by David Rhodes
The man’s eyes widened, and he whispered, “You came back for me, you came back.” Then as he focused on Danny he continued, “No, you’re not Paycheck. Did they leave you behind too?”
“I’m with Paycheck,” Danny told him. “I’m with everyone. We can help you.”
As Danny started to stand up he was surprised at the strength the man seemed to still have as he grabbed his wrist, pulled him down, and said, “No, they won’t help. They left me. They will leave you too. Leave you to die. Leave you to…”
“Who are you?” Danny asked.
As the man closed his eyes and his head dropped to the side Danny started to ask again, but then he realized there wouldn’t be an answer. Danny stood and stared back in the direction of the Unit. He had to find Charles and Lauren.
Steve liked his office in the Unit. True, it was small, but it got him away from everyone, especially Ben. He didn’t know why but Ben was really starting to bother him. Then he leaned back in his chair and smiled. Sure, they would still have some suspicions, but today had gone a long way in converting Charles, Lauren and Danny.
The satellite they had launched when they were here three days ago was still in place and had fed him some unbelievable information. He looked at the numbers, made the calculations and imagined the profit. There was a knock on his door and he quickly said, “Yes, what is it?”
Dr. Otto entered and immediately told him, “I have something you need to look at. I just recorded it and it’s ready for you to watch on your screen.”
Steve brought up the control room view on his computer and saw Charles and Lauren as Danny came up to them. He was out of breath as if he had been running and it took him a few seconds before he could say, “I just saw a man in the forest.”
“A man?” Lauren asked. “What man? Someone from the Team?”
“No, a man I’d never seen before,” Danny gasped. “No one from our group. He was from a different group brought here by Ben and Steve. He was dying from some type of animal attack, but he lived long enough to tell me that he was left behind by Paycheck. Left behind by Ben.”
“Wait a minute,” Lauren exclaimed. “Why didn’t I think of this before?”
“What?” Charles asked.
“There were four people who went on the Walk they did right here. First, Ben told Lisa and Dad that one of them made it back but now I remember that he told all of us that four of them didn’t make it back. When he was talking with Dad it was three because one did make it back, but they left him behind so now it’s four. He couldn’t keep his story straight.”
“Not a bad assumption,” Charles replied.
“Just like you thought, Charles, they aren’t okay,” Danny said. “They kill the people who work for them. People like us.”
“And Dad and Lisa,” Lauren said.
“Yes,” Danny agreed. “All of us.”
They both looked at Charles who nodded and told them, “Okay. So now we know what’s going on. We’re getting ready to go home so we don’t raise any suspicion. It’s been safe, and they are still talking about how they need us. When we get back home we’ll let Ron and Lisa know what’s going on then try and figure out what we can do. Okay?”
“I don’t know if I can control myself,” Lauren said. “They’re no better than Taggit. I want to go in there and toss them out and leave them behind. Can we take over the Unit?”
“They have the Team,” Danny said. “Even if they don’t know about everything, why would they believe us instead of Ben and Steve?”
Charles added, “I can tell you how most of this works but I’m not sure about all of the controls or how to get past any security controls. I can’t operate this Unit. We just have to be friendly, smile a lot, and get home.”
“You make it sound easy,” Lauren told him.
“Well, we can hang with the Team. We have questions, right? Ron and Lisa will still be their normal friendly selves, and no one will be the wiser. It’s just a few more hours at the most.”
As the video stopped, Otto told Steve, “I thought you would want to know.”
Steve nodded and then called to Ben on the intercom, “Can you meet me in my office for a moment?” As Ben walked in Steve told him, “We’re going to get everyone back in and be ready to go in five. Sound good?”
“Sounds good.”
“Oh, wait,” Steve said. “We haven’t dumped our equipment yet. Everyone needs to help so we can get this done quickly.” He smiled as he added, “I know the Team is anxious to get home to get their bonus and visit Stork.”
“This will be quick,” Ben said and headed for the locker room.
Steve looked at Otto and slowly started, “Okay, this is the day I have talked with you about a few times.”
“Cleaning day,” Otto replied.
“Yes, cleaning day. You have told me you understood and that you would be able to do everything I ask. Are you still sure?”
“I am, sir. You are the smartest person I’ve ever known. You understand there are hard decisions and you have made them every time. I’m with you.”
“Okay. I’ll start things, stand by to finish them.”
As Otto stepped back into the control room, Steve spoke into his desk microphone, ”Ron, Lisa, Charles, Lauren, Danny, the area is still clear. If you still want to see something interesting continue walking down the beach about 100 feet and then walk up to the edge of the trees.”
“What is it?” Lauren asked.
“Something you won’t forget,” he told her. Then Steve sat back in his chair, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“Okay Team,” Ben shouted as he entered the locker room. “Let’s get the gear outside. The sooner it’s done the sooner the fun.”
“You know what to do,” Major Donald shouted. “Let’s go.”
As the Team collected their gear Danny walked inside and said, “Guys, I’m going to lay down. Not feeling good at all.”
“Is your stuff in the bunk room?”
“Yeah, it is. I’ll get it then lay down on the way back.”
