“I thought our enemies were Adjusters,” Shaun said, glancing at the faceless soldiers.
Miller gave a low, humorless chuckle, and he shook his head sadly. “No. That’s what they want you to believe.”
“And who’s they?”
“Just – come with me, come sit down,” Hayden Miller said. They walked down the slope toward the glass window, where there was a small table and two comfortable-looking chairs. Shaun could see over the edge of the building now, and his jaw dropped.
At least thirty feet below was a grassy plain, and rolling away for over a mile were rows of tents and pavilions, all gleaming white under the bright sun. More tents were being raised in the far distance, dozens of trucks and workers milling around the camp like ants.
“What is this?” Shaun breathed.
“A refugee camp,” Miller said simply, dropping into an armchair. “I will explain. Please, take a seat.”
Shaun obeyed, sitting opposite Miller. A human – a young woman with short hair – brought a pitcher of cold water. She kept her eyes down, poured two glasses, then departed with a respectful salute that was directed as much at Shaun as it was at Miller.
“I think you understand parts of the truth already,” Miller began, steepling his fingers. “But you need to hear it all. The fate of both our worlds hangs in the balance. The lives of many billions of people are dependent on the actions of a few men and women.”
Shaun took a drink of water and waited, expectant.
“You already know that there is another universe out there. My world is one of ash and snow, a world where humanity tore itself apart. First, we fought over ideology and land; then over precious resources. When the bombs fell, and the eternal winter descended, we fought over things far more basic and primal – we fought to survive, and to make some semblance of a future for our children.”
Miller hesitated, piercing Shaun with his dark eyes. “I won’t lie to you. White Tower created Timewalkers as human weapons. They were devastatingly effective in the Final War; they were our greatest protectors, our most inspirational soldiers. You were – are – one of the best, Shaun. In my world, you become a great leader, a living legend. Only twenty-five years old, they crowned you the Hero of Berlin, the man who broke the Russians’ back. Sadly, one man does not end a war. It was a global conflict, and before we knew it, we had been forced to use nuclear weapons – a deterrent at first, then a necessity.”
Hayden Miller let out a long sigh, and his face crumpled. “We won the war, but lost our humanity. After the bombs fell – after our enemy responded, and destroyed most of our cities – there was anarchy, riots. We tore ourselves apart from the inside, and the government collapsed.”
Shaun listened without speaking, imagining it all in his mind. He saw the skies turn red with the fiery explosions; saw the ash and snow sweep across the world.
“We knew that we could control time,” Miller continued, his words hollow. “Timewalkers alone were not enough though. We needed to create a being that was entirely Temporal, something that was capable of traveling back in time and fixing our mistakes. It was your idea, Major Briars. You wanted to destroy White Tower, your own agency. You wanted to prevent the Timewalker Program.”
“White Tower created the Adjusters,” Shaun repeated, slowly accepting the truth. “You sent them back in time to destroy White Tower…but it didn’t work?”
“The operation was a disaster. We didn’t know enough about time travel. We were desperate and naïve. When the First Adjusters traveled through time, we accidentally created this universe – your world.”
“The Adjusters attacked White Tower,” Shaun breathed, remembering what the Bureau had always told their agents and recruits. “The Bureau of Time was created to defend against the Adjusters. They continued White Tower’s research…they kept creating Timewalkers.”
“Until 9/11,” Miller said, his tone grave. “The Bureau of Time lost everything, and stopped the program two years later.”
Shaun put his glass down, his mind spinning. “If the Adjusters time-traveled, then where – or when – did they come from?”
“The Adjusters traveled back forty years,” Miller explained. “We set your universe in motion, disrupting your timeline in the year 1990. The Adjusters returned to the future – but what took forty years for you, was only five years for us. There are always unexpected consequences to time-travel, and this is just one of them.”
Shaun pressed his hand against his forehead, his head pounding. “You still haven’t explained why the Adjusters are hunting Timewalkers.”
