He could hear commotion surrounding him, and figured the rest of the team was slowly resurrecting themselves from their return trip. He pulled the heavy cloak over his head and found himself in the middle of the time portal, surrounded by five other dark brown amoebas shuffling to birth a human time traveler.
The others who hadn’t traveled as much would take more time, as the return took some getting used to. There was some panic and a taste of vertigo as a time traveler got her bearings upon being reconstructed. Davies and Amy pulled their cloaks off first, and they each made eye contact separately with Robert, a look of astonishment and relief on their faces as if they’d never expected to make it back. Next, Claire and Landon pulled themselves out of their cloaks, leaving only Reilly to finish.
Robert glanced up at the control booth where they’d left Keegan. He wouldn’t have known what Reilly had been involved in, and while the only thing that he wanted to do was go across the portal and tear the General limb-from-limb, he knew not to exacerbate what was already a tenuous situation. He didn’t know who might be up in the booth with Keegan, and that the wisest thing he could do to lay a foundation for whatever was to come was to play ball.
The remaining cloak moved and Robert watched as two giant hands reached underneath and pulled the edges up. It rose much higher than it should have for Reilly, ultimately revealing Keegan’s 6’7” frame underneath.
To his right, Claire shrieked.
CHAPTER 82
There wasn’t time for questions, though as Claire was running toward Keegan, in the back of her mind she it did occur to her that a real scientist would be evaluating how he could possibly have been standing there in front of her, rather than throwing herself bodily at him.
It didn’t matter, though, and she collided with him at full speed, leaping into a bear hug that she knew she never wanted to leave again. She couldn’t explain what it was – not passion or love or remembrance. Just relief. Keegan’s arms were where she wanted to be.
She noticed that he held her tightly, too. They’d each been through something, and it would be fascinating to share their stories.
After a moment, they let go and she dropped a foot to the ground. She felt the others gather around them, and instinctively looked to Robert as the team’s leader for his response to the situation.
“Why are you here?” Robert asked, tentatively.
“I guess I’m like a lucky penny,” Keegan said.
“But when we left, you were up in the booth,” Robert said, pointing up at the windows. “If you’re down here, who’s up there?”
“I’m in the control room, Robert,” said a woman’s voice over the intercom, drawing their attention to the windows above. “It’s Senator O’Neill.”
Claire heard Keegan exhale audibly.
“What’s going on, Keegan?” Amy asked.
She watched as he glanced up at the control room, then at Robert. He shook his head. “I don’t know yet.”
“Well, when will you know?” Davies asked.
Keegan pointed at the windows. “I need to talk to the Senator.”
O’Neill’s voice came over the intercom again. “I’ll meet you in the debrief room.”
“What about the Attorney General?” Robert asked, looking up.
“Just meet me there,” she said.
CHAPTER 83
For the first time since they’d agreed upon the Eden mission as a team, Keegan didn’t know what to expect. Aside from Reilly’s admission of his unfulfilled assignment, he’d felt all along that he was always a step ahead, and even had some control over what was happening. Now, however, he didn’t know what Senator O’Neill was going to say, he didn’t know what the team’s fate was, and he couldn’t predict the future of the program.
He did, however, know, that whatever Reilly had done in the past had at least kept them on their original course. The fact that he arrived in tandem with the rest of his team was nothing short of miraculous given the near-miss they’d almost caused four decades before, and as he took a seat in the debriefing room, he was trembling over having ever taken that risk in the first place.
The walk from the time portal had been in silence, though Claire had hugged him at least seven times. There were far too many questions to be answered, and none of the others, like him, had the slightest clue what was going to happen to them. He was desperately hoping that when O’Neill arrived, she’d have some updates for them – and that they would somehow be updates in their favor. A big part of him was terrified that her answers might offer the worst-case scenario for them. Though, he didn’t know if that was his lack of faith in Reilly or his lack of faith in luck.
When they arrived in the briefing room, Keegan noticed that Robert, Amy, Claire and he took their seats around the table as normal – the only thing normal about the situation. Landon, disrupting tradition, sat in Reilly’s usual seat at the head of the table, and Davies grabbed a seat that usually remained empty.
After a moment, Robert broke the terribly uncomfortable silence. “We’ve been quiet for the whole walk, Keegan,” he said. “Are you going to tell us why you’re here with us and not Andrew?”
Keegan laughed. “Let me get this straight. You visited the Garden of Eden without me, and you’re more interested in my story?”
Robert was nodding. “We’ll get to our trip. Your story is the first one that needs to be told, though.” He was being uncharacteristically stern.
“I wouldn’t know where to begin. A lot has happened.”
“Please, enlighten us,” Robert said.
“Robert-” Claire said, but Robert held up his hand.
Keegan glanced at Claire and then turned his attention back to Robert. He shook his head. “I can’t give you the full story because I don’t know everything,” he said. “I know that’s going to be hard to understand, and even harder to accept, but I need to learn what’s going on, same as you.”
“How could that be true?” Landon asked.
