short of locking her up somewhere. Spending a month on Nereid changed her…or something did. Now there are times she seems to be carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders."
Bill studied her for a few moments. "She's not the only one. You look tired, Laura, more than tired."
"The last several weeks have not been good ones for me."
They sat in silence for a long time. There was no need to discuss everything that had happened to her during the last few weeks. Bill was well aware.
Finally Laura asked, "Are Dr. Rafferty and his assistant making any headway with the canister design that Kara brought back from Nereid?"
"I talked to Rick several days ago. He said that Kevin understands the schematics, but duplicating them is not as easy as throwing a handful of parts together. He doesn't know if they'll have something ready when we go to Nereid or not. I told him to stop working on the second Raider now that we've got the first one back and to concentrate all their efforts on the canister. Disabling those centurions without engaging them in fire fights would save a lot of lives."
Laura's eyes searched his. "When do you think…?"
"Four to six months...minimum."
"That long?"
Bill sighed patiently. "My last plan took almost four years to develop and implement. I'd say four to six months is reckless in the extreme. This isn't going to be just a war fought in space over Nereid. We'll be fighting on the ground, too. Even a year would be pushing it to plan a good campaign considering the gaps in Hunter's information."
"It's just…" she sighed deeply.
"You want John back."
"Yes. Although…" For a moment she couldn't bring herself to say it and then she plunged ahead. "If he's been with that Sonja…" She took a deep breath. "She's beautiful. She's young and sexy. She probably knows things about men that…"
"Laura," Bill said almost harshly. "Don't do this to yourself."
"How is it possible to be jealous of a woman I've never even seen…although I have seen her, haven't I? I look at Natasi and I'm seeing Sonja. John might not want to come home to me," she said and heard the anguish in her voice.
Bill took her hand and squeezed hard enough that she gasped in pain. "I know there are men out there who would be fools just like Gaius Baltar is when it comes to a Six, but John is not one of them. He loves you, Laura. Don't ever doubt that." He let go of her hand, then took it again and rubbed it. "I hurt you. I didn't mean to."
She looked up at him with tears glistening in her eyes. "You never could simply apologize when you hurt someone. Not to me or your wife or your sons. You just can't let go of your pride long enough to say it, can you?"
Bill's jaw tightened. He took a breath and then said, "I'm sorry I hurt you, Laura. You don't know how sorry I am or how often I've wanted to go back and change the past. The biggest mistake of my life was letting you go."
He had finally said the words that Laura had waited nearly twenty-three years to hear. She lowered her eyes. It was an emotional moment for her, but then her emotions had been raw ever since she'd found out John was still alive and in the hands of the Cylons.
He gently lifted her chin. "Am I forgiven?"
She managed a sad smile as a single tear tracked down her cheek. "Oh, Bill, you were forgiven years ago."
Overcome with emotion he bowed his head and Laura decided that she and Kara weren't the only ones whose lives had been changed by the events of the last six weeks. Bill Adama's life had also been changed and tonight it had changed again. Tonight they had finally lain to rest the ghost of the relationship that had haunted both of them since their youth, a relationship that had ended in so much pain for her. They could begin now to forge their future.
…
Out in the corridor, Kara took Lee's hand and led him to the elevator. They got off on the first floor and went through two doors onto a terrace that was enclosed on three sides by the building. In one corner there was a marble fountain with a statue of Posiden at its center. His sea nymphs or nereids sat around his feet. Their toes and the hems of their marble gowns trailed in the water. Sparkling jets spouted from the mouths of the dolphins that surrounded the basin.
"I talked to Zak this morning," he said. "He told me why he broke up with Maggie. He thinks he's going to die in Sovana and he doesn't want her back here waiting for him. I told him that was stupid, but you know how Zak is when he gets an idea in his head."
"I said something to Maggie out at the airbase. She thinks Sovana has got him all frakked up."
"Zak lost a friend last week, a guy he finished basic training with. They were on patrol."
"You lost a friend, too," Kara said gently.
"I didn't actually see Tucker blow himself up. Zak saw his friend get his head blown off."
Kara took a deep breath. She'd seen a lot of death in the refugee camp when the flu went through. She'd seen the bodies of the old man and woman who'd committed suicide, but she'd only seen one person actually die. She and Keshia had been holding Yolanda Brenn's hands when she had taken her last breath. Coming so close on the heels of nearly losing Lee and thinking she'd lost her father, Yolanda's death had left her emotionally numb and feeling lost. In some ways she still felt lost.
Lee finally said, "So what's Maggie going to do? Is she going to wait for Zak to come to his senses or not?"
"We didn't talk about it."
Lee put his arms around her. "I'm glad today's over."
"Just so you'll know, we're on camera. There's security cameras all over the place including out here."
He grinned. "Since when did that bother you?"
He kissed her, their lips coming together gently at first and then the kiss deepened.
Desire washed through her and she felt his body answer. "Let's go up to my room," she whispered. "There's no cameras in there."
Lee put his mouth at her ear. "Hunter will expect me to head back to the apartment with him soon."
"Between Maya and Brae, they'll keep him entertained."
"What if Laura comes looking for you?"
Kara smiled. "There's a lock on my bedroom door."
"We won't have very long."
"It won't be the first time."
