Moonrise

She wore a shapeless gray pants suit, its jacket falling halfway to her knees. When she sat in front of Greg’s desk and crossed her long legs, he saw that the trousers ended in stirrups that looped under her weighted boots.

It was Melissa’s eyes that frightened Greg. He saw fury in them, hot red rage. He remembered the last time he had been with Melissa, when he had told her they were through. Her eyes were red then, too, but with tears and pleading. I turned my back on her and she’s never forgiven me for it, Greg realized. All these years she’s been hating me.

He turned to his mother, sitting beside Melissa. Joa

Greg had to swallow before he could bring his voice back. “I understand that you’re working for Rashid now, with the new corporation.”

Melissa’s chin dipped a bare centimeter. “That’s right”

Greg opened his mouth again but no words came out He didn’t know what to say. He looked up at the ceiling, menacingly low.

Joa

“I’m not here to talk to you-two about Rashid or his programs or anything like that.’Melissa said, her eyes flaring.

“Then what?” asked Joa

She focused those laser-beam eyes on Greg. This is the man who abandoned me, she thought, staring at him. The man I begged to stay with me. The man I thought I loved. The man whose child I was going to have. A wave of self-loathing swept over her, made her shudder visibly. I pleaded with him! I got down on my knees and begged him! And he turned his back on me. He walked away, the cold-hearted sonofabitch. He knew I was pregnant with his baby and he just walked away from both of us.

“Murder,” she whispered.

I murdered my own baby. You made me do it, the two of you. You threw me out like so much garbage. I aborted the baby. I committed murder.

“What are you talking about?” Joa

Greg knew.

Melissa pointed a skeletal finger at him. “You murdered Paul Stavenger. You used nanomachines to kill him.”

“That’s nonsense!” Joa

“Is it?”

Greg couldn’t answer. He couldn’t speak. He gripped the armrests of his swivel chair and stared in growing horror at Melissa. It’s all coming back. It’s all rising up again, all around me, walling me in, smothering me.

“I have Jack Killifer’s sworn statement,” Melissa was saying, her voice cold and hard as ice. “He gave you a sample of nanomachines that attacked long-chain carbon molecules. Gobblers, he called them.”

Joa

“You put them in with the nanomachines that Paul was using up here on the Moon, didn’t you, Greg? They killed Paul and two other men.”

“My husband died in an accident,” Joa

“He was murdered. By your son. And I can prove it.”

“That…’ Greg choked out the words, “… that was, for god’s sake, that was twenty years ago, almost.”

Melissa smiled thinly. “There’s no statute of limitations on murder.”

“You haven’t got a shred of evidence,” Joa

“Can’t I? Criminal courts have become much tougher over the past few years.”

“We’ll have the best lawyers in the world.”

“Fine. Hire all the lawyers you want. A big, scandalous trial will be perfect. The public will love to watch the two of you, week after week. It’ll be the entertainment highlight of the year.”

Two of us?” Joa

“You aided and abetted your son, Mrs. Stavenger. Didn’t you? Accessory after the fact.”

“Now wait…’ Greg started.

Melissa silenced him with a glance. “Mrs. Stavenger, it was you who covered up the evidence of the murders. It was you who sent Jack Killifer to Moonbase, so he wouldn’t be available to tell anyone what he’d done until nearly twenty years afterward.”

“You can’t be serious,” Joa

“I’ve never been more serious in my life,” Melissa replied. “The murderer son and his accomplice mother. Think how that’s going to look on video back home.”

Greg stared at her. The bitch is trying to ruin my life. She’s trying to ruin both our lives. He thought how easy it would be to get up from this chair, walk around the desk, and snap her neck like a brittle stick.

Then he gasped with the sudden realization that Doug had ordered Killifer out of Moonbase. And I let him do it! Greg raged at himself. Doug knew exactly what he was doing. He knew Killifer would testify against me once he got back to Earth! He’s been against me from the very begi

Joa

“Justice,” said Melissa.

“And what do you think would be just, in this case?”

Melissa turned away from Joa

Greg blinked at her. “And what else?”

Melissa shook her head. “First things first. I want an end to this evil of nanotechnology. An end to this place where rich people can escape the problems of Earth.”

With a shaky laugh, Greg asked, “That’s all? Just shut down Moonbase?”

“And any nanotech operations you might have elsewhere,” Melissa said.

“And for that, you’ll forget about this murder business?” He couldn’t believe it.

Melissa smiled again, this time showing teeth. “Oh no, Greg. You misunderstood me. Moonbase has to be shut down. But you’ll still have to stand trial for murder. In Atlanta, I imagine. In the federal court in Atlanta.”

“You little bitch! You want to destroy me!”

“That’s right,” Melissa said calmly. “I’m going to destroy you. And Moonbase with you. And the nanotechnology that you’re protecting.”

For the first time, Joa

“He’ll have to. He’ll have no other choice.”

“But they’ll murder him! One of your fanatics will kill him just the way they killed Carlos Quintana.”

Melissa replied coolly, “Surely, Mrs. Stavenger, you have enough money to protect your son. Even if you go to prison, the family fortune will still be there for him.”

“To live behind walls all his life?” Joa

“What’s he doing here?” Melissa retorted. “A quarter-million miles from civilization.”

Greg watched and listened, the horror within him freezing his insides. They’re worrying about Doug when she wants to put me on trial for murder. She wants to destroy me and Mom’s thinking of Doug! Moni doesn’t care about me; it’s Doug she’s trying to protect.

“All right!” he shouted, leaping to his feet. “You want to kill me? You want to wipe out Moonbase? All right, I’ll help you!”

Joa

He came around the desk, swift as death, and grabbed Melissa by her bony wrist.

I’ll show you!” Greg roared, dragging Melissa toward the door. “I’ll show you all!”