Miller let out a shaky breath. “Things got far worse when the Adjusters returned. They were angry and disillusioned. They were soldiers still, citizens who had sacrificed their mind and body to become something more than human.”
Shaun looked at the Adjusters, his mind whirling. We called them monsters, creatures, inhuman. Are they really…people, like us?
Miller continued. “Many of the Adjusters still believed in White Tower, still supported their government; but the rest fell away. They joined with a growing number of human dissenters, and formed a rebel army. They call it the Resistance, but to us, they are threatening all of humanity.”
Miller spoke like a military commander. “That is why I am here. For the past five years, White Tower has been battling the Resistance, trying to restore order. Our people are dying, they are starving and freezing. Frostbite kills as many as the war. This,” he gestured out the window, “is our plan – to bring our people here, by stealth at first, and then in greater numbers so that your world cannot reject our plea for refuge. But our plan is threatened by one of the original Adjusters, a vile creature blinded by his own image of self-righteousness.”
Shaun sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Zero.”
It wasn’t a word, but a statement.
Miller’s eyes widened. “You know about him? Do you know where he is?”
“Yes,” Shaun whispered. A hollow, sickening pit of horror and despair formed somewhere in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole. “I know exactly where he is – he’s at the Bureau of Time. We tried to capture an Adjuster. We wanted to know more about them—”
“Zero is not like other Adjusters!” Miller exclaimed, leaping to his feet. “He is a madman, and he won’t stop until he has eradicated Timewalkers from both worlds. We have to get to the Bureau of Time now, and—”
A human aide hurried up beside him, leaning close to Miller’s ear and whispering something that Shaun couldn’t hear. Miller’s face paled, and the aide hurried away.
“What is it?” Shaun demanded, fear and adrenaline dumping into his gut with a dizzying rush. “What’s happening?”
“It’s Zero,” Miller said, his eyes staring through Shaun. “It’s gone. The Bureau…it’s all gone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE BETRAYED
“There’s nothing left,” Cassie said, her voice hollow. She kicked a piece of concrete rubble, the sound echoing around the ruins of Brightwood Ranch. The air reeked of something harsh and acidic. Tendrils of gray smoke curled over the shallow crater that had once been a tarmac. The hangar towered over the destruction, somehow undamaged.
She wiped her mouth, her skin coming back smeared with grime and blood. She had dozens of scrapes along her arms and face, but the worst pain was in her chest. She didn’t feel like crying – she was used to crying, but where the usual grief was in her heart, there was only a hollow shell of disbelief and defeat.
They picked their way across the treacherous terrain to the front entrance of the Bureau. The entrance was now a tumbled mess of dirt and concrete rubble. There was no way of clearing the entrance without heavy machinery, no way of finding survivors. A horrendous metallic screech filled the air and Cassie turned to see the satellite dishes sink into the loose ground, swallowed by the earth with a jaw-rattling rumble.
“We have to contact Eaglepoint,” Ryan said at last, turning away from the ruins of the Brightwood facility. “If
they haven’t detected this already, they have to be notified. Our people are still alive, I know it. We need to find Zero; we need soldiers, equipment—”
“To do what?” she asked, exasperated. We’ve lost. It’s all over.
“Fight!” he shouted, blood streaming from a gash above his forehead. “I have a responsibility to protect my country and my agency! We know who the enemy is now – all we need are the resources to fight!”
“It wasn’t just Zero,” she said, her voice pained. “Tallon betrayed us, Ryan. What if there are others?”
“We can’t think like that,” he murmured, taking a step toward her. “Tallon…I don’t know where he fits in. But we can’t punish the entire Bureau for the actions of one rogue element. We need to regroup and rescue the others.”
Cassie dropped to the ground and massaged the back of her head, which had swollen into a painful lump. “We should never have trusted Zero.”
“We didn’t know any different.” Ryan sat beside her and blew out a deep breath, surveying the skeletal remains of Brightwood Ranch. “We can’t turn back time and fix things.”
