by Teya Tapler
Alex stopped hitting Zander, got up and retreated back a few steps. Zander got up and distanced himself to the other side of the room still aiming at Alex. Alex put on a content smile and without talking glanced at his wristwatch. Someone had recently mentioned that the charges were all set. Zander peeked at the transcaster gun settings and awaited the start of the explosion. When the first sound from the far end of the apartment came to them Zander turned the gun towards his own body and send himself away from the team base in the middle of the explosion, leaving the amazed Alex with his fading content smile to live thought it.
Chapter 17
The sounds of the explosion at their team base still echoed in his ears when Zander arrived at the destination place. The landing area was too bumpy and he wobbled trying to keep his stance. The place was dark and the lights from the blast were still flashing in front of his eyes. He blinked to clear his vision. It was hard to say whether he was inside or outside. Making a noise to check his surroundings didn’t seem a good idea. Most likely he was in one of the many Inquisitors’ bases or hideouts. Not knowing who might be listening, the smarter move was to keep quiet and stay low and unnoticed.
Zander knelt down and a sharp pain ran along his spine - he had to rest. He stretched his back to ease the pain then touched the landing area with both hands. The surface seemed familiar and yet a little too strange. The coarse texture of the cloth was unmistakable. It felt like the material used for suitcases, backpacks and other type of luggage. He moved his hands around and touched a zipper, a suitcase handle, two rolling luggage wheels and a few other bags. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was able to see the contours of the area. He was standing a top of a luggage pile in some kind of a walk-in closet. Cloth’s racks and shelved filled with storage boxes could be distinguished surrounding the heap. Making any more moves might collapse the mass and make an undesirable noise.
Zander wanted to investigate the area further. If he had the right equipment as night vision goggles and thermal scanner he would have learned so much more. All he had were his bare hands and the transcaster gun that brought him there. His curiosity was eager to investigate as his mind told him that he had to leave. Coming back was always an option - exploring that area at that time, alone and without the backup of his teammates, was not.
Using both hands, he changed the settings of the gun to return to his team base an hour after the explosion. That should be enough time for the fire department to extinguish the fires and for the smoke to settle down. They were hit pretty hard. It would be a miracle if any of their equipment, supplies or archives had survived the explosion. The 906 Inquisitors were well known for their destructive blasts and devastating visits.
Zander took a deep breath and sent himself back to his room at the burned down team base.
The sun was still high in the sky and the bright light irritated his eyes. He squinted and using the light coming through the now wide openings on the outside walls, looked around. The place was unrecognizable. The internal walls were either non-existing or marked by concrete pieces hanging from the ceiling or protruding from the floor. There was not a single item that could be identified as a piece of furniture or a computer. Everything was either gone or destructed. The meager remains were first covered with black residue from the fire, then completely soaked with water and chemicals while the fire had been extinguished.
Lucky for him they had no neighbors. The TTA had foreseen the prospect of events like that and had purchased the whole building. The Anaconda team have had multiple successful missions for decades. They have never had such a problem like the one Zander was looking at that moment. It felt like their existence had been protected by a higher power and they had been spared from the wrath of their enemies. Most likely a revisit to the security protocol would be needed and then, when their team base was reconstructed, they would have to embed more security cameras and sensors in the building.
Zander ran to the place in the living room where they were hiding the archive backup. A two feet tall piece of the wall between the living room and the kitchen was still standing. Zander knelt in front of it and dug between the coarse debris. A smile showed on his face when he pushed a blue tile on the floor and the hidden drawer at the base of that wall piece opened. The metal box with their archive backup was waiting for him inside. He pulled it out and opened the lid with a click. The multicolored data crystals and data crystal bracelets were still there, neatly organized, cheerfully reflecting the surrounding light.
Zander closed the box, put it aside and trust his hand deeper into the opening. His fingers reached another metal box and he pulled it out into the light. Inside, a preset transcaster gun to their alternative team base and a location prohibitor were waiting for him. He pulled a cord to activate the location prohibitor and hid it in the rubble. Peter and Emil would be returning soon. Its batteries would have enough power to last for several days. It should be long enough to warn them to redirect to the alternative location – Mary’s apartment.
That brought back the thought of Mary. Zander remembered not seeing or hearing her during the fight. The sight around him clearly indicated there was no place she could have hidden to survive the explosion. He had to find her. Hoping that she was already waiting for him at her apartment Zander picked up the two boxes and transcasted himself there.
***
Mary’s apartment looked untouched. No one had been here for a while. The curtains were pulled down, neatly tucked behind the nearby chair and the lights were off – the way she and Peter were leaving it every time. Zander walked from room to room then opened the safe behind one of the lower cabinets in the kitchen and hid the archive backup box. He returned the pans and lids back to their place on the bottom shelve and closed the cabinet door.
If Mary hasn’t been here, then were could she be? Zander spread himself on the sofa to give his back a rest. The foam molded, following the contours of his body and made him relax. He lay flat looking at the ceiling.
