Moon Hoax

13 A TWO-MAN JOB

Peter’s parent’s home was packed with friends and family for his father’s wake. His mother was happy many came after the funeral, and the mood of most attending was upbeat. Many were laughing, some crying, but all discussing fond memories. In some ways, the wake was a farewell party for his dad. His mom was happy to have Tom’s friends and family there celebrating his life. Many came up and told her stories of Tom, some she and Peter had heard, some not. But hearing them made dealing with his death much easier.

Peter was talking with some of his dad’s friends when his mother whispered in his ear, asking if he had talked with Anya yet. Peter was definitely interested, but wanted to speak with Dmitri first. He had decided to discuss the operation with Dmitri, hoping to get someone on the inside of the FKA who could support him after he hijacked the Soyuz. Even though the Soyuz was an escape pod on the International Space Station, it was still owned and operated by Russia. Once he hijacked the ship, he would be dealing with Russia’s mission control. He and Dmitri had complete trust in each other and Peter was prepared to give his old friend full details in hopes of getting his support. He had been trying to find Dmitri ever since the funeral ended. However, as he searched, friends and family of Tom’s kept offering their condolences and he was obligated to stop and have a brief conversation.

Thinking maybe his mom could help him find Anya, and figuring Dmitri would probably be with her, Peter whispered, “No, I haven’t talked with Anya yet. Do you know where she is?”

Her eyes widened as she nodded “yes” and politely excused Peter from the crowd, practically dragging him through the room. As she maneuvered her way through the house, friends tried to approach to offer their condolences, but Peter shrugged as if to say he had no choice but to follow his mother.

When they entered the dining room, Peter saw Anya and Dmitri at the other end. He unglued his mom’s hand from his arm. “I can handle it from here.”

She smiled and turned in to the kitchen. Anya and Dmitri were in a conversation as he walked toward them, neither yet acknowledging his approach. Anya was dressed in a form-fitting black dress with black high heels. She looked classy and gorgeous. Dmitri glanced up as Peter stopped next to them. He stopped his conversation with Anya and extended his hand.

Peter grabbed his old friend’s hand and they pulled each other close, patting each other on the back as Dmitri said, “I’m so sorry Peter. Your dad was a wonderful man.”

As they separated Peter thanked him. “I really appreciate your family making the trip out here.”

“It’s the least we could do,” said Dmitri sincerely.

Peter turned to Anya, who offered her condolences as well. He had nothing to lose, so he put out his arms and leaned in for a hug. Anya took a step toward him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body tightly toward his. It was obvious to Peter this was more than a platonic hug, which caught him off guard, especially considering how uninterested she had seemed the last time they met.

Anya whispered into his ear, “Your dad was a good man.”

As they slowly separated they continued to stare in each other’s eyes. Dmitri asked what his future plans were. When he didn’t respond, Dmitri nudged him and asked the question again.

Peter shook his head, getting his bearings. He turned to Dmitri. “There’s something I want to talk to you about, but it needs to be done in private. Let’s move into my dad’s office.”

Pushing her dark bangs out of her eyes, Anya smirked and said, “I’ll go find Dad.”

Peter didn’t want to come across as uninterested—not after that hug—so he offered, “I’d love to hear what’s going on in your life when we’re done.”

Anya just smiled and said in a sexy airy tone, “Sure, that would be great,” and walked away.

DMITRI WALKED AROUND TOM’S OFFICE looking at all the pictures and memorabilia. “Your father was quite a man.”

Peter closed the door to the office and sat at his father’s desk. “Thank you. He had a pretty special life.”

Still standing, Dmitri turned to look at Peter. “So what did you need to talk about?”

Peter met his friend’s gaze with his most serious expression. “What I am going to tell you is top secret. Only a few know about this.”

Sensing the intensity, Dmitri crossed to one of the leather chairs in front of the desk, sat and looked directly at Peter. “I understand.”

“I have been assigned a top secret mission to go to the moon to prove China wrong.”

Dmitri pushed back in his seat, eyebrows in his hairline. “You’re going to the moon? You’ve got to be kidding me. How? NASA doesn’t have a rocket capable of getting a man to the moon yet, do they?”

“No they don’t. I am going to hitch a ride with SpaceQuest.”

Dmitri gave him a dubious look and said with a slight chuckle, “SpaceQuest? There’s no way they have a rocket ready for the moon.”

“They aren’t taking me to the moon.” Peter paused for a moment. “They’re taking me up to the space station. I plan to use one of the escape pods to get to the moon.”