Cassie stared at the mangled remains of the fence, the sun glaring in her eyes. They couldn’t rewind time – she wasn’t strong enough to Shift more than five seconds, and even if she could return that far…she knew that even the full might of the Bureau couldn’t stop Zero and his allies.
Some things, it seemed, could never be changed.
Minutes passed in silence. There was only the groan of metal and the cawing of black crows that had come to investigate the ruins. The breeze carried away the smoke from the teleportation devices; the sun melted the unnatural snow into a dirty, ash-smeared puddle.
“The explosion won’t have gone unnoticed,” Ryan said. “Locals will have called the police. The FBI will be here soon, with Homeland on their heels. But they’ll tie us up in red tape for days, maybe weeks. Every minute we delay, those hostages are slipping further away.”
“I know,” she murmured. Of course he’s right. Always the level-headed one.
Her Affinity spiked sharply and she leaped to her feet. Her heart raced, raw power humming through her bones.
“What is it?” Ryan asked, scrambling upright. “Is it Zero?”
“No. Not Zero. I don’t know who it is.”
The universe vibrated, T.E. swirling around her in invisible currents, preparing to accept a teleportation. Who’s coming now? Nothing friendly ever comes out of one of those wormholes…
“We need to get to higher ground,” Ryan said, pointing at the hills, “or take an SUV and get the hell out of here before—”
There was a rush of energy and a blinding flash of light; she raised a hand to shield her eyes, her Affinity screaming as dozens of different Temporal Signatures burst into life. A gust of cool air that smelled vaguely of the ocean swept past her.
She lowered her arm, and her heart stopped dead.
No. No it can’t be. Please, not him too.
Shaun Briars stood side-by-side with a dozen faceless Adjusters, white military patches on their black jumpsuits. A thirty-something man with a ratty ponytail stood beside Shaun, radiating a powerful Temporal signature that felt eerily similar to Tallon’s.
Cassie slowly stepped backward, bumping into Ryan. No. It can’t be true. It’s not possible. Not Shaun. Anybody but Shaun.
“Christ…” Shaun muttered, looking around the ruins. “We’re too late. Shit.”
The man with the ponytail glanced at the Adjusters, a hexagonal device on his forehead pulsing brightly. The faceless creatures responded to his wordless command, instantly fanning out. Cassie gripped Ryan’s arm tightly, as though he could anchor her to reality.
This can’t be right. Not him. He can’t have betrayed the Bureau. He wouldn’t betray us.
Or would he? He hates the Bureau. He distrusts them. He thinks they’re plotting against him. What if they pushed him too far and he snapped? Do you really know what he’s capable of?
“Cassie!” Shaun exclaimed, moving over the rubble toward her. “You’re alive! I was so worried about you—”
He reached out a hand to touch her, and she slapped it away.
“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked, finding her voice again.
His forehead creased. “Cassie, what’s wrong? Is it the Adjusters? Listen, we were wrong, they’re not our enemies, not all of them—”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!” she screeched, backing away. Tears, angry and hot, spilled down her cheeks. Ryan gripped her shoulders, but he couldn’t stop her body from shaking. “How could you do this? How could you betray us? How could you betray me?”
“Cassie,” Shaun said, exasperated, his gray eyes desperate and pleading. “Cassie, please listen to me. I know how this must look, but I swear—”
“YOU’RE WORKING WITH THEM!” she yelled, not knowing whether it was a question or an accusation. “Were you working with him? Were you planning to destroy the Bureau this whole time?”
“No!” Shaun countered, raising his voice. “I can explain – these Adjusters are trying to help us. Zero is the real enemy. He came from the other universe—”
“You’re lying!” her voice broke, tears streaking down her cheeks. “You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying!”
“I’m telling you the truth,” Shaun promised, taking a step forward.
“Get away from me!” Cassie cried, swatting his hand away, but Shaun kept coming, an arm outstretched, as though he could pull her into an embrace and kiss her and make this all go away. But nothing will bring the Bureau back. Nothing will ever be the same again.
