Agent N6: Dylan

by Joni Hahn

  Shaking his head, Dylan said, “Maybe she did work for Capri but wasn’t aware of his tie to Cyrus. Hell, she started working for him as a kid. How would she know?” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Maybe they planted her in Capri’s lab because she was freaking brilliant.” Stilling, he stared at them, the pieces assembling into place like his nanobots.

  “Shit. Capri used her to create Cyrus’s technology.”

  Chapter 13

  Good God.

  Teague’s mind whirled as she stared at Dr. Capri’s lab near UC Davis Medical Center in nineteen eighty-nine Sacramento. It all made sense now.

  Dr. Capri had used her to create the genetic technology for Cyrus and Clay Matheson’s program. They’d planted her in the lab as a child. She’d worked for Cyrus for years and never knew it. His job offer was just a front to move her from Capri’s lab to his island facility.

  Destiny’s Child.

  “Let’s go.”

  Cyrus had her by the arm, Luke on her other side, wringing his hands. Headlights from a passing car washed over them as they stood on the curb, waiting to cross the street. Under the cloak of dusk, they left the clone with the time machine in William Land Park. The taxi ride over to Stockton Boulevard had been paid in cash, Luke’s nervous breathing the only sound in the cab.

  “I understand Cyrus’s place in all of this,” she said, as they crossed the street. “Why are you here, Powers?”

  They stopped outside the lab’s side door. The building appeared much smaller than in twenty fifteen, the exterior more nineteen sixties retro than modern contemporary. The interior lights were illuminated, indicating Dr. Capri ran an evening crew, just as he did in the future.

  “That is none of your concern, Doctor.” Cyrus opened the door. “Do not talk to anyone, understand?”

  Or, what? He’d kill her? Not likely.

  She had to play this smart. If she died in nineteen eighty-nine, where would that leave his technology? Did it leave his plans for a perfect world in chaos?

  Would it prevent Dylan from ever going through his imprisonment?

  If she could save him the heartache, the pain and the anger, she would sacrifice herself. She had no family; he had a big family that would miss him. Her work had created great danger for the world. His job revolved around keeping it safe.

  No question about it. If she couldn’t get away from Cyrus, she would find a way to die.

  Walking into a narrow hallway, they found it empty. Voices could be heard in the distance, a radio playing George Strait somewhere nearby. A tall, slender woman in white scrubs rushed around the corner. Spotting Teague, she stopped short and caught her breath. “Holy Mother of God… Dr. Hamilton?”

  Teague pulled back her head. Luke whipped around the stare at her. How did she recognize her?

  Cyrus’s clutch on her arm tightened as he rushed forward.

  “I… I thought you were dead,” she said, backing against the wall to let them pass.

  Dead? Teague stared back at her as Cyrus dragged her around the corner. None of this made sense. How could she know her? Did Capri have a picture of her somewhere? Had she been here before and had no memory of it?

  “How does she recognize me, Cyrus?”

  The sounds of arguing drifted toward them. Behind a closed door, a woman cried no, before the scrape of a chair on tile.

  Luke stopped short and cocked his head. “Annie?”

  ***

  Hurrying down the hall, Luke stopped in front of the closed door and stared at it, waiting for his heart to slow. He heard Annie on the other side. He was sure of it. She always spoke in a soft, almost squeaky tone, ending her sentences on a raspy note.

  Whoever stood on the other side would pay for upsetting her.

  Taking a deep breath, he shoved open the door – and stopped cold. His sweet Annie whipped around, her tanned face streaked with tears, her green eyes wide.

  Behind her stood his father, Seth.

  Rage exploded inside him like a mushroom cloud. There was no end to the turmoil his father had caused in his life. All of the secrets, the deception and adultery came rushing to the forefront, infecting his body.

  “You bastard.”

  Gritting his teeth, Luke stormed across the workroom and shoved Seth away from her. He fell against a metal bookcase, sending books tumbling to the floor.

