The Big Ten: The First Ten Books of the Beginnings Series

by Jacqueline Druga

  Dean stepped back, shook his head, looked at her, then kissed her quickly. “I’m going to check on Brain.”

  “But Dean.”

  “El.” He ran his hand down his face, stepped to her and kissed her,. “I have to check Brian. “

  Ellen watched him walk up the stairs then she glanced at her watch. Whistling badly--she never was very good at that--she walked to the dining room and to the cabinet in there. She opened up the drawer and pulled out a notebook and a pen. Henry knew of the notebook, but as far as Ellen knew, he never looked in there. That was all right with her. If he wanted to, he could. It was her Dean notebook. And though the kiss had nothing to do with what was happening to Dean sight wise, it had everything to do with where they were emotionally when and if the time came that he would lose his sight. Ellen had to build that, besides wanting to, she had to. Dean trusted her already, but she needed him to trust that whatever happened to him, she would not leave his side. And she wouldn’t.

  <><><><>

  “Man.” Frank shook his head once, looked at his hand and then picked up a sack to place in the helicopter. “Man.” He looked at his hand again.

  John Matoose, who was packing a crate, glanced up at Frank.

  “Man.” Frank stared at his hand and walked over to the bench where more supplies sat. “Man.”

  “What!” John snapped unable to take it anymore, unable to take another ‘man.’ “What Frank?”

  “Oh.” Frank walked to him. “Look at my hands. For as good as my body looks, my hands look old. Don’t they?”

  “This is what you’re walking around in shock about?”

  “Yeah. Look at them.” Frank placed them under John’s face.

  “Frank.” John stood up. “They look like the hands of a hardworking man who’s about to turn forty.”

  “Whoa!” Frank held those hands up. “I said nothing about turning forty. Where are you getting that from?”

  “Everyone know this, Frank.”

  “I’m not turning forty.”

  “Yes you are. In August.”

  “No I’m not.”

  “Frank.”

  “John. I’m turning, thirty-uh-five.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Frank gasped loudly. “The nerve of you saying I’m forty.” He shook his head. “You’re just jealous because you don’t look as good as I do and you’re turning thirty-three.”

  “I am not thirty-three. I’m not even thirty yet.”

  “Yes you are. Look at your hands. Now they look old. In fact they look older than mine. Let me see.”

  “Will it shut you up?”

  “Respect, John.” Frank looked at his right hand. “You have more scars than me. Look at these ones on your . . .” Frank started to laugh.

  “What now?”

  “It’s just that.” Frank laughed again. “You’re gonna think this is funny. But . . .” Frank held up is hand and laughed harder. “Remember when Robbie was doing that investigation into the Moses attack on Ellen and Dean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Anyhow.” Frank snickered. “Sorry.” He caught his breath. “He had written in there that you had scratches on your hand and that maybe you,” Frank pointed with a smile, “were in on it. Isn’t that funny?” He shook his head and backed up. “Man, my brother and his imagination. Anyhow, I plan on proving that wrong. Just so you know.” Frank winked at John. “I may be dumb about some things but when I want to find something out . . .” He made a clicking sound. “I do. O.K. enough fun, back to work.”

  John stood silently breathing in what Frank had just said. What did he just insinuate? Did he just imply he was reopening the investigation? Surely Joe wouldn’t allow it. If Robbie found nothing out through his badgering, Frank couldn’t. Or could he? Frank had a method of getting violent if his gut told him something he couldn’t prove otherwise. What was Frank’s gut telling him? John saw through it, the act, the happy act Frank gave. It was either Frank’s forewarning to John or was he being paranoid. He could be paranoid. Wondering how he got himself so tangled in the mess, John’s mind snapped back to when he first got involved . . .

  “Hold it George!” John held his revolver steady as George began to jump in a Jeep, readying to make his escape from Beginnings. “Get out of the Jeep! Now!”

  “What are you doing, John?” George almost laughed at him and continued in his escape.

  “I said stop!” John walked closer to George holding his aim on him steady. “I just heard Ellen to Henry on the radio. The shit you have done . . .”