Dmitri put his hands up between them. “Whoa, cowboy. What are you talking about? I haven’t heard of any mission using the escape pod and, as you know, we are the mission control for those pods. So I would know.”

Peter crossed to the closed door, making sure it was locked. It was. Then he walked back to the desk chair and sat. He leaned over the desk and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I plan to hijack an escape pod.”

Dmitri stared at him, mouth agape. “Wow. That’s a wild plan.” He turned to look at the picture of Viktor and Tom, then turned back. “You know, you will basically be stealing that pod from me since as the assistant director, I am responsible for its well being and safety.”

“Dmitri, I wouldn’t be telling you this if it were not important and if I didn’t trust you.” Peter laid both hands on the desk, palm up.

Tipping his head to one side, Dmitri said, “You can trust me, but I’m not sure this is such a good idea. How do you plan on doing this, and why the escape pod? It isn’t even designed for deep space travel and besides, how will you boost it out of orbit?”

“I’ve been informed one of the pods is a modified Soyuz, called the K model designed for deep space travel.”

Dmitri stroked his chin. “Oh yeah, that’s right. I forgot about that. Somebody has done their homework. Not too many people know about that. But you still have to boost it out of orbit. How the hell are you going to do that?”

“The plan is to attach the VASIMR engine being tested at the space station.”

“How many men will go with you on this mission?”

“It will be just me.”

“You’re kidding. There is no way one man can pull off that kind of mission, if in fact it can even be done. You need at least one other man. How well are you trained on the Soyuz?”

“I’m a little rusty. However a Soyuz mockup is being shipped to SpaceQuest to help me get back up to speed.” Peter leaned back in his dad’s chair. “I was offered to have another agent join me, but there is one major flaw with this mission.”

Dmitri snorted. “What, the whole mission?”

Peter’s voice became flat and emotionless as he said, “There will be no way of getting me back. It’s a suicide mission.”

Dmitri knew why, knowing the Soyuz didn’t have a booster available to get Peter out of lunar orbit. He frowned. “Peter this whole mission sounds pretty crazy. Why do you want to take a mission where you’ll die? There has to be other options available to NASA?”

“From this point on, NASA and the American government will not be affiliated with the operation. I’m on my own, working with just SpaceQuest. Only the CEO knows of my true mission.” Peter leaned over the desk, picking up his mom’s picture. Looking at it he said, “I am doing this for Dad. Unfortunately there are no other options and, believe me, I wish there were.” Peter set the picture back down.

Dmitri sighed. “How can I assist?”

“I’ll need your help after I hijack the escape pod,” said Peter. “Since FKA handles the pod, I need to make sure I will be supported when traveling to the moon.”

“That will be tricky. As you know, Russia’s leadership has been adamant on not getting involved in this China-U.S. showdown. So I’m not sure what I can do once you hijack the bird. Also if you are successful in hijacking it, your little adventure will become an international incident. You know the powers to be will insist you return to Earth by a free return trajectory and not go into lunar orbit.” Dmitri hesitated for a moment, apparently uncertain. “You do need to go into lunar orbit, right?”

“Yes. I need to take detailed pictures of China’s landing site on the back side of the moon and one or two of our landing sites. I’ll need support from your mission control for course corrections and final burn requirements to enter lunar orbit.”

“I cannot give you any guarantees, Peter, but I will do what I can to help. I would do this for your dad. I may have to burn some bridges to help you get into lunar orbit, but once you do, it will be obvious to all we have lost our ship.”

Dmitri looked at the wall of photographs before continuing. “What about the laser? We’re pretty sure that thing is on the back side.”

“We feel it is too. The plan is for me to disengage it when I first approach the back side. Hopefully freeing up lunar orbit for future Russian flights will vindicate you for helping me out.”

Shaking his head Dmitri said, “Peter, there is no way you can do this mission alone. How in the world are you going to be able to do both the LOI burn and reprogram that laser on your first pass on the back side?”

“I don’t want to risk another agent’s life and besides, I don’t believe another agent would offer much help.” A knock at the door interrupted the meeting. Peter yelled out, “Who is it?”

A muffled voice responded, “It Viktor.”

Dmitri looked at Peter, a gleam in his eye, and whispered, “That’s your man!”

Surprised Dmitri would even consider his dad, Peter gave him a quizzical look. He yelled toward the door, “Hello, Viktor, just a minute.” Looking back at Dmitri he whispered, “What are you saying?”

Dmitri whispered back, “Dad knows the Soyuz. He knows the Russian commander on the space station, who respects him. He hasn’t been happy since Mom has been gone and he has always dreamt of going to the moon. He’s your man. Besides, he would do anything for your dad.”