“I can get it now,” Lost said.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll have it out in a minute.”
The Team and Ben quickly gathered their gear and were about to start out when Steve came over the intercom shouting frantically, “Team, Ron and everyone are trapped at the end of the beach. Can we rescue them?”
“Quick gear,” Major Donald shouted, and everyone put their helmets and DOPEs back on and ran outside.
As they passed the curtain Ben pointed and said, “There they are.”
Major Donald was in the middle of the group and as she glanced around she said, “Junk and Sinewave watch the ocean, Blonk and Rover you have the forest side and Cat you have rearguard. Everyone else be ready to go hot and don’t hit any of the friendlies.”
“What are they doing?” Lauren asked as she looked back at the Unit.
“Something’s wrong,” Charles replied as everyone turned and saw the Team running toward them.
“Take a knee,” Lisa told everyone. “When they get here they’ll get us back.”
“If they’re quick enough,” Lauren said as she eyed the tree line nervously.
A few seconds later the Team was around them and Major Donald told them, “Move inside our circle and let’s start moving back to the Unit. Take it slow everyone and keep your weapons at the ready.” As they started moving she asked, “Steve, what is it and where is it?”
“I can’t tell for sure what it is,” he told them. “But it’s big and it’s moving parallel to you. It must be just out of your sight.”
“You heard him, focus on the tree line. Anything that comes through it doesn’t get to us,” Major Donald instructed. “What did you guys see?” she asked Ron.
“Nothing, we didn’t see anything. Steve must have seen it on his computer.”
It took several minutes to return to the Unit and as they got closer the Team was surprised to see Chesky, Ammo, Whitey, Maybe and Ricardo we
re still inside of the curtain. “What happened?” Blonk asked. “How did you get locked inside?”
“I can answer that,” Steve told him as he walked outside the Unit and up to the curtain just opposite of Major Donald. “I asked them to. You see this was a great day. We accomplished a lot and like always we did it safely and without any major problems. But we did run into one problem.”
“Well, let us in so we can get away from it,” Blonk said. “Then it won’t be a problem.”
Steve threw his head back and laughed. Something about his laugh caused Lauren to snap her head up and as Lisa buried her face in her hands, Steve continued, “You’re thinking about the wrong problem. It’s you, all of you, who are the problem.”
Major Donald quickly asked, “What do you mean?”
Then the inside group began laughing and Lauren groaned, “Oh no.”
Steve nodded and said, “Yes, Lauren, ‘oh no’. Sorry, but you’re going to be left behind again but unlike last time you won’t have a rescue plan to save you.” He looked at Charles and told him, “First I destroyed your main time unit, the one out back of your house. It’s not coming after you. And the little one you had hidden in your elevator shaft isn’t working either. Sorry. All of you will be staying behind.”
“What are you talking about?” Ben asked hotly. “Let us in, right now.”
“No,” Steve replied. “You have become weak, a liability. I’ve seen it several times recently and I can tell it’s only a matter of time until you do something stupid and ruin everything. Sorry brother, it’s just business.”
Ben walked up to the curtain and pleaded, “Steve, let me in. There’s no reason to do this. Come on, let us all in.”
Steve stepped up until he was just a few inches across from his brother and slowly shook his head as he said, “Sorry, I can’t do it. You’ve been a great asset, but now, well, not so much. And Charles and Lauren know too much now, they know about Skate. His body is just a few hundred feet south of the Unit. He actually spoke with Danny. I guess he lived for a couple of days anyway.”
“Steve, let us in. We’re not the same, you’re not the same. We’re legitimate now, remember? It’s what you want to do.”
“There’s a lot of things I want to do, Ben, but worrying about Charles and Lauren is not one of them.”
Ron stepped up beside Ben and said, “Steve, Lisa and I don’t have any idea what is going on here. Let us all back in and we’ll discuss this, reasonably, calmly. Charles and Lauren will never say anything about whatever is going on.”
Steve sneered and replied, “You don’t really know your own daughter, do you? She’s already writing her speech. No, Ron. Can’t do it.”
“Please, Steve. Let us in. None of us can talk about anything. Who would believe us?”
For a brief moment, Steve looked down but then he shook his head as he said, “Sorry, I can’t do that. It would be hard enough between us but look at the Team, sides have been chosen and there is a new leader –”
“That’s right,” Chesky interrupted. “A new leader. We won’t be doing anyone’s dirty work anymore, things will be different. No one outside comes back.”
“Is that what you want?” Major Donald asked Chesky. “Everything can be worked out. All of you, this can be worked out. I don’t care who the leader is, you can be Team leader. Think of all we’ve done. Our friendship. For God’s sake, let us in, don’t leave us behind. You’ll be killing all of us.”
“Yes,” Ricardo agreed. “But we’ll also be getting all of your money.”
As the inside group began laughing the rest of the Team started shouting at them. Blonk and Stoney picked up some weapons and fired them at Steve, but the bullets were simply absorbed by the barrier then dropped harmlessly to the ground.
Major Donald shouted, “Stop. Everyone stop. Now.” Both groups got quiet as she looked at Steve and asked, “Is this really the way it has to be? When we get back we’ll all go our own ways, no one has to know. No one has to die in this place.”