  “And you want to be the big hero and bring me in.”

  “Not the big hero George. I’m just bringing you in.”

  “Then if that’s the way you want it.” George stepped from the Jeep. “If Beginnings takes me down, and they will, you will go down with me.”

  “What?” John never released his aim.

  “You knew…you knew about the scientists. I let you in on that one.”

  “That is all I knew George.” John yelled. “You said they’d never be freed.”

  “But they were.”

  “You killed . . .” John took a breath. “You killed Miguel. You had me lock Frank up. You gave Joe a paralyzing drug.”

  “Blah, blah, blah. You knew I knew more than I let on. Guilty by association.”

  “I’ll just tell them the truth.”

  “And they’ll believe you?” George stepped closer to him. “Right now, John, they will be looking to bring down any and all parties involved. Who are they gonna believe? Me or you? I’m the bad guy here, John. I can say you were involved. Now you will let me leave before they find out the whole truth from Joe since he’s awake now. You have to let me go.”

  “I’ll shoot you right here.” John clicked back the hammer. “I’ll shoot you before I do that.”

  “Do you think I’m alone in this? I’m not. I’ve been communicating with the outside world. If I don’t show up, and I just called them, then this place is done. Done, John. Now you will let me walk out of here or have the death of these pitiful people on your conscious. My people can do it. We have the means. Means you can’t stop.”

  John lowered his weapon.

  “That’s what I thought.” George hopped in the jeep and started it. “I’ll be in touch.”

  John’s head sprung up. In touch? John thought George couldn’t be serious. He didn’t realize how serious George was until one week later, when George came back and handed John a phone with a base to recharge it and then told John what he had to do. It was simple. For John’s family, for those he loved in Beginnings, for their lives, John had to be the inside man. He told John of the impending virus, how George and his people would use that to clean out Beginnings, unless of course, John helped to get those who could stop George out of the way. If he failed, George would see that John watched his family pay. to John, his family had no price tag. No matter what the cost, he would protect them.

  <><><><>

  “It’s that little bitch’s fault, that’s who.” George tried to gain his calm as he spoke with John Matoose on the cell phone. “You hear me, John. She’s putting this shit in his mind.”

  “You think?”

  “I’m telling you. Why else would he reopen the investigation? I hate that big stupid mother fucker. I hate him. You have to get Ellen to stop. You should have killed her months ago instead of allowing that eccentric preacher to do his dramatic stoning of her.”

  “I know.”

  “Well get things moving, John. I need Beginnings.”

  “George.” John sat down in the chair in the communications room. “Are you absolutely sure you’re not sending the virus?”

  “I told you I won’t if you can bring the Slagel’s down and that Henry too. Leave Dean, he’s an asset.”

  “But Robbie and the men almost brought it in.”

  “Yeah, well almost doesn’t count.” George rolled his eyes. “You lucked out.”

  “What about the future trip that showed t
he virus?”

  “Obviously in that future you screwed up somewhere. Hold up your end and I’ll hold up my end.” Abruptly George ended that call, wiping his hand across his brow. “Sure I will.”

  <><><><>

  “Look how tan my legs are getting, Dean.” Ellen spoke perkily and quickly, lifting the edge to her shorts as she and Dean sat on her front porch. “Of course I can’t share any tan lines. My body is still kind of frumpy from giving birth, not on the lines of Jenny Matoose frumpy, but frumpy none-the-less. What do you think, Dean?”

  “I think there is nothing frumpy about you. Hell, Ellen, you never gain any weight with your pregnancies. How can you be frumpy?”

  “That isn’t what you said about me after Joey was born. You said I was frumpy.”

  “Oh I did not,” Dean snapped back.

  “How do you know? You don’t remember that past.”

  “Sort of on the lines like you don’t remember the past when you got pregnant with Nick.”

  “There you go. You just proved my point.” Ellen held out her hand. “Why don’t you believe that? Isn’t Joey proof that things could happen? Maybe in the time frame when I brought you back, Henry and I had an incident.”

