DARK  NIGHT OF REALITY

William Ellison found himself jerked awake from a sound sleep.  He would have shouted in alarm had a hand not been covering his mouth to prevent such a shout.  Desperately, he brought his hands up to force away the person in the darkness above him.  Almost lazily, his hands were brushed aside.

“Stop it!”

The order was hissed with every expectation of being obeyed.

Stunned, William obeyed, letting his arms fall back to the bed.

“Don’t make a sound.”

The second hissed order was no less commanding than the first.

The hand across William’s mouth was removed.  Seconds later, he felt someone sit on the foot of the bed.  There was a barely audible ‘click’ and the beam of a flashlight illuminated the face of the person who had invaded William’s bedroom.

“Jimmy?”  Confused, William struggled to sit up.

Silently, a black-clad Jim Ellison watched as William reached for his glasses lying on the bedside table.

Glasses firmly on, William frowned.  “What’s going on?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

William ran a hand over his grey hair.  “Find what out?”  He glanced at the clock on the table.  “Jimmy!  It’s after two in the morning!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out that you’re an investor in Berkshire Publishing?”

“Ber…I have many investments.”

“And you know what each and everyone of them are and how much they’re worth.  You know how much influence you have with every person and every company you’ve ever been in contact with.”  Jim menacingly leaned forward.  “Do not play games with me, old man.”

“You have no right to talk to me like that!” William angrily remonstrated.

Jim leaned back.  “I’ll speak you to however I please.  But we were speaking about Berkshire Publishing.”

“Well, what of it?” William demanded.

“You’re also an old college buddy of Sid Graham’s father,” Jim continued.   “Amazing that Sid is an old friend of Naomi Sandburg, isn’t it?  I need to look further into that connection.”

“I was friends in college with an Arthur Graham,” William admitted.  “I think he had a son, Sidney.”  He glared at his older son.  “But I fail to see what…”

“Naomi sends a manuscript to Sid,” Jim interrupted.  “Suddenly Sid is all over Blair to publish it.  In fact, he acts completely unethical in releasing part of it to the public.”  He coldly stared at his father.  “He wouldn’t have done that unless someone…someone with a great deal of influence and power would protect him from any fallout.”

“You’re assuming that I have incredible influence as a simple investor,” William snorted.  “If you knew anything about the business world, you would know what you’re suggesting is impossible.”

“It would be for a simple investor,” Jim admitted.  “But you’re more than that, aren’t you?”  When William remained silent, Jim pursed his lips and stared at the ceiling.  “You’re the sole stockholder of Eagle Mining.  Eagle Mining is the primary stockholder of Patterson Imports.”  He returned his stare to William’s face.  “And Patterson Imports is the majority shareholder of Berkshire Publishing.”

William’s blue eyes widened.

“You put two and two together and figured out what Blair’s thesis is about,” Jim continued.  “And you’ve always knows about my abilities.  You may not have known what they were called until Blair came along.  But after you met Blair, you found his previous research.”  His cold eyes narrowed.  “Then you arranged for Sid to make his thesis public.”  He leaned forward.  “Tell me, how long have you and Naomi been planning this?”  He leaned closer.  “And don’t even think of lying to me.”

William hesitated then nodded.  “Naomi contacted me after Blair was drowned in that fountain at Rainier.  You can’t blame her for being concerned about him.  We both felt it was best for him and for you if the two of you were separated.”

“So you decided it would be in Blair’s best interests to sabotage his work?  Force him to declare himself a fraud?” Jim angrily demanded.

“He did that of his own volition!” William furiously replied. 

“He did that because he felt he had no choice,” Jim coldly argued.  He leaned back.  “Naomi was smart to get outta town a couple of months ago after she screwed up Blair’s life.”  He glared at his father.  “Smarter than you.”

“You won’t do anything to me,” William confidently replied.  “I’m your father.”

“Biologically,” Jim acknowledged.  “But not in anything else.  Your actions started a huge ball rolling that nearly got me and some very good people killed.  And I don’t even want to think how you nearly destroyed the best friendship I’ve ever had.”

“You saw what happened when that thesis became public,” William argued.  “That boy is completely irresponsible for writing about you like that!  And I can’t believe you’d allow it!”

“It amazes me that Sandburg thinks you would ever be a father to me,” Jim mockingly smiled.  “He’s usually a much better judge of character.”

“Whatever you might think, I’ve always had your best interests at heart.  What do you think your childhood would have been like if you’d used those…abilities of yours openly?” William demanded.

Jim leaned forward.  “What would my childhood have been like if you’d treated my gifts as something to be treasured and not as something to be hidden away like some dirty secret?”  He waved his hand to stop his father’s reply.  “And how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  It’s all useless speculation.  And, as you pointed out, it’s after two in the morning.”

Jim lithely got to his feet.  “So here’s what’s going to happen.  Blair is going to sue Sid and Berkshire Publishing.  You are going to use your influence to make sure they agree to the terms presented to them.  Blair is also going to file suit against Rainier University and Chancellor Edwards since they improperly terminated him…again.  You will use your influence as a prominent citizen, alumnus, and donor to see they accept the terms presented to them.”

