"I honestly thought you were more dedicated than that." - Russel pulled a chair from the table to sit in it.
The President sighed deeply while rubbing his face with an incredible amount of force. The dust filling the room abruptly seemed thicker and made it harder to breathe.
"For anything's sake, we're encountering a global crisis here. How can you expect me to act like a decent person under our circumstances?".
Russel snickered.
"Well, he's practically your son-in-law. And I don't think I have to remind you who talked him into that space trip." He crossed his arms, looking at his interlocutor in a rather hard manner. He only rolled his eyes.
" Bruno was the best man we could get a hold of. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I somehow came to a conclusion it was more humane to save the entire kind, than allow my daughter to take nice wedding pictures."
"Just don't come to me if she doesn't ever wanna see you again. I'll be the one to help her rip you off your money in court. After she sues you for murdering her future husband." He helped himself on his feet, aiming for the door when the phone went off.
"I think you should stay for this one." The President pointed towards the chair.
"And why would I?" Russel shrugged. "We're all dead anyway".
"You're the vice president, you might wanna hear this. But suit yourself."
He picked up the phone. He knew this would eventually happen. Margot was bright enough to tell him everything before he got into the spaceship. She didn't trust him.
"How did you get this number?"
"Oh, I told you I'd reach you."
"You're out of your mind. What you ask of me is impossible."
"Nothing's impossible to me."
The President started pacing around his office. Breaking out in cold sweat. He should have predicted this.
"Who the heck is that?" Russel stepped closer. He shoved him back onto his chair.
"This has to stop. Enough is enough."
Someone knocked on the door. "Not now!"
"Let's pull it this way," said the voice in the phone" the choice is yours, Mister President. You can choose which path it's gonna be."
"When both options are horrifying, there's no really a choice at all". Someone knocked on the door again. "I said not now!"
"I'm sorry to hear that. Now it's me who has no choice".
The person behind the door kept knocking. Russel stood up again to see what that was about, but the President was too enraged to let him do it. He pushed the vice president back and rushed to the door, ready to flood Gloria with his frustration.
"Ok, what's so important you're endangering the future of humanity?!" He wailed. Then became speechless.
"Well, hello Mister President." Said the voice in the phone speaker and in front of him at the same time.
"Holy sh....!" Russel turned white. "How in the world is this possible?"
The President suddenly felt weary and sick.
"If you are here, who the fu** is on that spaceship?"
"Hate to break it to you, but no one is." Bruno entered the room, not even caring enough to pull him aside.
"What do you mean, no one?" Russel decided to take the lead. He should've done that as soon as Marshall came up with his brilliant idea.
"Not a single person. It's a suicide ship, as you both are well aware. So I took an emergency capsule home." The air came to be severely unbearable now. Both Marshall and Russell could smell deadly cosmic dust filling up their lungs with terror.
"Then, who is going to save the Earth?" The President stumbled and fell onto his armchair.
"I am. As long as you let me marry your daughter." Bruno casually leaned over the table and put his hands on the polished wood. Russel didn't even grace him with a slightest gaze.
"You're depending the existence of humanity on marrying my daughter?!" He screamed.
"I don't know. Are you?" Bruno smiled gently, fidgeting with something in his pocket. "You have two options. One, you let us be, and I save the world. Two, you kill me and you're left with my device which is utterly useless to you without me around. You choose."
The President groaned.
"What do I have to do?"
"Just sign here. And we're good."
He put a piece of paper between them.
"It's a statement saying that you officially let us go. And give Margot a little compensation for what you put her through."
"How big?"
"Are you serious?! We're running out of time!" Russel grabbed his arm, which he instantly freed.
"How big compensation?" He repeated.
"Five million dollars. Not too much for saving humanity, is it?"
The President fell silent. He didn't expect that to go this way in his wildest nightmares.
"Marshall, if you don't sign this sheet in five seconds, I'll kill you and sign it myself." Russel put a pen in front of him. "Stop being an egoist for five seconds and let this guy save humanity with God's help or we're doomed!"
He signed. Not even looking at the paper.
"Thank you."
Russel came up to the window, beginning to pray that the asteroid won't come in sight. And that he wasn't wrong.
Bruno pulled out a small remote with only one button on it. And pushed it. All it took to destroy an asteroid was pushing one button.
Then Russel saw it. A line of fire in the sky that turned blue and purple and that sent bolts of lightning all over the sky. The light show lasted for twenty seconds. Then it stopped.
"Ok. My work here is done. I hope you're happy with my service, now I take leave. Oh, don't forget to send the money to Margot's account. Peace." Bruno took a bow and headed for the entrance.
Then he left.
The president watched, as he went outside to grab his daughter by the hand, press a kiss against her head, and take her out of his life forever.
"So, " Russel gave him a pat on the back "the Earth was saved today. Let's hope it lasts."

#space
#spaceman
#love
#earth
#future