Thunderbird by Jack McDevitt

or less.”
    â€œWhy don’t you explain to her how much it would mean to us if shewould give us a call and let us know when she’s sitting on a major story? That they’d figured out where that place
is
?”
    In fact Brad
had
known. She’d told him how far it was. It just didn’t seem like a big deal. A hundred light-years or a thousand. It’s way the hell out there. He already knew that. Anybody with a brain knew that. But he didn’t want to tell that to Matt, to admit that he’d held back a story of this magnitude and let the major networks run with it. “I’ll talk to her,” he said. April was due there later that morning, and there was always a possibility his boss would confront her about it. He took a deep breath. “She might have said something about it to me. She mentioned light-years at one point. I don’t recall that she put any emphasis on it.”
    Matt’s expression was taking on the aspect of a thunderstorm. “Are you
deranged
, Brad?”
    â€œMatt, she started by telling me the mission had been routine. Nothing unusual had occurred. And she was right. The astronomers took some measurements. Eden was way out there. We already knew that. I mean, you could see the Horsehead Nebula from that beach.”
    â€œHow the hell long have you been in this business, Brad? Breaking news is what matters. It’s all that matters.” His teeth were showing. “All right. Make sure it doesn’t happen again, okay? Explain to her about stuff like that. What’s the goddam point of having a friend on the inside if something like that shows up, and we either don’t get the word or we’re too dumb to recognize it when we hear it?”
    He turned on his heel and headed back to his office.
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    D AYLIGHT FILLED THE room when Randall awoke. A nurse was smiling down at him, straightening blankets. Or maybe adjusting the devices he’d been tied into. “Good morning, Mr. Everhardt,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
    His hip was numb. But otherwise everything seemed normal. “I didn’t break anything, did I?”
    The smile widened. She looked friendly and optimistic, which was just what he needed. No bad news coming. “No, sir,” she said. “Nothing broken. The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.”
    The doctor was tall and seriously overweight, not exactly setting a good example for his patients. But at the moment none of that mattered. “You’re fine, Mr. Everhardt. You’ll want to be more careful walking around at night. And I think you might need a hip replacement eventually. We’ll keep you here for a day or two, just to be sure you’re okay. We don’t want you to do any walking for a while. All right?”
    â€œThanks, Doctor,” he said.
    â€œGlad we could help. By the way, you’re lucky they got to you when they did.”
    As soon as he left, Melinda came in. She looked relieved. “What happened?” she said.
    He told her, as much as he understood himself.
    â€œSo you were out by the garage in the dark? How’d they find you?” She’d grown up on the property and knew how far away everybody was.
    â€œBrian found me. I don’t know how.”
    â€œDid you have your cell with you? Maybe you called him.”
    â€œNo. I forgot it.”
    She rolled her eyes. Some things never change. “He just happened to be back there?”
    â€œI have no idea how it happened,” he said.
    â€œYou owe him your life, Dad.”
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    T HEY WERE GIVING him painkillers, of course. He slept most of the day. Didn’t remember lunch although the nurse told him he’d had one. He was more or less awake that evening, and almost feeling normal again, when Melinda returned. With Bill. “I’ve been here all day,” she said. “Bill just