by Derek Slaton
She glared at him. “They were going to rape and murder an unconscious woman then do it several more times, so no, I don’t think that was too extreme.”
“Point taken,” he conceded. “So, how do we clean up this mess?”
She shook her head. “We don’t.”
“What do you mean we don’t? There are three dead guys in the middle of the woods. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be an investigation.”
“I have no doubt, but it isn’t going to go anywhere. The technology doesn’t exist to trace my weapon, so we are in the clear,” she explained, waving her magical death dealing laser pointer in the air.
He motioned to it. “Speaking of that, where in the hell did you get a laser pointer that melts limbs and explodes heads?”
“Oh, this? It came in the last shipment.” She shrugged and pocketed her weapon.
He raised an eyebrow. “Shipment? Has the Sharper Image gone hardcore?”
“It’s from my annual shipment from the future,” she replied.
“Future shipment? So your friends in the future are sending you murderous cat toys? What else do they send you?”
“You can see for yourself if you like. The next shipment is due in about eight hours.”
“Wow, that’s convenient.” He rolled his eyes.
“Robert and I discussed it, and we thought that if saving Anna from certain death wasn’t enough to convince you that I was telling the truth, then seeing a crate of future technology appearing before your eyes would do it.”
“Well let’s just say I’m starting to believe, but if you can David Copperfield some future tech that should win me over.” He sighed. “So where do we need to go?”
She motioned vaguely as she began to walk. “There is a warehouse about an hour outside of Austin. But we need to go ahead and take off because we need to stop by the office first.”
“Woah woah, wait a second. What about Anna?” He put his hands up.
Artemis paused. “What about her?”
“We can’t just leave her here,” Hodge stammered. “Won’t waking up to this mess traumatize her?”
“Maybe. At the very least she’ll probably swear off internet dating.” She shrugged. “I’ll tell you what, if she isn’t fine we’ll come back.”
“How the hell are we going to know that?” He threw his hands up.
She grinned. “Let’s go to the office and I’ll show you.”
CHAPTER SIX
The door to the office cracked open, bathing the cluttered room in light. Artemis flipped on the overhead fluorescents.
“Woah!” Hodge exclaimed.
She chuckled. “Yeah, I know. It makes me look like I’m some sort of conspiracy theorist, doesn’t it?”
“Just a bit, but I like it. Reminds me of my first office when I started this job,” he replied as he studied her whiteboards.
She grabbed a marker, drawing a line through Dan’s name and adding a seven to the Saved board.
Hodge leaned in for a closer look. “So what are these boards?”
“Well the top one is my most wanted list, and as you can tell I’ve made some progress,” she explained. “The other board is the number of people I’ve saved.”
“Wow, over sixteen thousand people saved? That’s quite an impressive number. How many people have you had to kill to reach that?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I imagine it is pretty high, but I stopped counting when I got to five hundred.”
“Oh yeah, when was that?” He cocked a brow.
“1972.”
He gaped at her. Not just because of how prolific she had been over the years, but how she hadn’t shown up on anyone’s radar.
She booted up her laptop, drawing an amused look from the Agent.
“Wow, and I thought I was behind the times. Looks like that was cutting edge back in 2002,” he teased.
She spun her office chair around and shot him a disapproving look. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it’s what is on the inside that counts?”
“No, she figured she had done enough for me by getting me named something other than Francis,” he shot back.
Artemis nodded. “I tend to agree with her on that actually.”
“So why are you using such an ancient piece of technology? I was expecting holograms and other fancy stuff.” He ran a hand along a dusty filing cabinet.
She leaned back in her chair. “Only the case is ancient, most of the inner components won’t be invented for another decade or two.”
Hodge pursed his lips. “Okay, I still don’t understand.”
“Well, if you had a machine that could see into the future, would you want it to be nice and shiny Or would you want it to look like a worthless piece of junk?”
“That makes sense, just hide it in plain sight. I mean if I were a thief I wouldn’t give that thing a second look,” he agreed.”
She smirked. “Now you’re catching on.”
“So how does that thing work exactly?” he asked, leaning in for a closer look.
She cocked her head. “Well, I can give you a lot of technical mumbo jumbo.”
He rubbed his temple absently. “Please don’t.”
“For lack of a better term, this computer has a direct link to a computer in the future,” she explained.
He put up a hand. “Wait, I thought you said the probe thingy only activated every five years or so.”
“It does, but it constantly generates a small temporal rift. So while it isn’t anywhere near large enough to send a person through, it’s plenty big for small bits of data,” she said.
His eyes widened. “So you can get news articles and stuff like that?”
“Exactly!” She smacked him triumphantly on the arm. “When they do send the shipment they include hard drives that has a snapshot of the internet. Every photo, website, video, et cetera, all in one tidy package.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “But wait, doesn’t that get out of date pretty quickly? Given how you are out there changing the future by taking our killers and all.”
