by Ryan Lohner
Matt had to work his mouth a couple of times before anything would come out. And when it did, all he could think to say was, “But what about your father?”
Dave looked more uncomfortable. “Oh, he’s from here, too. In fact, there’s one more thing you should know about me. I’m a clone.” He paused there, likely predicting that they would need a few seconds to take that in. And he was absolutely right about that. But Matt still hadn’t come anywhere near to actually taking in the whole of the revelation before Dave continued, “So is the man you knew as my father, he was just made older than me. One of General Spencer’s later breakthroughs – we may negate the need for military recruitment at all if the project keeps working like it has been. So that’s who this guy saw a month ago, another one made the same as me.”
Bram spoke up again. “Oh, you’re really not buying any of this, are you? Ever since the general took over, he’s built all his success on the backs of people like me. And as far as I’m concerned, anyone who supports him is just as bad.”
Dave snorted. “Do you know what the biggest drain on our resources is, by far? You. And other people like you. Every cent you cost us is one that can’t go to one of those ‘people like you’ who needs it. So don’t come complaining to me about it. If everyone would just stop fighting us, we would all be a lot happier.”
Bram retorted, “It’s only because I was born with nothing in the first place that I have to fight. It’s the only way we can live down there. And my guess is, if you had to live like us, you wouldn’t last a week.”
Now Dave was angry. “It’s up to you when this stops, not us! We would be perfectly willing to leave you alone if you’d just stop, but you never do. What are we supposed to do?”
Now Matt had had enough. He stepped between them, forcing Dave to quickly lower his pulser. “Look, just stop, both of you! You’re just going around in circles, and it’s never going to go anywhere. Dave, I’m sure you know we’ve only got another day or two before we can’t survive here anymore. All we want is to go home, and then both of you can just keep this up as much as you want.” Now it was his turn to wipe a tear from his eye as he realized just what he was saying. “Maybe you really did care about us, I don’t know. And at the moment, I don’t particularly care. What you put me through … I can’t forgive it. So just take us to the corridor and send us through. No one in this place will ever have to hear from us again. And we won’t have to hear about you.”
Dave just stared at him for a few seconds. Then he nodded. “All right. I guess I deserve that.” He touched his ear. “Chapman.” After another pause, “The outsiders are here. We’re heading toward the corridor, if you’ll meet us there.”
Jim shouted, “Wait a minute! Chapman? That’s the guy who brought us here, remember? He’s really bad news!”
Dave chuckled. “Where did you get that idea? Major Chapman’s one of the greatest, most honorable men it’s ever been my pleasure to meet.”
Jane said, “He seemed that way to us, too, and then we found out the truth.”
Dave turned serious. “And just who told you this ‘truth?’ Because I assure you, your first impression was correct.”
Matt tilted his head toward Bram. “This guy. And if you’ll forgive this, my good friend, I feel a lot more like taking his word at the moment.”
Dave sighed, and turned to Bram. “It’s not enough for you people to cause so much property damage? Now you have to go smearing the names of our best people? Because we have some bad ones, I know it. But Chapman is certainly not one of them.”
They all turned to Bram. Matt said, “Okay, now I’m really curious. What’s going on here?”
Bram crossed his arms. “I lied. That’s what’s going on.”
There was no emotion behind the words. As far as Matt could tell, the statement cost him nothing.
Jane was the one who got over the shock first, to ask the same thing they were all thinking. “But why?”
He shrugged. “I needed to persuade you to come with me. I was under the impression you were great soldiers, remember? It seemed like the easiest way. And I certainly have never had much reason to discriminate between these people, so for all I knew, it could well have been true.”
Matt felt his stomach drop through the floor. “Wait a minute. So, if we’d just stayed in that room, Chapman would have just concluded we weren’t any danger, and sent us back that same day?”
Dave said, “That would be my guess, yes.”
Suddenly Jim ran up to Bram and started attacking him with all the moves that had just been put in his head, punches and kicks without any kind of thought behind them, but power to spare. Bram did his best to fight back, but the sheer anger he was up against seemed to wear down his defenses, and from the look on his face, Matt suspected he wasn’t actually putting much effort into it. Maybe he did feel some regret after all.
Finally, Jim had him shoved against the wall and Bram simply threw his arms to his sides and seemed to have trouble even looking at him. “You didn’t even think about how this might affect us, did you?”
Jim’s rage was actually frightening to watch, despite his voice not being raised at all, and Matt was quite glad he wasn’t on the receiving end.
“No, you just wanted more cannon fodder you could keep throwing at these people, like it’ll ever do any real good. You never thought we might have families or friends in our world, who still have no idea what the hell happened to us.”
“Well, actually …” everyone’s heads turned as Dave spoke up. “That isn’t necessarily true.”
Jim let Bram go and he slumped to the floor. Then he turned to Dave. “Be very clear about what you mean,” he said, obviously fighting to speak calmly. “Because I’m not in any mood to be jerked around right now.”
