Magnitude - Chapter 1 The Date

Welcome to Magnitude, a near future, First Contact thriller. I intend to post what has gone before here. I hope you enjoy it.

Prologue

Night crept in after the longest day. Twinkling stars formed familiar patterns in the dome of the sky. Just after midnight, a new star appeared on the horizon below Pisces.

It was easily a magnitude 2 star, one warranting further investigation, to discern its properties and see if it would brighten even more. David's phone started to receive message after message in the twilight. It buzzed uselessly on the counter.

If he had looked at his phone, he would have heard of the continuing wonders over Greenwich. There, another star rose, burning in the darkness and looking very much like the first star. A theory of satellite flares being mistakenly observed was quickly dismissed when yet another new magnitude 2 star started glowing at the skyline.

The phone didn't stop vibrating for the next two hours as star after star began shining just above the horizon, hoisted into the sky by Earth's rotation and joining its brethren, forming a new asterism momentarily unnamed by man.

Astronomers weren't the only ones who noticed the constellation. Everyone who looked up saw the 137 lights forming an asymmetric outline of a giant set of eyes, human eyes, staring down from the heavens. Night owls roused the sleeping populace and news cameras trained on stars informing the world. Billions stayed up to see the glowing pinpoints for themselves as night fell in their locale. A sort of quiet panic gripped the globe under the spectral eyes, now the focus of innumerable conversations. The populace demanded some sort of answer to allay their fears before the encroaching night.

Orders for all telescopes were sent out, email, text, phone calls, every possible way, to be trained on the new stars as they rose into sight for those locales. Every instrument of humankind was pointed at The Eyes and they were analyzed and determined to be identical in every respect human technology could devise. They were beyond the Oort cloud, but no further than 150 light years away where there was a known gas cloud that didn't occlude one of the new stars.

As night approached again, observatories geared up for a second night of observations. Sure enough, astronomers in Europe gathered around their instruments, to study the latest lights in the firmament. But something unexpected happened.

No sooner had the last new star risen above the horizon at Greenwich than all the lights of the newest constellation went out, simultaneously, emulating an impossible switch of cosmic proportions being thrown. Astonished, astronomers scrambled, looking for any trace of the stars, thankful that all their instruments were still looking at where the lights had been.

Well, almost all the instruments.

Chapter 1 - The Date

The right front wheel of the library cart wobbled forcing David to slow down. He wanted to escape as soon as possible. His last duty of the day was to get the carefully stacked tapes with his recordings from the radio telescope off to a group of fellow astronomers studying interstellar hydrogen. For all the good that would do. He relaxed when he reached his office and saw nobody was there.

At his desk, he affixed the identifying '648' sticker on each reel and numbered them. There were no mailing materials for him to pack them in. He had planned to get them over the weekend. A sharp exhale. Something else to do on his trip. Labelling complete, he furtively peeked out his door. He kept his head down as he guided the cart down the hall again, this time quicker. The wheel squeaked.

"David. David!" The dean's high heels rapidly staccatoed on the tile. David ground to a halt, exit in sight. "Did you finish installing the USB hardware? You said you would have it done last week." Her accusing words came out in rapid succession.

"Yes, ma'am. It's all working and I tested it." He patted his pants front pocket, the shape of the memory stick an indicator of success.

"Took you long enough. Don't know what good those are." She nodded her head at the tapes. "We need to talk. Soon." She walked away shaking her head. Not quite out of earshot, David heard, "Unbelievable."

David's shoulders slumped. He pushed the door open with the cart.

The dry heat of the mid-afternoon Arizona summer always felt like a blast furnace when he came out of the building's air conditioner. He shielded his eyes with one hand, pushing the laden cart toward his minivan.

Over the last few days, he spent a lot of time sitting in the equipment shack, staring blankly at the instruments. Occasionally, his hand hovered over the switches on the receiver, or the knobs of the oscilloscope, even the buttons on the now redundant tape drive. Not actually touching any of them. Normally, he enjoyed his duties at the radio telescope he ran at the university. It was his dream job, working there, having the opportunity to look at the stars in their eternal dance across the firmament while his equipment listened to the music of the atoms.

He pulled out his cellphone. Plenty of time before the post office closed. Shouldn't be a problem getting everything mailed. It pained him that such an advanced endeavor was stored on such primitive media. But next week, now that he finally figured out how to install the USB equipment, a thumb drive in an envelope should do the trick. Astronomy tended to produce too much data to send over the internet.

