“I'm not showing off. I'm doing my patriotic duty.” Hidden behind the serious response was a glimmer in his eyes.
While they waited for the president's call, Fritz avoided talking about the portal, but Ashley suggested to Linda that she come along on a portal trip. He said they should go to see the Wright Brothers at their bicycle shop in Ohio. He even suggested that they could also visit the place where she grew up to see what it looked like back then.
She banged the table. “Did Fritz put you up to this?”
“No, I didn't put him up to anything. Straight out of his own weird brain.”
“It would be fun, Lin,” Ashley said.
“No. It would not. You idiots don't know what's causing it or what might happen when you use it. We're sitting here waiting for another idiot who wants to play in your sandbox. None of you know what damage you're doing. I'm not scared for myself, but for the baby, and of losing my child's father in some misty netherworld. It's bad enough that the president has it to play with. I don't like the portal and I wish it would go away.”
Fritz turned away, glancing at Ashley. His coffee had a different taste on the way up than it had on the way down. “Excuse me.” Ashley persisted, telling her that she could pick anywhere to go, or they could have lunch in some exotic place, like Paris. In a fractured French accent, he seated her at a café, suggesting the house specialties and pointing out famous people strolling on the sidewalk. She shook her head, told him he was nuts, and said no. Her anger subsided, but like an iceberg, it remained just below the surface.
A few minutes past noon, Fritz's phone rang. Fritz handed Linda and Ashley copies of his list. “We're all here at the White House, Fritz, and we have some questions for you.” For the next half hour, with the phone on speaker, Ashley, Linda and Fritz listened to the discussion and added occasional points.
“When do you want to try it?” asked Fritz.
“Tomorrow night,” said the president. “Our team leaders have been alerted.”
“What about the weather?”
“Tony Almeida will be there with his equipment. You'll check it out tonight, and if all goes well, we'll be there tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll be optimistic and coordinate all the materials we'll need. Fritz, I also want to try multiple locations. Only one or two for now.”
“Will you be in your office tonight?”
“I will. Best to try it here first. You've done that trip.”
“What about maps? Do you have photographs?”
“Dr. Barclay will have maps.” Fritz looked at Ashley. “I don't think we have pictures. Will that matter?”
“I don't know. I've never tried this. What time will you get here?”
“We'll be at the school at eight thirty.”
“Mr. President,” said Fritz. “Are you going to call George? I think it would be better coming from you.”
“Okay, I'll call him. I can push him more than you can.”
“Thanks. I'll talk to you later. We'll be there at 8:25. Bye.”
Within five minutes, George called.
“Fritz, did you know they're going to bring a whole crew?'
“George, you're a part of this team. This is a major national security operation and a significant military one. You need to worry about that first. The school will be fine. I'm not telling you what to do, but you and I are secondary. We have to let them do what they do and help where we can.”
“Okay, Fritz, but…”
“No buts, George! Everything will be better than fine. The world will be safer.”
“The president said you're trying it out tonight. With Tony Almeida.”
“At seven, George. Just for a few minutes.”
“Do I have to be there?”
“Not unless you want to. All I'm going to do is see if what Tony has created actually works.”
“Then I'm not coming.”
“We'll see you tomorrow night, then. And George, be a little early,” said Fritz. He felt strange giving his boss orders, especially when George was agitated. “You know they're punctual. I'll be at the door at 8:25 sharp,” he said and hung up.
“We'll be there at 8:25,” Linda said.
“He doesn't have to know that. Maybe Lois will stay home. On the other hand, maybe we can get her to come and leave him home.”
Ashley went home, Linda returned to her project, and Fritz tried to think about the Middle Ages. As afternoon drifted into evening, he aimlessly turned pages, randomly flipped through books. Unable to concentrate, he pushed them aside. Sensing his restlessness, Linda closed her laptop.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
“I keep going over this in my head. I hope it goes all right.”
“If I didn't have to get this project done, I'd be a nervous wreck.” She glanced through the bay window behind him at the pink sky between the trees. “But you're not going through, so I'm not worried.” Fritz knew she wasn't exactly truthful, when she twisted the ends of her hair, from ear to shoulder, her tell. “Would you turn the other light on, please?”
“What do you think about Ashley's going?” Fritz flipped the switch, ending evening's intrusion.
“Not much. Try to talk him out of it, Fritz. I don't want anything to happen to him, especially over a woman.”
“It's not just her. It's the excitement of the whole thing. I shouldn't have taken him to see Lee.”
“That would only make him want to do it more. Someone else can do it, like a Secret Service agent. Try to stop him. By the way, tell me where you two went.”
Fritz envisioned the short trip. And their proximity to the fighting. He saw the Union bayonet pierce the southerner at the top of the wall. “Gettysburg.”
“As in the battle of? Fritz, this isn't funny.”
“It was a reenactment, Lin. Pretty realistic, but we were safe.” She stared at him, boring into his thoughts. He hoped he had convinced her but doubted she believed him. “If the actors were as serious as they portrayed, I can't imagine what the real thing was like.”
