The Third Ten

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Lock time?” Jason asked.

  Fort smiled. “See? You don’t know all that. Yes, lock time. Set the machine that no matter what this person puts in as a destination, the system will override it and send him somewhere else. They try, they go through to your predetermined destination. They can’t get back. Even if they had a pendant, why would they come back? And they can’t go anywhere else. They’re stuck. You know that someone jumps time, and you send someone through for them. They may be a few minutes off but if you sent them into an obscure time, they’re gonna find him.”

  Hal faced Jason. “Can that be done?”

  “I guess.” Jason then looked at Fort. “If it can be done in the future it could be done now. I suppose you don’t want to help me?”

  “I can’t,” Fort said. “And it isn’t any time obligation. I just don’t have the knowledge.”

  “What about Roy?” Hal asked.

  “I’ll talk to him,” Jason said. “I will get right on it. If it can be done, I will do it. It’s a brilliant idea. Thank you for it.”

  Fort nodded his acknowledgment.

  Hal was satisfied. It was a brief meeting that started out kind of tense, and smug along with annoying because his phone kept on buzzing. But despite all that, a solution could possibly be found. They may not know who the killer was, however if George was right and their escape plan was using the Time Machine, then the killer wouldn’t be gone, he or she would be trapped

  <><><><>

  “Dean.” Frank stood just inside the clinic lab doorway.

  Nothing. No response.

  “Dean.”

  Pause.

  “Dean.”

  Pause.

  “Dean!”

  “What?” Dean spun around.

  “Are you busy?”

  “Actually, Frank, I am. If you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t. I like when you’re busy.” Frank walked into the lab and noticed the future LEP’s case. “What’s this doing up here?’

  “I was testing it. For some stuff it’s easier to test up here,” Dean said.

  “Have you figured out what kind of music he likes?”

  Dean laughed. “Why would I care?”

  “Because he obviously listens to music.” Frank held up an earpiece.

  “I don’t think that’s for music. It looks more like a hearing aid.”

  “So Chaka is deaf.”

  “I don’t think he is,”

  “You just said he has a hearing aid.”

  “No, I said it looks like a hearing aid,” Dean clarified. “I don’t know what that is.”

  “I’ll ask him.”

  “You do that.”

  “What are you testing now?” Frank asked.

  “The liquid in the syringe.” Dean walked away from the counter and to Frank. “And I have to tell you, it is like our healing agent. It is a type of liquid bandage that heals the wound fast.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “It has the same make up as my healing agent.”

  “Dean, do you know what that fucking means? Something you made lasts thousands of years.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Dean smiled.

  “We should test it.”

  “I will. I want to recreate it because I think it’s one step better.”

  “One step better than what?”

  “Mine,” Dean said.

  “Then test it. Test it on Elliott, He’s in a coma and hurt he won’t know.”

  “Elliott doesn’t need it. He’s healing pretty rapidly on his own.”

  “Is he in that good of shape?” Frank asked.

  “No, he got that big of a dose.”

  “Of?”

  “My healing agent,” Dean said. “Johnny actually gave him an IV instead of injection. He got way too much.”

  “Fuck.”

  “What?’

  “Fuck.”

  “What?”

  “Elliott fucking Ryder got too much healing agent. Fuck, Dean, does this mean he’s gonna be like me?”

  “Frank, no one can be like you.”

  “True.” Frank nodded. “But will he have my abilities.”

  “He might.”

  “Fuck. Fuck. He can’t.”

  “Why not?” Dean asked.

  “Isn’t he supposed to be dying with some sort of blood cancer?”

  “Yes, but he’s not dying anymore,” Dean said.

  “Is he cured?”

  “No, he’s in remission.”

  “I thought he was in the clinic.”

  Dean laughed. “No, he’s in remission. Meaning his illness is on pause.”

  “On pause.”

  “Yeah, it’s hiding in his body. Not getting worse and not making him sick.”

