Sullivan Saga 3: Sullivan's Watch (21 page)

Gail leaned into him and held him tightly. “And all this time, you were just three blocks away.”

Ives laughed lightly. “Not anymore.”

THE MESSAGE CAME as something of a surprise. Father Curtis sat in his office, absorbing the information. Brother Peter was dead. Unable to locate his family, the authorities had turned to Curtis in the hope that he could help them.

Curtis turned and looked out his window. Located far from any cities, the monastic community had made it through the invasion without any significant disruption to their way of life. Curtis had instructed the monks to pray, and now that the worst of it was over, most of them had been dispatched to nearby cities to help with the recovery effort and to provide solace to those who requested it.

Outside his window, a single monk was tending to a row of tomato plants. Curtis turned back to his desk and wiped away the tears. Brother Peter had always enjoyed gardening.

He cleared his eyes and looked back at the message on his screen. He hadn’t made it past the first paragraph. As he continued reading, the loss hit him even harder. Peter had died protecting a small boy who had fled and been separated from his parents when the aliens attacked their village.

The boy’s story was just now going public—there had been many such acts of heroism during the invasion—but Curtis knew that the fact that Peter had already been such a well-known person before the attack would ensure significant media attention.

Curtis smiled through his tears. He had always known what kind of a man Peter was. He hoped his death in defense of the defenseless would do something to change the public’s perception of the man who had killed Pope Pius.

Curtis got up from his chair and left his office. The monastery was eerily quiet. There were only two other monks beside himself still on the premises. He walked into the lounge and looked over a chess board, a game left unfinished when he’d gathered the monks and begun assigning them their new duties. He studied the board. If it was white’s turn to move, the game was lost for black. But if black was set to move, he could still save himself.

Curtis thought about how often he had seen Brother Peter and Brother Mark squaring off across the board. He thought about Peter’s uncertainty when the visions first started occurring, how he had been so nervous when called to Rome to meet the Pope. And seeing him in that prison, so defeated and in despair… it had pained Curtis to have to write to Peter to let him know the Cenobian Brotherhood had decided to break their ties with him. Peter had deserved better.

Father Curtis turned to the lounge window. From there he could see the small cemetery where past monks had been laid to rest. Peter would receive the same honor.

Curtis returned to his office and began drafting a letter to his superiors. He would not rest until they agreed to let Peter’s body be returned to the monastery for burial. Curtis would show the world that even though the Brotherhood had turned their backs on Peter, they would acknowledge their mistake. Peter would be vindicated, and he would be remembered as a true man of God.

JEFF IVES BEGAN talking even before the cell door was opened. Sullivan stood and shook his hand, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

“What news? Is it about the pardon?”

“Yes!” Ives said. “But not just that.”

Sullivan put up his hands. “Wait a minute, Jeff. Did the Assembly grant my pardon?”

Ives grinned. “You’re free to go, Rick. There’s just some paperwork that needs to be done. I’ll take you upstairs so we can take care of it.”

Sullivan nodded. “But there’s something else, isn’t there?”

Ives took a breath. “Yes. But let’s get the paperwork out of the way. I don’t want to do this here.”

Ives led Sullivan upstairs where he could see that everyone was excited about something. Ives kept smiling as Sullivan filled out the appropriate forms. When it was finished, Director Blanco shook his hand, and Ives led him out of the building and onto the street.

“All right, Jeff. What is it?”

Ives began walking slowly, and Sullivan followed. “This morning, a ship arrived in Earth orbit and requested permission to land. It didn’t make its way here from farther out in the system, Rick. It came through hyperspace.”

Sullivan stopped walking. “Go on.”

“The Assembly held an emergency session to discuss it. A couple of hours ago, another ship was sent up to see if it could also enter hyperspace. It could. It went out to the orbit of Saturn and came right back, as if nothing had ever happened.”

“I don’t understand. How?”