He wanted to believe his pet project of scanning the heavens for radio signals was worthwhile, but truthfully, David knew it was over when the ghostly image of a pair of human eyes appeared in the heavens a few nights ago. A shudder went through him at the recollection of the night. Everyone now knew that humanity was not alone in the Universe and was being watched. He concentrated on loading the reels into the cargo well of his minivan.

Never underestimate the bandwidth of a minivan hurtling down a highway, he thought, getting ready to leave work.

He stared at the dun-colored hills in the distance across the campus. His trip to the office supply store was really inexcusable. This wasn't some new task. He had been doing it every few days for almost a year. Why did he wait this time? Now it was another item in the litany of screwups. Sighing to himself, he understood the wrath of the dean since he was possibly the only astronomer on Earth who didn't point his telescope at the new stars. He climbed into the driver's seat and started off.

First things first. Buy packing materials, hit the Post Office, then finally, head home to the apartment for another lonely evening.

Wonderful.

Driving past the solar park, he stopped at the highway intersection traffic light. At the green arrow, he placed his foot on the gas pedal.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to slam on the brakes. A white cement truck barreled through the space just in front of him, barely missing him.

A stream of expletives came out of David's mouth. He cursed the seeming indifference of people ever since... He trailed off, stopping just short of naming the nighttime incident. Checking on the waiting cars, he accelerated and turned onto the highway.

At the strip mall he parked in the shade of a palo verde tree, hoping to keep the minivan a little cooler in the late afternoon desert sun. It would be a long time before the relief of night came.

He hurried into the store, coming out with a package of flattened cardboard boxes and a roll of bubble wrap under his arms. David was grateful people weren't panic buying this stuff. The strangest of things were no longer readily available. Looking across the parking lot, he saw a woman and a man standing by his vehicle in the shade. Coming closer, he saw the man swing a baton at the woman. The woman grabbed the man's arm but he managed to swing the end of the baton around and tapped her. Down she went.

"Hey!" David shouted, dropping his purchases and racing toward them. The man jumped into an idling car and peeled out of the parking lot. David bent down and took her arm, helped her stand. "Are you OK?"

The woman reached out and put the other hand against his van. David let go of her arm. She said, "I'm fine. I'm OK. Who are you?"

"I'm David. That's is my van. What happened?"

The woman snatched her hand from the van, tried to straighten her disheveled flannel shirt. "Sorry. I was going to the coffee shop when a car pulled up and that guy came out. He ran over to your van and tried to break in."

David stared incredulously at her. "And you tried to stop him?"

"Well, I couldn't just let him do that." She shrugged and looked at him. Her long, black hair cascaded with her motion, offsetting her grey-green eyes.

"Lady, that's, that's dangerous! People have been acting super crazy ever since... well."

"I know." She offered a sheepish smile. "My name is Katerina, by the way." She wiped her hand on her blue jeans and extended it.

He shook her hand. It felt strong and warm in his grip. "Well, Katerina, I'm very happy to see you're OK."

David suddenly remembered why he was there. "My boxes!" Letting go of her hand, he ran back to where he had dropped his supplies. Katerina followed and helped him pick the fallen goods.

"Thanks a lot. You really didn't have to do that. You've done enough already," he said apologetically.

Katerina picked up the last piece of cardboard. "Hey, random acts of kindness are important. Especially now, with everything else going on."

"That's so true." He couldn't help but smile at her when she helped him load the van. She had tucked her shirt in, accentuating her curves.

"Well, David, good luck with your boxes."

David bit his lower lip. "Didn't you say you were going to the coffee shop? Can I buy you a coffee or something? To say thanks?"

Katerina looked at him and smiled back, her tan showing off her perfect pearly white teeth.

"I'd like that."

* * *

David brought their cups to a table by the window. "I really can't thank you enough. People have been so weird these last few days." He took a sip of his coffee.

Katerina blew on her black coffee before bringing it close to her generous lips. "It's been a little discouraging seeing how people are reacting."

"I know. I almost didn't make it here, in fact."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah, a cement truck ran a light and almost creamed me." He motioned a swipe with his free hand. "Swoosh. Never even slowed down." He rested his free hand on the table in front of him.

"My goodness!" She touched his forearm. "You have to be careful! Things are different at the moment. I sure hope it's temporary. I remember when I first moved out here. People went out of their way to help each other." Katerina took an experimental sip of the hot coffee. It must have been fine as she took a larger swallow.

"I know what you mean. I moved out here for my job a few years ago and I can see differences too." David tried not to stare.