What happened to Mary? The last thing he remembered, before going to his bedroom to have a nap, was that Peter and Emil left to bring Evan back. At the same time Mary had gone into the kitchen to get a head start on the supper. When Mort woke him up he saw Kevin and that Alex guy in his room. Then during the fight someone called to them that the charges are all set and that they had to leave with her.
They had Mary!
The thought made him try to sit up quickly.
They have taken her with them.
Zander had to save her. He had to find her and help her. His back protested the quick movement and Zander lay down again. Without getting up he scanned the living room to locate the computer. There wasn’t any in sight. Mary was keeping the image of her place clean from any non-home related technology. There was only a TV stuck on the wall like a peel of sticker and a universal remote on the coffee table. His eyes returned to the remote. It had more buttons that necessary, even if Mary had the special TV, movie, online shopping, radio and cleaning services combined with the mandatory premises surveillance system. Laying down he pulled the magazine the remote was lying on and picked it up. Without pointing it at anything he typed their team name and pressed the button on the remote to switch off the TV.
A soft and quiet screech followed as Zander felt the furniture around him moving. He looked in the direction of the TV and noticed that the curio-bookcase below it had opened revealing the hidden hive of holo-threens behind the books and knick-knacks showcase. Zander slowly sat up. Out of thin air a transparent virtual keyboard appeared in front of him. He smiled: obviously the equipment had been upgraded since Peter had moved in. He logged in and started the scanning application. He had to find Mary. It might be a matter of life and death. His fingers ran down the keyboard and holographic screens appeared on the wall ahead. He searched in the past starting from the year 3000 BC slowly combing each possibility for traces of Mary’s locator chip. She didn’t show up in the early periods of the human history or the middle ages. Wi
th a sign of relief Zander started searching through the safer centuries. He wasn’t able to find Mary anywhere in the 18th through the 24th century. He froze. The options left were not very good. No one had visited the years prior to the 31st century BC alone, and returned safe, sound and sane. The alternative of her being in the 25th century wasn’t good either. She might run into herself.
Zander shook his head to clear his mind from the terrible thoughts and decided to focus on the time closer to the present. After searching the early years of the 25th century he finally found her in the current year and month. She was even in the same day as him. They haven’t transcasted her anywhere yet. She was somewhere in the lower layers of the town. A place he hadn’t visited recently. He took a deep breath, closed the computer hive and headed to bring Mary back.
***
Zander took a cab to the bus station then sat at the back on the green bus and rode to the last stop after which he walked through the lower level of the city for two hours. He followed the road to the reader’s house for two reasons: it was the only way he knew how to reach the city’s lower levels and he was secretly hoped to be able to ask the readers for guidance or hints.
It was cold and wet there. The bottom levels of the city didn’t get enough sun that time of the year and Zander felt the cold building up in his bones. He pulled his jacket closer and waded through the moldy smelling streets. Periodically, he would stop and pretend to look at a store front checking if he was not followed. He would pretend to read off a newspaper spread on the sidewalk or that his shoelaces needed to be tied once more. Each time he would carefully scan his surroundings, analyzing the behavior of the people on the street, trying to remember if he had seen any of them during the previous time the surveyed the area a few minutes ago. The last thing he needed was someone’s prying eyes.
As he approached the reader’s house with the rattling window shutters he wondered whether to get in. The temptation was strong. At that moment he could use all the help he could get. But that was off limits. The rule was that the reader had to call him. Entering, uninvited on his own was not going to trigger the vision needed for the reading to be complete and successful and there was no guarantee that he would find anyone inside. The few remaining readers had been changing locations infrequently to avoid being tracked down or trapped.
Pretending he was looking at the houses Zander moved his head from one side of the street to the other and passed the reader’s house. The sewer pipe next to the house rumbled and discharged a dark green blob in front of him. Its smell resembled black pepper and he felt his eyes get watery. Zander quickly stopped in his tracks and then moved to his right to avoid stepping into the unknown substance. No one knew what could be found at that level of the city, but the rumors were saying it was the home of the rejected human genome experiments. At the end of the 22nd century a group of scientist had unsuccessfully tried to improve the human race by mixing human DNA with that of selected alien species. Their laboratory was abruptly closed after a journalist discovered that the whole initiative was illegal on all inhabited planets in the Galaxy. The story went that the experiments escaped and could be still seen roaming the lower levels of the Eastern City.
“Hey watch where you are going!” an angry female voice yelled at him. Afraid that he might run into one of those monsters Zander looked down. There on the sidewalk, right where his foot was going to land Mary was lying down curled around an old coat. Her hair was dirty, her eyes blank and she looked at his face not recognizing him. Her skin was so white that her veins were visible on her forehead and arms making her look blue. She appeared starved and dehydrated. Knowing that she was in perfect health just a few hours ago startled Zander.
What have they done to her? He knelt down and held her arms.
“Mary? Is that you?” Zander said.
“For you, honey, I’d be anything,” Mary grabbed his arm with an insane smile on her face.