“On an individual level it can get out of date almost immediately,” she agreed. “However, if you are trying to stop a terrorist attack it helps a great deal to have multiple documentaries breaking down every single thing that happened.”
“Talk about having the tactical advantage,” he mused.
She nodded. “You ain’t kidding.”
“So why can’t you look up Duke on that thing?”
“All I have on him at the moment is out of date information from the last shipment. His timeline diverted off course about six months ago.” She sighed.
Hodge leaned on her desk. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I was tracking him, and comparing his actions to what was on the shipment drive and they synced up perfectly,” Artemis began.
“So why didn’t you get him? Shouldn’t he have been a priority?”
“He was on my list and I was working my way towards him.” She sighed. “I finally had an opportunity to nab him six months ago, but he didn’t show up to take out his intended victim.”
“Who did he kill instead?”
She pointed to the President’s board. “Number 49.”
“Uh oh, they have their own board. Do I want to know who they were?” He leaned forward and squinted at the names.
“Those are, or were, the future presidents of this country.”
His knees buckled a bit, forcing him to sit back on the edge of the desk. “Duke is killing future presidents? Why? No, wait, the better question is how?”
Artemis pointed at him as if to say bingo. “The only theory I have at the moment is that one of my former team members is trying to change the future and is using Duke as the muscle.”
“Even if that is the case, shouldn’t he still show up on your crystal ball computer there? I thought you got constant updates?” Hodge asked.
“Well,” she replied, pausing for dramatic effect, “it’s complicated.”
He sighed. “Well, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you at this point. Okay, explain it to me.”
“If he is working closely with someone from my team then there is a good chance his future is tethered to theirs and hidden from me.”
“Why do I get the sense I’m going to need ibuprofen for this?” Hodge moaned.
Without missing a beat, she reached to the far side of her desk and tossed him a pill bottle. He caught it and raised it in a mock toast.
“As I told you back at the bar, we exist outside the timeline, which means we don’t show up anywhere unless we specifically act,” Artemis continued. “For example, if I did a search for my future self it would come up empty unless I did something massive.”
“But don’t you do massive things every day? I mean you just killed three guys.”
“There are seven and a half billion people on the planet. Three people isn’t even a rounding error,” she said. “Okay, think of it like this. Picture time like a raging river flowing free. What I did today was like throwing a pebble into it, just a small splash that is immediately forgotten. In order to show up I would have to drop a Raiders sized boulder into it.”
“So what would qualify as a Raiders sized boulder?” He wrinkled his nose.
She spun around in her office chair. “Oh you know, the usual. Blowing up a city, releasing a plague that wipes out half the planet, winning a televised singing contest and becoming known the world over.”
“So if Duke is doing the bidding and under the direction of someone like you, he would vanish from your future machine?”
“Exactly, which is why I need your help.” She stopped spinning and tapped a few keys on the laptop. “You’ve been tracking him for years, so you might have insights that I wouldn’t. It’s one thing to read some articles online, it’s another thing to eat sleep and breathe this case.”
“You’d be right, but it’s still a tough hill to climb and not at all depressing to think about. A mass murderer who can see the future? Holy fuck.” He swallowed hard. “So... do you have any good news?”
She leaned back so he could see the screen. “Okay, here you go, some good news. The future of Anna Page.”
Hodge leaned over her shoulder and saw an obituary from 2070. It was a lengthy piece documenting the life and times of Anna.
“Huh, look at that,” he gushed. “Anna Page, ninety-one. Survived by her husband, four children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Wow, so fourteen people will come into existence because of what we did today?”
“Yep. It’s success stories like this that help me get past the knowledge that I destroy just as many lives simply by existing,” Artemis replied.
He furrowed his brow, leaning back against the desk again. “What do you mean? How do you destroy lives? I mean besides the ones you explode.”
“I don’t belong in this time line, so something as simple as getting a cup of coffee or going to the movies can alter the future and wipe people from existence.”
“Oh come on,” he retorted, “don’t get overdramatic on me now.”
“It’s true,” she insisted. “How many times have you heard someone say that their big break in life was because they were in the right place at the right time? Hell, just look at your own life.”
He blinked at her. “What about my life?”
“Think about when you met your wife,” she continued. “You were both in Dallas at a conference and staying at the same hotel. You woke up early your last day there, went down to the lobby, got a cup of coffee, then made your way to the taxis. You and your future wife grabbed the door handle at the same moment. You both laughed before sharing the cab. Your stop was first, some greasy spoon breakfast joint you saw on one of the food channels. The two of you had such a great time chatting in the cab she joined you for breakfast. Before parting ways you exchanged numbers and made dinner plans for when you were both back in town. Since fate was on your side and you both lived in Austin. A year later you were engaged and expecting the first of your two children.”
Hodge was stunned into silence at the wealth of personal information Artemis had on him. It was one thing to know about Francis, but this was something else.
“Holy hell, did you get all of that from your future telling machine there?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you just over shared during your anniversary post on social media. You’re in law enforcement. You should have that shit on lockdown.”
