The Ghost Inside Pt 05

The Ghost Inside, Part 5

"No, it's not a joke, Jacob," Rebecca said, sounding frustrated, as she talked on the phone. "Why would I do that?... Just tell me what you found?... Uh huh.... uh huh... ok, just give me the bottom line, ok?... Seriously?... What's the chance there was an error in the test?... Ok. This is good. Thanks!" She hung up the phone and started typing notes into her computer.

Over the past week, she'd borrowed some of the government-issued antibiotic pills from several of her friends from all over the area. She then gave those pills to her friend Jacob, a chemist, to analyze them. He found out that all of the pills were the same. And that they were all essentially sugar pills. All they had in them were basic vitamins and minerals. There was no antiviral agent in them at all.

On a whim, she opened her top desk drawer where she kept a lot of her work junk. She dug through it until she found a pill bottle with several pills left in it. It was an antibiotic that she took a few years ago for a urinary tract infection. The government had said that those pills didn't work in the end... that they may appear to work, but that the virus would just come back stronger. She thought about it for a moment, then decided to give them a try.

Several days passed, with her dutifully taking the antibiotic pills twice a day. She was surprised to find that her fever broke... and that she was back to normal again. And it lasted for a week before she started feeling sick again.

*****

"You're serious," Frank said. He was the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune, in charge of what stories went into the paper every day and where it was located. "You want to run with this?"

"Yes, I do," Rebecca said, pacing. "This is huge, Frank."

"Come on. I can't print this, Rebecca," he said, putting the stack of printed pages on his desk. "This is just like one of those conspiracies. Take this to the Enquirer or something."

"Frank, you can't be serious. I'm uncovering the biggest story of the last century and you want to bury it?"

Frank looked at her, thinking. "You have your evidence, yes? And I mean rock-solid proof."

Rebecca nodded. "Yes! All of it."

"Heaven help us if you're wrong," he said, slowly shaking his head. "You'll ruin us."

Rebecca nodded, hopeful that she'd convinced him. "I'm not wrong."

"Ok, ok," he relented, raising his hands in surrender. "Front page, lead story... today."

Rebecca unceremoniously grabbed and hugged him, then ran out of his office. "You won't be sorry Frank!"

"Yeah, yeah..." he whispered, smiling.

*****

At 5:00pm, the phone rang at Rebecca's desk. "Rebecca Stanley," she said answering the phone. She was working on a follow-up story to her original, trying to connect more dots. Trying to figure out how the asteroid strike fit into all of this.

"Miss Stanley, my name is Peter Caston and I'm the Chief of Staff at the White House," the man said with a southern accent.

That got her attention and she stopped typing. "Hi Mr. Caston, how are you today? What can I do for you?"

"Well, uh, the President has asked to speak with you... personally."

"With me?" she asked, surprised. "I'm not sure... my schedule is a bit full..."

"Miss Stanley, please," he said. "We both know how important this is. We've already booked you a flight. It leaves in an hour. Please... he just wants to talk to you." Peter hung up the phone.

Rebecca sat with the phone to her ear for another minute before she realized it had been disconnected, then put it on the cradle. She went into Franks office.

"I just got a call from the White House," she said. "They want to talk. The plane leaves in an hour."

Frank looked at her, a bit shocked. "Give me all your notes and I'll make copies."

Rebecca nodded, then turned to leave.

"And Rebecca..." he called to stop her a moment. "Be careful." He obviously felt scared for her.

She nodded.

Four hours later and Rebecca was being escorted into the Oval Office of the White House. She'd been brought in through the front, her presence not being hidden at all, which made her feel far more comfortable. With all the casual reporters taking pictures all the time, the security cameras there, and the multitude of people using that entrance, she had plenty of witnesses.

"Miss Stanley," the President said, standing up from behind his desk to shake her hand. "Please take a seat. Can we get you anything? Water? Coffee?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No, I'm good." Several Secret Service agents and several of the President's aides stayed in the office, standing behind her.

The President sat back down at his desk again, folding his hands in front of him. He was smiling, slightly. A politician's smile.

"What can I do for you, Mr. President?" she asked.

The President grabbed a copy of the Chicago Tribune from his desk and unfolded it, looking at the front page. He turned it to show her. "It's about your story."

"You liked that did you?"