“And if I don’t?” William angrily demanded.

Jim leaned forward.  “You never understood that my gifts make me a protector.  And Sandburg is at the top of the list of people to be protected.  And the U.S. Army taught me how to be a very good protector.  And my time with the Chopec earned me my PhD.”  He coldly smiled.  “There are so many ways to arrange a fatal accident,” he hissed.  “Food poisoning, auto accident, fire…you’re a prominent businessman.  Who knows who might kidnap you for ransom?  Do you want to know the statistics on how many kidnap victims are murdered by their kidnappers?”

“I don’t respond well to threats, Jimmy.”  William’s blue eyes flashed.

“That’s okay.  I respond very well to carrying them out.”  Jim stood at his full height.  “You started the process of creating me.  Don’t be so surprised at how I turned out.”  He turned away, then hesitated before turning back.  “Do as I’ve said, and nothing will happen.  But I will protect Sandburg.”

“Fine!” William snapped.  “I’ll make sure Berkshire settles and do my best at Rainier.”  He angrily stared at his elder son.  “I hope you realize that this is the end of things between us.”

Jim mockingly smiled.  “News flash.  Things ended between us the day I walked out that door when I was eighteen.  Anything else was just an illusion.”

William snorted as Jim silently left the dark bedroom.  He reached for the telephone on the table next to his bed.  “If he thinks that I’m going to knuckle under these threats, he’s…”

Startled beyond belief, William nearly dropped the phone when he heard the loud angry snarl of an animal.  Looking through the open doorway of his room to the hall, he saw the shadow of a large animal cross the threshold…then heard the sardonic chuckle of his elder son.

Slowly, William replaced the telephone on the table and leaned back. 

The shadow disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

 * * * * * * * *

Blair Sandburg rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed.  Hearing someone in the living room, he glanced at the nearby alarm clock and frowned.  Normally Jim was as silent as a ghost when moving around the loft during the night.

Cautiously, he looked down to the living room, then relaxed when he saw Jim sitting on the couch.  Quietly, he rose from the large bed and padded down the stairs.  “You okay?” he softly asked.

“Sorry.  Didn’t mean to wake you, Chief.”  Jim closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the couch.

Blair hesitated, then crossed the room and sat on the edge of the couch.  “You were gone a long time.”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize it was so late until somebody mentioned it.”

“You didn’t have to leave while I talked with my attorney,” Blair gently protested.  “This is your home.”

“Our home,” Jim automatically corrected.  He turned to look at Blair.  “Remember?”

Blair happily smiled.  “Yeah, I remember,” he softly agreed.  “You still didn’t have to leave.”

“Yeah I did.  You deserved privacy.”

“And I wanna thank you for that,” Blair nodded.  “But…I’d like you to be a part of this, Jim.  It affects both of us.  I’d like you to be a part of the decision making process.”

Jim silently studied Blair for a few moments, then gently smiled.  “Okay, buddy.  Together, huh?”  He held out his left hand and teasingly wiggled his fingers.

Blair nodded.  “Together.”  He gripped Jim’s hand with his right one and squeezed.  After a few moments, he released the grip.  “How about we take the phone off the hook tomorrow and just do a lot of talking about this?”

Jim nodded.  “Sounds good to me.”  With a repressed groan he got to his feet.  “Just not too early for the heavy talking, huh?  I’d really like a nice lazy morning in bed with you.”  He leaned forward and lightly kissed Blair on the lips.

Blair grinned in anticipation.  He hesitated then continued, “Naomi called.”

“Yeah?  She okay?”

Blair relaxed as he stood and walked back up the stairs.  “Seemed to be.  She thought she’d head back this way in a few months.”

Jim nodded as he headed towards the bathroom.  “Where is she?”

“Australia,” Blair answered.  “Hey!  Wouldn’t it be a kick if she ran into some of Megan’s family?”

Jim groaned.  “Say goodnight, Chief.”

“Goodnight, Chief.”

Jim stood for a few moments staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.  Reassured to hear Blair returning to their bed, he absently scratched the ears of the dark jaguar that leaned against his leg.  “Australia, huh?”

* * * * * * * *

A few weeks later, Naomi Sandburg ran through the airport in Sydney, Australia in an attempt to catch her flight.  Seeing the attendant preparing to close the door, she called out, “Wait!  Please!”

Naomi panted for breath and shoved her red hair back from her face as the attendant scanned the boarding pass.  “Thank you,” she smiled.

“You’re lucky to have made the flight,” the young woman admitted.  “Have a nice flight.”

Naomi hurried along the corridor to the plane and then to her seat in first class.  Still catching her breath, she fumbled with the seatbelt as the door the plane was closed and secured.  Taking a deep breath, she looked out the window as the plane pulled away from the gateway.  She barely paid attention to the announcements over the public address system.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.  This is Oceanic Flight 815 from Sydney to Los Angeles.”

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