The other Smith held his hands about halfway up. He was crouched a bit, looking as if he was trying to stay out of view of the house. “I promise I’ll tell you, but we’ve got to get out of here. They’ve been expecting you inside for the last several minutes and they’re bound to get antsy pretty soon.”
“They?” Smith asked, “Who are you talking about?”
“Agent Green. I’m guessing you might know him as Nicholas. And then there’s my world’s version of Jones and Quincy and about two months worth of death trap preparation. I guarantee you, if you go in there you’re dead. All of you. All of this was a lure for this moment right now.”
Nik watched Smith’s indecision. The gun in his hand seemed to drop a bit, but he wasn’t convinced. “Why should I trust you? You shot at me and you’ve led me on a rat’s race.”
“I know, and I even fudged the truth in a few spots too. I was hoping to catch up with you in Indiana after Nik and Nicholas went through but the portal there was inactive. I assume you found a way to disable it?” Like blowing up a house, Nik thought.
Smith only nodded. The other Smith continued, “Nicholas is working for someone very important in our government who wants to use the portal system to their advantage in many ways, and some of those are ways that I don’t agree with. Neither does Wall or Street, both of whom have been removed from their positions.”
Smith looked like he’d been slapped. “You still have Street over there?”
A strange look went over the alternate Smith’s face. “Uh, yes. But, what matters is that we figure out how to stop her.”
“Stop who?”
Alternate Smith turned and looked straight at Nik. “Her name is Penelope. She’s the reason why Nik’s wife is missing. In fact, she’s the reason for this whole thing.” He paused a moment. “You,” He pointed at Nik, “What is your wife’s name? Her full first name.”
It was Nik’s turn to feel slapped. “Her name is Penny, but it’s short for Penelope.”
Alternate Smith turned back to Smith and said, “And the Penelope on my world ran Wall out of the Agency and is running amok with the portals. I’ve run out of options, and I need your help. Now please,” He glanced behind the others at the house, “We have to go. Now.”
Smith holstered his weapon. “All right, what’s your move?”
The other Smith held out his hand, “I’ve been here lots of times in my own world and a couple times in this one now. Let me drive. I know the area.”
Driving
Smith dug out his keys and tossed them over. They all piled in, both Smiths in the front seat. Tinker flipped up a section of the third seat and crawled back. Liszt volunteered to crawl back there, too but Anna stopped that. She still seemed shaken up about losing and then finding him. She wanted to sit next to him so the awkward scientist sat in the middle of the back seat between Anna and Nik.
Smith’s double put the car in reverse and pulled out, gravel spitting on each side. They hit the road and the other Smith pulled out to the right and flipped it into drive. Smith looked back toward the house to see the garage door starting to roll up. He relayed that information to his counterpart.
Alternate Smith acknowledged it. “It was bound to happen. If I can get around the next corner, we’ll have lost them for now. Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time before they find us again. Sedona was pretty important to us on our side. We’ve seeded the whole town with potential portals that we can use for a variety of reasons. One of those would be for the ability to track a vehicle, so it’s only a matter of time.”
“So where are you going?” Smith asked.
“There’s a cave in the desert. If we can get there, that would be best. If not, I’ll have to improvise.” He paused a moment and said, “I promised you some answers. This might be the best, or maybe the only time for that. So, shoot me some questions. First, why don’t you call me Kent. It might make things easier. You’ve already got a Smith.” He winked toward Smith.
Smith’s scowled at that last statement. It was the second time someone had referred to his real name in the past few minutes. It was definitely outside of protocol.
Anna must have seen his expression. “What was that scowl for, Smith?” she asked.
Smith only grunted as if to dismiss the question. The other Smith—Kent, as he wanted to be called, answered the question. “It’s my middle name. He’s probably annoyed I would give it away. I know I would be if I were in his position.”
Smith grunted again then asked the question that had been on his mind. “Do you know what this is all about?”
“The endgame? No. I do know they are trying to find duplicates of several key figures in our world, which has everything to do with everything you’ve gone through so far, Mr. Smith.”
They had left the golf course resort area and hit the highway going toward the city.
“Nik’s wife Penny is the best possible duplicate for our Penelope. Everything is the same: Fingerprints, eye scan, DNA, everything. Beyond that, I can’t tell you exactly what the plan is. I’m not in the “in” crowd.”
“All right,” Smith said, “Tell me about Tennessee.”
“The man abducted in our world is the senator from Tennessee, an avid supporter of Penelope. The family is corollary.”
“Michigan.”
“We were actually after a neighbor. Caplan—Agent Young actually lived in the neighborhood as a younger man, so we thought that was a good enough connection. The neighbor we were after is the Secretary of Defense in our world.”
“Did you get him?”
“Actually yes, but we had no idea what Caplan was doing on the side. He became addicted to the mirror, and had a mis-phased mirror accident. We’re not sure which came first. At any rate, you know the rest don’t you?”
“The creation of a monster.”