Ives shook his head. “No one knows.” He started walking again, and Sullivan followed. When they reached the end of the block, Ives pushed open the door to a bar, and the two men went inside. Ives ordered a pitcher of beer as Sullivan found a table.

The screen in the corner of the bar was turned on, and Sullivan watched it for a few minutes. What Ives had said was true. They were talking about nothing else on the news.

“I don’t believe this,” he said, lifting his beer.

Ives tapped his glass against Sullivan’s. “The news services have been going crazy trying to get physicists on to propose their hypotheses. One that seems to have gained a lot of traction is that hyperspace is an essential part of the makeup of the universe. The universe literally cannot exist without it, so it… regenerated. Something like that.”

“But if the universe can’t exist without hyperspace, then I never fully destroyed it. I couldn’t have. The entities could have survived.”

“The Bureau and the military are well aware of that possibility.”

“How much does the public know?”

“Pretty much all of it. They don’t know your name or your face, of course. As per your request, you were referred to by an alias during the Assembly’s deliberations, and the case files were kept locked. All the public knows is that a wanted man was responsible for ending the alien threat, so the Assembly was going to consider pardoning him for his previous crimes. So now that you’re free, it’s up to you whether or not you want to go public.”

“So they know about the entities? They know they were leading the aliens here?”

“Yes. But the Bureau, the Assembly… they’ve been keeping mum about the exact details. The news has obviously been having a field day with it, concocting all sorts of crazy theories. It’ll come out eventually. If they don’t decide to do it voluntarily, someone will leak it. That being said, you’re unknown for now, but don’t expect that to last too long.”

“How soon can I get on a ship to Faris?”

“Not as soon as you want, unfortunately. They’re still doing more tests to make sure hyperspace is stable. They’re not authorizing any commercial or private traffic until that’s done.”

“And what about my freighter with the hyper-hyperspace technology?”

“The military confiscated it. I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think you’ll be getting it back.”

“How long does it take to get to Faris via standard hyperspace?”

“Umm… about two months, I think.”

Sullivan frowned then nodded. “I’m sorry, Jeff.”

“For what?”

“I got so caught up in the idea of going home to Kate that I haven’t properly expressed my gratitude for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for being on my side and speaking up on my behalf. I wouldn’t be sitting here having a beer if it weren’t for you.”

“It was my pleasure.” Ives took a sip from his glass. “So are you going to go public?”

“No. I’ll be on the first ship I can catch. I know the news will get to Faris eventually, but I want at least a little time to be alone with Kate before the circus starts.”

“You definitely deserve that.”

“Look, Jeff… there’s something else I need to apologize to you for.”

“What’s that?”

“For Abilene. For what I put all of you through because you had to chase me there.”

“Rick, that’s… you didn’t kill Liz or John. And what you did for Frank after that—what you did for everyone—it’s water under the bridge.”

Sullivan smiled. “Thanks. Oh, you said last time that you’re seeing that woman, Gail?”

“Yes.”

“How’s that going?”

Ives leaned back in his chair. “Really well.”

“I’m glad. What are your plans now?”

“She’s moved in. We get along great. I think she might be the one.”

“Congratulations. You going to stay with the Bureau? Stay in New York?”

“Yes. I want to help rebuild the city I love. Help it heal. Help keep it safe.”

“I know you will.”

“And you? You’ll go back to Faris, obviously. Then what?”

Sullivan furrowed his brow. “I’ve been a soldier all my life; it’s the only thing I really know how to do. But… I think it’s time to learn how to be something different.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.”

“With Kate’s fortune, I suppose you don’t really have to do anything.”

Sullivan laughed. “I thought about that. Just get fat and old. But no, I have to do something. When I figure out what it is, I’ll let you know.”

“Kids?”

Sullivan raised an eyebrow. “Maybe. How about you?”

Ives smiled. “Maybe.”

Sullivan held up his beer. “Here’s to maybes.”