  “Well that just sucks,” Frank said.

  “What? Frank, that’s horrible to say.”

  “No, remission is horrible. Either get better or don’t. Gives false hope.”

  “I guess you have a point.”

  “Yeah, so any super powers he gets will be wasted if he gets sick again.”

  “Unless,” Dean said. “It gets rid of it.”

  “I thought you said it was on pause.”

  “I did. But we’d have to check it.”

  “We should test what’s in that syringe. I can cut myself.”

  Dean chuckled. “You heal too fast, it won’t work on you.”

  “What about Robbie? We can cut Robbie.”

  Dean thought about it for a moment. “Maybe.”

  “Cool. Anyhow, so I …”

  Frank stopped talking when a long, loud blood-curdling scream rang out.

  It was Andrea.

  Without hesitation, Frank flew from the lab and followed the screaming.

  He found Andrea in her office, pressed with her back against the wall, shaking and crying.

  “Andrea.” Frank, with concern, flew into her office. “What’s going on?”

  With a shaking hand, Andrea pointed as she cried out with a sobbing voice. “That! Sweet Jesus, I said bringing back technology was bad. Now the devil himself has gone and tooled with it.”

  Frank saw what she pointed to. It was her phone. “Your phone is possessed?”

  “No. Look. Be prepared Frank, it’s not a pretty sight.”

  Apprehensively, Frank lifted the phone and looked at the screen. It was a picture and Frank shrieked.

  “I told you,” She said.

  “Someone sent this to you.”

  “Yes.”

  “This is fucked up.” Frank looked at the image. It was bound to happen, he just didn’t figure it would happen to Andrea. But it did. Andrea thinking she was getting a text message, opened her phone to find a picture of a penis.

  <><><><>

  Andrea cried in the corner of the room, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. “I feel violated, Joe, Just violated.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I bet.” Joe exhaled and walked over to Frank. “Frank.”

  Frank stared at the picture.

  “Frank!” Joe snapped. “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to recognize distinguishing characteristics.”

  “Stop that,” Joe pushed the phone down.

  Andrea cried out. “He’s investigating Joe. Leave him alone.”

  Joe cringed.

  “Dad, really, it’s an open and shut case.”

  “How do you figure?” Joe asked.

  “Um easy,” Frank said. “It came from Gemma’s phone.”

  “And you think Gemma sent a picture of a penis to Andrea.”

  “She could have.”

  “For what reason?”

  “To torment her.”

  Andrea cried.

  “See?” Frank pointed. “Andrea’s upset. We should go get Gemma.”

  “You really think Gemma sent this picture on purpose?” Joe asked.

  “It came from her phone.”

  “Yeah, but it could have been someone else.”

  “So you think someo
ne else sent a picture of Gemma’s penis from Gemma’s phone?”

  “What?” Joe blasted. “What the hell are you talking about? Gemma’s penis?’

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s not Gemma’s penis, Frank.”

  “How do you know? Have you seen Gemma’s penis?’

  “No!”

  “Then you don’t know.”

  “I do know!” Joe shouted. “No one sent a picture of Gemma’s penis to Andrea’s phone because Gemma doesn’t have a penis.”

  “How do you know?” Frank asked.

  “She’s a woman.”

  “We think.” Frank pointed to his own temple. “She may not be.”

  “She is.”

  “Maybe she’s a woman with a penis.”

  “She’s not.”

  “She could be. She could be one of those people who have both parts. A Hermanditis.”

  “Hermaphrodite,” Joe said.

  “Whatever, she could be one of those.”

  “Frank …”

  “Or she could be one of those people who were born a man and wanted to be a woman and turned into a woman but couldn’t afford the surgery.”

  “Frank …”

  “Maybe Dean could help her out.”

  “Frank!” Joe blasted.

  “What!”

  “Gemma doesn’t have a penis! This isn’t from Gemma.”

  Frank sighed out. “Dad, I know you’re old …”

  “Goddamn it, Frank.”