He looked around the table at all of them, who were hanging on his answer. “I believe I don’t have to tell you that your mission was doomed from the outset,” he said. “It’s my understanding that General Reilly was sent on the mission to… Leave you there? Or worse?” He didn’t know how he’d been put in an adversarial position with his team having just saved their lives, but his guard had already gone up, and as a result, he was looking for chinks in the armor. He noticed Claire give a quick glance to Robert, which was good. As much as he was trying to figure out what had happened in the last forty years, he also needed to know what had happened on their mission. “Well, only after you left did I begin to learn the details of what was happening at SATP. At some point after Dipin was taken into custody, he escaped, and came to help me in the control room.” The recollection made him wonder where Dipin was. “We were ambushed by the federal agents, and only escaped when Senator O’Neill came with the national guard. When she did that, I-”
“What was happening to SATP?” Robert asked, interrupting him.
“Don’t you get it?” he asked. “This whole case against you was a ruse. The President was trying to-”
The door to the briefing room slid open, and in unison all of them turned to see who had opened it.
Standing in the doorway was United States President Roland Fitcher.
CHAPTER 84
Though they’d been through a fantastical adventure together, Landon was trying to get himself back into an acceptance that he had only worked for SATP for less than three days. He was still a new employee, who hadn’t even had the opportunity to go through any formal orientation yet. With that in mind, he was striving to keep up with the politics of the group, while at the same time attempting to interpret the time travel intricacies they’d brought upon themselves.
He felt as though he was failing at both. Especially when the President of the United States walked into the room.
Fortunately, his shock lasted only a moment, though it was immediately replaced with a n
ew one. Entering the room behind the President were Senator Maggie O’Neill, and, why not, Dipin Chopra. Landon peered through the door to see if more surprises awaited them, but only caught a glimpse of suited security guards before the door slid shut.
“Well, this is confusing,” Robert said, telling Landon he wasn’t alone.
Nobody budged for a moment until Keegan rose from his chair and attempted to slide it toward the President, who waved him off. Reluctantly, he sat back down.
“I’ve heard that congratulations are in order,” Fitcher said, leaning forward onto the conference table. “Pretty outstanding stuff.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Robert said, taking the lead for the group. Landon had embraced the leadership role he’d assumed on the mission, but this arena was not his domain. He was content to be in the background. “Where’s General Reilly?”
“General Reilly sacrificed himself for you so you could return safely,” O’Neill said.
“Well, that’s a spin,” Claire said. “He tried to kill us, and then leave us in the past.”
O’Neill shook her head. “I don’t know anything about that,” she said. “But I can tell you that whatever went wrong on your mission, he came back and fixed. With Dr. McIntyre’s help.”
Every one of them turned to look at Keegan, who sighed, then nodded. “It’s true,” he said.
“Why didn’t you just say that?” Robert asked him.
Keegan laughed. “Because I didn’t know,” he said. “Or, at least, I wasn’t sure. We set a plan in motion, and I didn’t know if it had worked.” He was shaking his head, and seemed almost entertained by the proceedings.
“Ironically,” Fitcher said, interjecting, “I didn’t fly here from DC to talk about the past. I want to talk about the present, and the future. What you have accomplished is, as far as I’m concerned, the pinnacle of scientific achievement. You have changed the way that mankind will look at the origin of our world, and you have used this technology we have here in this building for a cause greater than any of us. While I can’t wait to hear about your trip, I commend you here in this room, and when you step outside these doors you will be heroes of global renown.”
“We appreciate the sentiment, Mr. President,” said Claire, “but that kind of welcome isn’t going to come easy with Robert being led away in shackles.”
Fitcher shook his head. “No,” he said. “Those accusations against Robert have been proven to be false, and have been dropped. A snipe hunt concocted by the Attorney General, and one for which he’ll be dealt with.”
Landon looked across the table at Robert, who seemed to physically let all the stress he was carrying out in one gushing move, looking as though he was going to collapse on the table. Robert held himself up, though, and Landon watched as Keegan brought his long arm around and patted their team leader on the back. Claire got up from her chair to hug him, as well. “What about SATP?” Landon said, taking advantage of everyone else’s diverted attention.
“Well, you have a lot of work to do,” Fitcher said. “This program has already accomplished incredibly important things, and will continue to do so. Just make sure you keep me in the loop.” He smiled and rapped his knuckles on the table, then walked around the table to each individual member of the team, congratulating each with a handshake. A moment later, he exited the room, leaving the rest of them standing, with Senator O’Neill and Dipin at the front of the room.
CHAPTER 85
Later, Robert would say that he felt like he was going to throw up. The relief that spread over him had taken control of his entire body, and left him motionless at the table. It was only when Keegan’s giant paw clapped him on the back that he seemed to regain consciousness.
After a moment, though, the President was gone, and they were left in the room among old friends. He assumed they were old friends. He wasn’t sure what had happened in their absence, but things appeared to have somehow worked out in their favor. Since he’d been with SATP, though, Robert had become a student of history, and without the most recent history, he wasn’t sure he trusted… Well, anyone. “Senator,” he said, speaking for the first time since Fitcher had exonerated him, “can you shed some light for us on what exactly happened?”
