“So how did you get me back here?”
“Luis carried you out of the Genuflect compound. The rest wasn’t too difficult. The med people here kept you sedated for thirty hours. I’ve waited for you to wake up.”
“Thanks.” I look at him. “Did it work?”
“I think it did.” He sets his coffee cup down on the grass.
“Have you talked with him?”
Mozart shakes his head. “No. It’s too soon. We don’t need to speak with him right now.” He looks at me. “They were going to murder him to cover their tracks. I disarmed a self-destruct device from here.”
“Felix is safe now?”
Mozart nods. “Until we get him back here. We must bring him back soon. He is close to us now.”
I nod.
Mozart continues, “We became him and he became us. He’ll call us when he feels able to talk. We must wait.”
I look at the stream. “The composition was powerful.”
“It was, far more powerful than I expected. You were wonderful.”
“Was I?”
Mozart smiles again. “You were.”
“I knew that you were going to use the Requiem, but I was surprised by what you did with it. You turned it, built upon it. Amazing!”
He looks down. “Thank you. Father’s Requiem has always been special for me, especially the Confutatis. The new Lachrymosa is for us all.”
“It’s the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard, even better than the 2nd movement of your new concerto.”
He nods. “I can do no better.” He looks at me. “For a moment, when your baby died, I thought I heard Felix cry.”
I reach out, take his hand. “When will we know for sure that it worked?”
He squeezes my fingers. “Soon. Felix did not explode the globes on time. I don’t think he will now. The virus is already starting to degrade and I doubt they’ve got a back-up trigger mechanism. They’re too cowardly to take direct action.”
I look at the stream and shrug. “We’ve saved Earth from the virus. What now? It’s still a mess.”
Mozart straightens, grins. “I have a few ideas about that.”
“You do?”
He nods. “I do. Ah, Dru?”
“I’m listening.”
“Would you like to rule the world?”
I let go of his hand and stare at him. “Not at all!
He laughs and fatigue disappears from his face. “Neither would I, but I would like to run things in different places for limited periods of time, a legislature here, a city council there. I’d like to make some serious changes.”
I shake my head. “That would be dangerous.”
“Almost certainly.”
“And you want me to help?”
He leans forward. “Would you?”
I snort. “That would be worse!”
He grins again. “But very amusing!”
I take a deep breath. “I don’t think intervening in Earth’s politics is a good idea.”
“Nonsense! We’ll be careful. We could start with L.A. I thought we might include Luis in our meetings with city officials.”
“Could he bring his bat?”
Mozart laughs. “No.” He is silent for a moment and then says, “We also have enemies here on Vienna Station, serious enemies. We must not underestimate them and we must take measures to render them harmless.”
I let the stream, the pines and the sunshine work relaxing magic upon me for a long moment. I glance at Mozart after a few moments. He is smiling, gazing at wildflowers on the far bank. I ask, “Might we talk about all of this another time?”
He looks at me. “Surely. Why?”
“We have something more important to do first.”
His smile is gentle and lights his eyes. “I agree.” He takes me in his arms.
“Luis carried you out of the Genuflect compound. The rest wasn’t too difficult. The med people here kept you sedated for thirty hours. I’ve waited for you to wake up.”
“Thanks.” I look at him. “Did it work?”
“I think it did.” He sets his coffee cup down on the grass.
“Have you talked with him?”
Mozart shakes his head. “No. It’s too soon. We don’t need to speak with him right now.” He looks at me. “They were going to murder him to cover their tracks. I disarmed a self-destruct device from here.”
“Felix is safe now?”
Mozart nods. “Until we get him back here. We must bring him back soon. He is close to us now.”
I nod.
Mozart continues, “We became him and he became us. He’ll call us when he feels able to talk. We must wait.”
I look at the stream. “The composition was powerful.”
“It was, far more powerful than I expected. You were wonderful.”
“Was I?”
Mozart smiles again. “You were.”
“I knew that you were going to use the Requiem, but I was surprised by what you did with it. You turned it, built upon it. Amazing!”
He looks down. “Thank you. Father’s Requiem has always been special for me, especially the Confutatis. The new Lachrymosa is for us all.”
“It’s the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard, even better than the 2nd movement of your new concerto.”
He nods. “I can do no better.” He looks at me. “For a moment, when your baby died, I thought I heard Felix cry.”
I reach out, take his hand. “When will we know for sure that it worked?”
He squeezes my fingers. “Soon. Felix did not explode the globes on time. I don’t think he will now. The virus is already starting to degrade and I doubt they’ve got a back-up trigger mechanism. They’re too cowardly to take direct action.”
I look at the stream and shrug. “We’ve saved Earth from the virus. What now? It’s still a mess.”
Mozart straightens, grins. “I have a few ideas about that.”
“You do?”
He nods. “I do. Ah, Dru?”
“I’m listening.”
“Would you like to rule the world?”
I let go of his hand and stare at him. “Not at all!
He laughs and fatigue disappears from his face. “Neither would I, but I would like to run things in different places for limited periods of time, a legislature here, a city council there. I’d like to make some serious changes.”
I shake my head. “That would be dangerous.”
“Almost certainly.”
“And you want me to help?”
He leans forward. “Would you?”
I snort. “That would be worse!”
He grins again. “But very amusing!”
I take a deep breath. “I don’t think intervening in Earth’s politics is a good idea.”
“Nonsense! We’ll be careful. We could start with L.A. I thought we might include Luis in our meetings with city officials.”
“Could he bring his bat?”
Mozart laughs. “No.” He is silent for a moment and then says, “We also have enemies here on Vienna Station, serious enemies. We must not underestimate them and we must take measures to render them harmless.”
I let the stream, the pines and the sunshine work relaxing magic upon me for a long moment. I glance at Mozart after a few moments. He is smiling, gazing at wildflowers on the far bank. I ask, “Might we talk about all of this another time?”
He looks at me. “Surely. Why?”
“We have something more important to do first.”
His smile is gentle and lights his eyes. “I agree.” He takes me in his arms.
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