  “But it came from her phone.”

  “Did you ever think this was someone else’s penis?”

  “Other than Gemma’s?”

  “Yes.” Joe nodded.

  “I thought you said she didn’t have a penis. Either she does or she doesn’t.”

  “Frank, you son of a bitch!” Joe yelled. “I’m saying, yes, this picture was sent from Gemma’s phone but maybe she wasn’t the one who sent it.”

  Frank paused. “So maybe she took a picture of a penis and sent it to Andrea.”

  Joe stared at Frank for a moment. “I quit.”

  “What?”

  “Frank, I think someone got a hold of her phone and sent this picture.”

  “Aw …” Frank nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “Yes.”

  “So it’s not as cut and dry as I thought.”

  “No.” Joe shook his head.

  “I’ll still find it.” Frank nodded. “Find the penis. Find the person.”

  “Frank, you’re not gonna find the penis.”

  “I will.”

  “Frank, as horrible as this was for Andrea. This isn’t going to be an easy task.”

  “Joe!” Andrea scolded. “Don’t discourage him. If Frank thinks he can find the person, let him.”

  “Thank you, Andrea,” Frank said.

  “Frank,” Joe spoke calmly. “I know you’re good at what you do.”

  “I am.”

  Joe grumbled. “But this might be hard.”

  Frank snickered.

  “Stop that.”

  “Sorry, you said hard.”

  “Grow up.” Joe snapped. “It might be difficult.”

  “I’ll find it.”

  “What are you gonna do. Go around to every guy, show him the picture and say ‘Is this your penises?”

  “If I have to, I will.” Frank nodded assuredly to Andrea. “If I have to examine every man. I will find that penis. May I take this?” he held up the phone.

  “Please,” Andrea said.

  Frank walked out.

  Andrea gasped out and placed her hand on her chest. “Frank is on it. You must be so proud, Joe.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Joe grumbled. “Real proud.”

  SEVEN

  On the counter, directly in front of Dean, Ellen slapped down a printed picture from the ultrasound. “Here.”

  “What the hell is it?” Deal lifted the picture.

  “An ear. That was the best I could get.”

  “Yeah, right.” Dean put it down. “And this is from the self-proclaimed best ultra sound taker.”

  “I can miss occasionally. The baby wouldn’t stop moving. Which brings me to a question.”

  “That is?”

  “If by chance Jenny would be carrying a LEP, it definitely would be a mix of human and LEP, right? I mean, it wouldn’t be pure bread like Marcus.”

  “What do you know?”

  Ellen shook her head. “Nothing, I swear. I just couldn’t tell, so now I am baffled about it. If Chaka was an evolution of the LEP based on a full human DNA mixed in there. Is it possible, if Jenny is pregnant to him, that the baby may be a watered down LEP?’

  “Watered down?” Dean laughed.

  “Yes. Think about it. Sort of like one step more than Frank.”

  Dean lifted the picture. “Which means we wouldn’t know unless the pregnancy accelerates?”

  Ellen nodded.

  “We’re gonna have to do an Amnio, in case we have to abort.”

  “Is that your call?” Ellen asked.

  “No, but we had a meeting deciding that the baby would be aborted. It would be in the best interest of the community and Jenny.”

  “It’s still Jenny’s baby.”

  “What do you know?”

  “Nothing …but ….” Ellen noticed what he was looking at. He had Chaka’s man bag spread open. “You know Dean, you can look at that all day it’s not going to help figure out that stuff is.”

  “Changing the subject.”

  “Yeah, I am. I just don’t think this decision should be made by someone other than Jenny.”

  “What do you know? What did you see?” Dean asked.

  A knock on the doorframe caused Dean and Ellen both to turn.

  Robbie stood there, then walked in. ‘You wanted to see me, Dean?”

  “Yeah, Robbie, please, I have a favor,” Dean said.

  “Hey, El,” Robbie walked in kissing Ellen on the cheek,

  “You look tired,” Ellen said.