Steve stepped up even closer to the curtain as he replied, “I’m afraid it is, Major. If you’re not part of the Team, you get left behind.” Then there was a low swishing noise in his ears and it took Steve a second to realize he was now outside the curtain too. He turned quickly and shouted, “Otto, move the –”
But he was cut off by a loud laugh as Otto followed with, “No, Steve. You’re not part of the Team anymore either.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DAY ONE
“So that means you get left behind too,” Otto said.
Now Steve got mad as he shouted, “What do you mean? Let me in right now, Otto. Right now. You can’t –”
“Oh, but I can. I can do anything you could and more.” There was another laugh and Otto continued, “I know to you I was just the fawning Otto. Following directions with a nod of the head and a smile on my face. Always willing to please the great Steve Weston. The genius. Our leader. The fool.
“And I mean really, a fool. Did you think all the time I was with you I couldn’t figure out how to run the Unit? You just didn’t realize that I’m actually smarter than you are. I invented almost everything in the Unit and Charles invented the rest. I had to recheck every change you made to be sure your calculations were right. I never told you that some of them were wrong and that I corrected them. After that, all I had to do was act the part you needed from me and let you keep doing all of the work.”
“You did not -” Steve started.
“Yes, I did,” Otto said. “Look at the Team that is still inside the curtain. Do you think you chose them? I did. I made the Team I wanted, to replace the one you had already started.”
“Why?” Major Donald asked. “We are…were, a great Team.”
“Because you wouldn’t have done what my Team has done.”
“And what is that?”
“Leave the weak behind.”
“So, you can do what?” Ben asked.
“The same thing your loving brother was going to do, get rich.”
“We were all going to get rich,” Ben said.
Otto sighed and said, “Well, Steve was, I’m afraid you weren’t. Ben, do you know why a satellite was sent up before almost every Walk, and why it was made to last longer than your other equipment?”
“Well, it was made of stronger material because of the effects of a higher altitude and we needed a big picture to protect the Team.”
“That’s what I mean. You really didn’t know anything about what was actually going on. Why don’t you tell him now, Steve?” When Steve didn’t answer Otto continued, “Oil, Steve, oil. He was charting likely oil deposit areas by creating a gravitational map which would take a lot of guesswork out of where to start looking. In our time he’s already purchased land in several states and other countries so that work crews would be able to go back in time in those areas and tap into these oil deposits. Think of it, creating fake drill sites in our time but actually getting the oil from hundreds of millions of years ago. I have to admit that was smart.
“So, you see Ben, all of the equipment you have been testing has really been to see if it will hold up against dinosaur attacks on workers. The curtain you are now on the wrong side of will stop any dinosaur. Any of them. The DOPES will stop claws and teeth from multiple attackers. There were never any military contracts. Who in the military would have been able to keep this a secret? Time travel? Come on.
“No, Ben. It was simply Steve wanting to provide oil and take away the Middle East control. He could sell it cheaper and then where would everyone want to buy? EXENCO.
“Oh, maybe he was still going to help out the military and law enforcement later, but I would bet he wasn’t. After all, Steve had already decided you were going to be left behind at some point. Just like the two of you had left all those others behind. More money for Steve then.”
“Money,” Lauren hissed.
“Yes, money. Just like with Taggit. You know, I was surprised at how easily Steve
conned all of you. But, I guess since Ben didn’t actually know everything that was going on he always sounded truthful to you. Charles, I do have to say I am very disappointed in you.”
“I have to admit I am too,” Charles replied. “I knew he was up to something, but I thought he was a better person than Taggit.”
Otto asked sarcastically, “A better person?” He paused and asked, “Ben, do you know what happened to Stork?”
“Sure, he broke his ankle yesterday. He was taken to the hospital and then – ”
“No, he wasn’t. Ask Steve what happened.”
Ben turned toward his brother and Steve backed away saying, “I don’t know what he’s talking about I – ” A holograph image of Stork being chased and killed by Tiny suddenly appeared on the curtain. Everyone gasped and then as the image panned up they could see Steve looking down at the scene. He was smiling.
As the video disappeared Otto said, “Ben, your brother is not a nice man, as you already know since you are not a nice man either. I assure you, to Steve you had been useful before, but now that he was close to his real purpose he didn’t think he needed you anymore. And he was right.”
Ben turned away from Steve as he asked, “And his real purpose was oil? Not to help anyone else?”
“No, that is thinking small. You know, I can see why Steve was going to part ways with you. Like I said, Steve has been mapping out prehistoric oil fields where the oil is only protected by time and animals and conditions that, thanks to me, are now controllable. We can keep workers and equipment safe behind our field proven technology. One site will – ”
“But won’t that use up the oil that would have been discovered in the future?” Lauren interrupted. “Or, are you going to discover oil and – ”
“Right on time,” Otto said. “That is exactly what I thought you would ask. Always the time line worrier. No, there are millions of gallons of oil here that will not be available in the future. We’ll start a company through EXENCO and start providing oil in such a way that – ”