“There was something strange about your world from the moment we linked to it. Time didn’t seem to work the right way as we watched through the corridor. Sometimes days would pass in seconds, sometimes they’d check in after a night and find that it had only been a few minutes on your side. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of sense to it. The scientists on the project are still trying to figure it out. But the good news is they have been able to establish some control from this end.”
Matt didn’t think his head could take any more surprises. “And what exactly does that mean for us?”
Dave grinned. “That our team can send you back right when you left. It’s been less than a week – it’ll be very simple for them. And fortunately for you, you’ve got a friend, if I can still call myself that, whose word carries a lot around here, and who owes you a very big favor. I’ll get them to do it, don’t you worry.”
Jane stepped back to lean against the wall. “It seems too good to be true. I … I don’t know what to say.”
Matt said, “Well, I think I have an idea.” He walked up to Dave and stuck his hand out. “I’m still not ready to quite forgive you for all this. But you are my friend. Maybe it can happen down the road.”
Dave shook it eagerly. “I hope so. Everything I’ve said right now was the complete truth. It may not make up for everything, but it’s all I have.” He addressed all of them. “And now if you’ll all get back into the teleporter, I have enough clearance to take us straight to the corridor itself.” Then he turned to Bram and raised his pulser again. “You, too. I imagine Chapman would quite like a word with you. If no one else has a problem with that?”
Matt asked, “Would that make a difference?”
“Honestly, no. But I’d prefer it.”
But they didn’t get to discuss it any further, because Bram then took the decision out of their hands when he stood up and moved inside without a word, and with barely a glance at them. The others shrugged and followed and Dave said, “Corridor control room.” There was the usual bright light, and while nothing appeared to have changed outside, Matt remembered how all the halls of the building looked the same and eagerly followed him back out.
Sure enough, just walking
straight down the hall took them to the place Matt recognized as the control room for the corridor. The same three technicians were there as well, and all of them stood up at the sight of the newcomers.
Dave waved them to take their seats again. “No need to worry, everyone. In a moment these people will be none of our concern, and you can all go back to … well, whatever it is you usually do here. I’ve never been very clear on that, to be honest.”
“Because it’s not your job to know, of course,” said Chapman’s voice, before he faded into visibility, just like when Matt and his friends had first met him. The captain looked them over. “It seems my promise to you was broken, but I assure you, I truly did intend your stay here to be as brief as I said.”
Dave stood to attention. “Yes, Captain. I’ve already apprised them of the situation. It seems they received some faulty ideas about you, from this person right here, in fact.” He nodded to Bram.
Chapman’s eyes turned unusually cold as he surveyed the man, who seemed to have regained some confidence and simply glared at him. “Is that so? Well, I’d guess he’s not the first to do so. These people do love to justify their actions any way they can.”
Another, unfortunately, familiar voice continued the thought. “Although I find it just makes the job more fun in the end.” Pren also became visible, followed by three more soldiers. “Hello, all. Miss me?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Matt didn’t want to think it, but it was the only thing that came to mind. “Dave?” he said, putting all his suspicion into the word.
Dave started to turn to him, but then stopped and kept his focus on Chapman. He still spoke to Matt, though. “Don’t look at me. I know you probably won’t believe it right now, but I did mean everything I said back there.” His gaze at Chapman grew sharper and he said, “Captain, what exactly is the meaning of this?”
Pren popped in with, “Oh, you’re going to love this.” The smug smile on his face made him look more ratlike than ever.
Chapman turned to him and snapped, “Quiet!” He turned back to the group. “I’m afraid this is a quite awkward situation for all of us. You see, once I came back and found you three gone, the general was understandably quite angry. Quite a lot of time and effort has been put into this project, and if it pans out, there are all kinds of possibilities to help our government and make everyone’s lives better. And then it was all endangered because of my mistake. You know the general, Dave – his motto is to assume the worst scenario, and you’ll never be disappointed. In this case, that would be that these three were actually hostile agents sent to infiltrate us, and I’d fallen for the scheme and let them roam free to do whatever they came for. The last few days have been stressful, to say the least.”
Bram said bitingly, “If it makes you feel better, I caught a lot of flak from my boss over this, too.”
Chapman paused and closed his eyes for a second, then continued without a response to that. “So you can see that I was a desperate man, looking for any way to regain my status in the general’s eyes. And what I decided on was you, Dave.”
Dave’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I like where this is going.”
“No, I don’t believe you will. But all I offer is the truth. That pat on the shoulder I gave you yesterday? I planted a bug on you.”
Now Dave’s eyes were as wide as Matt had ever seen them.
“I’m an elite. The future of this country. Spying on your own men is a bad enough crime, but one of us?”
Much to Matt’s surprise, Chapman actually looked ashamed.
“It was far from an easy decision, believe me. But I finally figured that as distasteful as it was, it was the one ghost of a chance I had.”
Somehow, Matt actually felt sympathetic for the man. After all, what had he been doing searching through the woods for any sign of Dave, but that exact thing?
Chapman continued on, “And ever since, it’s been stuck in the back of your neck, letting me hear everything you say. I got quite a surprise when you met up with these people, as you can imagine. I was going to contrive some excuse for coming here, but then you called on me yourself, so thank you for that.”
