The response came just a few seconds later, “Ten minutes.”
Mickey sat down on the step on his front porch to wait. He wondered what life would have been like if his mom and dad had stayed together. Would they fight constantly and make life a living hell? Would they be a loving family who supported and encouraged each other? Divorce was such an ugly issue. There were so many things that might have been different if his family was still intact. Maybe his dad would spend more time with him. Maybe his mom would be around more often instead of out looking for a man. Maybe his house would feel like a safe place of refuge when the world fed him bologna.
**********
The trio walked into the recruiting station with various emotions. Red was excited; his dad Rocky was proud; and Mickey was apprehensive. A sign on the door read, “Back in 10 minutes.” The door was open so they let themselves in.
Once inside, they walked around looking at the various posters on the wall. There were cool posters of ships and submarines. There were posters of guys working on technical electronic devices. There were posters about college scholarship funds. In the past few years the various branches of the military had been maintaining an aggressive marketing campaign. There were high tech commercials on television that looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie. The posters on the wall were top-notch marketing tools.
The door opened and the recruiter came in. He was wearing white pants and a white shirt. On his left shirt sleeve was an insignia with a crow and three chevrons. Between the crow and chevrons was a symbol that looked like an electron. On the right side of his shirt there was a name tag just above the breast pocket that read: ET1 Pelkey. On the left side of his shirt he wore two rows of ribbons above the breast pocket. The uniform looked sharp on him.
He introduced himself around the room. “I’m Petty Officer Pelkey.”
Red said, “I’d like to get some information about becoming a SEAL.”
“Ah, good choice,” Pelkey said. “Have a seat and I’ll tell you all about it.” He took a seat behind his desk and pointed them to three chairs.
“The SEALs are the navy’s elite special forces. They are trained to fight from the sea, from air, or from land. After boot camp the initial training is at Coronado, CA just south of San Diego. It’s tough. Some people consider this the most challenging training in the world. You look like you’re in pretty good shape. Are you a good swimmer?”
“I’m on the swim team at school.”
Pelkey continued, “Being a good swimmer is essential.”
Rocky spoke up, “I was a SEAL back in my day. You’re right. The training is tough, but I think Red has what it takes to make it through.”
“Good,” said Petty Officer Pelkey. “Then you have a good idea of what he’s getting into. SEALs learn to jump out of planes, they learn to swim underwater using special underwater vehicles, they learn to enter and leave submarines while they are submerged, and they learn to fight undetected behind enemy lines. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been going on, SEALs have been instrumental in capturing high value targets behind enemy lines. Our SEALs have seen a lot of action in the past few years. Navy SEALs are the most deadly special forces unit in the world.”
“I’m surprised to hear the SEALs have seen action in Afghanistan,” said Red. “The country is land-locked.”
“Ahh, that’s what makes the SEALs so deadly,” said Petty Officer Pelkey. “They are trained to fight from the water, but they are also trained to fight from the air and from land. They are experts at covert ops behind enemy lines.” Pelkey had been doing this for several years now. He had already summed up the situation and realized Red was a given. He would be signing on the dotted line by the end of the day. He needed to find a way to get this other kid involved in the conversation. Why sign up one when he could sign two? He began to wonder what the other kid’s interests were.
“What about the pay?” Red forged ahead.
“Well, starting pay as an E-1 is about $1,500 a month, plus you’ll get special combat pay. The best part of all is that we currently are offering a $30,000 enlistment bonus for SEAL candidates.”
That caught Mickey’s attention! All of a sudden he was getting interested in the conversation.
Pelkey made his move, “We have a special deal going on right now. If you get a friend to join along with you, I can offer you both an automatic promotion to E-3 going in.”
All of a sudden Mickey found himself to be the center of attention. He had to admit, he was interested, but he had his doubts if he was in good enough physical condition. He asked, “How do I know if I’m in good enough shape to make it through? I’m not aqua man like my friend here.”
Pelkey reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. “You will actually take three different physical fitness tests,” he said. “Your first test will be a screening test.”
Mickey noticed the shift in the conversation. Pelkey was talking as if he had already signed up.
“I’ll schedule you to take the screening test next week. Then you will take the physical fitness test again within 10 days before you ship out.”
“What will I have to do on the test?” Mickey noticed that his choice of words had also changed.
Pelkey looked at his piece of paper. “You start out with a 500-yard swim using breaststroke or sidestroke. You have to complete the swim in 12 ½ minutes. Then you get a 10 minute rest. Next you must perform a minimum of 42 pushups in 2 minutes followed by a 2-minute rest. Then you do a minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes. After another 2-minute rest you must be able to do a minimum of 6 pull-ups. You get a 10-minute rest after this one, and then it’s on to a 1 ½ mile run wearing running shoes and shorts. The run must be completed in 11 minutes or less. You will have to pass this test again during boot camp, but that time you will be required to wear long pants and boots for your run.”