“What happened to you? Come on! I’ll take you home,” he gently covered her with the oversized coat she was holding.
“Not so fast,” Kevin’s voice came to Zander from behind his back.
“Hold on to my leg,” Zander said quietly to Mary and turned to face Kevin.
“Yeah, nice to see you too,” Zander noticed the laser gun Kevin had pointed at him.
“I thought you died in the explosion, but after Alex got delayed I became suspicious.” Kevin said.
Zander felt a gun pressed at his back. It wasn’t easy to determine whether it was a transcast or a laser gun. The difference in the shot was far bigger than the feeling of each of them being pressed against ones back over two layers of clothes. If that was a laser gun Kevin and his partner, whoever that was, were going to kill Mary too. On the other hand they could do the same with a transcaster gun if they sent them to Mercury or in the open space where they wouldn’t stand a chance without protective gear and breathing apparatus.
Wondering what would be the right choice, Zander asked. “What’re you planning to do?”
“I would love to kill you for real this time, but Ranshen and Mort want to keep you alive.” Alex’s voice came to Zander, behind his back, without any indication of what was in his hand.
“Is she coming with us?” Zander nodded down to Mary who was clenched at his leg. She was looking around with blank eyes, smiling at her surroundings and not understanding what was going on.
“She’ll stay here. There’s not enough space for all of us.” Kevin pressed a button on his car bracelet to materialize their vehicle. It was a pretty little moveseat, like so many of the two-seat commuter cars on the road each morning.
The moveseat looked like a loveseat with a colorful cover and round wheels that resembled 21st century beach balls. The steering wheel could be placed in front of any passenger making the car universal for any traffic laws. Each time a moveseat was dematerialized its building elements were stored into the owner’s distinct bracelet. When materialization was requested the car, and all of its content, was rebuild in front of ones eyes.
When the car started to materialize itself Zander felt that the gun was not pressed that hard at his back any more. Alex must have been distracted. Noticing that Kevin was also enjoying the way the car was gradually appearing in front of their eyes bottom up, Zander moved his leg to check that Mary was still holding tight and shoved his hand into the outside pocket of his jacket. There was the transcaster gun he took from the box in their team base. The gun that was pre-set to bring them back to Mary’s apartment. He made sure it was pointed at him and pressed the trigger.
Zander and Mary escaped before the moveseat rebuilding process was complete.
Chapter 18
Emil and Peter landed in front of the bed in Evan’s room. There was no one else there. Considering the margin of error and the tiny target their landing was almost perfect. Emil and Peter looked around. Someone had forced his way into the room, breaking the door and the three heavy locks. Wooden pieces and twisted metal were handing of the door frame while the bigger chunks, of what used to be the entry door, were spread on the floor. The room bore the signs of a struggle that had gradually moved into the bathroom where there was blood on some of the floor tiles. The malachite locator bracelet laid under the sink. Peter picked it up and hid it in his pocket.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Sh-sht.” Emil put his index finger in front of his lips. “There’s a meeting a few doors down,” he peeked in that direction. “They’re in the living room. They must’ve brought her there.”
The two men moved towards the living room area. As they approached the door the conversation inside was easier to hear.
“What d’you say to him?” they heard Ranshen’s hissing voice.
“That he had a much better opportunity elsewhere. I didn’t know that he will react… like that,” Evan’s voice came to them clear but weak.
Emil clenched his fists trying to calm down. It was hard being so close and not being able to help the person who
had helped him. Their task was to pull Evan out without getting noticed or killing anyone of the gang members. They were not allowed to change the past at all. The requirement to remain unnoticed was driving him crazy.
“I- I had a dream,” Evan started with her soft voice,”that with his next choice of target he would do more damage to our group.” She spoke quietly. “In my dream after we hit the Fearsome Nations he directed us towards the Galactic Headquarters…where,”
Peter looked at Emil and mouthed, “A reader?”
Emil only gestured him to keep quiet. There would be plenty of time for explanation when they returned.
“When we try using the pearls,” Evan’s voice came to them again, then she made a longer pause before delivering the punch line, “they’re destroyed and we’re captured.”
“Why didn’t you come to me first?” Mort asked in his usual way that sounded more like giving orders.
“I didn’t want to spoil the celebration at the starship. I thought that if I could ward him away I’d achieve the same result,” Evan said.
“When did you give him the notebook,” Ranshen suddenly asked her, “before or after the reading?”
The two rescuers froze. Until that moment there were no signs that direct confrontation was possible. Ranshen, obviously knew something more than the rest of the group. Behind the door Peter and Emil instinctively prepared their transcaster guns.
“I didn’t give him anything,” Evan’s voice came to them. She hadn’t changed her tone. “He must’ve followed us to the lab,” Evan continued with her soft and quiet voice as Emil realized that she was playing with fire. “And then he hit me the moment we entered my room.” She ended her story.
“You hit her?” Peter looked at Emil with disbelieve. Emil moved his head from left to right denying the accusations then gestured Peter to shut up.