They left the terrace and began walking toward the elevator. "I'm not the one who always goes to sleep right after we make love."
She smiled. "Good. Then I won't have to worry about you fulfilling your role as Hunter's chauffeur and babysitter."
…
John held Rachel and looked into her blue eyes. At two weeks old, she looked like she was focusing on him. As he talked to her, she brought one tiny fist to her mouth and gnawed on it despite the fact that Petra had just nursed her.
He had a headache that had not gone away even after the two cups of coffee he had drunk earlier that morning…a headache that was his own fault. The night before he had finished a half-full bottle of whiskey. A stupid thing to do since he doubted Sonja would give him another one, but he'd done it anyway.
Cassie climbed onto the sofa beside him and pointed to Rachel.
"Baby," John said to her. "Can you say baby?"
"Chon," Cassie said and pointed to him.
"That's right. I'm John. This is Rachel. She's a baby. She's your baby sister."
Cassie tugged at Rachel's blanket.
Petra walked into the room with a steaming mug of coffee and put it on the table beside him before she took Rachel.
Cassie immediately climbed onto his lap.
"Cassie, honey, go play with your toys and let John drink his coffee." Her daughter made no move to leave John's lap.
"It's okay," John said as Cassie put her head against his chest. He gently stroked the child's soft brown curls.
"I think my daughter is a wee bit jealous of your attention to Rachel. She's like that with her father, too."
John smiled despite his pounding head. "My daughter and my son are so far apart in age there's no competition. I had no idea the green-eyed monster reared its head at this age."
"I have…had a younger brother," Petra said. "I can't remember when I wasn't jealous of the time my father spent with him. We were very competitive."
"I was the youngest of five brothers. You don't need to explain anything to me."
Cassie soon tired of sitting on John's lap and climbed down to her toys. John reached for the cup of coffee.
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Petra asked. "Or is it none of my business?"
"I've got a headache."
"I gathered as much. You look like a man in pain. You know you haven't been yourself since you got back from taking D'Anna to the settlement."
"Let's go for a walk. The fresh air will help my head."
Ten minutes later John was pushing Cassie in the stroller and Petra had the sleeping Rachel in the cloth sling wrapped around her.
They got all the way to the park before John said, "I had too much to drink last night."
"Ah," Petra said. "Is this because of D'Anna's problems?"
"Not really."
"Sonja, then?"
"Coming back from the settlement we had…words."
Petra didn't comment, simply waited for him to continue.
"She started an argument with me about Natalie, the First Six. There's only one of her. She lives in the settlement and she's the one who helped us with D'Anna. It sounded like Sonja was jealous of her. I kept telling her she didn't have anything to worry about, but she just wouldn't leave it alone. She kept pushing me, escalating the argument. Finally I said some harsh things to her about the nature of our relationship."
"Did you apologize?"
"That's why I went to her apartment last night."
"And?"
"She wasn't alone."
"Ah," Petra said again.
They reached the fountain. John lifted Cassie from the stroller and took her over to the basin. Cassie reached her hand toward the dripping water and he leaned forward so she could touch it. She crowed with delight and held her wet hand up for him to see.
The scene from the previous evening was still vivid in his memory. He'd waited three days hoping Sonja would get over her hurt feelings. He'd finally gone to her apartment last night to apologize. He didn't want to leave their relationship like it was that day in the transport ship. She had helped him get Kara off the planet. She had kept Cavil from sending him back to the prison. She had saved his life. He owed her the courtesy of an apology.
He'd had one drink after dinner. Just one. Then he'd ridden the elevator down to her floor and knocked on her door. He was just about to leave when she opened it dressed in the white terrycloth robe. Her hair was damp and tousled like she'd just gotten out of the shower. He couldn't deny the corkscrew of desire that had twisted through his gut when he saw her because he knew that under the robe, she was naked.
"Hi," he said lamely. "It looks like I caught you at a bad time."
She didn't look surprised to see him, but she didn't stand back and invite him in either. Instead she smiled.
"Are you here for some bourbon or do you have another reason for your visit?"
Behind Sonja a naked young man walked into the living room carrying a pair of jeans in his hand.
"Hey, sugar," he said, "Have you seen my underwear? I can't find…" He stopped when he saw John. Then he grinned and held the jeans in front of him. "Shit, babe, I'm sorry. I didn't hear anybody knock."
Sonja had not taken her eyes off John's face. He had no idea how he looked at the moment. He just knew that he felt like a fool.
She said, "Go put on your clothes, Josh. Forget the underwear. We'll find it later." She waited until the young man had backed out of the room, and then said to John, "Would you like to come in?"
"No. I just came to apologize if I hurt your feelings a couple of days ago. That's all."
She was still smiling. "Yes, you hurt my feelings, but I accept your apology since you came all the way down here to make it. Are you sure you wouldn't like to come in for a drink and meet Josh? I think you'd like him."
"I'll pass."
"Some other time, then. Don't stay away so long."
Now John stood at the fountain oblivious to Cassie squirming in his arms. It wasn't until she began to fret that he put her down. The humiliation of those moments as Sonja's door had closed in his face still stung. He didn't remember the elevator ride back up to his apartment. His next clear memory was of taking the half-full bottle of whiskey out to the balcony. Several hours later it was empty.