"What do you do?" The sunlight sparkled in her eyes.

"I work at the university, on the radio telescope."

"Wow! That's fascinating! I came out here to work on my pottery. But I have a secret." She leaned in conspiratorially. "I moved out here to better see the night sky." And she laughed, a sweet, musical laugh. He joined her.

"That's awesome! Did you get to go out much and stargaze?"

"I do! I really enjoy it. I go out on my porch and sit in my rocker looking up." A shadow passed across her face and she carefully looked down at her cup and lowered her voice. "That is, I use to enjoy it. Until four nights ago. I thought the stars were, I don't know, permanent. I felt so small, exposed. I wanted to hide."

David knew exactly what she meant. He reached out and put his hand on hers.

"Hey, it's alright. Things are going to work out. Nobody is knocking on our door."

"I hope so, David. It's a different, new world all of a sudden." She didn't move her hand out of his.

David gave her hand a squeeze and offered a smile. Katerina gazed back, right into his eyes.

He cleared his throat and asked, "You wouldn't like to go to dinner with me sometime, would you?"

Katerina's face lit up, rewarding David with her perfect smile. "That'd be wonderful!"

* * *

David got to his apartment on the cusp of evening. He dropped off the tapes and shipping materials just inside his front door after he fumbled with the lock. Katerina was easy to talk to and shared many of his interests so he found himself opening up to her. The rest of the afternoon slipped by.

First thing in the morning, he would pack the tapes and run to the post office. But now he hurried to keep the dinner plans with Katerina. Thoughts of a date later in the week went out the window when she cheerfully suggested that she was free tonight.

Sullivan's, the local steakhouse, was fancy-casual. So, nice, but not formal. He was relieved when Katerina was enthusiastic about the place. It was modestly priced, something he could afford on his salary.

After showering the salt and dirt off, he stared at his closet. Regretfully, it was rather empty, the pile of laundry a testament to the recent celestial appearance. Something else he meant to do over the weekend. He realized that he had been wearing the nicest clean set of pants he had. Mostly clean. A brief shrug convinced him that it didn't matter and he pulled the khaki pants on again. He picked out a nice white button-down shirt to go with his black sports coat but no tie.

Dressed in record time, he went out his door and turned to lock it. His neighbor Pete, dressed in work clothes and florescent vest was just getting home as David finished twisting his key.

"Whoa, looking good, Dave. Going somewhere special?"

David grinned as he locked the door. "Got a date tonight. We're meeting at Sullivan's."

"Fancy! I guess things are finally serious. Say hi to Ellen for me." Pete unlocked his door.

David hemmed at the remark. "Naw, Pete. Why would it be Ellen? It's someone I just met."

Pete, halfway in his door, stopped and turned to gaze at him with a puzzled look. He put his hardhat inside and ran his hand through his salt and pepper locks. "Really? That's... different. You're usually kinda slow to warm up to people."

David felt his face grow hot before he stammered out, "Well, we hit it off really well."

"Huh. I guess everyone is entitled to act a little weird now. You still coming to game night tomorrow? Ellen made it a point of telling everyone that it's still on, regardless. I think she picked up a new board game and really wanted to play it, especially with you."

"I'll think about it. Hey, I gotta go. I don't want to be late." He pointed at a nonexistent watch on his wrist.

"See you later. Hope it goes well." Pete waved goodbye.

Dave went down the stairs to his minivan and left. Sullivan's was a fair distance away through rush hour traffic.

* * *

Despite the heavy traffic, he arrived a bit early to a crowded parking lot.

He scratched his head before remembering the news stories of the widespread run on the food stores and problems with supplies. Maybe people were eating out in response?

He wondered how late these people would be out. The radio talk show he was listening had been full of callers expressing fear of the dark sky and wondering if the aliens were about to land. David didn't blame them. He hadn't felt like looking at the stars either and it was his job. He gave a slight shrug and went in.

Going up to the host, he asked for a table for two and was promptly informed of a wait. It was suggested to him that the bar was open.

Not quite believing that he had an actual date with someone out of his league, he decided it was a good idea to acquire a little liquid courage to ease the tension he felt. Not too much, however. Maybe later, after she didn't show.

He picked a stool where he could still see the entrance and kept an eye out for Katerina and ordered a rum and coke. Sipping it while he waited, the nervousness started to mount. Thankfully, it wasn't a long wait. When he spotted her, he waved to her from his seat. Katerina's face lit in recognition and she crossed over to him.

Giving him a quick embrace, she asked, "What are you drinking?"

