“General, in my calendar it's about a month since we first met.”
“Mr. Russell, since our first meeting, I have had an abundance of time to consider our conversation. I hope we will have time to discuss this further.”
“General, I would enjoy that. Perhaps it will be soon. But I really must go now.”
“Of course.”
Once again, I walked through the door and back into the hallway. I reached for the doorknob. Nothing. I opened it and walked into my classroom.
“I think I've got it. This has to be it.” I returned to the hallway, and tried again. I ought to call him first. I didn't. I opened the door and stepped through. The Oval Office. Empty. I stepped back into my world.
* * *
JIM KOPPLER JUMPED in his chair. There was Fritz Russell, standing in the doorway of the Oval Office. He put out the alarm. And then watched Russell disappear. “I've got to put an end to this.” He picked up his phone.
* * *
I LET THE DOOR shut completely to break the connection and went in. I took the Ford's Theater book and the White House brochure and put them on the windowsill as a black Suburban pulled into the parking lot. I walked into the hallway, quickly grabbed the doorknob again, and returned through the portal to Robert E. Lee.
Ashley told me later what happened while I was gone. Tom had hurried directly to my classroom. He peered in the window and noting my absence and my personal items still there, he headed back to the Suburban. Mel Zack was in the passenger's seat, ready for any action Tom directed. They had been called by the national security advisor, Tom told Ash later. The car windows were tinted and opaque, so no one could see in, but Mel saw Tom coming back empty-handed.
Ashley left his classroom, intending to go to my room. As he looked down the hall, he saw the Suburban parked ten feet from the door and Tom heading around the front of the car. At that point, a flash silhouetted the passenger in the car. He took a couple of steps down the hall, but the Suburban pulled away in haste, not wanting interference. Ashley said he thought, like a getaway, and ran to my classroom. As Tom had done, he looked in the window, then opened the door. He saw my stuff and knew I wouldn't leave without it. Leaving the room, he went across the hall to Sandy's classroom. “Have you seen, Fritz,” he asked. His forehead had more wrinkles than his shirt, Sandy told me later.
“What's wrong?”
“I just saw Tom,” he said, and paused at her questioning look. “You know, the secret service agent. He pulled out of the parking lot very fast, and there was someone in there with him, and Fritz isn't in his room.”
“Did you go to the office? Maybe George knows why Tom was here or where Fritz is.”
Ashley turned for the door. Sandy said, “Wait for me.”
Together, they ran to the office, footfalls heavy on the granite floor. Ashley knew that time was critical, and he was panicky. George stood in his office doorway, getting ready to leave. He saw them running down the hall and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Leaning in the door frame, Ashley asked, “Have you seen Fritz?”
“No. Why?”
“Did you know that Tom Andrews was in the school?”
“Who?” asked George.
“The secret service agent.” Ashley was losing his composure, and George wasn't helping.
“No. Why was he here?”
“I was hoping you could tell me that,” said Ashley, who headed back down the hallway, with Sandy a few steps behind. Thinking he should investigate, George followed them.
“Wait for me,” he hollered down the hall. Ashley glanced back but kept running. Sandy slowed to allow him to catch up.
“What's going on?” George asked, gasping.
“I'm not sure. Ashley saw Tom drive away fast. Fritz is nowhere to be found. Ash said there was someone in the car with Tom.”
“Why is Ashley so upset?” asked George.
“Honestly, George, don't you see what's happened? If Ashley's right, Fritz has been kidnapped. And you know that Fritz has been worried about the president doing something just like this.” She shook her head and resumed running, leaving George to catch up.
Another burst lit the hallway when Ashley reached my door. Then an immediate crack of thunder. He yanked the door open and looked around, hoping to find me in a corner or hiding under my desk or something. My briefcase was on the floor next to the desk, and my raincoat was draped over the back of the chair. But I was very definitely not there. Sandy opened the door and before it could close, George walked in. Both looked around.
“Is there anything that looks out of place?” asked George.
“No, nothing. Except that Fritz isn't here,” replied Ashley. Ashley had no patience for George being obtuse at this point. He picked up the one book sitting on the desk, opened to the paperclip, and read.