Why was he so surprised? Natalie had warned him about Sonja's predilection for both variety and young men and based on the glimpse John had gotten of Josh's naked body, the young man had a lot to recommend him in addition to his youth and good looks.
Petra walked up beside him. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
John shrugged. "It was just an awkward situation."
"You care about her, don't you?"
"I'm not in love with her if that's what you're asking me."
"You don't have to be in love with her to have feelings for her."
"Both the doctors warned me about something like this happening. I was just too damned arrogant to listen to them. I was just so damned sure I could handle anything the Cylons dished out. I mean I'd spent four months in their damned prison."
"The doctors were honest with you, John. Just because the Cylons didn't break you in their prison didn't mean they wouldn't try another way although it might not have worked out exactly like they anticipated."
"It's my damned ego and Sonya zeroed in on that particular weakness of mine from the beginning. She even told me she loved me. She doesn't know the first frakking thing about love. She's a manipulator…the best one I've ever known. When you care about somebody, you don't spend all your time trying to manipulate them."
Petra didn't say anything.
"Whatever she and I had is over. It's really a relief."
"Has it ever occurred to you that everything she did was an attempt to make you jealous? And it sounds like she might have succeeded."
"Why would she need to do that? She was getting what she wanted from me."
"Was she?"
"What do you mean?"
Petra sighed in a way that said, Men can be so dense. "She was getting sex from you, John, but maybe she wants more. Maybe she wants your heart."
"She's not going to get it. I still love Laura…as crazy as that sounds." But Petra's words had triggered another train of thought. "Maybe that's why I was so rough on her the other day. Because of this frakked up thing I've got with Sonja, I'll never be able to ask Laura to take me back. Maybe I blame Sonja for that as much as I blame myself and I took it out on her. I think Laura could forgive me for what I did with D'Anna, but I could never ask her to forgive me for Sonja."
"John," Petra said gently, "you'll never see your wife again just like I'll never see the husband I had on Virgon, at least not in this world. I don't know why you keep clinging to that senseless hope. The Cylons are not going to let you go back to Caprica. You and I will grow old and die here on this planet. If you have any feelings for Sonja, even if you can't call them love, then tell her. Try to work things out with her."
"I'd never be able to trust her. Natalie warned me that Sonja is into variety. I saw an example last night. I'm old enough to be his father." He massaged his temples. "I can't even think straight right now."
"Is your head still hurting?"
"Worse than ever."
"My husband works several days a week at a clinic in town. Follow the street beside the park and walk a block past the square. You'll see the sign. He can give you something for your headache."
John remembered the white pills Doolittle had brought him the day after D'Anna had given him the drug overdose. They had worked in less than ten minutes and on a headache a lot worse than this one.
He nodded. "I know the place you're talking about. I'll come see Cassie and Rachel tomorrow morning if that's okay."
"You're always welcome at our place, John. You know that."
"Thanks…and thanks for listening to me."
He left them at the fountain and walked into town, past the square and continued for a block. He'd walked this way many times before as he'd explored the city. The clinic had a small sign with green letters above the door that simply said Community Clinic.
He pushed open the door and went inside. There were several people in the waiting room. He went up to the reception window. An Eight pushed the glass aside.
"Name?"
"John Gallagher."
"Have we treated you before?"
"No."
"What's your complaint?"
"Bad headache. Petra told me to come see her husband."
The Eight made a note on a piece of paper. "Have a seat."
He sat down near a woman who was visibly pregnant. A boy of eight or nine was sitting in the chair beside her. The boy was wheezing badly.
"Asthma," the woman said to him. "He's not contagious."
Before he could say anything, Simon came to the door and called his name.
"This woman and her son were here before me," John said.
"They're waiting on our specialist. I'll see you." In a small room, Simon said, "I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks. Not since the morning after Rika's death."
John nodded. "I visit Rachel and Cassie most mornings."
Simon smiled. "So my wife tells me. Petra still clings to her human friends. I have no problem with that. I heard you took D'Anna to Settlement Alpha and left her there."
"There's a man who can help her with the problems she's having. He teaches yoga and meditation. He's Natalie's spiritual guide."
"Umm. That should be good for D'Anna. Her being such a strong spiritualist and so deep into the faith."
"We hope so."
"How long have you had your headache?"
"Since I woke up this morning."
"Have you had headaches like it before?"
"Every time I drink too much and don't get much sleep."
"And you drank too much last night?"
"Way too much."
"Have you tried coffee?"
"Three cups."
"Umm. Okay. I've got something that should fix you right up."
He went to a cabinet, opened it and got out a large bottle. He shook a dozen pills into a smaller bottle.
"Take one of these with a full glass of water. It might make you drowsy so you'll want to wait until you get back to your apartment. I'm giving you extra in case you overindulge again. It's been my experience that humans tend to do that. It's one of your weaknesses."
John wanted to argue with him, but was more interested in getting rid of the headache, not making it worse.
"I appreciate it. I won't indulge again anytime soon. I'm out of booze."
"Umm. That's probably a good thing."
John stood. "The kid with the asthma…what are you doing for him?"
Simon shook his head. "There's not much we can do. It's a human disease."
"There are human doctors on this planet who might be able to help him."
Simon said, "Yes, we have one of them here."
