Death Sleep ~ Book Three

four.

The next morning Lance and Leslie met with General Advan again. It had been a long night for both the General and the Aberdeens and the evidence of it was written all over all their faces.

"How did he know who I am?" Lance asked the General as he settled into the chair.

"Baxter? He knew? How do you know he knows?"

"We had a visit from him last night. He nearly killed my wife and my daughter," Lance answered bitterly.

"Ah, so that's where he went. We lost him for a few minutes last night. He refused to tell us where he had gone. He told us to read the obituaries to find out."

Lance closed his eyes. It had nearly been true.

"As for knowing who you are, Baxter grew up on this base. He ran errands for the office personnel. He would have been here when you were brought here for testing and so forth. He has a very good memory."

"How do we proceed?" Lance asked grimly.

"We talk terms, first. I want you to know that your family will be well compensated financially. They will be given even more than you would normally have as well as anything your books generate. Lance, we don't know how long this will take. It might be best if..."

"What?"

"If you 'died.'"

"Died?"

"A fake funeral. I'd hate for anyone to think you ran out on your lovely wife and beautiful daughter. The service you do for all of us deserves better than that. You deserve to die a hero."

Strangely, Lance was touched. It was appropriate too. It felt a lot like he was dying and there was nothing anyone could do about it. He looked at Leslie and nodded his head.

"It would be best that way. And it would be best if you let Liza think it too."

"What? But Liza could come visit."

"Visit what? A near corpse lying in a bed for who knows how long?"

Leslie's face filled with pain.

"Don't say that. You will be sleeping, that's all."

Lance sighed and put his arm around her. This was so difficult for her and it wasn't going to get any better.

"Also, there is the matter of keeping your body fit. We don't want you wasting away during your...time...with us. We will be feeding your body a mixture of things that will continually keep your body fit. We will also be doing exercises with you. We're going to do everything we can to keep you healthy."

Lance nodded.

"Is there anything else you would like to request?"

"One more night for me to say goodbye to my family. Uninterrupted."

"Done. We'll keep very close tabs on Baxter and make certain he doesn't interfere with anything. Lance, Leslie, there are no words to express the gratitude and deep sadness that I feel toward the both of you and your daughter. I'm not an emotional man, if I were; I'd been killed long ago in battle. But, I hope that you can understand what..." He propped his forehead in his hand. The strain was getting to him. He was sending a good man into a battle that he couldn't understand and taking this man away from an incredible family, and placing him in the worst kind of danger. Even if this man didn't die, he probably would come out insane. He was asking this man to give up his mind, and he knew he didn't have the guts to do something of this magnitude himself.