CHAPTER 10

Bart’s vid lit up with the face of his secretary. “He’s arriving, Mr. Higginbottom. He’ll be here any moment.”

“I’m on my way.”

Bart closed the link and, with some effort, got up from his desk. The doctor had told him to stay home for a while, insisting he needed a break from the stress of work, but he had ignored the suggestion. He sighed as he pulled on his suit jacket from where it hung by the door. “No rest for the wicked.”

He made it to the helipad as the copter set down. Making a feeble attempt to brush away a few wrinkles in his clothing, he put on a brave face and stepped forward to greet his honored guest. “Good afternoon, Mr. President. Thank you for coming to visit with us.”

President Samuel Davidson shook his hand, the man’s grip totally enveloping his own. “Glad to be here. That’s what I like about you, Higgie. Always ready to accommodate me. Once I heard the news, I knew I had to stop in and pay you a visit.”

Bartholomew cringed at the moniker the president had given him. “Yes, it’s been quite a success. The landing was textbook.”

Samuel put his arm over Bartholomew’s shoulder. “That’s not what I was talking about, but yes, the successful landing couldn’t have been better. And no more of this Mr. President stuff, Higgie. I told you before, call me Sammy. All my friends call me Sammy.”

“Yes, Sammy. Shall we go inside?”

The president waved his hand in a grand fashion toward the building and bowed slightly. “Show me the sights.”

He guided the president through the various departments. To him, the man seemed almost oblivious to what was actually going, staring off into space when things were being explained, but he never missed a hand to shake. After walking through Mission Control, he suggested they retire somewhere for a private chat. Bartholomew took him to the small conference room and dropped into the nearest seat. Thank god. I don’t think I could have walked another step.

The president had ordered his security team to remain outside the room and strolled casually around, poking into everything he came upon. “So tell all the good news. I understand you found some fossils? What do they look like? Were they like dinosaur bones? Tell me.”

Bartholomew chuckled. “Nothing like that, I’m afraid. Microscopic stuff. Our microbiologist, astronaut Brooke Jones, identified the life forms in some slate pieces they extracted from one of the craters. They’re only visible through a microscope, but definitely there. Here, let me bring them up on the big screen beside you.” He sent the images from his own pad to the viewer.

Sammy squared himself before the screen and whistled. “Well, this is fantastic news though, isn’t it? I mean, life on Mars! I need to go public with this.”

“If you don’t mind, we’d rather keep that quiet for now. Until we get the sample for further study. We don’t want another ALH 84001. Bill Clinton had plenty of egg on his face when he announced life on Mars back in ’96. It wouldn’t look too good for your re-election campaign. By the way, how’s it going?”

“It’s in the bag. Being the president who put the first humans—Americans, mind you—on the planet Mars, has led to a huge windfall of public support, as I expected.”

“Then with four more years in power, maybe we can see some budget restoration?”

The president came and stood near him, slapping a hand onto Bartholomew’s shoulder. “That’s what I like about you, Higgie, always ready with the quip. Yeah, we’ll get you a few more bucks, but don’t get your hopes up too high. I still have a few other budgets to fund.”

A staffer brought refreshments and, once he left, the president turned to face him, a serious expression on his face. “Listen Higgie, we have a small problem.”

What’s he talking about? I’ve done everything he’s asked up to now. My job is done. This better not be some ruse to get me to do something I don’t want to. He gave his head a quick shake to clear it. “What problem, Sammy?”

“The reports from Eros I. You haven’t been forwarding them to Drumdat.”

“That’s because we’re not finished with them yet.”

“That’s beside the point. Look, we made a deal with Drumdat. They have exclusive rights to anything Eros I brings back from this mission.”

So this is what he’s after. I’ll be damned if I’m going to give away everything I’ve fought so hard for. In his years climbing the corporate ladder, he had dealt with all kinds of bullies. The president was no different. Bartholomew took off his glasses, produced his cleaning cloth, and wiped them thoroughly. Replacing them, he looked up at the big man standing before him. “You made a deal, Sammy, not NASA. Besides, the way I look at it, Eros I is yet to return, so technically, they haven’t brought anything back yet. But have no fear, when the ship lands safely, I will be more than pleased to give Drumdat whatever we have.”

“But…but…that will be several months from now!”

“More like seven. The one month left on the planet, then the six month journey home. That should give us plenty of time to review everything.”

Feeling somewhat revived, he stood up, causing the president to step back a bit out of his way. “Now, if you don’t mind, Mr. President. I have many duties to attend to. I want to thank you for your visit. Rest assured, your private little deal will be honored. I never could have got my people there in the first place without it. They were my first priority, and for that, I thank you. We have a big day tomorrow, and I still have a number of things to look into.”

The president stood still for a moment, looking dumbfounded, then he broke into a loud guffaw. “Ha! That’s what I like about you, Higgie, you’re a tough little cookie. Okay, I’ll get out of your hair. And I’ll tell Drumdat they can damn well wait for their data.”

After escorting the president to the waiting helicopter, Bart returned inside to find Bruce waiting.

“Did everything go well?”

“With all the times the president said he liked me for one stupid reason or another and called me Higgie, I’m really starting to detest that man. But I got what I wanted. We don’t need to turn over the data at this time, and he even promised a budget boost in the new year.”

His body ached from the walking once more. But as he dragged himself toward his office, he still found the strength to smile. He’d managed to hold onto the reports from Mars until his crew got back. Played him like a fiddle.