  “It doesn’t work that way, Ellen. You heard Jason. You went through the time machine. Whoever the father was, is still the father no matter what you did or didn’t do in the changed time.”

  “Makes no sense and I don’t buy it. I’m proof of that. It hurts my feeling that you have this air of disbelief. Why would I lie to you or Frank about it? Isn’t the fact that the baby is Asian a lie buster, but I swear I don’t know how it happened.”

  “I never said that I didn’t believe you, I said it’s hard to believe. I’m a doctor, El. Ok, you said the one time you were even remotely not platonic was outside the walls of Beginnings.”

  “When I ran away after Frank was mean. Yes. But … it was a kiss. I was drunk.”

  “You think maybe you were so drunkthat it was more and you don’t remember?”

  Ellen stared. “I told you I blacked out. Henry said I passed out.”

  “Maybe you didn’t pass out, but just blacked out.”

  “Henry said nothing happened,” Ellen defended. “If that’s not the case, then Henry is lying.”

  “Maybe he is.”

  Very seriously, Ellen looked at Dean. “Then that would be rape and I don’t buy it. I also don’t like this because Henry married me to help you.”

  Dean scoffed a laugh.

  “What?” Ellen asked.

  “You give Henry far too much credit for being unselfish. And … let’s change the subject.”

  “You know what? Yes,” Ellen nodded, “let’s. I’m in a good mood and we just started this understanding. We don’t need to go off course.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Ellen leaned to him. “Don’t be. It’s the way you feel. I just disagree.”

  “Then we agree to disagree.”

  “Seal it with a kiss?” Ellen leaned to him and kissed him quickly.

  “Like last night,” Dean smiled. “El, when was the last time we were together? I mean, that we both know about.”

  “What do you mean, both know about?”

  “Well for example, I’d say the examining room. Wouldn’t you?”

  “No, I slept with you after that.” Ellen closed her eyes. “That’s right. You don’t remember that because in your history that didn’t happen. Jason and his time machine. We slept together right before you died. But you didn’t die, so we didn’t get stuck in that hole to fool around in. Was the examining table the last incident you remember?”

  “No.” Dean shook his head peering out. “After.”

  “As in after the examining table and before the death lay.”

  “Ellen,” Dean shook his head, “after the tunnel.”

  “After?” Ellen brought her finger to her mouth. “I don’t remember us being together after.”

  “That’s because it happened in the past where you were married to Robbie and Robbie had an understanding with me.”

  “Oh Dean, you dog. You slept with me even though you knew it wasn’t the Ellen that you knew.”

  Dean shrugged and nodded.

  “Did I make love to you the same?” She saw him shake his head. “I didn’t?”

  “Nope. You were . . . tame.”

  “I was tame? I was married to Robbie and I still was tame? How did that happened? You would think that if I was married to Robbie, I certainly would make love like him. Robbie takes control. He’s like Mr. Stamina.”

  “El?” With a tilted head Dean looked at her. “You talk like you’ve slept with him more than that one time in Ashtonville.”

  “I do? Oh.” Ellen folded her hands and stared out. “I guess one time with Robbie was enough to judge.”

  “Why am I not believing that?”

  “You have a problem with believing things I tell you.”

  “I wonder why.”

  Ellen’s mouth dropped open with a gasp. “You are so wrong.”

  “I’m also so hungry.” Dean stood up from the step. He grunted and straightened out his knee, the one that always caused him pain. He wished when the incident of Frank shooting him was wiped from existence from the time travel ripple, the pain had also been wiped. No such luck. “You want a sandwich?”

  “Yes that’ll be nice. A jam sandwich please. Josephine sent over some fresh strawberry jam.”

  “A jam sandwich it is.” Dean opened the screen door.

  “Could you check on Brian while you’re in there, I don’t know what Frank did to him last night, but the kid is still out.”

  “I’ll check on Brian.” Dean slipped into the house.

  Sitting there, Ellen saw John Matoose storming to her. She smiled and waved.

  “Ellen.”