“Unfortunately. I don’t know the extent of what he did on your side, but he took out several people who got in his way on our side, including Agents James, Black, and White, along with some other U.C. personnel.” He inclined his head backwards. The implication was clear. One or more of the three Agency personnel in the back seats was not alive in the other world anymore.
The vehicle began to slow down as it approached a road on the left. Construction vehicles lined the right shoulder and a there was a barricade across the road.
Kent Smith hit the steering wheel. “That’s the only road that goes toward the cave. I’m going to have to come up with something else.” With that, he sped back up.
“Are you able to answer more questions?” Agent Smith asked.
“For now,” Kent replied.
“All right, tell me about North Dakota and Virginia. Why an explosion?”
Kent shook his head. “Well, North Dakota was an accident. Again, they were after someone specific there, but something didn’t align correctly. They didn’t see the problem in advance, but as it was happening they were able to lock off the portal on our side. Unfortunately, that shunted all the energy from the overload into your world, and then sucked it back in. It was an accident, but it was something they decided they could duplicate. And then, they did. They used it for an assassination in Virginia.”
Nik spoke up, “What possible reason would there be to assassinate someone from another world?”
“Because…it’s complicated. Politics in a place you have no context for, and I don’t have time to fill in the context. Let’s just say that they’re trying to be sure there is no possible replacement for certain people from the other side of an argument.”
“What about this place?” Anna asked. “Was there someone here that you guys were after?”
“Actually, no. Sedona is important because this is the site of our secondary control center. We needed to make our primary entry into your world here, and the house back there made a very attractive first entry. You know we use mirrors to focus the portals, right?”
They all agreed. That was a given at this point.
&nbs
p; “Well, the house back there offered us a place where we could focus the portals more clearly than anywhere we’d seen before. That was our very first entry into this world, making all future entries easier and easier. At that point, I thought it was all about exploration. I participated in the process at the time. I can tell you that the last I saw the homeowner from that house she was a guest at a very lavish hotel on our world and taken care of quite well.”
All this was fine, but Nik was concerned about his family. “Excuse me, what about my wife Penny or my kids? Do you know anything?”
Kent shook his head, “Not much. As I said, I’m not in that loop. I believe they’re all safe for the moment. I think they want your wife for a specific purpose and the kids would be leverage.”
“Ok then, what was…what did you call him? Agent Green? What was he doing with me the last two days? I can’t believe I trusted that guy.”
“I can,” Kent replied, “I think that was the point. Why would you think to question yourself about your own motives? Only people like me,” he said looking over at Smith, “would question their double like that.”
He looked back over at Smith again, “I used that natural distrust against you, Smith. I knew if you were anything like me you’d question everything about me. You didn’t disappoint.”
Looking in the rearview mirror back at Nik he continued, “I guess the larger point is that this was all a trap. Designed to lure you and Smith and Jones here along with whatever agents came along with them. They want you out of the way so that they can deal with Penny unimpeded,” Kent looked back at Smith briefly as he turned the car into a parking lot, “And they want as many of the agents out of the way as possible because they’re the best able to deal with this situation. And they’ve darn near succeeded.”
“Once they have the Agency out of the way, they move on to phase two. And, before you ask, don’t, because I’m only guessing at this point.”
He parked the SUV in a gravel parking space. They had pulled up to a statue and lawn decoration display area.
“We’re here. This is a site I know about that the rest don’t. We should have a jump on them, but they’re coming. Grab whatever you need for an extended stay and let’s move.”
Penny and Penelope
Penny couldn’t help being surprised. Frankly, at every turn in this strange world, her expectations were altered. After stepping through the portal and seeing the hologram of Nik, Penny really didn’t know what to think, but she certainly didn’t expect to be restrained in the back of a van headed to the nation’s capital.
But by far, after all that, she was most confused by the treatment she’d received once in town. The van drivers—Therese and Luc—brought Penny to the Empress Hotel in downtown D.C.. Just before their arrival, Luc unhitched his seat belt and came back towards Penny.
“You just sit tight back there, hon,” Therese said from the front seat. “Luc’s gonna help you freshen up a bit. Remember, he don’t talk, so be nice.”
Penny smiled at the man, and he grinned back. It was a toothy smile, but from what Therese had said earlier, there was no tongue behind those teeth. She wondered what happened to Luc to cause the disability; obviously she wouldn’t be able to get any answers from him.
Luc took off her restraints and offered her a package of moist wipes, a caddy with toiletries, and a business suit. It was certainly something like she might wear to court, but as she examined the tag and material, it was clearly at a price point that she and Nik could not afford. She mentally whistled at the fancy duds, and looked up at Luc. He gestured for her to put them on, and then turned his back and gazed out the side window.
Still, Penny paused, unsure of what was happening.
“Don’t you worry, dear. Luc would have to answer to his old lady if he set a finger on you. And that old lady is me,” Therese said, cackling with laughter.
“Um, okay,” Penny replied. She shucked her clothes. As she put them next to her, Penny realized they were relics of another world. She took her hand off the pile, allowing herself to let go of them. They were just clothes. What was important was her family—Nik and the kids. She would do anything to keep them safe; if that meant ditching some clothes for nicer threads, then so be it.
