Jack stopped, aware that his mother was staring at him with an unhappy mix of horror and incomprehension in her eyes. At that moment, Jack realized how much he’d changed…and how different, no, how distant he was now from her.
“I, uh, anyway, I’ll be shipping out by the end of August,” he said, the words feeling lame. “They’ve been doing six-month rotations, there, so I should be back by the end of February.”
“You…you’ll be sure to pack lots of warm clothes,” his mother said. She looked down at her crewelwork, hands busy. “It’s awfully cold in Siberia, I hear….”
He saw no point in explaining that parts of Siberia was as hot in the summer as South Carolina, that, strictly speaking, he wouldn’t even be in Siberia, but in a region designated as the Russian Far Eastern Maritime Territory.
Or that the Corps was cycling people through on six-month rotations because the war over there was such a hellish meat grinder.
“Oh! I almost forgot!” his mother said abruptly, in what was clearly a deliberate change of subject. “You probably haven’t heard about your Uncle David.”
“Uncle David? What about him?” Jack had been missing his occasional e-mail exchanges with his uncle…not to mention the steady updates on new aliens from the Cave of Wonders.
“He was arrested! Tossed into jail like a, well, like a criminal! Your Aunt Liana was really upset about it. She seems to think it was her fault, but I know better. He got in trouble with the government, talking to spies and UN agents! You know he had all those foreigners he liked to talk with. It looks like he was still talking to them, even though a lot of them were spies….”
“Uncle David? I don’t believe it!”
“Oh, it’s true. And Liana says she doesn’t think they’re ever going to let him out!”
It didn’t seem possible. They didn’t lock people up for no reason in the United States…at least, not in the United States he’d sworn to defend three months before. What the hell was going on?
“I, uh, gotta use the head, Mom.”
“The what?”
“The bathroom.”
“Why didn’t you say so? I wish you wouldn’t use that slang. It’s so hard to know what you’re talking about!”
He left quickly, to escape the look in her eyes. He could tell she was really worried about Siberia.
Upstairs, after a pro forma use of the lavatory, he walked into his room, astonished—as he’d been a few hours ago when he’d brought his seabag in and stowed his gear—at how tiny the place seemed. How cluttered. He did still like the Marine posters, though. Especially the one with Uncle David’s photo, with the space-suited Marines raising the flag against a pink-orange sky at Cydonia. God! How could they throw him in jail? The man was an honorary Marine, for Pete’s sake, a gesture not extended to many who’d not been through the hell at Parris Island. It had to be some kind of mistake.
Sitting down at his desk, he flicked on his computer, opening up his personal system. A few moments later, Sam smiled her warm and sexy smile at him from the screen. “Hello, Jack! I haven’t seen you in simply…ages!”
“Uh…hi, Sam!” His agent had caught him by surprise. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten about her, but he hadn’t really had the time or the energy in boot camp to fantasize much about her, and he’d somehow gotten out of the habit. She was conservatively dressed this afternoon, in white slacks and a pullover shirt, as she lounged on her poolside patio.
“You have 227 messages waiting for you, Jack. Shall I get them for you?”
“Uh, no. Not right now.”
“I’ve also collected 793 articles that I think you’ll be interested in seeing, articles about space exploration, about aliens, with special attention for the aliens being cataloged at the Cydonian archeological site, and about the US Marine Corps. Shall I retrieve them for you?”
“Not right now, Sam.” It seemed he had some catching up to do. “Maybe later.”
“I was wondering if you would ever get back!” In one smooth, languid motion, she peeled her shirt off over her blond head. Her breasts bounced entrancingly as she tossed it aside. Smiling, she reached for the elastic waist-band of her slacks. “I was getting so lonely!”
“Uh…hold on a moment, there, Sam. Don’t get undressed.”
“Are you sure?” Her eyes twinkled at him from the screen. “It’s awfully hot today. And I’m awfully hot, too….”
“I know you are. But, well, I don’t have the time right now.” He paused, thinking fast. “Tell me something, Sam. Could I download you to an MD? You know, to install you on another system?”