Sandy asked, “Ashley, what are you reading? Does it tell you anything?”
“This was the book Fritz was marking in case he got through the portal. Back to see Lee. He marked the time where Lee was head of the college.”
“Maybe he went home,” offered George.
“Without his stuff? Not likely,” Ashley roared. “Besides, he left his keys in the desk lock. So his car is in the lot.”
“Maybe Linda picked him up?” George was reaching for straws; he disliked disorder. Fritz's being kidnapped more than met that definition.
“Ashley, why don't you call her and ask?” said Sandy, trying to stop more inane questions.
“Not yet. No reason to worry her. He could be anywhere in the school. But I doubt it. What I'd like to do is call the president, but I don't have his number.”
“You could call the White House and ask for Lily Evans,” said Sandy. “That would get you through, I think. She may not know you, but she'll know about Fritz. Tell her you're calling the president because Fritz disappeared.”
Ashley thought a moment and agreed. “My phone is in my room.” Replacing the book, he walked out.
Sandy said sharply to George, “Are you coming?” as she started to follow.
“Of course. I'll just take Fritz's things with me.” He picked up the briefcase and the coat, locked Fritz's desk, removed the keys, and followed Sandy out.
As they were leaving my classroom, Tom was running back down the hallway. He yelled, “Don't let the door shut. Hold it open! Mr. Russell went through the portal. He's still there.”
Ashley came out of his classroom, phone to his ear, and followed Tom back to my room. Sandy and George were dumbstruck, but at least George had held the door.
“What's going on?” George barked. Ignoring George, Tom went past him and into the room, straight to the desk.
“Where are the desk keys?” Tom shouted. “Quickly! That's what opens the portal!”
George resisted. He said, “How do you know that?”
His toughness uncloaked in his deep voice, Tom said, “The president figured it out. And the room is bugged. Mel heard Mr. Russell go through just now on the monitor. GIVE ME THE KEYS!!”
“Who's Mel?” hollered George.
Sandy, realizing what was happening, said, “George, give him the keys, or Fritz will be trapped.”
At last, Lily Evans answered. Ashley told her that Fritz had found the portal, that one of them would call her back, that Tom was with them, and cut the signal. “Of course,” Ashley said, “the key. Ben Franklin, the key, electricity. I've had that bouncing around in my head all day. And we have a thunderstorm.”
Tom put the key back in the desk's lock. He turned to the others and said, “I hope that he can come back. If the key is the trigger,” his gaze turned to George, “you may have cut him off.”
Returning to his status as principal, George turned an angry shade of red, and said, “What do you mean, bugging my classroom! You had no right!”
Tom said, “If we hadn't, Mr. Russell would be gone forever. We still don't know if he can get back. We need to leave the classroom and wait in the hallway.”
&n
bsp; As the four of them left the room, Ashley asked Tom, “What are you doing here in the first place? Fritz has been watching black Suburbans drive by all day, and he's been worried. I thought he was getting crazy, but obviously, he was right. So, why are you here?”
Tom simply said, “The president sent me.”
Ashley drew a long, deep breath to calm himself. Taking a step closer, eye to eye, he strained to remain calm but pointed. “That may be, but for what purpose? You may be a government agent, Tom, but Fritz is my best friend, and I want to know what you were planning. Because you aren't leaving here without an answer.”
“Are you nuts? Are you threatening me?” asked Tom, pulling his suit jacket open and showing Ashley his pistol.
* * *
“THANK YOU, GENERAL, tea would be nice,” said Fritz.
“As I said to you yesterday, Mr. Russell, I was in a position to try to stop Mr. Booth.”
“Excuse me, General, 'yesterday'? I was just here.”
“It was yesterday when you asked if you could visit again. What day is it in your time?”
“General, you may not believe this, but it's about five minutes since I saw you.”
