Despite an overwhelming urge to want to get completely shitfaced, Eric managed to resist the temptation to take care of business the way his old man used to. He sat there with a few long necks, and was actually quite curious to hear what the young woman had to say. Samantha was an attractive looking woman, but she didn't tickle Eric's fancy. She was far too young for his consideration. When looking for an ideal mate, Eric was more interested in someone his own age. He wanted someone to hang out with someone that wouldn't make him feel like he was babysitting. Eric had a rule that he would never date someone that was more than five years younger or five years older than himself. Since he was born in the middle of a decade, that meant Eric would only date people who were born within the same decade he was, which made the math rather easy for him. Samantha looked to be at least fifteen years his junior, possibly twenty. Far too young for his liking, that was for sure but she wasn't in the bar to be his date. She was there on business, and based on the tone in her voice Eric could tell it was something quite serious that demanded his immediate attention.
"Well then," Eric said between slugs of brew "Let's have it."
"Excuse me?" Samantha asked, as she was somewhat distracted.
"You said this was important," Eric said, growing rather impatient, "Spill your guts, and let's hash it out."
"I can't." Samantha replied, "It's classified. You can't be notified of what's going on unless you've been given the highest clearance."
"So that's the line you're going with, eh?" Eric said, feeling kind of cheated, "So basically I can't be told anything about this testing until I agree to some sort of confidentiality, right?"
"Yes Sir," Samantha confirmed.
"Shit," Eric said, taking another slug from his long neck, "So if I agree to this, when will I get briefed on the situation?"
"We can take you to a private location for briefing now." Samantha suggested.
"No, not today," Eric said as he raised his bottle, "Tonight I'm going to get seriously smashed, in honor of the old man. Do you know where I live?"
"Yes," Samantha replied, "I have your current address."
"Then pick me up tomorrow, at noon." Eric ordered, "Bring two coffees, both with two sugars and two milk. Then we'll go in for a briefing."
"Seriously?" Samantha said as she could hardly believe it.
"You should be able to clear me by then," Eric said, nodding to her, "Whatever is bugging you, it can wait until tomorrow."
"Yes, Sir," Samantha said, standing up to leave, "I'll make sure your clearance is ready for tomorrow's briefing."
"Excellent," Eric said, "Now piss off."
Samantha was tempted to toss something at Eric, but good judgement got the best of her. She stormed out of the bar, huffing in disgust as she walked out the door and slamming it behind her. The entire bar was amused by the display but quickly shrugged it off when they realized whom she had left behind.
"You alright, Dr. Saunders?" the bartender called out.
"I will be," Eric replied as he gestured to the table, "When you bring some shots out here for me."
"Coming right up, mate!" the bartender called out.
Eric spent the better part of the night drinking anything he could get his hands on. People in the bar were buying him drinks to help the mourning process, and when it was all said and done, Eric was too wasted to get home by himself. The bartender ordered him a cab and carried the doctor out to the yellow car when it finally arrived. The bartender gave him a twenty and told the driver where to go. He turned to Eric after putting him in the back.
"Sorry for your loss, Eric," The bartender told him.
"I'm not," Eric confessed, "Not one damn bit. Goodnight, Aaron."
"Good night, dickwad." Aaron said, closing the door. He stood there at the sidewalk and watched as the cab rolled out of sight before returning to announce last call. It was soon going to be closing time.
Once back in his bed, Eric slept until ten in the morning, and woke up with the most severe hangover he's had in almost a decade. His head felt like a drum set that was being wailed on by the member of a fierce metal band. As he strolled into the bathroom, he quickly took two Tylenols before hopping into the shower. He stood there in the hot water, clearing his head while trying to think about what he could remember from the day before. Thankfully the previous night wasn't a complete blank, which meant he remembered his brief conversation with Samantha Jones. Her name sounded like a character out of a cheesy movie, but he remembered that she would be coming by with a car at noon to pick him up for the briefing. Once out of the shower, Eric dressed in blue jeans and a sweat shirt that he pulled the sleeves up on. If this meeting was half as important as Samantha believed it to be, no one was going to care how formal the doctor was dressed. After tossing on some socks and his sneakers, Eric ran downstairs to cook something quick for breakfast. After having a few fried eggs and a piece of toast, Eric heard a horn honking outside. This let him know that his ride had arrived and it was time to find out what the hoopla was about. They wouldn't be outside if he hasn't been given clearance. After cleaning up, Dr. Saunders strolled out of the house and over to the car that was waiting. As he slipped into the back seat, Samantha was back there, holding two large coffees.
"Thank you," Eric said, taking the first coffee from her.
"You're welcome," Samantha replied, "How are you feeling?"
"Better than expected," Eric replied, holding up his coffee, "Cheers."
"Glad to be of service," Samantha said before turning to the driver, "Get us back to base, right now."
"Yes Ma'am," The driver replied, pulling the car away from the curb.
"Now can we now discuss the classified issue?" Eric asked.
"Not yet," Samantha replied, "You have to sign no-disclosures papers before we can tell you what's going on."
"What happens if I talk?" Eric said, teasing her, "I'll get sued?"
"No," Ms. Jones replied, "You'll be declared an enemy combatant and sent to Cuba, where you would spend the rest of your days at CampX-Ray."
"Are you serious?" Eric asked her, surprised.
"As a heart attack," Samantha confirmed.
The car was silent for the remainder of the ride to base. Once the car had arrived to the airbase, there were several military officers waiting for them outside. Once the car came to a stop, they all saluted as Eric stepped out of the car.
"Is that really necessary?" Eric asked, "I'm just a civilian."
"Sorry, Sir." One of the officers said as he put his hand down, "I'm Sergeant Drummond. I'll be your liaison while working here for the air force. We need you to sign some significant paper work and then we can let you in on what's going on."
"Alright," Dr. Saunders said, realizing how seriously everyone was taking it, "Let's get inside and get this over with."
The other officers followed as Saunders followed Drummond into a large conference room inside the building. Once in there, Eric spent the better part of an hour reading and signing several non-disclosure agreements. Once the ink was finally drying on the last document, it was time for full disclosure.
"No more delays," Eric said, clearly losing his patience, "Can someone finally tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"I'll do one better," Drummond said as he turned on a projector, "I'll show you."
Eric stood there and looked at the space picture. "What are we looking at?"
"An asteroid," Samantha informed him, "We call it PX-256."
"Why are you showing me this?" Eric asked.
"This asteroid is heading right for us," Drummond said, turning to face the doctor and look him in the eyes. "This is why you're here. We need you to help us save the human race."
"Aw Shit." Eric said, looking back at the projection and sighing. "No pressure."