  Breathing hard, he stared down at Seth, twenty-five years younger than the last time he’d seen him. He’d dreamed of this opportunity for revenge, to get the best of his father - for once in his life. To squash the sonovabitch beneath his shoe and grind the knowledge into his face.

  He looked back at Annie. Her round eyes were wide with terror, her hands braced back against the counter.

  “Are you okay, Annie?”

  Nodding, she blinked at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Do I… know you?”

  He started. Of course, she didn’t know him. He was thirty-three years older than the last time she saw him. She, on the other hand, was just as young and beautiful as he remembered.

  “Seth.” Cyrus’s voice broke through the tension like a light saber, calm yet deadly.

  Seth’s wide, horrified gaze went to Cyrus. “Cyrus?” He looked at Luke, but no recognition dawned in his eyes.

  His father knew Cyrus. Matheson had been there enough for Seth to recognize him. Cyrus had manipulated time like players in a video game. What time period did he actually belong in?

  “Come with me, Seth.” Cyrus’s gaze went to Luke. “Release him.”

  No. The chance to confront his father about everything lay right in his hands. This was what he’d wanted - to punish him, to hurt him, for a change.

  Annie cleared her throat, her flushed, solemn face pinched in a frown. She was worth it, worth more than the revenge or its satisfaction.

  He’d come to the past to find happiness. It stood a few feet away.

  Stepping back, Luke watched his father fumble to his feet. Glaring at Luke, Seth brushed off his blazer and straightened his cuffs. With a lingering glance at Annie, Seth walked out of the room and shut the door.

  She released a breath. “Thank you.” Wrapping an uneaten salami sandwich in a paper towel, she tossed it in the trash.

  “I thought you hated salami?”

  Whipping around, Annie’s eyes bugged out, her mouth falling open. When she was a kid, her mother had always made her salami sandwiches for school lunch. She grew to hate them.

  She backed against the counter again, her gaze cautious. “Clearly, you have me at a loss. You seem to know me, but I don’t remember you.” Studying him, she narrowed her eyes before they brightened in dawning awareness. “Were you on the second grade field trip to the zoo? Are you the grandfather of one of Riordan’s friends?”

  Grandfather.

  Luke’s eyes dropped shut, a deep, massaging pain teasing his chest. Here he stood, a fifty-three year old man trying to renew his relationship with a twenty-eight year old woman. What the hell was wrong with him? Seth had done the same thing with Kimberly – and he’d laughed at the absurdity.

  Yet, here he stood, in nineteen eighty-nine, trying to do the same thing.

  Had he lost his mind?

  She’d never go back with him – even if he could convince her of his true identity.

  Giving her a small smile, he thought about the photo of Riordan on the cell phone in his pocket. “How is Riordan?”

  She gave him a genuine smile, the first since he’d walked into the room. Her eyes sparkled as she walked over to a bulletin board under a wall of cabinets. Pulling down a picture, she handed it to him.

  It was the first time he’d ever seen his son as a child. He looked more like Annie at that age than he did now. Luke would give anything to keep it. And her.

  “He’s great. His teachers tell me he’s exceptionally smart.” Her smile vanished, her tone turning melancholy. “He got that from his father.”

  His heart twisted, the need to hold her clenching his fists. Ho
w could he still love her like this? Standing in the same room with her, he felt young again. He didn’t feel fifty-three, but twenty-eight. He felt lighter, freer, a sense of purpose shoving its way into the jumbled mess residing in his mind.

  Handing back the photo, Luke said, “If he let you go, he must not be too smart.”

  Barking out a half-hearted laugh, she crossed her arms over her chest and relaxed into a smile. “I’m afraid I’m the one that messed that up. I made…” She swallowed hard. “I made some bad decisions.”

  Her fingers fumbled with the tortoise shell necklace he’d bought her the summer they conceived Riordan. She still wore it.

  “I’d give anything to do it over again,” she said.