"You've got a human doctor working here?"
"Why wouldn't we? We have humans in the city. He treats them." Simon chuckled. "Would you like to see him for a second opinion on your hangover?"
"No. These pills should do the trick. I appreciate it."
When John left, the waiting room was empty.
He walked as far as the square before he realized that he didn't want to go back to his apartment. He turned right and walked until he reached the sidewalk cafe where Sonja had taken him the first day he'd been allowed outside. It still wasn't serving food, but it did now serve non-alcoholic drinks…water and tea and a kind of fruit punch. He went inside, got a glass of water, brought it back outside and sat in the shade of the umbrella at the same table he and Sonja had occupied.
He took a pill, drank most of the glass of water and gazed at the square. In the noon heat it was nearly deserted. There was an Overseer Six sitting at a nearby table with a Three and a Five. All had fruit drinks. They had stared at him when he'd walked up but had quickly lost interest and returned to their conversation. He'd walked around the city alone enough that he was sure they'd seen him before.
A centurion was tending the flowers in the huge planters, scooping buckets of water from a large plastic tank on a push cart and picking off spent blooms. He watched as it did its job carefully and methodically, not wasting any water, and then it moved on to the next planter. John marveled at the long steel talons that could be so deadly to humans yet so gentle and precise with the small blossoms.
The pill was already working. The pain began easing as lethargy and drowsiness overtook him. He put his feet in the wrought iron chair across from him, settled back and let the world around him fade.
…
Laura sat behind her desk and watched Gaius Baltar as he walked into the Presidential office. He had shaved his beard, but his hair was still long. It looked greasy although she wasn't sure if that was intentional or not. She liked shorter hair on men, perhaps because her father, an ambassador, had always kept his hair short and neatly trimmed. The men who surrounded her kept their hair short, too, although she had noticed Tom Zarek had recently allowed his to grow just a bit. Perhaps he was further distancing himself from the prison haircut he'd worn for years.
"Madame President," Baltar said in a tone that was both servile and arrogant.
"Dr. Baltar, please come in and have a seat. Would you like coffee or tea?"
He sniffed slightly. "Coffee would be fine."
Laura picked up the phone. "Coffee for Dr. Baltar and tea for me."
He waited until she hung up the phone. "Could you tell me why I've been summoned? Dr. Nylund and I are very busy."
Laura smiled slightly. "I wanted to update you on the results of the letter you left with Attorney General Lampkin."
Baltar gave her a blank look and then it filled with suspicion. "What letter?"
"To Natasi. The woman you would do anything in order to spend five minutes with."
"Oh…oh." relief flooded his face and voice. "That letter. What about it?"
"I think before you left we'd discussed a possible reward once you returned from your mission."
"Which was?"
"As I'm sure you're aware, Natasi survived the deadly attack on the other Cylons. Because of her co-operation with us, I promised her the same thing I promised you."
Laura paused, enjoying the fact that Gaius Baltar couldn't remember exactly what that promise had been. Once again a wave of pity for Natasi swept her. She felt sorry for any woman who loved a man who didn't return that love.
"Yes?" he said encouraging her to continue.
"How would you like to spend the weekend with her?"
Her secretary brought in a tray with their coffee and tea. Baltar waited until she had left.
"Where?"
"Natasi is the woman you love. You told her so in your letter. I wouldn't think it would matter where."
"You read my letter?" His voice edged upward in anger.
"Of course I did. So did Mr. Lampkin. You didn't think we would simply hand it over to her unread, did you?"
"Where is she?"
"She's in a safe place."
"In prison you mean. I'd have to go to a prison to see her."
"She's not in prison, but you'd have to agree to certain stipulations."
"Such as?"
"You would be blindfolded before you were driven to her location and you wouldn't be able to leave for the duration of the weekend."
He sniffed again. "That's agreeable to me."
"Your conversations would be monitored by audio but not video..."
He drew himself up and said coldly. "Absolutely not. I refuse to be humiliated like that, knowing someone was listening to my every word and…"
"You didn't let me finish…except when you're in the bedroom…or the bathroom."
"Oh, well, I suppose that would be acceptable."
Suddenly Laura was anxious to get him out of her office. She despised him. She always had. "Then you agree to the terms?"
"Yes. I agree."
"You'll be contacted and told when and where you'll be picked up on Friday afternoon."
He stood. "I don't suppose…you have a copy of my letter, do you?"
"No, I don't. Why, Gaius? Did you forget what you'd said to her?"
"I was distraught when I wrote that letter…very distraught."
"Contact Mr. Lampkin. I'm sure he put a copy in Natasi's file. He's the one who talked to her. By the way, you also sent her a single pink rose."
"I did?"
"You don't remember that either?"
"Of course I remember it. You don't give me credit for much, do you?"
Laura smiled. "I give you credit for a great deal, Dr. Baltar. In ways you can hardly imagine. I'll never forget what a big help you were to us when we were negotiating with the Cylons six years ago."
He visibly preened oblivious to her sarcasm. "Has Natasi missed me?"
"She's missed you so much that even with my limited knowledge of Cylons, I'd say you're in for a real treat this weekend. Perhaps you should go home tonight and take your…vitamins."
"Yes…yes, I'll do that."