Thinking the idea sounded ridiculous, Peter whispered, “He’s seventy-five years old for Christ sake!”

“And in great shape,” said Dmitri sticking up for his dad. “He’s in better shape than that old congressman you sent up in the ’90s. And don’t discount my father’s drive to succeed. He may come across as a jokester, but when he takes on a task, there is no one better to have on your team. He will see you through.”

Another knock came at the door, and Viktor asked again in a muffled tone, “I look for Dmitri.”

Before answering his dad, Dmitri leaned closer to Peter. Waiting, he whispered, “Plus, having Dad as part of the mission improves your chances of me getting FKA to support you after the hijack.”

Peter shook his head and said in a hushed tone, “I think this is crazy, but let’s see what your dad says.”

Dmitri smiled, and then yelled out, “Yeah I’m here, Dad, just a second. I’ll let you in.” Dmitri got up and unlocked the door.

Dmitri opened the door and there stood Viktor, smiling. He was your typical-looking Soviet cosmonaut; he was short, standing five feet four, at best. He was a stocky man who still looked to be in good physical shape. Looking at his weathered face, Peter could tell Viktor’s many wrinkles were shaped from smiling and laughing, indicating he must have had a happy life. He was bald, which made his blue eyes stand out. He looked like an old man.

“Do I interrupt?” asked Viktor.

“No, Dad, come on in,” said Dmitri.

Viktor slowly walked in straight to the picture of him and Tom, both standing proudly in spacesuits with their arms around each other. He quietly read the note he wrote over thirty-five years ago. Still looking at the picture he said, “Peter, your father was good man. I owe your dad for his sacrifice. He never ask anything from me.”

Peter was surprised at how good Viktor’s English was. He remembered back as a kid when he couldn’t understand a word. Though Viktor still had an accent, Peter could more easily understand him. Peter answered, “My dad always considered you one of his best friends. He loved how you could make him laugh.”

“We had fun times,” said Viktor, smiling.

Dmitri motioned to the seat next to him. “Dad, come here and have a seat.” As Viktor turned and walked to the seat, Peter went to the door, closing and locking it before sitting back down at his father’s desk.

Viktor crinkled his brow. “All okay?”

Dmitri answered, “Everything’s fine, Dad.” Then with a slight smile he asked, “Dad, how would you like to go to the moon?”

Viktor leaned back in his seat as though reeling from a strong wind. “Son, I give my left nut to go to moon. You know that.”

Smiling, Peter asked, “Would you be willing to sacrifice more?”

Cracking a grin, Viktor answered, “What? I need give both nuts? Hell, I don’t use anyways. Sure, I’ll give both for moon.”

Peter and Dmitri both chuckled. Having someone along with a sense of humor would definitely help take some of the pressure off. He also knew Viktor was someone he could trust. Peter got serious and asked, “Would you be willing to give up your life?”

Viktor looked at Peter first, slightly tilting his head, then turned and looked at his son. “What the hell you two saying?”

Dmitri placed his hand on his dad’s arm in a consoling manner. “Dad, Peter is serious. He has been given a top secret mission to fly to the moon to prove China wrong. He just explained the operation to me. Right now he is planning on doing it alone, but after hearing the details, I feel it needs to be a two-man job. I think you would be the perfect person to help him succeed.”

Raising his arms, Viktor blurted out, “Wow, count me in!”

Peter smiled seeing Viktor so enthusiastic. When he first heard the offer of flying to the moon he was excited too before Gavin dropped the bomb it was a suicide mission. He wanted to wait a moment and let Viktor savor the thought of going to the moon and back. Silence fell. Dmitri looked at Peter, obviously reluctant to say the next part. Peter signaled with a nod he would and said, “There is one major problem with the mission.”

Having been part of the space race in the ’60s, Viktor had to know any mission to the moon would have its share of problems and obstacles. He was one of the few Soviet Cosmonauts who actually trained for such a mission. His dreams had been shattered when the Soviet Union stopped pursuing the moon. However, Viktor never stopped dreaming about going into deep space. “What problem?”

Peter said, “We have figured out how to fly to the moon, but the problem is getting back. You will die if you go with me.”

“But we still fly to moon?” asked Viktor, surprisingly still excited.

“If we are successful, yes, you and I will fly to the moon,” answered Peter.

Viktor cocked another grin. “And I keep both nuts?”

Peter laughed. “Absolutely. You’re going to need some balls for this mission.”

All three laughed.