"Miss Stanley," he said, putting the paper back down on his desk. "It's probably one of your best. But that story is going to cause a lot of problems. Not only for the U.S. government, but governments around the world. You know that, don't you?"

She smiled at him. "So you admit it's true?"

He smiled at her, intentionally not answering her question. "I was thinking I'd tell you a story. Would you like that?" Rebecca nodded. "I tell stories to my grandkids now and then.

"Let's say... it begins ten years ago. NASA calls up the President of the United States and tells him that an alien spaceship has gone into orbit above the earth. After the initial shock of 'we're not alone in the universe' the President orders NASA to make contact with them. And they do. And they find out that these aliens aren't making a friendly visit at all. In fact, they want to take over the earth.

"Now, of course the President doesn't take this sitting down and decides to strike first. He launches a nuclear strike against them, showing them we won't go easily. But it failed... completely. And let's say these... aliens... then strike the earth killing two point eight million people in one strike.

"Further discussions of other actions ensue, but the aliens keep in contact and decide on a more peaceful settlement. Instead of striking us again and again and making billions of people die and suffer needlessly, they offer us the ability to live out the remainder of our lives in peace. The human race would just... slowly fade away.

"Let's say further that the major world leaders agree to this course of action, but keep plans in place if things change. For its side of the deal, the U.S. creates a virus that helps an alien virus survive within our bodies. It raises our body temperature just enough for it. It had to be worldwide... and to keep the populace from panicking, pills were created to convince them that they were fighting against the pandemic. The alien virus, itself, causes no harm. It simply keeps us from having babies... keeps future generations from ever being created.

"So, the governments of the world have colluded to the extermination of the human race in an effort to keep us from dying horribly painful deaths due to a war we cannot win."

"Sounds like a nice story," Rebecca said, amazed that he was telling her this. "You should write a children's book."

"Frankly, Miss Stanley, I'm hoping you'll write that story," the President said. "We'll even provide you access to all the evidence you need. It'll be the biggest story in history."

"You want me to write that?"

The President nodded. "It is the truth. However, there is just one catch."

"Uh huh... there usually is."

"You see, after they entered orbit, we started watching them... carefully. And after they struck Brasilia, we noticed a change in their power output. Since then, we noticed that their power output has been dwindling over the past ten years. So, about six months ago, we changed the orbit of one of our weather satellites and put it on a collision course with the alien vessel. It struck the vessel, of course causing no damage. But... they didn't destroy it... and their shield, the shield that prevented our nuclear missiles from striking it, didn't stop it.

"Intrigued, NASA has been studying them even more. And we believe that the aliens no longer have the capacity to strike us like they did ten years ago. We believe they don't even have the ability to protect their ship any longer. In short... they're bluffing. They hope that our fear will continue to cause our extermination without them having to do anything more."

"And?" Rebecca asked.

"And... we're going to put one of those old plans that we made ten years ago back in play. We're going to hit them and hit them hard."

Rebecca thought about what that meant for a moment.

"There are two possible outcomes from this," the President continued. "Either their ship is destroyed and the earth can be restored... or they repel our attack and then attack back as they describe, giving us hell on earth. Either way, Miss Stanley, I'm going to give you the story so that everyone knows what we did here today and why. It's time we brought this to light. It's time we brought this to a close."

"And if we destroy them?"

"Then the earth will recover. As you might have noticed over the past ten years, the House and the Senate have had a large turnover in their membership. Politicians who were complicit in our plans decided they didn't want to be responsible any more and decided to walk away from government. I was not the President at the time and didn't make the decisions, but I've been responsible for keeping the decisions in place. So, for my part in this, I will not run for re-election."

Rebecca understood. When this came to light, no one was going to trust the government that lied to them. "What do you think will happen if they strike again?"

"As a movie once said when a large asteroid was going to hit earth, 'An impact equivalent to ten thousand nuclear weapons detonating simultaneously. One hundred trillion tons of dirt and rock hurled into the atmosphere. A blanket of dust the sun is powerless to penetrate. For five thousand years our world is robbed of light as a nuclear winter falls. In that darkness, a civilization is removed from existence.'"

*****

"The earth watched as a giant fireball lit up the sky, blazing like the sun," Emmanuelle read, the newspaper laying on the kitchen table in front of her. Jennifer stood at the kitchen sink, drinking a cup of coffee as Patrick drank his, sitting in a chair beside her. "That fireball will be the new picture of our freedom, the freedom of the world, as an alien invader is repelled at last. Let us never forget this day."