When he was gone, Laura took a deep breath and then put her face in her hands. The feeling of pity for Natasi grew stronger. How could she love a man like that? Cylon or not, how could such a beautiful, intelligent woman love a self-centered prick like Gaius Baltar?
…
When John opened his eyes, he knew that several hours had passed because the sun was no longer on the terrace. The fountain cast a much longer shadow. His neck was stiff where his head had fallen to one side. He massaged his sore muscles and rotated his head trying to work out the kink. The table where the Cylons had been sitting was now occupied by the young man who had been with Sonja the night before. When he realized that John was awake, he got up and walked over.
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up, man. You were catching some serious zzzs. If you hadn't been snoring, I'd have checked to make sure you hadn't like…croaked sitting right there."
"What time is it?" John asked still feeling groggy.
"I don't know. Late afternoon. You want something to drink?"
John looked at his glass of water that now had several insects floating in it. He poured the water and insects on the stone pavers and handed the glass to Josh.
"Thanks. Water will do."
"Not tea or fruit punch? The punch is out of sight. They make it in a blender with ice. You know…like we used to get at the Zesty Freeze back home."
"Just water."
Josh went inside and returned a few minutes later with two glasses. John's was filled with ice and water. Not surprisingly Josh had chosen the punch.
John took his feet off the chair and gestured for Josh to have a seat. As he pulled out the chair, John studied him. Josh was exactly as he remembered from the night before only now he was wearing the jeans instead of holding them in front of his private parts. His sneakers were well-worn as were his socks. A faded short-sleeved blue work shirt with dried sweat stains under the arms completed his outfit. He was six feet tall, well-built with thick short hair a little darker than Natalie's, blue eyes, nice suntan. Young and handsome. He could easily have been a film star. John thought briefly of Jade. Jade would like Josh based strictly on his looks and age although John wasn't sure what that was. He could be eighteen or twenty-eight.
"Josh Lennox."
The young man held out his hand and John shook it. He had a firm grip and his hand was rough. Apparently Josh worked at a manual job when he wasn't with Sonja or hanging out in the city.
"John Gallagher."
"Major John Gallagher. Sonja told me. You were some kind of Viper pilot hero or something."
John smiled. "Or something probably covers it better. I flew with a Ladon Lennox off the Solaria years ago. We called him Lucky Ladon because he managed to land a Viper with missing parts more often than anybody else. He was a damned good pilot."
"I had an uncle named Ladon who was in the service. He didn't talk about what he did, but that was probably him."
"Damn. Small universe, isn't it? Was he still on the Solaria when the Cylons took it out six years ago?"
"Nope. He was out of the service long before then. He had some mental problems. Him and my Aunt Gaia were on Libran along with the rest of my family. I heard the Cylons nuked it and killed everybody on the planet.
"They nuked all the planets except Caprica."
"Look, man, I'm sorry about the way things went down last night. I…"
"Not your fault," John interrupted him. "There's no hard feelings on my part. I don't see any reason to discuss it."
"You don't understand, man. Sonja's got it bad for you."
John chuckled. "Yeah. That's why she was frakking you. I always knew a woman had a thing for me when she went out and frakked another guy. That always left no doubt in my mind."
"You don't need to make fun of her. I came here to try to make things right."
"Look, kid…" John started in a much kinder tone.
"I'm not a kid," Josh said irritably. "I'll be twenty-six in a couple of months."
"Okay, Josh. Did Sonja put you up to this?"
"No, man. She doesn't know I'm here. It'd piss her off royally. She doesn't want me talking to you unless she's around."
"Then what the hell are you doing here? As far as I'm concerned there's nothing for you to make right. I don't blame you for what happened. She obviously invited you in. I was the one standing in the hall feeling like an idiot."
Josh didn't say anything. Instead he took something out of his shirt pocket that looked like a fat cigarette with twisted ends. He put one end in his mouth, struck a match and lit it. He inhaled and held the smoke in his lungs. John recognized the pungent aroma.
"Is that a joint?"
Josh nodded and held it out to him. John didn't take it.
"If you're trying to get me arrested, there's no need. You're welcome to Sonja…with my blessing."
Josh finally exhaled. "No, man. You're not going to get arrested. Nobody gives a shit if we sit here and smoke. It's legal. We got it growing in a field close to the old temple."
"Who's we?"
"A couple of Twos and Threes. They say it helps them get closer to God. I don't know about getting closer to God, but it sure helps me make it through a lot of days. It makes for some wild sex, too."
John grinned and held out his hand. "Not that I think we're going to have wild sex, but what the hell." He took the joint and pulled in a deep lungful of smoke before he handed it back to Josh. After a minute he said, "I smoked cigarettes for years…until about three years ago, but I never did this stuff since it stays in your system for a long time which means it shows up in drug tests for a long time. That's the kiss of death for a pilot. I prefer my poison in liquid form."
"I'm not much of a drinker. Alcohol bothers my stomach. This is my drug of choice," Josh said before he inhaled again.
"Sonja doesn't drink, not even wine. Does she smoke this stuff with you?"
Josh shook his head and finally said, "No, man. She won't even let me smoke it at her place, except out on the balcony. She's got this thing about her body being a temple to God. It's in their scriptures."
