Part 9 (1/2)

'And then what?' Gary asked, his face feverish.

'You did say you knew her number?' Jim asked.

Gary tapped his head. 'Got it right here.'

'Good. Essentially what we have done is made this phone into a public one. You can dial her directly.'

'What if she's not home?' Gary asked.

'Seems I heard someone else ask that before,' Lauren muttered.

'I can't work miracles, Gary,' Jim said.

Gary smiled. 'You'll never convince me of that. What do I do?'

Jim picked up a pocket computer - which he had attached to the back of the phone - and two exposed wires. He touched the wires together and there was a faint spark. 'Call her now,' he said. 'Quickly, before they stop us.'

Gary was pus.h.i.+ng the b.u.t.tons. 'Can they do that?'

'Yes,' Jim said. 'I'm hitting the switchboard operator with a barrage of incoming signals. At first she'll simply think her board has broken. That's our smokescreen. But it won't last. I wager security has a man at the switchboard. He'll get suspicious, sooner or later - probably sooner -and cut our power. Then someone will come in and yell at us.'

'It's ringing!' Gary cried.

'Good,' Jim said.

Lauren stood and moved next to the phone. Jim winked at her. Gary could have been a five-year-old opening Christmas presents. The screen blinked into life. A young blond woman appeared. She was pretty, Lauren thought, but looked older than the twenty-five years of age Gary had described. The sun wrinkles around her brown eyes were largely to blame.

'Kathy!' Gary exclaimed.

'Gary!'

Gary slumped in his chair as if he had been shot. 'Lorraine, is Kathy there? I've got to talk to Kathy. I'm going to Mars in a few minutes.'

Oh, is that why you called, Lauren thought.

We know, silly,' Lorraine said. 'They canceled my favorite late-night movie to show ten million different angles of your steaming rocket. The newscasters are soooo boring. What are you doing, honey? How come we don't get to see you on TV?'

'd.a.m.n it, Lorraine,' Gary said. 'I can get cut off any second. Is Kathy there?'

Lorraine didn't blink. 'Yes. She's in the other room watching TV. Why don't I tell her you're calling.'

Gary nodded vigorously. 'Do that.'

'But why don't you talk to me first,' Lorraine said. 'Did you get my letter?'

'Yes! I got your letter. But Lorraine, please - I don't have a few minutes.'

'I spent four nights and two days writing it. That Negro boy I told you about, the one at the park who had that operation on his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, helped me write it.'

'd.a.m.n you, get Kathy!' Gary shouted.

Lorraine smiled. 'You sound tense. I wish you were here. I could get rid of that tension for you.'

Gary lowered his voice and started to beg. 'Please, Lorraine? I really am about to be cut off. This call is against the rules.'

Lorraine twisted her mouth into a cruel line of delight. 'You're so neat, Gary. You risked your job to call us.'

Gary pleaded. 'Look, if you get Kathy now, I promise I'll call you personally from Mars.'

Lorraine pouted. 'But that's so far away. I wouldn't be able to hear you very well, not like I can now. There's something I have to tell you about the young Negro boy and his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. They cut him a way where he can't...'

'Shut the f.u.c.k up!' Gary screamed. Poor Gary, Lauren thought, but she was beginning to enjoy herself.

Jim eased Gary aside and said politely into the phone, 'Hi, Lorraine, my name's Jim. I'm a good friend of Gary's. He's right when he says our connection could be interrupted. You can see he honestly wants to speak with your sister. Please tell her Gary is calling, as a favor to me. I would appreciate it.'

Lorraine didn't hesitate. 'All right.' She disappeared from the screen. Gary looked at Jim as if he were G.o.d.

'T-minus two hours and twenty five minutes,' the speakers said.

Lauren groaned.

'I know how you feel, Doc,' Gary said, his eyes glued to the screen. Suddenly he sat upright in his chair. 'Kathy!'

'Gary!'

She didn't have her sister's wrinkles, Lauren noted, and consequently looked younger. Also, Kathy's eyes were green, as opposed to Lorraine's brown. They were not identical twins, as Gary imagined. Lauren also noted a twinge of jealousy on her own part, but dismissed it. At the moment, she had too many other things to worry about.

'You called,' Kathy was saying, her voice sweet with emotion. 'I'm so glad you called. You're leaving now, aren't you?'

'Yes,' Gary's forehead was damp. 'I'm going to Mars. I've called you a few times.

'Really?'

'Yeah. Didn't Lorraine tell you?'

Kathy looked distressed. 'She did tell me, but I didn't believe her. I wanted to. Lorraine's sick, you know. She's going to this new doctor my parents found.' She bit her lower lip. 'I'm going to miss you, Gary.'

'It's OK,' he said gently. 'I'll visit you as soon as I get home. I'll visit your kids at the hospital. I'll have a lot of neat stories for them. I'm sure something exciting will happen on Mars.'

Gary stopped, and so did the clear transmission. Static cracked the screen, and perhaps it was because of his comment about neat stories. Kathy's face distorted into an unrecognizable blur. Security was on to them. Jim tried manipulating the circuitry but to no avail. The phone went dead a moment later.

'At least I got to see her,' Gary said, staring at the blank screen. Jim patted him on the back.

'She seems like a nice girl,' Jim said.

'I liked her,' Lauren added.