"Rum and coke. Can I get you something?"

She pulled out the tall chair next to him. "Sure! How about a mojito? It's one of my favorites?"

She was wearing a short, light blue dress with little white flowers that was tight around the right places. The sight of her tanned legs and cowboy boots made his heart skip a beat. "You look great. How are you feeling? Rescue anymore cars?"

Katerina giggled. "Thanks, you look nice, too. Nope, just rescued one today. I'm feeling fine and getting better. Did you mail your tapes?" A smile that lit up the room graced her face.

David thought himself lucky.

"Eh, no, I just dumped them at home, got ready and came here." He gestured around the room with some embarrassment. "I'm sorry that this place is so crowded. We'll have to wait for a table."

Katerina looked around the room. "It's not usually like this? I don't normally come here."

"Not on a Wednesday." The bartender pushed a tall glass over to them. "Oh, here's your drink. Cheers!" said David, passing her the libation.

"Cheers!" She clinked glasses with him and drank half in one long swallow. He stared at Katerina. A look of dismay came over her. "I was thirsty! I swear I don't normally drink like that." She paused and looked down, hiding her eyes. "OK, I'm a bit nervous."

"Ha, it's alright. I'm nervous, too. Everyone has been acting a little different." He took a deep breath, and drank half his glass in a show of support.

"So, how have you been holding up? I mean, ever since, you know..." Katerina lowered her voice.

"Since the Eyes appeared? That's what everyone is calling them, right? 'The Eyes'?" He performed air quotes.

"Yeah, the Eyes."

"Well, this is going to sound weird, but part of me felt vindicated. When I was small, I would stay up late, looking at the stars out my window. They looked like tiny diamonds on velvet to me. I always thought they were the most important thing."

"Oh really?"

David took another sip of his drink. "Yeah. In high school, I found out you can listen to them on a radio. So I became a radio astronomer because I thought it would be cool. The music of the stars." He gave a little shrug. "I had an experiment going at the time the Eyes showed up. I was surveying the sky at 1420 MHz. It's called scanning the hydrogen line. It's a radio band where nature is just quiet. People have suggested that if there were aliens, they might try to communicate there, since any signal there wouldn't be natural. It's my little private research. Looking for aliens. Oh boy."

"So you pointed your equipment at the Eyes?"

A cough shook him and he took another sip. "No, I didn't. I was too ..." David paused, searching for a word. "Distracted. I got caught up in the excitement and, well, fear. Mostly fear. I felt bad the next day." Now it was his turn to look down at the floor.

She held her hand over her mouth. "Oh no!"

David gave a small shrug. "It's no big deal. I have rinky dink equipment, compared to the big boys. I'm sure all the major observatories were pointed at them. Probably all the minor ones too. I really wouldn't have been able to add much to the data anyway."

Katerina tilted her head. She looked so beautiful. "What were you looking at? Is that the right term, for a radio telescope?"

"Yeah, it's all light. I was pointed at a patch of sky around Arcturus."

"Arcturus?"

"I'll show you when we leave. It's really bright. Fourth brightest star actually."

"Wow! I didn't know the name."

"There are all sorts of old names for the visible stars. Some say that the oldest stories we have are about the stars."

A slight smile played across her lips. "I find that romantic, that those old stories are still around."

David smiled back at her.

"Table for David, party of two," announced the host.

Standing up and offering his arm, David asked, "Shall we?"

Katerina stood and slipped her hand around his arm. "Let's."

* * *

David thought dinner was successful. Katerina laughed at his attempts at humor and they shared a few meaningful gazes into each other's eyes. The food was good despite the substitutions. They talked a long time about all sorts of things, much to the dismay of the staff. When they left, he pointed out Arcturus, halfway to setting on the horizon. He walked her to her vehicle. He wondered how to end the evening but she resolved it for him. She kissed him goodnight there in the parking lot under the stars. And it wasn't just a peck on the cheek either. He talked with her through the window of her pickup truck. They made plans to see each other over the weekend. After exchanging numbers, she made him promise that he would call her when he got home.

The lot was now deserted compared to earlier. The restaurant had steadily emptied as the time grew later. People just didn't want to face the night sky yet and he understood it. There was hardly any traffic compared to earlier. He felt buoyed by the start of a new romance and it removed some of the ill effects of the last few days. Those events had started him down a depressing path, like so many other people, and he retreated from the world. But now he found himself signing along with the radio, an old Sinatra standard about going to the Moon. Off key, of course, which made his smile grow.