HER HANDHELD STARTED beeping, and Kate reached out blindly. She knocked it from the nightstand and cursed as she reached down to pick it up off the floor. A call in the middle of the night was rarely good news, and she frowned as she looked at the screen. It was an unknown number.

“Hello?” she answered.

“I forgot my key.”

Kate jumped off the bed and ran to the front door. She threw it open and fell into Rick Sullivan’s arms. She began sobbing as he pulled her close and stroked her hair. He managed to walk them back into the house and sit her on the couch, still holding her tightly.

“Shh,” he said as she cried. “It’s okay….”

Kate fought to regain control of her emotions as she looked up into his eyes. He smiled at her and used the back of his hand to wipe the wetness from her face.

“As… as soon as….” She swallowed and began again. “As soon as we found out hyperspace had returned, I knew you’d be back. I knew you were okay, and I knew you’d be back. I never stopped believing it for a second.”

Sullivan sighed. “I tried to get back sooner. They didn’t let any ships through until two weeks after it had returned. And they took my ship, so I had to travel via standard hyperspace. I’m sorry it took so long, Kate.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. And I am never,
ever
letting you leave without me again, do you understand?”

Sullivan laughed. “I don’t intend on testing that.” He stood up. “I’m famished. Why don’t you go wash your face? I’ll find something to eat.”

She pointed toward the kitchen. “There’s some potato soup. And some bread.”

“That sounds great.”

He kissed her then let her go clean up. After she returned, they talked as he ate. He told her everything that had happened to him and Allen and how he had set off the device to stop the alien threat. She told him about Jenny and escaping to the farm.

“There’s something else,” she said.

“What?”

She stood and lifted the front of her nightgown. Sullivan dropped his spoon and looked up at her face. She was smiling.

“Is that… are you sure?”

She laughed. “What, you think I’m just getting fat?”

“No….” He stepped around the table and put his hand on her belly. “How far along?”

“Almost nineteen weeks now.”

“Kate….” He pulled her into another embrace, careful not to squeeze her too tightly.

“You’re happy?”

“Of course I am! What is it?”

“A boy.”

Sullivan stepped back and looked at her belly again. “I’d like to call him….”

“Frank.”

Sullivan smiled. “Yes.”

Kate sat down again. “Do you think he’s really gone?”

“Yes. Hyperspace ‘regenerated,’ as the physicists are calling it, but the entities and Frank… they seem to be gone.”

“But what if they’re just waiting? What if they’re just trying to make us think they’re gone?”

“That would mean Frank would also still be alive. And he’d find a way to warn us. I was in hyperspace for over two months coming back here. He would have found a way to contact me if it was at all possible.”

“I miss him.”

“So do I, Kate. But we’ll keep his memory alive. Everyone kept saying how I collapsed hyperspace, how I saved humanity. But it was Frank. He got me onto the alien ship to get the device. And he knew what would happen to him when I set it off, but he fought the entities with everything he had to make sure I’d be able to do it. I’ll never forget what he did, and when my name and story finally go public, I’ll make sure everyone else knows that it was really him.”

Sullivan cleared his bowl and retired to the bedroom with Kate. They lay holding one another and talked for a while longer before a familiar question came up.

“What are you going to do now?” she asked him.

Sullivan laughed. “Jeff Ives wanted to know the same thing.” He put his hand on her stomach. “The two of you are my first priority. Everything else is immaterial.”

In the dim light of the morning, he could see that Kate was smiling. He smiled back, put his forehead against hers and kissed her lips.

It was dawn, and Richard Sullivan knew that this was not only the beginning of a new day but also the beginning of a new life.

His war was finally over.

This book brings to a close the story arc begun in Sullivan’s War, and I must, as always, thank my family for their support and encouragement.

Dale Herring and Stefano Scaglione: thank you for your help in polishing this novel.

Alexia Purdy, thank you for all your help, your input and especially for the fantastic cover!

And finally, thank you to all my readers! This is the end of Richard Sullivan’s story—for now—but I hope you will all join me for the many other adventures yet to come.

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