  He looked away, what’s left of his heart, shattering. She wanted him and he wanted her, but she didn’t even know she stood in the same room with him.

  Then again, he wasn’t the same man she remembered.

  A part of him hated himself for aging, for living when she’d died. He’d thought that by coming to the past, he could have a life with her and change the course of history. That she wouldn’t have to die. He could take her away from here now and let fate have its way with them, together.

  He stepped closer, hands in his trouser pockets. At least they’d have this time, a few minutes, an hour, a day more than they’d had before. The foolish hope for more remained, but reality proved he was no better than the bastard that’d walked out of there earlier.

  She said, “He used to tell me not to look back. What’s important is what I did with today.”

  Memories assaulted him, like rain coming down sideways, pelting his face. He used to tell her that when she’d get down about her father’s drug use. His promise to marry her when he graduated from college had kept her brave.

  What kept her brave now?

  “How is your father?”

  Her round-eyed gaze went to his face. “I must’ve really talked your ear off on that field trip.” With a self-conscious laugh, she said, “How… awkward.”

  “You were always easy to talk to, Annie. You just never had anyone to reciprocate.”

  Wrinkling her brow, she studied him. “There you go again, talking like we know each other.”

  Why didn’t he just tell her who he was?

  She’d think he was a crazy old man and have him hauled off. Besides, what good would it do to tell her? So, she could live with more regrets, knowing he’d believed his father’s lies to keep her away, knowing her son had been tortured for three years by the men that’d walked out of there minutes ago?

  How could he even be here with Cyrus, knowing what he’d done?

  Holding the heels of his hands against his forehead, he turned away. He felt on the brink of madness, a man alone in turbulent waters, the sharks circling, with no land in sight.

  She pressed a small hand against his back. He flinched, her touch eliciting pure joy and soul wrenching despair at the same time.

  Snatching away her hand, she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

  Whipping around, he pulled her into his embrace and held her tight.

  Oh… God…

  Tears threatened his eyes, the regret sharp, toxic as it clogged his lungs, choking him. Holding her, he realized he’d never love like this again. Any hope for future happiness was… hopeless. Despite time and space, his love for her would always remain. There was no room for another inside of him.

  Inhaling deep, she backed away within the circle of his arms. Her beautiful green eyes turned down at the corners, staring at him in wonder, confusion and pain.

  “Who-“

  He crushed his mouth to hers, selfish need spurring him to take what he’d yearned for, for decades. She tasted like home, smelled like strawberries in spring sunshine. She was his heaven, the only taste of it he’d probably ever get.

  Pushing against his shoulders, she broke the kiss. Backing away from him, she stared with wide, terror-filled eyes, her lips trembling.

  Shaking his head, he held out his hands to calm her. “I’m sorry, Sweet. I didn’t mean-“

  “He used to call me that…” Giving him a quick onceover, she backed around the room, toward the door. “Who are you?” she cried, in near hysterics.

  Dammit, why’d he kiss her? He had to get out of there. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

  “I’m leaving. I won’t bother you again. I promise.”

  Walking to the door, he grabbed the knob and looked back. “No matter who you’re with, where you go or when, I’ll always love you, Annie.”

  Luke yanked open the door and ran down the hall, never stopping until he reached the curb across the street. For a man that loved her, he’d done nothing to prove it. He’d hurt her, confused her, kept her tied to his memories instead of encouraging her to move on.

  At this point, the only thing he could hope for was that he’d altered the past enough that she’d live a longer life.

  “Luke?”

  He whipped around. Annie stood under a light in the lab parking lot, staring at him, her voice full of anguish and wonder. Cars passed between them on the street, their lights dancing off her and floating past, like memories they could’ve had and lost.

  “Is it you?” she yelled, her voice heavy with torment, the disbelief carrying over the distance like the chill of a coming snowstorm.

  He stood in half shadows of a streetlight several feet away. Tell her no and move on. Let her go.