She pushed them towards Luc. Even though he was facing away from her, Luc held his arm out, the suit draped over his elbow. It was a dark navy blue—a color which might appear black in the right lighting—with nary a spot or a wrinkle. It was immaculate, which was a stark contrast to the conditions Penny was being asked to put them on in. Changing clothes in the back of a van was not her idea of a fun time.
Regardless, she grabbed the business attire and put it on. She knew what she looked like in the suit; she a similar had one at home, yet a lot more off-the-rack and a lot fewer digits on the price tag. She was sharply dressed. The suit gave her more confidence in her abilities. It brought out the lawyer inside of her and it just exuded maturity and professionalism.
“Thank you. Now, just hold tight. We’re almost there,” Therese said from the front seat. Luc turned back around and sat beside her on the bench seat in the back of the van. He offered her a weak smile, but after hours of being a captive in the vehicle, Penny was in no mood for forgiveness. She wanted to knock his teeth in, but she reminded herself again that her kids were at the mercy of her captors. She needed to follow their rules...for now.
“Where are we headed?” Penny asked. She looked out the tinted windows and saw the familiar landmarks of Washington D.C.. The Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian. But, when they passed by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, something was missing. In place of the White House, a blackened hole in the ground was all that was left. “Wait. What happened? Where’s the White House?”
“What are you talking about?” Therese asked.
“The White House. You know—where the President lives. What happened?”
Therese didn’t slow the van, driving through the next intersection. She glanced back at Penny with a look of skepticism. Clearly she doubted Penny’s sanity.
“September 11? Don’t you remember? Everyone knows what happened on that Tuesday morning. Worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.”
Penny blinked a few times, almost doubting her own memories. She clearly remembered that day—spending hours just parked in front of the television, weeping over those who felt the best way out was to jump from dozens of stories up in the Twin Towers. She remembered the pain she felt on behalf of all Americans of what had been done to their country. She remembered the damage in New York and D.C..
What she didn’t remember was the White House getting hit.
“I remember the two planes in New York, and the Pentagon getting hit, but the fourth plane went down in Pennsylvania,” Penny said from the backseat.
“I don’t know where you’ve been for all these years honey, but that last plane hit the White House. Each plane hit its assigned target. Each plane another dagger in our hearts.”
Penny was shocked. She barely noticed when Therese pulled the van up in a small circular drive in front of a hotel just a few blocks from the capitol building. She wasn’t ready to get out of the van. All those hours she just sat there, ready to escape, but now she needed answers, but her time was up.
Therese put the van in park and swiveled around to address Penny.
“Luc is going to take you in. You’re already checked in and will be in Room 405. Just go with him without any trouble and you’ll be okay,” Therese said.
Penny just blinked, suddenly unsure of herself.
Therese’s face softened. “Look hon, I like you. I hope you get your kids back, really I do. But, we have jobs to do and families, too. Our job is done now. Hopefully you can do what they ask of you and you’ll get yours back as well. Just go with Luc. He’ll watch over you until you get to your room.”
Penny nodded. She knew she had left her own world and found something...different, but it wasn’t unt
il they had arrived in D.C. that she found that to be absolutely true. If the White House was a hole in the ground, what else was true? Suddenly she had the urge to cling to Luc with everything she had. Penny gave Therese a slight nod and slid off the bench seat right behind Luc.
Her mind ran through possibility after possibility as Luc led her up to Room 405. Anything and everything she should expect—what was behind the door in Room 405? A few options made her shudder, but she had no clue what was really there for her. Along the way, she barely realized all the hotel staff stiffened slightly as she walked by. She was almost sure if she had asked for it, she would’ve received a salute as well. She tried to put it out of her mind. She tried to put everything out of her mind so she could focus on what was ahead, whatever that might be.
She thought about talking to her guide, but then remembered Luc was mute. It was so frustrating—everything she’d experienced since she’d blindly jumped through that mirror in the middle of the night. Now, she was hundreds of miles—plus a dimension or so—away from home in a hotel in Washington, D.C., doing who knows what.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder from Luc when they reached Room 405. He reached into his pocket and found a key and handed it to her.
She stared at it, then looked back at him.
“That’s it? I’m just supposed to take this key and go in there?”
Luc nodded.
“What if I don’t want to? What if I just walk away now?”
Luc sighed and reached into his pocket. He swiped across on his phone, revealing a picture of two kids. Her kids. Kira and Sisco. The threat was implied, but it was clear. It was all on her. She needed to go into the hotel room and do whatever was asked of her if she wanted her kids back.
She thought about going in the room and calling the police as soon as she reached a phone, but the authorities were less likely to believe her than a mental patient. That she was in an alternate reality and someone had stolen her kids and a hologram of her husband had kept her busy while the knockout gas worked. She had been kidnapped herself and driven from Indiana to Washington, D.C. where she was given a business suit and a hotel key.
Utility Company (Book 1): Blink Page 17