"Wow," Jennifer said. "I can't believe it's over."

"Seriously," Patrick added.

"NASA reports that much of the orbiting debris will take decades to fall from orbit to be destroyed in earth's atmosphere. Unfortunately, though, it is expected that some debris will strike the earth."

"Does it say anything about the parasite?" Patrick asked.

"Uh..." Emmanuelle scanned the article, looking for any relevant section. "The government is providing funds to pharmaceutical companies to ramp up production of all their antibiotic products to be delivered free of charge. With the successful reduction of the fever, the alien virus cannot survive and will harmlessly pass."

"Oh, thank God," Jennifer said.

There was a knock at the door and all three looked at each other. No one was expected at ten in the morning. Jennifer answered the door to a woman smiling.

"Is Emmanuelle here?" she asked.

Emmanuelle recognized the voice and quickly moved to the door to see Rebecca smiling at her, holding a box of chocolates and two bottles of champagne.

"I was thinking we'd celebrate," Rebecca said, holding up her prize as Jennifer guided her inside. They all walked into the kitchen.

After opening the champagne and chocolates and all laughing and enjoying the moment, Rebecca pulled Emmanuelle aside. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm doing much better now," she said. "Thanks to you."

"Well, I wouldn't have even had a clue had it not been for you. So, cheers to you." The two clinked their glasses and took another sip of their champagne. "But... uh... I did come here for more than just to celebrate," she said, reaching out and toying with the collar of Emmanuelle's t-shirt. "I was... wondering..."

"What's that?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go somewhere and... you know... check for the alien parasite in each other." She smiled. "You know... the old fashioned way." She moved towards Emmanuelle, put a hand behind her head, and kissed her passionately. The kiss lasted for a full minute before Patrick coughed.

Emmanuelle remembered that they were still in the kitchen with Jennifer and Patrick watching them. They broke their kiss and giggled.

"Here's a cheesy line," Rebecca said. "Why don't we go somewhere more comfortable? What do you think?"

Emmanuelle smiled. "Yeah."

Embarrassed and giggling, the two walked urgently, hand in hand, and ducked into Emmanuelle's bedroom, closing the door behind them. It was a small bedroom, so they went and sat on the bed.

"I can't believe you did that," Emmanuelle said, still laughing.

"I can't believe you said yes," Rebecca said back. "You know... you're smart. You're funny. And you're as cute as a bug in a rug." She leaned forward and the two kissed again, both of them getting lost in the other.

"Wow... hi!" Rebecca said as they broke their kiss again.

"Hi!" Emmanuelle replied, smiling, her eyes shining brightly. She was so happy this was all over, for one, but even happier that Rebecca came by to visit her... and to spend some intimate time with her. It had been so long since she spent time with someone she truly cared for.

"Your lips are so soft."

"And you taste good," Emmanuelle giggled.

"You know I never did get to pay you back for removing the parasite from me," Rebecca said, looking down at their joined hands. "I was just thinking... I should do that today."

"Yeah?" Emmanuelle asked, leaning in to kiss her again.

As they kissed, Rebecca's hand slid from her shoulder, over her chest, and palmed her breast, lightly squeezing it through her t-shirt.

"Oh, that's how it's going to be, is it?" Emmanuelle giggled.

"Mmhmm... and I need to get out of these clothes," Rebecca said, sitting back and starting to unbutton her blouse. "This skirt is too tight." Rebecca tossed her blouse aside and stood up to unfasten the skirt and push it down her legs.

"It makes your butt look good, though," Emmanuelle said.

"Oh!" Rebecca gasped, looking at her with a cheesy grin. "Well thank you for that. You're such a sweet girl." She tossed her clothes aside and sat back on the bed again. Rebecca slid her hand over Emmanuelle's shoulder and slid it over her breast once more, feeling the hard nipple beneath her t-shirt.

Emmanuelle then reached up and palmed both of Rebecca's breasts over her bra. Her hands squeezed the older woman's larger breasts and felt her nipples hardening behind her bra.

"Oh my goodness," Rebecca giggled and sat back to let Emmanuelle play with her body. "Mmm," she moaned softly.

"They're so soft."