  “Oh hi, John,” she said pleasantly then rolled her eyes.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Who me?” Ellen pointed to her chest. “I’m hanging out getting a suntan. How about you?”

  “Enough of the fake niceties. I’m not in the mood.”

  “Well I’m in a good mood and I’d appreciate it if you’d leave before you ruin that.”

  “Like you ruined my day.”

  Ellen laughed. She didn’t plan on ruining his day, but if she did it unintentionally that was a bonus for her. “Sure, if you say so.”

  “I know what you’re up to.”

  “You do? What?”

  “Don’t be cute.”

  “I can’t help it John, I am. You should get out once in a while and look at what women really look like. You’re disillusioned by your wife.”

  “Ellen!” John yelled. “I'm sick of this. Knock it off.”

  “I’d be glad to if I knew what I was doing, but I haven’t the foggiest. And since I want a jam sandwich, I’m going in my house.” She started to stand up only to have her arm grabbed and her body yanked right back down into a sitting position. She looked at the fingers that gripped her tightly.

  John placed his face close to hers. “Listen you little bitch. I've had enough of Robbie going after me. Don’t you know how hard it is day to day without someone breathing down your neck? You started this. You stop this. I’m warning you.” He saw her smile brightly. “What is wrong with you?”

  “Hi Frank,” she said perkily.

  “I’m not buying that.”

  “Don’t.” She leaned her head to the side to look past John. “Hi, Frank.”

  Something told John that perhaps Ellen wasn’t lying at that moment. Maybe it was the presence he felt so close to his back. Slowly releasing Ellen’s arm, he turned around only to see Frank briefly. That vision was shattered and blacked out by one of the hardest punches John had ever taken. He spun back around, careening into the railing of the porch.

  Ellen stepped out of John’s falling body with a loud ‘Yes!’ She moved up a step so as to not get in Frank’s way.

  Frank charged forward,
picking John up. “I can’t believe not only did you talk to her like that, but you fuckin touched her as well?” His words were angry but not as angry as the shove Frank delivered when he tossed John into the side of the house. Shaking his head in disgust, Frank charged for him again.

  Just about the time Dean lowered the knife of jam to the bread, he dropped it when he heard Ellen’s cheerleader style chanting.

  “Go, Frank. Hit him again. Yes!”

  “What the hell is she doing?” Dean turned and jolted when he heard a banging and another excited comment from Ellen. Walking from the kitchen into the dining room, it didn’t take Dean long to see what was going on. On his approach he could see Frank spinning John away from the house and hitting him. John flew backwards and Frank went after his defenseless body. “Shit.” Dean raced for the door, smacking Ellen with the screen door when he ran out on the porch.

  “Do it Frank!” Ellen shouted, feeling Dean brush by her. “Hey!” She yelled at Dean. “Dean, you can’t stop them. You’re too little.”

  “Frank!” Dean charged to the two men. Frank was getting ready to pummel John as he picked him up. John was swinging at the air, trying to catch his balance. “Frank stop!” Dean grabbed Frank’s hand as it revved back.

  “Back off, Dean.”

  “You’ll kill him.”

  “So what.”

  It took all that Dean had to hold on to that fist. It was obvious to him that Frank wasn’t tugging too hard or else Dean would have gone into John as well. “Don’t do this. Do this right.”

  “Dean, I’m telling you just . . .” WHAP! Unexpectedly, Frank felt the blow to the side of his chin. Though the hit was not hard, it took him by surprise, taking Frank back a step and knocking Dean off of him. “Now see, Dean, I’ve been hit.”

  Dean felt the jolt of his body hit the ground. As he stumbled to his feet, he fell back down when everything around him spun and went out of focus.

  She could see it in his face. Something was wrong. Moving as fast as she could, Ellen ran to Dean who lay on the grass. He hadn’t fallen that hard, but he didn’t look right to her. “Dean.” She crouched down to him, bracing his arm. “Dean.” She whispered and noticed the blank look on his face. His eyes stared outward with a look of loss and confusion all over him.