  “I shouldn’t be, I took a nap. But … I finished the list of everyone in town when Elliott was shot,” Robbie said. “We now have a suspect list, we can start narrowing down. It’s a lot of people. Frank says he read Elliott’s mind and knows who Elliott saw as the shooter. If he would just open his mouth, it would help. I mean, it’s not enough to take him or her into custody, but we can watch this person. Save my brother’s life.”

  “Do you really think they’ll kill Frank?” Dean asked.

  “Roy went three weeks into the future and Frank was dead. So …. It’s possible. It’s also possible that we diverted it. I just wish we knew who Elliott saw.”

  Ellen shook her head. “You know that may not help. He saw one person. The shooter. What if it’s more than one? What if there’s a group of people plotting his death. He had an arrow, bear trap and electrocution happening in his office. Three people trying three ways to kill him.”

  Robbie snickered. “That’s cute.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know, but I highly doubt it’s multiple people. One person really wants to make sure he died.”

  “If it was anyone else,’ Dean said. “They would have been dead. Thankfully, when it comes to healing, Frank is pretty extraordinary.”

  They all paused, turned, looked and looked at the door as if expecting Frank to pop in.

  Robbie shook his head. “Anyhow, what … whoa … is this our future LEP’s pack?”

  “Man bag,” Ellen corrected. “And his name is Chaka.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Frank,” Ellen said. “He got his name. He spoke.”

  “Frank believed he can get the LEP to tell us what all this is,” Dean said. “We figured out some. Weapon …” Dean pointed. “Food. Pills of some sort. The ear buds, we don’t know. Frank will find out. If anyone can, he can. But … the reason I asked you here. You’re pretty demented and all you Slagels are game. I need to experiment on you. I figured out one thing, other than the food. I
ran a test on the syringe. Figuring the stuff in the vials is the same.”

  “But there’s no way you can tell what it is,” Ellen said. “It’s from the future.”

  “It has the same make up as my healing agent,” Dean smiled.

  “Are you shitting me?” Ellen asked with excitement.

  “Yep and if I’m right, it’s a ton better.” Dean looked at Robbie. “I need to test it.”

  “On me?” Robbie asked. “Sure, you aren’t cutting off a limb, are you? I don’t have many to spare.”

  “No,” Dean chuckled. “It’s like a liquid bandage, but it heals. I just want to slice your arm. The good one.”

  “Sure.” Robbie shrugged. “So it’s like a super glue.”

  “Better,” Dean said. “If I am right, it will not only seal the wound but heal it pretty quickly.”

  “If it doesn’t?” Robbie asked.

  “We’ll suture it. I won’t do anything I can’t repair. I’ll make sure you’re numb so you don’t …”

  Interrupting Dean was a call into the room. “Ellen. You got a minute?”

  Hector stood in the door way holding an obviously bloody towel to his head.

  Ellen did a double take and rushed over. “Oh my God, what happened?” She reached for the towel.

  “Easy don’t lift it, it’s pretty deep,” Hector replied. “I was reacting in a cabinet and the bowls were stacked bad and a huge serving dish came down on me.”

  Dean hurried over. “Were you unconscious?”

  Hector shook his head.

  Dean lifted the towel exposing the oozing gash just at his hairline. “Let me look. Whoa, this is pretty deep. I need to also make sure you don’t have a fracture. This is indented. Must have been a big bowl.”

  “It was.”

  “Hector … we uh … we’re working on a new liquid bandage, you think you may be game?” Dean asked.

  “Sure.” Hector brought the towel to his head.

  “Great. Okay. El, you want to take him to x-ray, I’ll be right there?”

  “I’ll take him.” Holding on to his arm, Ellen escorted Hector out.

  “So I guess you don’t need me?” Robbie asked.

  “Oh, no, I still need you,” Dean said. “I have no idea of how much to use. You’ll be the guinea pig.”