"Much more fun to play with when they're not your own," Rebecca said softly, then giggled when Emmanuelle looked up at her again. "You know, I haven't seen your body yet... and you've seen mine." She reached down and grabbed the bottom of Emmanuelle's t-shirt, lifting it up. Emmanuelle lifted her arms to help and the shirt was quickly tossed aside. Emmanuelle wasn't wearing a bra and her small breasts were now bared. Rebecca wasted no time in holding them in her own hands, her thumbs stroking over the young woman's nipples.

Emmanuelle's hands slid behind Rebecca and unfasten her bra. Then she pulled it down and off her arms. Both women then played with the other's breasts, getting them both more and more excited.

"Your hands feel very good," Rebecca said. "Pinch my nipples a little bit."

Emmanuelle pinched and pulled them a little, making Rebecca moan. They both giggled as Emmanuelle then leaned down and began licking and sucking on her nipple.

"Ooh, that's nice," Emmanuelle said. "You have such beautiful, hard nipples." She circled it with her tongue, making it harden even more.

"Gotta make them match now," Rebecca said. "That's the deal. Do the other one."

Emmanuelle moved to her other breast and slid her lips around her nipple, gently sucking on it.

"You like it when I do that?"

"Mmhmm," Rebecca moaned.

Rebecca gave her plenty of time to play before she wanted her own turn. "Ooh... my turn." She grabbed the young woman's breasts and bent forward, sucking and licking on one, and then the other. While her mouth was on one, her fingers lightly pinched and pulled the other, making them so hard and sensitive.

"Oh my God that feels good," Emmanuelle panted. "You're so good at that."

Rebecca giggled. "I'm glad to know that."

Rebecca kissed her again and then began unfastening Emmanuelle's shorts and helped her pull them off. She then pushed her upper body, to tell Emmanuelle to lay on her back.

"Oh no! What's going to happen to me now?" Rebecca said in a playful voice of a helpless female victim.

"You know that this isn't the optimal position for removing the parasite, right?" Emmanuelle giggled.

"Shh... don't tell anyone, but... that's not exactly why I'm doing this," Rebecca said, smiling. She slowly kissed down her body, her fingers and tongue playing with her nipples while her hand teased her pussy over her panties. As she reached her pussy, she licked it through her panties, too.

"You know I haven't had a lot of experience with women," she said, "but... I feel pretty motivated to make you feel really good." She grabbed the waistband of Emmanuelle's panties and pulled them down her legs and off before laying between her spread legs. "Oh, that's beautiful," she said softly, her fingers moving over Emmanuelle's labia. "Oh my goodness. That is a tender, sweet, pussy."

Rebecca pinched Emmanuelle's labia between her fingers, slightly moving to jerk her clit. Emmanuelle moaned softly, enjoying the pleasure. "Let me take really good care of your pussy," Rebecca said. She leaned forward and began licking her pussy as Emmanuelle moaned above her, watching her.

"Oh that feels so good," Emmanuelle panted.

Rebecca smiled, looking up for a second. "Good... it's supposed to." Rebecca captured her clit between her lips and gently sucked on it. "Mmm... mmhmm," she moaned while sucking. "You taste delicious."

"Your tongue feels so good on my clit. Oh yes!" Emmanuelle moaned. "Suck on it! Suck on my clit! Oh... that's nice."

Rebecca reached up with one hand and rolled Emmanuelle's nipple between her fingers, giving her a little extra sensation to process. "Maybe a finger inside of you?" she said, licking her index finger then sliding it into Emmanuelle's pussy. She slowly fingered her while licking her clit.

"Why don't you touch your pussy how you like to be touched," Rebecca whispered. Emmanuelle was a little embarrassed, but slid her hand down to her pussy and slid her fingertips in circles around her clit while Rebecca continued fingering her.

"Yeah, play with your clit, baby. I want you to cum all over my fingers. Mmm, I like watching you do that." Rebecca licked her middle finger, getting it very wet with her saliva and then slid two fingers into Emmanuelle, making her moan even more as she curled them against her G-spot.

"Mmhmm... yeah... uh huh," Emmanuelle moaned, her fingers moving faster over and around her clit. "Oh wow, that feels so good. Yeah, that's so good. Oh my God. I think I'm gonna cum." Emmanuelle closed her eyes, her face contorting as the pleasure overwhelmed her.