“I can,” O’Neill said, nodding. “Though I have to catch up a little myself. In many ways, the critical activity that led to this moment happened only in the last hour or so. So, it’s been a bit of a timing game. In fact, Dr. McIntyre, who was implicit to the entire operation, hasn’t even had the chance to get himself up-to-speed.” Robert glanced at Keegan, who nodded in his direction. “So, let me start with the outcome: Robert, the accusations made against you have been lifted, and the President will make a statement later today in that regard. As for SATP, the program will remain intact, only now with the President’s backing. And, regrettably, without General Reilly in charge.”
“What happened to Andrew?” Robert asked.
“I’ll get to that in a moment,” she said. “The bottom line is, when you wake up tomorrow, you all have jobs, and SATP will move forward as if nothing happened. Except that we get to tell the world that you successfully traveled to the Garden of Eden.”
“Yes,” Claire said, “the President mentioned that, too. How could you know that? We haven’t debriefed yet.”
“Well, I had the opportunity to speak with General Reilly about your mission,” she said, finally pulling the extra chair around the table and sitting with them. Dipin remained standing behind her. “I know what happened there, and I know what his assignment was – or what was supposed to be his assignment. I can tell you that what happened was not what he wanted to happen, and he was trying every way he could to save Robert and the program.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Amy said, “with what we saw.”
“Amy-” Robert said, stopping her.
O’Neill continued. “I’m going to have Dr. McIntyre get the story started, and then I’ll finish it, because he and I each have different details, I’m sure. However…” She paused, accentuating the importance of what she was about to say. “This conversation we’re about to have does not – I repeat, does not – leave this room. I have gone to great lengths to achieve this outcome, and I’ve gotten the President of the United States to play ball. You all deal in time travel. Think of this as a revised history. It does not matter how we got here, just that we’re here. If I see any of this story in the media, I’ll hunt down the person who leaked it myself. Understood?”
Consensus around the table was marked by nods and grunts, then they all turned their attention to Keegan, who cleared his throat.
“I was starting to outline, when you walked in, what was happening when they left,” Keegan said, looking at the Senator. “Dipin had shown up at the control room to help, but was soon escorted away by the Attorney General and several agents, headed toward the time portal. I’m assuming, because they didn’t arrive there for some time, that Dipin led them on the scenic route, yes?” Dipin was nodding with a slight smile. “Before he left, though, he attempted to give me hints on what was happening, but I wasn’t picking it up. So, I’m locked in the control room with a bunch of agents, and I notice that my pod – the one I was supposed to be in – was still open. Which meant that you wouldn’t be able to come back.”
“Theoretically,” Claire said, then looked at Robert and shrugged. “It’s never been proven.”
Keegan laughed. “Well, yes, theoretically. But I hope, Claire, that you don’t mind me not leaving things up to theory.”
“Especially since we just completed a mission almost entirely based on theories,” Robert said, glancing at Landon.
“Enough said,” she said.
“So, I ask if I can leave, and they tell me I can’t,” Keegan continued. “Still, knowing the danger, I’m about to make a move on the door and probably get myself shot, when a bunch of soldiers burst into the room and take over. Senator O’Neill walks in behind them, and suddenly, we’re back in control o
f the situation.” He looked at her. “I don’t know where you came from or how you knew to be there, but you saved all of us.”
O’Neill sighed. “To be truthful, in the reality of the story you’re telling right now, I can’t tell you where I came from or how I knew to be there,” she said. “But when I get to my part of the story, you’ll see it wasn’t exactly a leap of faith. Go on.”
Her comment clicked with Robert. “So, there’s some time travel going on here that we don’t know about,” he said. The Senator responded by simply gesturing toward Keegan.
So, Keegan continued. “I raced to the portal and, I think, got there in record time, because it was only a few minutes before you were supposed to return. But when I reached the portal, Dipin’s words were echoing in my head.” He looked at Dipin again, and Robert changed his focus to his old friend, still standing. “You’d said something about changing the cloaks. I couldn’t figure out why, but guessed that you were telling me that there was a way I could buy some time.”
“Well, no,” Dipin said, “that’s not exactly what I was saying. But if it worked…”
Keegan laughed. “Could’ve been an adventure, then, huh? In any case, I knew something was wrong. Everything that had happened. Reilly’s insistence on Landon participating in the trip, and the tantrum he threw when I missed my spot. The accusations against Robert. The overwhelming number of federal agents in the facility. And especially rushing the mission. I figured that what was waiting for you when you returned – if you returned – was not good. Not just for Robert, but all of us. And I thought if I could get just a little while longer, I’d have a chance to fix things. So, I had the Senator, who was deftly manning the control room, send me back in time four hours and into the cloak room, where I reprogrammed the cloaks for twenty-five minutes after you were supposed to arrive.”
“But the cloaks had already been programmed,” Claire said.
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