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“I didn’t get a chance to study Dave or Dr. Kensington before they had resolved their issues. I want to get a baseline then we’ll go from there. Got it?” At her nod, Dr. Lackney continued. “Okay, Lisbeth, I need you to clear your mind of everything. Think of a white room. No sounds no colors, just something to clear your mind. I’m comparing your EEG, your brainwaves, from before the flight to now.”
Lisbeth took a deep breath and calmed herself. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on white walls, no sound, no colors. After a few seconds, she could feel her heart rate slowing and her body relaxing.
“Okay, my dear, that’s good. I have a great baseline to compare. Now I want you to think back and remember the first moment you met Stieg Warner. Concentrate on that moment. The sounds, the smells, the feel of the weather. Think of every single detail of that moment.”
Lisbeth concentrated on that moment, that first memory. She focused on a pinpoint of light that slowly opened to encompass her entire vision. Details came to her and moved from fuzzy to clear. A small breeze moved her hair from her face. The smell of coffee and cinnamon, the constant buzz of people chatting, clinks of porcelain cups and saucers, the sounds of cars driving past the café. She could see Stieg sitting at the table, smiling at her with his beautiful eyes crinkled at the corners. His straight white teeth and square jaw, his dimples surrounded by the stubble of a day’s growth of whiskers and his soft lips. It seemed so real that she could almost reach out and touch him. Feel how soft his short blond hair would be against her fingers. The rasp of his sharp whiskers as she touched his face, brushed his cheek with her thumb. She could see each individual eyelash as she stared into his emerald green eyes. She wanted to run her hand over his gray t-shirt to feel his heart beating in his chest. She needed to lay her head against him and felt his arms wrap around her.
“Lisbeth.” His chest rumbled against her ear. She could feel him hold her, could feel his love for her. She didn’t want to move and disturb the moment, she couldn’t stand losing him again. She could feel his hand stroking up and down her back, something that felt so familiar. Tears fell as she hugged him tighter to her—god, she could smell him. “I’m looking for you, Lisbeth. Don’t give up.” His voice sounded far away now. Her arms wrapped around herself as his body slowly dissipated. She heard her own cry of dismay at being alone again, but she knew they’d connected somehow.
She opened her eyes to the sympathetic looks of her bosses and Dr. Lackney. Someone handed her a tissue, and she realized she was crying. She felt empty inside. “Are you all right, my dear?” The elderly female doctor sounded genuinely concerned.
Lisbeth took a steadying breath. “Yes. I was with him. For a few seconds, I could feel him as he held me. He said he’s looking for me.” All three people stared at her with varying degrees of curiosity.
“Well, that wasn’t the goal here, but that is very interesting indeed! The EEG did pick up what I could only describe as a ghost wave. It was very similar to your own wave patterns. It almost looks like a shadow. I’m not sure what to make of that. I was hoping to see changes in your EEG but not something of this magnitude.” Dr. Lackney could hardly look away from the screen.
“I do have some good news for you, Lisbeth.” Dr. Kensington got her attention as Dr. Lackney removed the various medical equipment from her body. He turned his cell phone, so she could see the screen. “While you were busy with Dr. Lackney, I did a little internet research on your Stieg Warner. He is scheduled to appear at a science fiction convention to talk about the new sci-fi movie he directed. He and the stars of the movie will be doing a question and answer session tomorrow in Las Vegas.”
Lisbeth felt her heart jump in her chest. “If I could go there I might be able to catch his attention and have him see me.”
“But that show is sold out. I tried to get tickets months ago. The convention is open though.” Everyone stared at Dr. Lackney. “What? I’m a scientist who is studying a rip in the time continuum, the same as my father before me. Do you really think I’m not into science fiction? After all, what used to be science fiction has become science fact. Plus, there are aliens involved now.”
Marc shook his head then cleared his throat. “You forget that I’m the owner of a large international research lab. We have connections in the field and usually have a vending table set up for people like Dr. Lackney. Scientists who love science fiction or to set up consultations for writers and actors for scientific data to make these movies more authentic. I can get you in there, Lisbeth. You too, Tel. Hell, Dave and I can go and take Sadie. We’ll charter my plane and leave in a few hours.”