“I'm not sure how all this works, Mr. Russell, but it certainly raises a myriad of questions. But as I was saying, I asked two of my best officers to go up to Washington City and warn them of the attempt on Mr. Lincoln's life. Since the war was not yet completed, there were guards on all the roads entering the city. It seems Confederate officers in uniform, even with a white flag and a letter from me, were not yet welcome. Though I am not surprised, I was hoping that there might at least be an officer who would recognize the danger. I was wrong.”
Lee sipped his tea and continued. “I told my men not to approach the city armed but to leave their weapons where they could retrieve them. That probably saved their lives.” He sighed. “They told me they tried three different roads to get into Washington but were resisted each time. No Union officer was willing to listen. At the second entry point, my men had to escape before they were arrested. Fortunately, the Union troops were not prepared to fight. Fast horses were a value.”
I listened intently and when the general finished, I said, “I have a couple of questions I would like to ask, if I may?”
“Of course,” said Lee.
“After our first meeting, did anything happen that seemed unusual or unlikely to you when we left?”
Lee thought for a bit. “There were two things that struck me as most surprising. The first was on April 12, as my men surrendered their arms and our battle flags. General Grant had ordered that General Joshua Chamberlain of Maine command the surrender of arms, and when the parade of our boys began, Chamberlain ordered a salute to the surrendering army, a gesture that will remain in my heart as most noble.”
I interjected, “General, do you know that Chamberlain is Governor of Maine?”
“I am aware of that and wish him the best. That reception did a great deal to lessen the hurt of defeat. The second event that surprised me concerned President Davis. I fully expected him to be shot or hanged. Although he spent two years in prison, and at first in a squalid place, public protests up north got him removed to a real prison. I think people of the North wanted the war to end, and President Davis was a continuing reminder. He was never tried for treason. You know, of course, he was a West Point graduate, and served as Senator from Mississippi. But, I…”
At that moment, there was a pop that startled us both. The portal had vanished. I went to the office door and opened it. It led to a hallway outside the General's office, not the one at school.
I turned to Lee. “General, I'm afraid that my return to my time has just disappeared. I'm not sure I'll be able to go home.”
“Young man, please sit. In my years of command, I learned one thing above all. Patience. Not everything is as good or bad as it seems. If you are in fact forced to remain here, we will find a way for you to live on as best we can. But let us not be too hasty. Perhaps your portal is just taking a rest.” His face crinkled. Lines abundant, eyes reassuring, Lee smiled at me.
* * *
“IT'S NOT A THREAT. The government can't just kidnap people or shoot them or whatever you were going to do,” Ashley shouted, nose-to-nose with the agent.
At that, Tom smiled. “Ashley, the president figured out that the desk key was what opened the portal. He's out touring tornado country but asked me to bring Fritz to the White House to discuss a matter of urgency. I can't tell you what. But we aren't going to harm him. The president wants to ask a favor. Not something he wanted to do on the phone.”
At that moment, Ashley's phone rang. He looked at the screen. It was the president. “Hello?”
“Mr. Gilbert, this is the president. I know you're concerned, but Tom is there at my request. I need very badly to speak to Mr. Russell. I know he's found the portal trigger, but I had figured out how it worked yesterday as I watched the tapes.”
“Tom's here now, Mr. President, but Fritz has gone through, and we don't know if we can get him back.”
“Why? What's happened?”
“George took the keys out of the desk.”
“Put them back. The key opens the portal,” said the president, agitated, just short of shouting.
“Tom put them back already, but nothing has happened yet. That was just a couple of minutes ago.” He thought a moment. “Maybe the portal doesn't open immediately. Maybe it takes time for the different times to match up.” He was talking more to himself than the president. “Mr. President, what do you want with Fritz?”
“Mr. Gilbert, I really didn't want to do this over the phone. I can't tell you the specifics, but I need to use the portal, and if he will help, it may save several lives.”
“Wow,” said Ashley. He and I later decided that the president had chosen to trust him with that much to show how serious he was about protecting us and about getting me back.
* * *
“GENERAL, PLEASE excuse me, but right now, I'm a bit distraught. No one but me knows how the portal works, and no one knows that I have come here.” Standing up, I scanned the room. I was struck at how bare his office was. A large credenza behind him, a closed cabinet and papers spread on the table. No decorations, no memorabilia.