  Swallowing hard, his heart hammered against his ribs. “Yes.”

  Her gasp carried across the expanse, over the sounds of rubber tires on warm pavement and crickets in the trees. Without hesitating, she took off at a full run, racing toward him. Smiling, he stepped off the curb, his focus on her beautiful face.

  He never saw the car.

  It came out of nowhere, knocking her legs out from under her. She flipped in the air, before hitting the pavement, her leg bent at a warped angle.

  “Annie!”

  Chapter 14

  Teague wadded up the labels and stared at the post-it notes she’d written.

  John Dire - Jane Dire

  Every day of her adult life, she’d stared at them, unaware they were left at Capri’s lab by her.

  The specimens in her tote needed to be transferred to permanent storage points soon. She just had to figure out how she could get them there without Cyrus finding out.

  Obviously, she figured out something.

  He’d stuck her in a closet while he spoke with Seth Powers, Hope’s grandfather, who was deceased in the year twenty fifteen. Meanwhile, Luke spoke with his ex-lover and Riordan’s mother, Annie, who was also deceased in twenty fifteen.

  Who needed psychics with a time machine around?

  If only her parents were still alive.

  The more Teague thought about it, it made sense that the woman in the hall thought she was her mother. Diana Hamilton had been an up and coming Sacramento general surgeon, working with the University of California Davis Medical Center, among other facilities. Considering the date, her mother had died only six months ago.

  Her father, only four.

  A young professor of physics and biology at UC Davis, Thomas Hamilton had garnered a standing room only funeral, his students and colleagues coming out in droves for the service.

  What she wouldn’t give to see them one more time.

  Staring at several bankers’ boxes stacked at the back of the space, she noticed they were arranged in alphabetical order. In the middle sat a box labeled Franks – Hamilton.

  Her code of ethics forbade her to look at the files. However, when would she again have access to any of her parents’ medical records, if they were inside? It could help her plan for the future.

  Pulling out the box, she set it on an empty shelf. She removed the lid and set it on the floor. Scanning the patient laboratory files, she found a folder labeled Hamilton, Diana. Behind it, Hamilton, Thomas.

  Opening her mother’s file, Teague sat down an
d examined the contents with her phone flashlight. She recognized Dr. Capri’s scrawl on all of the entries, her mother’s file thick compared to others in the box.

  Teague’s heart picked up speed as words jumped out from the page. Harvested tissue… cancer implantation… reintroduction into cervix.

  Teague’s hands trembled as she shuffled through the notes and results, her vision blurring as disbelief warred with denial in her head. The proof stared at her from the documents, yet she couldn’t believe it.

  Someone killed her mother.

  Dr. Capri knew what had happened and never told her. She’d worked for him all of her life and he never once thought she might want to know that frightening fact? Why hadn’t she been told?

  Yes, of course, she was a child at the time. However, to believe one thing all of her life only to learn it had all been a lie…

  Her father.

  Setting aside the file, she opened the file labeled Hamilton, Thomas. Scanning the notes, more horrifying words sprang off the page.

  Hemotoxins… hydrocyanic acid… irritants… arsenic

  Covering her mouth with her hand, Teague willed down the cry that threatened to rip from her mouth.

  Someone killed her parents.

  Mrs. Burnett and Dr. Capri had said her parents died of cancer and heart disease when, in fact, they were murdered. Why was she never told the truth? Why would they let her believe otherwise?

  Pulling out her phone, Teague took snapshots of the reports. She had to take them to the police, to someone that would help.

  If she could ever get away from Cyrus.

  Shock stopped her mid-motion, her lifeless hand dropping to her side.

  Destiny’s Child.

  Cyrus.

  The methods were right up his alley. But, why?

  Shutting her eyes, Teague willed her heart to slow and her hands to still. Cyrus killed her parents, had used her to advance his technology, and now held her as leverage to get back the woman he loved.

  Not to mention what he had done to Dylan.