Mickey didn’t have to think about this very hard. “There’s no way I can do all that!” he said. “That’s not for me.”
Pelkey was undeterred. “Do you like math and science?”
“That sounds more like me,” said Mickey. Ever since he could remember, math and science had been his favorite subjects in school. He wasn’t too fond of English class and as for social studies…he’d rather eat worms!
“Well,” continued Pelkey. “We also have our Nuclear Propulsion program. Our nukes operate the nuclear plants onboard aircraft carriers and submarines. Not only will you go in as an E-3, but after you complete your training in 21 months you will be eligible for a $60,000 re-enlistment bonus and automatic promotion to E-5.
Red had been sold before he even walked in the door. The thought of Mickey joining along with him presented an exciting proposition. The idea that he would be able to skip the first few ranks and join as an E-3 didn’t hurt matters any either. “Can we go through boot camp together?”
“You bet!” Pelkey closed the deal. “You can ship out for boot camp in Great Lakes, IL on the same day. I believe we can get you both scheduled for the end of June.”
They scheduled another appointment for the following week to take written tests and the physical fitness test for Red. Mickey would have to take a special written nuke test. Once their testing was out of the way, they would be deemed eligible to enlist.
Both boys were excited as they walked out of the recruiting office. They had a lot to talk about on the drive home. Rocky was almost as excited as the two boys. He was proud of his son and excited for him to become a man.
Chapter 3:
January, year 1.
Michael Bowles sat in his living room in a daze. He still couldn’t believe what had happened. His body was numb as he sat staring blindly at the television. Who could do such an evil thing? He used the remote to switch from channel to channel.
“And now for our top news story,” the anchorman was saying. “BioTech Co
rp., the world largest developer of biotechnology applications, suffered a huge loss today. Seven research scientists were found dead inside the San Jose research facility early this morning. The cause of their deaths is unknown at this time. Chief Executive Officer Michael Bowles refused to comment.”
Bowles changed the channel again.
“San Jose Police Chief Smith gave a statement earlier today. He said the cause of the deaths is still unknown. He declined to say whether or not foul play was suspected.”
Michael hit the button on the remote one more time.
“San Jose Coroner John Peters remained at the scene for nearly six hours while he conducted his investigation. He failed to speculate about the cause of death. Very few details are known at this time. Back to you Jennifer.”
“Thank you Bill. For those of you just tuning in, BioTech Corp. suffered a huge loss today. Seven of its research scientists were found dead in the laboratory at their San Jose Facility. At this point it is not known what the cause of death was.”
“Yesterday, just prior to the incident, BioTech made a press release. Chief Executive Officer Michael Bowles announced that BioTech would invest 125 million dollars in U.S. technology companies over the next two years to spur domestic job growth. Bowles said these investments would be focused on information technology, biotechnology, and so-called transparent technology.”
He changed the channel again.
“During yesterday’s press release Bowles said BioTech is part of a group of companies that agreed to increase hiring of college graduates, creating as many as 6,000 jobs within the next year. He was quoted as saying, ‘We cannot afford to let our future scientists and engineers sit idle after graduation. We will be providing intense focus on hiring graduates with biochemistry, engineering, and computer science degrees.”
Michael turned off the television and sat quietly staring off into space. It seemed like he had said those words years ago, not yesterday morning. How could everything have changed overnight?
**********
Michael sat alone in his dark house. Lucy and Ethel, his ever faithful companions, shared the room with him, but beyond their canine loyalty, his world had become a lonely place. How did he get here? Things hadn’t always been like this. He and Judy had been so happy for so many years. He missed her so bad it hurt. Life just hadn’t been the same since cancer took her from him two years ago.
They had met in college. He was a science major and although he didn’t know it at the time, Judy was just after her Mrs. Degree. That was fine with him. As far as he was concerned, he was the winner in the deal. Judy came from a conservative family, the daughter of a preacher. Their first date had been a night at church together. He wasn’t a Christian at the time. When he got up the courage to ask her out that first time, he had dinner and a movie in mind. She had accepted his invitation for the date, but insisted they go to church instead. He wasn’t interested in church, but he was interested in Judy, so he went to church. He became involved and even joined a bible study group. The first six months of their relationship never took them anywhere but church. If he hadn’t been so crazy about her, he would have never stuck it out.
As it turned out, he became a believer and about six months into their relationship Michael gave his life to Christ and was baptized. The next weekend he and Judy went to dinner and a movie for the first time. She confessed to him then that she had decided a long time ago that she would only marry a Christian. Since he hadn’t been a Christian up until now, she wasn’t willing to date him up until now.
From this point forward things only got better and better. They fell madly in love with each other and were married the following year after he graduated. She was a year behind him, but didn’t go back to school after the marriage. Here they were, 22 and 21 years old, madly in love, broke, and anxiously looking to take on life together.