“Hey, she said back off!” Ryan bellowed, stepping around her and shoving Shaun away with one powerful thrust. The white-haired boy let out a vicious snarl, anger contorting his face – the face that she had once thought was handsome, caring, loving. Now she saw a monster, a traitor, someone she could never trust again.
“How dare you touch me?” Shaun snarled. He lashed out with a backhand, smacking Ryan across the face. The operator responded with a powerful right hook, and then Cassie was screaming for them to stop as the teenagers hit the ground, pummeling each other, blood spraying everywhere.
“ENOUGH!”
The man with the ponytail grabbed Shaun and hauled him upright, while two Adjusters seized each of Ryan’s arms. Blood spilled over Ryan’s lip, his face bruising purple. Shaun spat onto the ground, Timewalking his injuries with a tangible rush of T.E.
“This is no way to act!” the man with the ponytail thundered. “We should be helping each other, not fighting! With Zero on the loose, we can’t afford to have a Timewalker unaccounted for. We’ll take the girl – and the soldier – into protective custody.”
The Adjusters moved in unison, surrounding Cassie and Ryan.
She reached for her Temporal powers, but she was a moment too late. Inhumanly strong hands seized her, dragging her away. She twisted around, thrashing and fighting, trying to free herself, but the Adjusters held her too strongly. She dragged her feet but it didn’t make a difference.
She saw Shaun watching her, and something inside her snapped.
She screamed at him, screeched all kinds of horrible things, cursing him, hating him, wishing he was dead, wishing that he had never come into her life. She had trusted him, perhaps even loved him; her entire world was tumbling down around her, everything she had believed in now turned to smoke, insubstantial and formless.
Her vision blurred and her voice broke into a strangled gasp. An excruciating spike of T.E. overwhelmed her and she collapsed into the welcome embrace of oblivion.
* * *
Shaun watched her disappear into thin air, followed a second later by Ryan Boreman, still struggling and fighting against the Adjusters. His Affinity flared brightly for a moment before dying out with a sharp, whip-like crack.
Something painful swelled in his chest, something that his Regenerative powers could not mend. She doesn’t know what I know. The Adjusters aren’t our enem
y. Not all of them. I just wish she could understand.
“That was a little unnecessary,” Miller commented, his tone clipped. “Ryan Boreman is not to be trifled with. We can’t afford to alienate him – he could be a useful ally.”
“He had it coming.” He knew he shouldn’t have punched Ryan, but seeing him standing there with a hand on Cassie’s shoulder – it had been a reflex action, angry and misguided. He doesn’t know anything about us, about Timewalkers, how we feel, what we know. Standing there like he’s one of us. He’ll never understand.
Miller said, “I don’t care what childish rivalry you have. We are talking about war. We can’t let infighting tear us apart.”
He rested his right hand on the stock of a strange-looking handgun. It vaguely resembled a Glock, but with two separate barrels and a cylindrical attachment on the side. “There’s nothing left here. Zero must have captured them all. He probably took them back to the Prime as hostages.”
Hostages. Shaun clenched his teeth. They’re not all the same, he reminded himself. The Directors were the only ones who knew about the Timewalker Program. The others…they don’t deserve this.
He exhaled the poisonous anger that had dominated his mind and inhaled saner thoughts.
The ruins of Brightwood Ranch groaned, releasing their ghosts. Somewhere beneath the tons of rubble and destruction was the agency’s seal, the eagle in midflight with its hourglass – the emblem of power and protection that he had once believed in.
Perhaps he still believed in the Bureau’s morals, if not their methods.
I am a Timewalker. I have a duty to protect my world, and fight those who would try to take our freedom. Nothing can change the promise I made.
“Let’s go and rescue them, then.”
Miller gave a short, bark-like laugh. “It’s not that easy, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean?” He felt another headache coming on. There was a limit to how much information his tired mind could absorb – his brain felt like an old sponge, falling apart into sodden, saturated pieces.
The Bureau of Time Page 21