Pulling into his apartment complex, he noticed a large number of police cars and firetrucks. Red and blue flashing lights fractured the night into colored shards. Alarmingly, they all seemed to be clustered around his unit.

His customary parking lot was blocked by the emergency vehicles so he circled around and found an empty spot some distance away. Walking between the parked cars toward his apartment, he saw his way was blocked. There were firefighters and police cordoned off from a crowd of onlookers by yellow tape. The firefighters were stowing equipment and the police seemed to be talking to his neighbors. Confused, he looked around, trying to find an explanation.

He saw his friend, Pete, from across the hall, talking to a policeman on the other side of the tape. "Pete!" he called out. After some hand waving and pointing by Pete, the officer came over and lifted the tape for David to pass before returning to his notebook. David crossed over to his friend quickly, who was leaning against a bicycle rack, rubbing his graying temples.

"Dave. Wow, what an evening. I was about to call you." Pete sounded tired. He was still dressed in his work clothes, sans vest and hardhat.

David looked around, trying to absorb what he was seeing. "I don't understand."

"I was calling my Mom before changing and making dinner. You know, I hadn't talked to her since before the Eyes. The nursing home switchboard has been swamped. I finally got through and was on hold when I heard a loud crash. I looked out my window and saw your door swinging open. I knew something was up. I called 911 right away."

Concern filled his voice. "Are you OK? What happened?"

"I'm fine, buddy. Nothing happened to me. But something happened to your place ." Pete looked toward David's apartment. David followed his gaze.

A fire inspector was descending the staircase. Both of them watched while he walked over to a police officer. A quick discussion ensured and the policeman pointed at them. The inspector nodded and came over to Pete. "Sir, your quick action probably saved this whole building."

"Did you come from my apartment? What happened?" David pointed back to the stairs.

"You're the tenant? Yes? I'm afraid your apartment was destroyed, sir. Overall, I'd say you got real lucky you weren't there. The fire spread quickly. It looked like it started right by the entrance. Judging by the damage, the intensity of the flames by the door meant you wouldn't have been able to get out that way. We're investigating the scene at the moment. You should make arrangements for tonight. You won't be allowed back in for a while."

A couple of firemen were walking past them carrying hoses. A young looking man said, "That was a nasty firebomb."

The inspector turned to glare at the talking man. The firefighter noticed and ducked his head. He hurried away.

David stared in disbelief and pointed at the fleeing man. "What did he say?"

The inspector held up his hands. "I have no further information at the moment. We will be in touch with you." The policeman approached the fire inspector. The two walked away and spoke in hushed tones.

David felt lightheaded. He leaned against the bicycle rack.

Pete reached out and steadied him. "Hey, you OK?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." David had trouble focusing his eyes.

Pete snapped his fingers in front of David's face and studied his friend. "Dude, you're not looking so good. I'd let you crash on my couch but I don't think they're going to let me up there either." Pete thought for a moment. "Hey, let's ask Ellen if we can crash at her pad."

"Ellen? Why would she say yes?"

"You kidding me?" Pete studied David. "Fucking clueless," he said under his breath.

* * *

A solitary knock was all it took for Ellen to open the door. She greeted them dressed in shorts and tee-shirt with a faded white circle with a cutout of a man wearing a hat on it. A TV showed a rendered corridor with a hand holding a gun. One look at the pair and she invited them in.

From behind him, Pete pushed David in. "Thanks for letting us come over. I know it's really late. We appreciate it." Pete spoke over his friend's shoulder.

"I was so worried! I kept seeing all these firetrucks and police heading toward the back, by your unit." She closed the door to shut out the rumble of trucks going by. She pushed back the short, tight blonde curls hanging down over her eyes.

Pete maneuvered David into the living room, away from the door. "Yeah, Dave's apartment was gutted. I haven't been allowed back in mine."

"Wow! Has management contacted you guys?"

Pete shook his head. "Not yet. I figured that's something to do in the morning."

Seeing David blank expression, Ellen turned to Pete. "Is he okay?"

"I think he's a little shell shocked. His apartment was firebombed while he was out."

Ellen's mouth dropped open. "What?!"

"Somebody kicked open the door and threw a device in to start a fire."

She looked at David with big, soft brown eyes and rested her hand on his shoulder, "David? You're going to be fine, honey."

David blinked and looked around the apartment before settling his eyes on Ellen. "Hi Ellen. The fireman said it was deliberate."

"I heard." Ellen squeezed his shoulder.

"I think I'd like to sit down."