He went to work for Sweetland Corp., a chemical waste company in San Jose, CA. He worked in the office, took calls from companies needing hazardous waste hauled away, prepared manifests, and dispatched the trucks. It wasn’t exciting, but it paid for their small 1-bedroom apartment and put food on the table.
It didn’t take long to figure out this wasn’t how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Judy was a trooper. She didn’t complain. But he wanted to provide a better life for her. They decided he would go back to school in the evenings. Judy got a job in a doctor’s office; Michael worked at Sweetland during the day and went to school in the evenings. It took several years, but he managed to get his masters degree and then eventually his doctorate. He still remembered how good it felt that first time Judy called him Doctor Michael Bowles. They were a team and he always gave her credit for his success. He knew he couldn’t do it without her support.
Shortly after receiving his doctorate he left Sweetland and went to work for Lithicon Corp. Lithicon was a pharmaceutical company that made vitamins and herbal supplements. While working for Lithicon he met people and made contacts. One of those contacts was Dave Maynard who owned a large biotechnology company. Dave made several attempts to get Michael to leave Lithicon and come to work for him. He had an uncanny eye for talent and he definitely saw potential in Michael. In the end, Michael took him up on his offer. Dave gave him increasing levels of responsibility over the years and the two of them became good friends. They played golf together and shared many good times together.
Eventually the day came when Dave decided to retire. He told Michael about his plans and his intention to sell the company. Michael hardly saw what that had to do with him. He didn’t have the money to buy it. As usual, Dave was way ahead of him. He intended to sell the company to the highest bidder, but proposed to spin off the profitable DNA research division. He agreed to sell this spinoff to Michael for the hefty sum of $100. This gracias gift was truly a life changing event.
Over the next few years Michael developed BioTech, his new company. The company became involved in the human genome project and received many federal research grants. It was involved in cancer research and actually came up with prevention methods for three different types of cancer. Although BioTech didn’t develop any actual cancer cures, it was able to create products that could put several kinds of cancer into remission. After time went by and the human genome project neared maturity, BioTech became involved in analyzing DNA for police departments and crime labs around the world.
Michael bought Judy a nice house in San Jose. She no longer had to work and was able to live a life of leisure. She didn’t choose to live the life of leisure however. She volunteered at their church; she volunteered at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, and she was involved in many community events. Michael marveled over her intense desire to help other people. He loved her more and more as each year went by.
BioTech continued to prosper. The company branched out into other areas of the technology sector. Biotech purchased or developed other companies involved in electronics, mechanical production, medical technology, pharmaceutical technology, and many other aspects of technology.
Michael and Judy shared 40 wonderful years together. They were happy and they were prosperous. They served each other, they served their community, and they served their church. They gave generously to various charities and helped too many people to count. Life was good.
Then Judy became sick.
The symptoms were not really apparent in the beginning. She lost some weight, but she viewed that as a good thing at first. She had some stomach aches, but she had had trouble with her gall bladder for years and was used to the occasional stomach ache. When her skin began to take on a yellowish tinge, they became concerned and made an appointment with a doctor.
He still remembered that day in the doctor’s office when they received the news. Pancreatic cancer. What a dirty word. They had cried together and they had prayed together. Those first few days were just a foggy memory. After those first
few days, Judy had pulled herself together and continued with her volunteer work the best she was able for the next 6 months until she became too weak to continue. Three weeks later she met Jesus and Michael was left alone.
Michael missed her terribly! He had such a hard time dealing with the loss. How could his company have so much medical knowledge and be so powerless to help his lovely wife? He felt so lonely. He felt so hopeless. He felt so lost.
A few weeks after her death his friend Sally had talked him into getting Lucy and Ethel. The two yellow labs had given him the companionship and the strength to continue. That had been two years ago. He had recovered from the loss of his wife and had been doing well in recent months. Then this new bombshell had exploded this morning.
Lucy and Ethel sat dutifully with him now as he thought about today’s events. The news reporters pretty well summed it up. Seven of his employees were found dead in BioTech’s laboratory, there was no apparent cause of death, no clues, and no leads. None of it made any sense.
Chapter 4
February, year 1.
Cornell University. Monica Dellinger sat in the commons area with her nose buried in her laptop computer. It was a noisy environment as the lunch hour was in full force. Students came from all over the campus to grab a quick bite and catch up on the latest gossip with their friends. All around her students were talking, laughing, and joking. Only the occasional student was studying or making an attempt to study. Most of these attempts were in vain given the noise level of the commons area at this time of day.
Monica was oblivious to the noises and distractions around her. At this moment her world consisted of the project she was working on and little else. A hot cup of coffee sat between her and her keyboard. Its fresh aroma drifted up and tantalized her nostrils. For a brief moment she allowed herself to be distracted and take in the scent. This was, however, the only distraction she allowed herself. After a brief pause, she dove back into her project, once again putting the coffee and everything else out of her mind and bringing her project back into crisp focus.