“Oh,” he grunted, struggling to find anything more than a single syllable to express his embarrassment.
“Now, imagine if I were staying at that hotel and I got my coffee the same time you did,” she said. “Instead of three people in front of you there would be four. It’s not something you would notice or particularly care about, but it would delay your schedule by about two minutes.”
Hodge’s mind reeled at the thought.
“If you get to the taxis two minutes later, you don’t meet your wife,” she continued. “Without that meeting your two children aren’t born. Your future grandkids are never born. When you and your wife marry other people, the children that would have resulted from your partners other relationships are never born. Even if we stop there that’s what? Ten, twelve people who are wiped from existence. All because I got coffee in the morning.”
He put his hands up. “Yeah, but other lives take their place. It’s not like you are willingly taking innocent lives out.”
“I know. But it doesn’t matter.” She took a deep breath. “Using this computer I can look up anyone and see the entirety of their lives. They exist, right now. They may not have been born yet but I can see everything. They have family, friends, coworkers. Some of them do extraordinary things. About forty years ago I saw a documentary about Josie Chambers, and in 2014 she became the youngest woman to win a Nobel prize in Physics. She made some breakthrough that was far too technical even for me to fully grasp, but it revolutionized the field and she was heralded as one of the brightest minds of her time.” She pursed her lips, gaze downcast.
Hodge crossed his arms. “So what happened?”
“I was on the job in Chicago, and it was a rough one,” she replied, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “There was a serial killer that was targeting nurses when they got off their shift, and by the end of his reign he claimed eighteen lives. I got to the scene late and he had a woman sliced open. I saw him there covered in her blood, grinning like a madman and it sent me into a rage. Normally I kill using technology so I don’t risk detection, but I beat this guy with my bare hands. Beat him so badly that he was unrecognizable. Needless to say I needed to cool off, so after getting cleaned up I hit the hotel bar.
“About four drinks in a young man bought me a drink and we got to chatting. Nothing sleazy happened mind you, but we ended up talking till closing. We parted ways and I went back to my room to pass out. About a week later when I was back home I decided to look up Josie to see what else she did, and I couldn’t find anything. Turned out that the man I was having drinks with that night was friends with her future mother. He got into an accident on the drive home and ended up in the hospital for several weeks. He didn’t have any family in the area, so Josie’s future mom took care of him, and in the process fell for him instead of Josie’s future father. So because I had a drink with someone, one of the brightest minds in the history of the world ceased to exist. Knowledge like that can wear on you.”
“I… I can’t imagine.” He shook his head at her slowly. “That must be really difficult for you, and well, your entire team.”
“I think I’m the last one who cares actually.” She shrugged. “Once we put the country on the right path, most of the surviving team retired. They just wanted to get out of history’s way as best they could and enjoy the new future we had created. In fact the only other active meddler I know is Brent.”
“Does he hunt bad guys like you?”
She chuckled. “No. Actors.”
“Actors? Why in the worl
d would he do that?” He leaned on his hands again.
“Well he’s a big TV and movie guy,” she explained. “Has an incredible home theater system, one hundred and twenty-five inch projection screen with surround sound. Even sprung for the professional 3D glasses. Whenever I’m done copying over the information I need from the shipment I send him the drive with all the entertainment.”
“You send him future Netflix?” Hodge asked.
“Something like that. An entire century’s worth of movies and TV shows. Every now and then an actor will get cast in a role he loves and they ruin it. When that happens Brent will intervene so a better actor gets the role.”
He gasped. “My god that’s terrible! He kills people if he doesn’t like their acting?”
“No, no.” She waved her hands in front of her face, but then froze. “Well. Okay, rarely. Usually he just sabotages their career or does something that keeps them from a role.”
“Like what?”
“So Brent is a huge Marvel fan, especially the X-men and Wolverine in particular.” She rolled her eyes, a ghost of a smile on her lips at the memory. “For years he ranted about how they miscast Wolverine with Dougray Scott and wanted to get him out of the role. He enjoyed his work and didn’t want to destroy his career, so he devised a plan. Brent went to where they were shooting Mission Impossible 2, which was his project before joining the X-men, and he caused all sorts of problems and delays with the production. Nothing major, just convincing a few key people to leave the shoot, as well as a few other minor shenanigans. The shoot went over schedule, Scott had to drop out, Hugh Jackman become one of the largest stars in the world, and I never had to hear Brent complain about how the role was miscast again.”
Hodge ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Wow that’s a hell of a story. I don’t think it’s right, but still, you have to admire the dedication.”
“After what he went through in the war I figure he’s earned the right,” she said quietly.
“What did he go through in the war?”
“It’s a long story, but the nickel version is that we were in Germany and he’s Jewish,” she explained. “It took us weeks to track him down and we lost a couple of team members liberating him. Between the experience and the guilt of his friends losing their life because of him he just shut down.”