“Mr. Russell, if the portal returns, then you must leave immediately, but perhaps you might visit again, and maybe,” Lee hesitated and finished with a tone of hopeful anticipation, “take me back with you. I would so like to see one of your automobiles.”
I smiled at him. “General, I don't know if that's possible. But if it is, I would be most happy to show you whatever you would like to see.” We both sat quietly, nervously waiting for something, anything, to happen. Before I could take another sip of tea, the portal reappeared.
“Goodbye, General, until we meet again,” I said, reaching to shake Lee's hand.
The general took my hand and said, “Godspeed, young man” as I returned through the portal.
* * *
WHILE ASHLEY WAS SPEAKING to the president, I returned through the classroom door.
“He just came back, Mr. President.”
“Would you put him on, please, Mr. Gilbert?”
“Welcome back, dude,” said Ashley, exhaling heavily. “The president wants to speak to you.”
I was trying to get my bearings. I was back, but I didn't know why they were all in the hall, why Tom was there, why the president was on the phone. I took the phone from Ashley, and said, “Hello, Mr. President.” I was still a bit disoriented as I looked at the others, wondering what was happening.
The president said, “Fritz, I didn't want this to be this way. I'd hoped to explain in person. But I need to ask a favor. It might be dangerous, but you could perhaps save several lives. Last night, our ambassador in Eledoria was captured and taken to a house as a prisoner. His family is in their own residence, but also under guard by kidnappers. We know where they are, but we can't get to them. If we could use your portal…” He hesi
tated, I think to let me absorb what he was asking. “We have maps in detail, and Tom has the best shot in the service with him. If we could use the portal, we can rescue them without anyone knowing how we did it. Will you help?”
“Mr. President, what makes you think it will work?”
“I don't know that it will, but we do know that they will kill him and his family, as a political statement. His children are eight and ten. I have to try.” Thunder rumbled.
“This is all so confusing, but, yes, of course. What do you want me to do?”
“Tom has the maps. Would you put him on, and I'll tell him what to do?” I handed the phone to Tom, who walked down the hall listening to the president's instructions. He told the president he had received a distressed message from Mr. Koppler. “Mr. President, I'll tell you about it later. You won't be happy.” He handed the phone back to me, headed to the Suburban, and motioned to his companion to come in.
The president said, “All you need to do is set up the paperclips on the maps. First, get the family. Then, get the ambassador. Once they are safely in the school, Tom will bring them back to Washington. You know that trip already.”
I shook my head, not believing what was going on around me. “Mr. President, no promises, but I'll try. This is all new to me. Do you want to hold on?”
“I do, but it's better if you call me back when you've tried it. Okay?”
“Okay. Talk to you shortly.” I handed the phone back to Ashley, as Tom and Mel joined us.
“Good to go?” asked Tom. I nodded and led them into the classroom. Tom handed me the maps. Moving the book off the desk, I looked closely at the locations for the extractions. I took out a paperclip, fit it so it touched the room they were trying to reach, and set the map on the desk. “What now?”
“OK. We all need to leave the classroom,” Tom said. “It would be best if you three,” speaking to Ashley, Sandy, and George, “were hidden somewhere. If this goes well, we'll be back in a matter of seconds. If not, there could be some shooting. I have no idea what will happen. I just don't want you in the line of fire.”
Sandy understood, grabbed George's arm, took hold of Ashley's shirt, and pulled them to her classroom. With everyone out, I grabbed the doorknob, nodded affirmatively to Tom, and opened the door. Tom entered first, with Mel right behind. I held the door open for a second as the scene changed. Tom motioned to close the door. I couldn't see anything through the window. After only a couple of minutes, just as I was stepping back down the hall, the door opened quickly. Two barefooted children, a boy and a girl, both in pajamas, and a dark-haired woman walked into the hall, followed by Tom. Mel arrived moments later with a duffel bag.
Quantum Touch (Book 1): Storm Portal Page 22