Lisbeth felt chills go over her body. “I just need to go home and pack and tell my roommate that I’m leaving.”
*****
The hotel and convention hall was packed with people — many dressed as their favorite science fiction character or alien. The hallways were lined with vendor tables ranging from makeup artists that created special effects to small movie studios wanting to get attention from movie stars and production companies. Some enterprising people also set up food carts or massage tables. Anything that anyone needed was here.
Stieg and Jonas had landed in Las Vegas in the early morning and gotten their suite in the convention center’s attached hotel. Stieg had taken the time to lay down to help adjust to the time change. During his brief nap he had dreamed of Lisbeth again, but this time he told her he was looking for her. When he woke up, for the first time in several weeks, he felt relief instead of pain when he woke up from a d
ream. He knew he’d connected with her somehow. He took his shower with a smile on his face, feeling more like himself than he had since the dreams began. He felt hope.
He heard a knock on his door as he slipped on his sweatpants and towel dried his short hair. He had ordered food to be delivered and fully expected Jonas would be there any moment. As his friend, Jonas was always there for support, as his assistant he was usually one step ahead of his needs. He knew Jonas was going to contact an American private investigator to help track Lisbeth down. Hopefully, he’d have some news.
Stieg opened the door and allowed the man to push in the food cart. Just as he was tipping him, Jonas walked in. “You always know when there’s food available.” Stieg grinned when Jonas strolled to the table lifting the silver domes to gaze at the food.
“Yes! You got cheeseburgers. Americans make the best cheeseburgers.” Jonas sat down and grabbed a burger and took a huge bite, groaning in obvious delight. “Jesus Christ, that is delicious.” Stieg ignored the fact that Jonas had a mouthful of food and chuckled as he sat down and pulled his own food toward him. Jonas raised the top bun, pulled off a dill pickled and popped it in his mouth.
“Not that I’m complaining, but you seem much happier than I’ve seen you in a few weeks. I missed that smile.” Jonas winked before he stuffed an entire onion ring in his mouth and sighed in appreciation. “I fucking love deep fried food.”
Stieg laughed as he dipped his French fry in catsup. “I have a good feeling about this convention. I think something good is going to happen.”
Jonas looked up from his half-devoured burger. “I figured it was getting out of Germany without that crazy man-eater on your back.”
“Jesus, Jonas, get some fucking manners. Stop talking with your mouth full of food. It’s enough to make me lose my appetite.” Jonas opened his mouth to show off half-chewed food. Stieg laughed as he threw a fry at his friend’s head. It bounced off, and Jonas picked it up and popped it into his mouth. “Not having Inga here doesn’t hurt my mood, that’s for sure. But I’m hoping Lisbeth heard about this convention and is coming.”
“I never thought about that.” Jonas swallowed. “It’s a good chance if she could get tickets. Maybe you could put a few comp tickets at the front desk with her name. She might try to go that route if she can’t get tickets any other way. Hey, what if you run into her here? The villa we’re in has two bedrooms that are far apart, but I don’t want to hear you guys fucking. I got enough of your shouts and moans when we were starving artists, and we had to share that little flat.”
“I was the starving artist, you moved in with me and became my roommate. And this is Vegas asshole, find something to do. Take your ass down to the pool where the girls are topless.” Stieg grinned.
“Hello, Mr. Genius, I’m gay. Women’s tits don’t do anything for me.” Jonas tipped back his soft drink and chugged the contents then belched loudly.
“You’re also a pig.” Stieg threw his napkin at Jonas. “Besides there will be men there to see the tits. You can look at them. And if you get a boner from the guys, they’ll assume it’s the girls. You’re forgetting I know you well enough to know that if you get slightly drunk, you like women’s tits.”
“You know you’re right. If you find this Lisbeth girl, I’ll find something to keep me occupied, but I won’t give you all night. Fuck like bunnies for a while, but you’ll have to sleep sometime. Just text me when I can come back to the room.” Jonas smiled. “I hope you get to fuck like bunnies. I hope I can find someone to fuck.”
Stieg laughed as he finished off his dinner. “The session isn’t until tomorrow, but I need to get together with Hans and Alison to work out the details. I’m glad I’m behind the camera on this one. As the stars, they get to travel the world over to press the movie. I go where I want, but it’s nice to get away though.”