Dave’s fingers twitched on his pulser. “So what, then? You turn us all in, and you’re back on top again?”
Chapman nodded. “That’s the general idea.”
Dave snarled, “And what good would it do in the end? You said it yourself; these people aren’t any threat to us. They have no intention of coming back here or telling anyone from their world about us, and no one would believe them anyway. So what you’d really be doing is simply serving yourself at the expense of innocents.” He pointed to Bram. “You’ll be just as dirty as people like him say we are. I know how much that reputation chafes on you, so just think about it.”
Chapman shook his head. “I have. I’ve thought on it long and hard. And I take no pleasure in what I’m doing right now, but it has to be done. My team and I have done good work, despite some of our less savory members.” He glanced at the man beside him. “I’m the one thing keeping people like Pren here in check.”
Pren interjected, “I would be offended, but hey, it’s true.”
Chapman shot him a silent glare, and he backed away. “As I was saying, without me, the team would dissolve. I was given some of the worst our recruiters had to offer, and the only way I can make them quality men is if I’m still trusted to keep that job. You can see that, can’t you?”
That was when Matt decided to step in. When Dave and Chapman had begun their argument, he’d been hoping the animosity between them would lead to a way out of this situation, but that had looked less and less likely as the scene went on. So now he figured, if this really was it for the three of them, and possibly Dave as well, he might as well say exactly what was on his mind. He looked Chapman square in the eye with the courage that comes from having nothing to lose. “You can justify it any way you want. It’s still wrong, and you know it. When we first came here, I actually thought you were a good guy, and you’d help us. And I think you still want to. So please, don’t do this.”
Chapman replied with real sympathy in his voice. “Your world doesn’t seem to be as hard as ours. Or maybe it’s just how young you are. The world isn’t black and white. There is so much more to consider, especially when you’re responsible for as much more than yourself as I am. I have no illusions about what I’m doing right now. It’s wrong. It goes against everything I thought I’d be standing for when I joined this organization. But it does have to be done.”
Bram laughed. “Well, if anyone here was hoping to change my mind about the kinds of people who are in charge of this outfit, it hasn’t worked. In fact, I’d say my opinion has even gone down a little. You’re not only selfish and greedy, but you actually know that’s what you are, and you do all you do anyway. But I wouldn’t expect it to last long. Maybe you do know that, but take it from me, it’s what you don’t know that’ll come back and bite you.”
Matt was rather confused at first. What exactly was Bram talking about? Then like a lightning bolt, he thought he had it. He glanced over to Jim, who gave him a barely perceptible nod. He’d figured it out too. None of them had mentioned to Dave the combat training they’d just received. Which meant Chapman and his men didn’t know about it either. And now that he took a closer look, all of them seemed focused on Dave and Bram, the obvious threats. The one exception was Pren, who occasionally looked their way with a smirk. But at the moment, he seemed just as interested in Bram as the others. Not only had the statement given them the idea, it also gave them the opportunity to carry it out, now that everyone was thinking Bram was about to reveal some secret that would bring them down.
He gave Jim a nod back, and with that, they both charged forward, each taking one of the soldiers to the floor quickly and grabbing their pulsers. As the rest were still struggling to react to this, Bram joined the fray and grappled with the third. He threw the man into Pren, sending them both into the wall in a heap. Dav
e, not part of the plan but apparently not one to wait long on such an opportunity, went straight for Chapman. However, he had a bit more difficulty. Chapman clearly had received more advanced training than his men and the two traded a series of blows it was impossible to follow, neither able to get an advantage. And Matt, Jim, and Bram were all too busy with their own fights to step in. But then Jane, who absolutely no one was watching even now, did it for them, slipping around behind Chapman, where she aimed a kick at the back of his knee. He went down and Dave was quick to take the chance to land a punch to his face. Chapman quickly snapped his head back to look at Dave again and seemed like he was going to continue the fight. But by then Matt, Jim and Bram had finished with the others, and as Chapman looked around at his downed men, a change came over his face. His scar even pulsed red, a quite intimidating sight despite his situation. He raised his hands in surrender, though not without a steady glare at everyone.
“Everyone, stand down!” he shouted.
With the fight over, Matt remembered the three scientists and glanced across the room. They had hidden behind their equipment and now slowly emerged with their hands also raised. “What do you want?” said one of them. “Just, please don’t hurt us. We’ve done nothing to you.”
Dave sighed. “No one’s going to. All I want you to do is set a corridor back to the other side, as close to the time these three came through as you can. I trust that date sticks out in your memory.”
The scientists all quickly nodded and got to work. They didn’t seem the types for talking when not necessary, which was just as well to Matt.
Pren surprised them with a chuckle. “You think this will be over?” He seemed rather overly confident, considering Bram was currently pointing his own pulser at his head.
Chapman turned to him. “I am in a particularly bad mood right now, and I’m planning a very harsh penalty for you if you don’t learn to keep quiet when you should.”