'We were just out last night,' Cassy said. 'Don't you have work to do? I brought home some Chinese food.'
'Well, whatever you want, sweetie,' Beau said. 'I feel badly about leaving you in the lurch this afternoon, so I'd like to make it up to you.'
'Just the fact that you're willing to apologize goes a long way,' Cassy said. She then looked down at the immobile dog.
'What's the story with this beast?' she asked. 'Are you minding it for someone?'
'Nope,' Beau said. 'He's my dog. His name is King.'
'You're joking,' Cassy said.
'Hardly,' Beau said. He hauled himself from the arm of the couch and stepped over to King. He scratched him roughly behind the ears. King responded with tail wagging and licking Beau's hand with his enormous tongue. 'I figured we could use the protection.'
'Protection from what?' Cassy asked. She was dumbstruck.
'Just in general,' Beau said vaguely. 'A dog like this has olfactory and auditory senses far better than ours.'
'Don't you think we should have discussed this decision?' Cassy asked. Her fear was turning to anger.
'We can discuss it now,' Beau said innocently.
'Good grief!' Cassy voiced angrily. She picked up the Chinese take-out and walked into the kitchen. She took the containers out of the bag and got plates from the cupboard, making sure the door banged against its hinges. From the drawer next to the dishwasher she got flatware and noisily set the table.
Beau appeared at the door. 'There's no need to get upset,' he said.
'Oh yeah?' Cassy questioned as tears unwillingly welled up. 'That's easy for you to say. I'm not the one acting weird, like going out in the middle of the night and coming home with a dog the size of a buffalo.'
Beau stepped into the kitchen and tried to put his arms around Cassy. She pushed him away and ran into the bedroom. She was sobbing now.
Beau came in behind her and put his arms around her, and she didn't resist. For a moment he didn't say anything and let her cry. Finally he turned her around and looked into her eyes, and she into his.
'Okay,' he said. 'I'm sorry about the dog too. I should have talked to you about the idea, but my mind has been so overwhelmed. I've got so many things going on right now. I've heard back from the Nile people. I'll be going out there to meet them.'
'When did you hear from them?' Cassy asked, wiping her eyes. She knew how much Beau was counting on getting a job with Cipher Software. Maybe there was an explanation for his odd behavior.
'I heard from them today,' Beau said. 'It's all so promising.'
'When will you go?' Cassy said.
'Tomorrow,' Beau said.
'Tomorrow!' Cassy repeated. Things were happening too quickly. It was an emotional overload. 'Weren't you going to tell me?'
'Of course I was going to tell you,' Beau said.
'And you really want a dog?' Cassy asked. 'What will you do with him when you go visit the Nile people?'
'I'll take him,' Beau said without hesitation.
'You'll take him on an interview trip?'
'Why not? He's a wonderful animal.'
Cassy digested this surprising information. From her perspective it seemed inappropriate to say the least. Having a dog seemed incompatible with their lifestyle.
'Who's going to walk him when you're in class? And feed him. Having a dog is a lot of responsibility.'
'I know, I know,' Beau intoned, raising his hands as if to surrender. 'I promise to take care of him. I'll take him out, feed him, pick up after him, and punish him if he chews any of your shoes.'
Cassy smiled in spite of herself. Beau sounded like the cliche of the small boy pleading with his mother to get a dog while the mother knows full well who will end up assuming the burden of taking care of the pet.
'I got him from the pound,' Beau said. 'I'm sure you'll like him, but if you don't, we'll take him back. We'll consider the whole thing an experiment. After a week we'll decide.'
'Really?' Cassy asked.
'Absolutely,' Beau said. 'Let me get him so you can meet him properly. He's a great dog.'
Cassy nodded, and Beau left the room. Cassy took a deep breath. So much seemed to be happening. Heading for the bathroom to wash her face, Cassy noticed that Beau's computer was running some weird, rapid program. Cassy hesitated and looked at the monitor. Data in the form of text and graphics was appearing and disappearing from the screen at bewildering speed. Then she noticed something else. Sitting in front of Beau's infrared port was the curious black object that Beau had found a few days previously in the parking lot of Costa's Diner. Cassy had forgotten it, and remembering that the men had said it was heavy, she reached for it.
'Here's the monster,' Beau called, diverting Cassy's attention. Following Beau's commands, King was happy to bound over to Cassy and lick her hand.
'What a rough tongue,' Cassy said.
'He's a great dog,' Beau said, beaming.
Cassy patted King's flank. 'He is solid,' she said. 'How much does he weigh?' She was wondering how many cans of dog food he'd need each day.
'I'd guess about one-twenty-five,' Beau said.
Cassy scratched King behind the ear, then nodded toward Beau's computer. 'What's going on with your PC? It looks like it's running out of control.'
'It's just downloading some data off the Internet,' Beau said. He stepped over to the machine. 'I guess I could turn off the monitor.'
'You're going to print all that?' Cassy said. 'You'll have to get a lot more paper than we have.'
Beau switched off the monitor but made certain the light on the hard drive kept up its rapid blinking.
'So what's it going to be?' Beau said, straightening up. 'The Chinese take-out or the Bistro. It's your call.'
Beau's eyes snapped open simultaneously with King's. Pushing up on one elbow Beau glanced across Cassy's sleeping form to see the time. It was 2:30 a.m.
Being careful to keep the bedsprings from squeaking, Beau eased his legs from beneath the covers and stood up. He patted King's head before slipping on his clothes. Then he moved over to his computer. A moment earlier the red light on his hard drive had finally stopped blinking.
He picked up the black disc and slipped it into his pocket. Using a notepad next to his computer he scribbled: 'Gone for a walk. Be right back. Beau.'
After placing the note on his pillow, he and King silently left the apartment.
Beau exited the building and walked around to the parking lot. King stayed at his side without a leash. It was another gorgeous night with the broad stripe of the Milky Way galaxy arching directly overhead. There was no moon, and the stars appeared more dazzling as a consequence.
Toward the rear of the parking lot Beau found an area devoid of cars. Taking the black disc from his pocket, he placed it on the asphalt. Almost the moment it left his hand, it began to glow. By the time Beau and King were fifty feet away it had begun to form its corona and was beginning to turn from red to white-hot.
Cassy had been sleeping restlessly all night with anxiety-filled dreams. She had no idea what had awakened her, but all at once she found herself staring at the ceiling. It was being progressively illuminated by an unusual light.
Cassy sat up. The whole room had a peculiar, mounting glow, and it was apparent that it was streaming in through the window. As she began to slip out of bed to investigate, she noticed Beau was absent just as he'd been the night before. This time, however, she could see that there was a note.
Taking the note with her, Cassy padded across the floor to the window and looked out. She saw the source of the glow immediately. It was a white ball of light which was rapidly increasing its intensity so that the surrounding cars were casting dark shadows.
In the next instant the light disappeared as if it had been suddenly snuffed out. It gave Cassy the impression