"She won't drink a glass of wine or smoke a joint, but she'll frak half the planet. Tell me what the hell kind of sense that makes."
An edge came into Josh's voice. "Don't talk about her that way, man. I know you're pissed at her about something, but she's not frakking half the planet."
"Damn, you're in love with her, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "For all the good it does. She sure doesn't feel that way about me. It hurt a lot at first. I've got used to it now."
"Years ago I was in your shoes. She only had one other man…her husband, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Hell, we even had a daughter together and she still wouldn't give him up." John sat brooding for a minute and then asked, "Just how many like you does Sonja have in her stable?"
"I never asked. You're the only one she's ever talked about, but I know there've been others. Shit. I think she fraks that crazy son of a bitch Leoben who lives downstairs from her or she did before he brought Rika here. A couple of years ago I caught him coming out of her apartment. He gave me this shit-eating grin that said I just frakked your woman. Me and Sonja had it out about him. She finally told me it was none of my business and to drop it unless I wanted to get sent back to where she'd got me from. I'd have done anything rather than go back there. I dropped it. But I never caught him at her place again either."
"They were together in the beginning…long before the Cylons took up with humans."
"No shit."
"Which settlement did she bring you from?"
"Delta."
"Which is where?"
"Way south of here near the equator. A couple of hours by air. It's hot as hell there year round. Mostly jungle and rain forest. The settlement produces a lot of fruit for the city and they grow coffee and cocoa beans in the hills. What's left over goes to the other settlements. Settlement Epsilon is a lot further south where it starts getting colder again. That's where they have a big tylium mine. I was there at first and then they took me to Delta."
"They tell you why?"
"Nope. A Two came in one day and pointed to a couple of us and said like, you and you and you, come with me. Next thing I know we're on a ship. When we landed at Delta, it was so hot and humid, I thought they'd taken us to hell." He inhaled again and said, "On top of that there's these huge-ass spiders at Delta. They eat birds and mice and shit like that. I hate spiders, man, worse than I hate snakes and they have some big frakking snakes, too. And mosquitoes the size of Vipers. That place is a buzzing, crawling, slithering cesspit. I'd have frakked a Five or even a One for a chance to get out of there. When Sonja showed up that day and picked me I thought I'd died and gone to Elysium. I mean besides the fact that she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
"How long have you been in the city?"
"Almost three years."
"So you and Sonja have had a thing for three years?"
"On and off. Totally off since she met you. I was surprised as hell when she sent a centurion to get me a couple of nights ago."
"Were you the father of the babies she lost?"
Josh inhaled again. "The first one, yeah. I'm not sure about the other two. We never talked about it. Sonja said you have a daughter and a son back on Caprica. She talks about you all the time."
"Look, Josh," John said gently. "Sonja and I don't have any future. There's a Three who's pregnant with my child. I know there's not much chance she'll carry it to term, but if a miracle occurs and she does, that's where my obligation lies."
"That doesn't mean you and Sonja can't keep getting it on. They share. Well, some of them do."
"I'm not interested in one of their group things. I'm married to a woman back on Caprica. The way you feel about Sonja, that's the way I feel about my wife. She owns my heart. She always will."
"Sonja didn't mention that part…I mean about you being married. Does she know?"
John held up his hand with his wedding ring. "She knows. She's found a way to ignore it or pretend it's not true."
Josh held out the joint again and John took it.
What are you going to do now?"
"Nothing," John answered. "There's nothing for me to do. The reason I went to her apartment last night was to apologize for something I said a couple of days ago. I apologized. Sonja accepted the apology. As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it."
"You mean you're not going to…to see her anymore…at all?" The hope in Josh's voice was heartbreaking.
"No, kid. She's all yours."
"She'll get tired of me. She's done it before."
John sucked in a deep lungful of smoke before handing the joint back to Josh. It had gotten considerably shorter.
"After she lost the first baby, she gave me to one of the Overseers for a couple of months. I think she blamed me or something. Like I said we never talked about it cause she didn't want to. This Overseer bitch likes to slap me around, make me lick her boots, shit like that. That's what trips her trigger. She's into humiliating humans. A couple of times it was so bad I couldn't…you know…keep it up…so she made me finish her another way which is no big deal cause I do it to Sonja and she says I'm great, but I couldn't seem to do it the way the bitch wanted and…"
"Josh, Josh, whoa, that's way more information than I want to hear."
"I'm just saying Sonja might do the same thing to you. She might pass you along to one of her twisted sisters so you'd better think twice about dumping her. Somehow I can't see you licking the mud off an Overseer's boots. She made me do that once. She wouldn't even let me spit it out. I had to swallow every bit of it and her boots were really dirty. Man, I almost puked."
"Holy frakking Hera. You're a big, strong guy. How could she make you do something like that?"
"She told me if I didn't do it, she'd give me to a centurion and tell him to cut off what Sonja likes best about me."
"Damn, they never tried to make me lick their boots even at the prison. Did you tell Sonja what the Overseer was doing to you?"
Josh shrugged. "I figured she knew and didn't care."
"That's some damned strong weed," John finally said.