AT LAST MOST EVERYONE had left the wake. Peter had been focused all day on his dad’s funeral and the mission. With the wake winding down, and both Viktor and Dmitri up to speed and on board to help, Peter could now spend time getting to know Anya. Viktor and Dmitri had gone back to his dad’s office to work out final details for Viktor to fly back to Russia so he could settle up his estate before meeting Peter in Los Angeles. He planned on using his high level government contacts to get his visa revised so he could return to America. Dmitri told Peter he last saw Anya in the backyard.

The backyard was now empty of people. Sitting alone on a bench with her back slightly to him was Anya, staring over his mom’s garden. Peter stood for a moment to take in the sight. Anya’s dress was cut low in the back, her black hair flowing just past her shoulders. A slight cool breeze blew her hair to one side of her back. His mom’s garden was in full spring bloom, and the bright red roses were a striking contrast to Anya’s black dress. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. Peter slowly walked up from behind, taking in one last look of this lovely sight before placing his hand lightly on her back. “Is this seat taken?”

Startled at first, Anya looked up. She smiled and motioned toward the bench. “Please.”

Peter sat on the wooden bench. His dad had made it years ago for his mom. “This garden is one of my mom’s true loves,” Peter said while looking over the flowers. “She and Dad often sat here talking and holding hands.”

Anya looked at him. “They were lucky to find each other. They sound like they were a wonderful couple.” Turning back to the roses she said in a soft voice, “Your mom did a great job with this garden. It’s so peaceful and beautiful out here.” She put her hand on top of his and gave it a slight squeeze. “I am so sorry about your dad.”

Peter liked her aggressiveness. He felt like a schoolboy with a crush, which intrigued him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt that way. Looking into those beautiful blue eyes he responded with a simple, “Thank you.”

Anya abruptly lifted her hand and turned back to the garden, changing to a more combative voice. “So any idea why my dad is going back to Russia tomorrow? After meeting with you, he was all excited and said he needed to get back home right away. I was going to spend my three week vacation touring America with him.”

Peter grimaced; he was sorry to hear he had ruined her vacation plans. He didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t feel this was the right time to discuss it, especially given how the mission was going to end. Her dad should be the one to give her the details. “Sorry about that, but it has to do with my dad. Viktor is going to help out on a project for Dad that is time sensitive, which requires him to come back to the United States in a few days after he settles some matters in Russia.”

“So you’re not going to tell me why?”

“Not now.” Peter shook his head. Changing the subject was best. “So you’re taking some time off?”

“Some. I come out to America often because of work, so this trip was a mixture of work and play. So, even though dad is going back, I plan to stay.”

The two sat in silence for a moment. Anya turned and looked directly at Peter with a smile. “So a handsome man like you never found his soul mate?”

She had obviously listened to his eulogy. This was an interesting question to ask. Surely she knew he would ask the same question back. Knowing she was engaged, he felt she was setting up an opportunity to tell him if Dean was the right man or not. He liked her plan of attack and hoped for the best when he answered, “No, I never have found my soul mate. Have you?”

She took a moment to look back over the garden, as if deciding what she was going to say. If she answered “Yes” and it was Dean, then he was dead in the water. The wait seemed forever. Finally, she turned back and looked Peter squarely in the eyes and said those words he so wanted to hear. “Nope. I’m still looking.” She gave him a smile with a wink.

The two of them seemed frozen for a moment looking at each other. Peter sensed his opportunity so he leaned in for a kiss. Anya leaned in too, and they kissed. A simple yet passionate kiss.

They spent most of the night on the bench alone, catching up on each other’s lives. Peter was happy to learn Anya’s relationship with Dean had been over for awhile. Though they were still engaged, she said it was more for convenience reasons. Dean was already seeing someone else. She said they just hadn’t officially ended it.

Both Dmitri and her dad had left earlier in the evening after kissing her goodnight and working out that Peter would bring her back to the hotel. Peter’s mom had come out occasionally to check on them, offering drinks or food. Each time, she had a big grin on her face. He was glad to see her smile after such a tough day.

Long after the house had cleared and his mom had gone to bed, Peter and Anya sat on the bench holding hands. They talked until the early morning hours. Peter eventually drove her back to the hotel. Something special about Anya intrigued Peter. He had met and been with many women in his life and always sensed he would know when he met that right one. Anya felt like that woman, possibly even his soul mate. He watched the sun come up as he headed back to his mom’s, the inside of his car beginning to warm from the sun’s rays. Feeling the sun’s warmth, he couldn’t help think of how ironic it was to possibly find the right woman toward the end of his life.