"Of course." She guided David to the kitchen table. There were papers and books covering the surface. Pulling out a chair, she gently got him to sit down in it. Pete followed and sat at the table opposite David. "Can I get you something? A beer?"

Pete raised his hand. "I'd like one too. You got anything to eat?"

Ellen returned with three cans of beer and a sleeve of crackers and passed them out before sitting at the head of the table.

Pete opened the saltines. He pointed at the cover of the nearest book. "Codebreaking and Cryptograms by Nola Kaye? A little light reading?" His hand wandered over to it.

Ellen snatched it out of his reach before putting it down next to David. "Security. It's part of my job, Pete. Drink your beer."

Pete popped the top of his beer and lifted it in salute toward Ellen. "Thanks." He took a long drink from it and munched one of the crackers.

David's unopened beer sat in front of him.

Ellen reached out and held David's outstretched hand. "Hey, it's alright. You can stay here however long it takes. It's not a problem."

David replied automatically. "That's really nice of you."

Ellen blushed. "Don't mention it. I'm very glad you weren't there. That could have been bad. Where were you?"

Pete interrupted, "Oh, this is going to be good!" and settled back in his chair, taking another long sip. Ellen's eyes shot daggers at him.

"I went on a date." David stared at his beer, unsure about what to do with it.

"A date? With who?"

"Katerina. She's very nice. And pretty."

Ellen removed her hand from his. "Really?"

"I just met her today. At the office supply store parking lot. I went to get stuff to mail my tapes." David decided to reach for the beer, after all.

"My, haven't you had an exciting day." Ellen's lips were pressed together in a straight line.

David inspected the can, as though puzzled by the pop top. "It has been eventful. I just want things to calm down. Too much has happened in these last few days. All this excitement is bad for me."

"Well, did you like the 'excitement' earlier in the evening?"

He twisted his head to look directly at Ellen, his eyes focusing on her. "Hey, we just talked a lot. We seemed to get along well."

"Let me guess, she laughed at all your jokes. Did you show her some stars after she said she was interested in them? Did you exchange numbers? How did you even meet? I bet you rescued her or something."

David's ears burned. "Well, sort of. Someone was trying to break into my car and she stopped him. The other guy took a swing at her."

"And you fell for it?" Ellen folded her arms. "What's so funny Pete?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." Pete took another sip, hiding his mouth behind the can.

Ellen peppered David with questions. "You didn't stop to think it was a scam? Wasn't it awfully convenient, to be there to stop a break in? Didn't you stop to think she might be after something?"

David was taken aback. "Well, the joke's on her. I literally have nothing anymore." He managed to sound angry and hurt at the same time.

Ellen's face softened and she rubbed her hand across her forehead before brushing back her blond curls. She took his hand again. "Oh, David, I'm sorry."

David looked at Ellen and squeezed her hand, "It's OK, I'm sorry too. I'm a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"Aww, the two lovebirds are making up. It's the start of something beautiful."

Ellen and David both blushed and said at the same time, "Shut up, Pete!"

Just then, David's phone rang. David's face fell.

"Aw crap, I said I'd call her when I got home."

Ellen let out a breath and took her hand back. She shook her head negatively ever so slightly while looking at David.

David held the phone to his ear and automatically answered, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Hey silly!" Katerina's happy voice filled his ear. "Who else would it be? Did you forget to call me when you got home?"

"I'm so sorry. Something came up when I got home." David's voice was strained.

There was a slight pause. "What? What happened? You don't sound right."

"Somebody firebombed my apartment." Equal parts of unbelief and stress colored his voice.

"Oh no! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I lost everything though, at least that's what the firemen said. Well, almost everything." He put his hand on his pant's pocket, feeling the memory stick there.

The voice over the phone had a bit of tremolo. "I'm about to cry for you."

"You're so sweet. I can't believe how nice you are. I guess the next few days are going to be busy for me. We'll have to postpone our next date." A pang of regret came over him. Of course it was too good to last. He breathed a heavy sigh, the weight of everything that had happened to him today pressing down on his mind. "I'll have to talk to the apartment managers, see what's left of my stuff, go by the post office..."

"Go by the post office? Are you still worried about the tapes? Didn't they just get destroyed?"

"Well, I guess the tapes were destroyed. But I still have all the data on a flash drive with me." He absently patted his pants pocket.

Silence was the response, silence that stretched out so long that David finally said, "Hello?"

The voice was steel. "David, I want you to get into your car right away and drive to the address I'm texting you. You're in danger."