"Yeah, man, this is some righteous shit. They got the seeds for the original plants from some dude who was smuggling a crate of them on board a supply ship bound for Sagittaron. It came from Aerilon. Best stuff always came from there. Aerilon farmers knew how to grow it right. Dude said it was for medicinal purposes only. Those dumb Sagittarons won't take real medicine. They're big into the herbal cures. Of course I shouldn't make fun of them. I'm big into this herb myself."
John chuckled. "Did the Cylons believe him? I mean about it being for medicinal purposes only."
Josh laughed, too. "I don't know, man, but they sure confiscated those seeds fast enough. They knew exactly what it was. Some of those Twos and Threes wanted it for their religious ceremonies. Not the mainstream bunch but a splinter group. Call themselves Monads. A Three tried to explain what it means…something about the One and she wasn't talking about Cavil, but man, the rest of it went right over my head. Like I said, they're weird. Always going on about Kobol and Earth and how there's something on this planet called the Kobol Stone where God talks to you in the language of the ancients and you can understand Him even if you don't speak ancient or whatever because once you touch the stone you're joined to the One. Only they've never been able to find it. I think they've fried their silicon brain chips smoking this stuff."
"How do you get your supply?"
"I help them plant it and cultivate it and harvest it. I roll their joints for them, too. By hand. Working with their dope is my day job. In return a Three lets me take all I want. She's a big fan of mine on account of…"
"You don't need to explain," John said. "I noticed. What'd you do in the Colonies? Make porn films?"
Josh blushed. "No, man. I was on the crew of one of the big freighters that the Cylons took. What I'm trying to tell you is the Three likes the smooth way I roll her joints. She can't get the hang of it. Hers always fall apart. If she ever figures out she can put it in a pipe or a bong and smoke it, I'm frakked."
John grinned. "She's probably already figured it out, Josh. They're not dumb. I think she just likes your company. Do you…do her, too?"
Josh shrugged. "Sometimes. She's not nearly as hot as Sonja, but…shit, it's better than flying solo if you know what I mean. You've frakked a Three and you've frakked Sonja. Whose door were you knocking on last night?"
For some reason John thought about Jade again and her desire for a handsome young guy. "You ever frakked an Eight?"
"No, man. Not that I wouldn't in a Picon minute. They're way hotter than the Threes. Here in the city the Threes and Sixes hang together. The Eights mostly hang with each other. They're like younger or something. They won't poach somebody who belongs to a Three or a Six but they'll poach each other's men all day long. About a year ago I saw two Eights get in a fight right here in the square over some tall, skinny dude. I was like wanting to go up to them and say, Whoa, ladies, don't hurt each other. I'll take the loser. But I didn't have the guts. The Eights here in the city won't even talk to me on account of knowing about the Overseer. She's like one intimidating bitch."
"You smoke this stuff every day?"
"Most days, yeah. You know how it is…whatever gets you through the night…or the day…or both."
"How long you been smoking?"
"You mean like on this planet?"
"I've already figured out you had some prior experience with it."
"I started doing it after Sonja dumped me the first time and gave me to the Overseer. After I started smoking this shit, even if that bitch slapped me around or made me suck her toes or do some other weird shit, I could still…" he shrugged… "you know…make it worth her while."
John nodded. They sat in silence for a long time. Thoughts were swirling around inside his head, serious thoughts that he knew he needed to contemplate, something of real cosmic importance about the origin of the universe or maybe how he was going to get off this planet before he was given to some twisted Six and had to kill her or wound up in the same shape as Josh, but he couldn't seem to grasp a single thought. Between the pill Simon had given him and the weed he had just smoked, he was seriously messed up. He was also ravenously hungry.
He stood. "I'm off to search for some food. I think I missed lunch. Maybe I can talk Doolittle into making me a sandwich…or three."
"Tell Mr. Doolittle that Josh says hello. He's a nice dude. I worked for him for a while after Sonja dumped me, but I couldn't cut it in the kitchen. I was always burning shit. He knew about the crazy Twos and Threes looking for somebody to help them grow their dope so he talked to one of them. Best damn thing that's happened to me since the Cylons took my freighter…except for meeting Sonja. So you tell him that Josh says hello."
"I'll do that. Good luck with Sonja."
Josh took another joint from his shirt pocket. "You want one to take with you? I got plenty more."
He tossed the joint to John who caught it and slipped it into his shirt pocket.
"Thanks, but I'll probably never get the chance to have wild sex again in my life so I doubt I'll ever smoke it."
"Don't give me that shit, man. Next time you see Sonja you'll have wild sex and I won't hear from her again for a couple of months."
"I told you, Josh, Sonja and I are through."
Josh laughed so hard he nearly choked. He was as messed up as John was, maybe more so. "If you believe that shit, man, I've got some Cylon river-front property I'd like to sell you."
"As frakked up as I am right now," John said as he started across the square, "I'd probably buy it from you."
…
Lee parked his car on Hemlock Street in the first space he could find. Part of the street and sidewalk were blocked by a big utility truck with a cherry picker on it. There was a guy up in the bucket working on a line and two more guys on the ground. They were talking to each other on hand-held communicators. It served only to emphasize to Lee that life went on. It was the same way he had felt on the day of his mother's funeral.
Lee locked his car and walked two blocks to the gate of Thanatos Cemetery. There he stopped and waited. He'd told Colonel Winters that he'd meet him at the gate at 15:45. He glanced at his watch. 15:40.
Lee stepped inside the gate and sat on a wrought iron bench near the sidewalk. Across from him a man and woman were carefully arranging fresh flowers in an urn attached to a stone grave marker.
He hadn't been to a funeral in this cemetery since the service for his mother two years earlier. She'd died in the spring and her funeral had been on a beautiful day just like this one, a day that was meant to celebrate life, not death, and just like Tucker, she'd died by her own hand.
Thanatos was Caprica City's main cemetery. Covering over six hundred acres, it was also the largest. Part of the cemetery was reserved for military burials. He had seen the news footage of Corporal Jamal Lester's funeral the previous week and knew that Lester now lay with other fallen servicemen and women.
This section was in an older part of the cemetery with mature trees and weathered stones. A lawn maintenance truck was parked off to one side with several men edging around the stone markers. Lee wondered if they would stop work and silence their trimmers when Tucker's service began.
A government car pulled up to the gate and Colonel Winters got out of the back.
Lee stood. Colonel Winters had worn his dress grays. Lee was in his duty blues.
They greeted each other and began walking up the sidewalk beside the narrow lane. Lee realized that Winters and his father were the same height although the colonel was slimmer. Winters didn't have nearly as much hair, either.
"Your father was kind enough to call me the day it happened," Winters said. "I'm still having a hard time believing it."
"I think all of us are, sir. I saw the picture of Tucker taken by the elevator camera…" Lee took a deep breath "… just minutes before he died. There was no doubt it was him even before the DNA confirmation."
"I'd just put through the paperwork for his promotion to captain. Congratulations, by the way, on your own promotion and on being cleared by the independent inquiry panel."
"Thank you, sir."
"Everybody in the military knew the whole thing was a crock anyway. Damn Tom Zarek. If you want my opinion a bunch of civies shouldn't have any jurisdiction over the military."
"They wouldn't have except August Bernard was a civilian who was killed in a military action."
"Have you been involved in the bombing investigation?"
"Barely."
"Two days after the incident I got a letter from Lieutenant Clellan…delivered to the Academy. In it he said that working for me had been a privilege and he hoped I'd remember that instead of anything else I might hear about him."
"Tucker was a good guy."
They came around a row of tall shrubs and saw the grave site. Shelley and her fiancé Troy Minos were already there. So were about a dozen others, most in military uniforms, but there were a few men in civilian clothes. Minos was in his dress grays. Shelley was wearing a sleeveless black dress that came to mid-calf and low-heeled black shoes. She had a black scarf covering her hair. An elderly priest stood ready to begin the service. Lee and Colonel Winters joined the small group. Lee briefly put his arm around Shelley, acknowledging their mutual grief. He shook hands with Minos. There were quiet greetings all around as several others spoke to Colonel Winters. The polished wooden casket sat on a bier over the grave. There were several sprays of flowers but no flag in evidence, nothing to indicate that Tucker had been in the service.
In the background Lee heard the whine of leaf blowers and lawn mowers cease as bells in a distant tower chimed four o'clock. The priest opened his prayer book and began reading the standard graveside service. Lee listened to words that meant nothing to him. Tucker was gone, his life snuffed out by his own hand. Kara had said that Tucker was with Nora now, but Lee didn't believe in an afterlife. He believed that whatever had made up the essence of Tucker Clellan, his mind, his talent, his smile, his memories had simply ceased to exist when Tucker had detonated his bomb.
The priest finished the brief service and closed his book. He didn't invite anyone to eulogize Tucker. He seemed nervous and anxious to leave as he spoke quietly to Shelley. Minos handed him a small envelope and he quickly walked away. Lee wondered if the only way they could get a priest to perform the service was to pay him.
Shelley was crying openly now, her shoulders shaking as Troy kept his arm around her. Lee knew she loved Tucker, not in a romantic way, but the way Kara loved Karl, a friendship born in childhood that had endured and now that bond was broken forever as it was for all of them. Lee felt tears come to his own eyes as he remembered the year he and Tucker had spent at the Academy, Tucker's ready smile, and his love for Nora. He remembered late nights studying together and the impromptu pyramid games in the gym and walking across campus to the Math and Sciences building for winter classes, their breath vaporizing in the cold winter air.
Shelley walked over and laid a single white rose on top of the casket. Even after the others had begun to drift away, she didn't to want to leave.
Colonel Winters stopped to talk to Minos. Lee walked over to the casket and took her hand. "I'm really sorry, Shelley."
She turned, and as he looked at her grief-stricken face, Lee realized that he was looking at more than grief. He was looking at guilt as well.
He spoke barely above a whisper. "It was you, wasn't it, in that bar on Medea Street?"
She didn't answer him, but she squeezed his hand. Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks and he knew then without a doubt. Tucker had asked his oldest and closest friend and she had helped him with his plan.
"Your secret is safe with me."
Colonel Winters walked over and patted Shelley's hand. She dropped her eyes and nodded slightly. As Lee and the colonel walked back toward Hemlock Street, Lee knew that nothing anyone could do to Shelley Sydell would ever come close to the pain she would live with for the rest of her life. Maybe he was right in keeping her secret and maybe he was wrong. That would be his burden to bear, but it wouldn't be nearly as heavy as hers.
TBC…