“I hope you never find out.”
AT SEVEN, THEY met Ashley at the school as a black Suburban pulled up to the side entrance.
Tom Andrews waved and walked to the rear as Tony climbed out. Together, they carried a generator and a box. Fritz opened the door and directed them down the hall. With the generator in place, Tony connected wires to the doorknob. Then he stood and reached out his hand.
“Hi, Mr. Russell. I'm Tony Almeida. We met in the spring.”
“I remember. I'm told you've refined the entry a bit.”
“We tried, but we had only a little luck. I am still worried about making it work. I'm afraid you're still the critical component, even if we have to wait for stormy weather.”
“What now?”
“You do whatever you need to, and I'll call the planes.” Fritz found the White House tour brochure and tried to recall the first time he had gone there. He placed a paperclip where he thought he had it before and set it on his desk. Tony checked his gauges and some kind of voltage meter, and flashed Fritz an upraised thumb.
“We should call the president,” said Fritz. Tom dialed and told Ms. Evans they were ready.
“He's waiting, Mr. Russell.” Fritz grabbed the doorknob and pulled. Linda and Ashley had moved in front of the door, and they could all see into the Oval Office as the president crossed the room.
“Well, that's good. At least we know it works. Good job, Tony.” He shook hands all around and stepping back through the portal, he said, “Tomorrow night, then.”
THEY WERE no less anxious on Sunday and the evening's mission hung heavy. At the school, a convoy of SUVs pulled up into the dark parking lot. Tom Andrews climbed out of the lead Suburban, easing Fritz's tension. Tom had already been through the portal. Mel Zack drove one of the other trucks and waved to Fritz. Other Secret Service agents and Colonel Walter Mitchell, the operation commander, joined the group on the sidewalk. Jane Barclay climbed out of the last truck and joined them.
A police car pulled into the lot, and out stepped James Williams and Officer Shaw. James joined the others at the double doors, while Shaw remained at his car. With greetings and introductions finished, they entered the school. “He's going to keep the curious away,” said James, pointing out the door to Shaw.
While everyone milled around in the corridor, Ashley opened his classroom. They could work from there. Hidden by the crowd, Tony Almeida edged his way to Fritz.
“Hi, again, Mr. Russell. I still would like to talk to you some more about how this all works. I worked all day on juicing up the power to support the distance.”
“Let's talk about it later. What do you need to do now?”
“I need to hook up a generator to your doorknob.” Fritz pulled his arm back and clenched his fist. His first childhood memory of putting his finger in a lamp socket found an easy path from his memory. He wiggled his fingers. “Don't worry. It's the same voltage as last night.”
“Let's go to my room. I understand Dr. Barclay has the maps.” Tony called her over. Fritz noticed Ashley watching and waved him over, too.
“Let's go in and set things up. Then you can brief everyone, Dr. Barclay,” Fritz said. She handed Fritz the maps, which were actually satellite images, all except one. Their first stop would be Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.
“Does anyone over there know we're coming?” asked Fritz, spreading the maps on his desk. “Is that where we're going to do the multiple sites?”
“Only the base commander knows,” she said as Tony completed attaching the wires. She brushed against Ashley, pointing. “The sites are marked. This one is the commander's office.”
Fritz flipped through the maps. “I expected you to try only a couple of sites tonight? That's what the president said.”
“We decided after the call ended that it would be a better idea to test the portal fully tonight, rather than try it later with more people.”
“Where is the team supposed to land first?”
“Here. The commander's office.” She leaned over the desk, bumping Ashley's hip. He didn't move. “Here's the floor plan. It's a way to keep it mostly hidden.”
Fritz placed the paperclip, positioned the image on the left side of the desk, and put the other images in a drawer.
She said, “Okay, let's tell them. Tony, are you ready?”
“Yeah. Only one more thing to do—call in the planes.”
Fritz looked at him, amazed. I wonder how much they really know. They all returned to Ashley's room. Colonel Mitchell asked for everyone's attention. Then he introduced Dr. Barclay, whom he called Major Barclay.
“Tonight is a dry run,” she said. “We want all of you to see how you will enter Naria. And how to get back. You've been told what your ultimate mission is, and you know your team. What you haven't been told, until now, is that you will go and return through a door across the hall.” Some chuckled, some smirked. “I understand your skepticism. But we have discovered a portal in the space-time continuum.” She glanced at each of the surprised faces. “Each team will enter the portal and arrive at its assigned location.”
“We are doing a practice run this evening to Bagram Airfield. Before we split you up to different sites, we are all going together to the base commander's office. The mission is conditional on all systems being functional. We haven't tried this, but if we can get the portal working under different conditions than it has in the past, we'll do at least one practice run. We are on a short timetable, and we're preparing backup plans to be sure you all get home. Any questions?”
No hands rose, and there was not a sound. Colonel Mitchell thanked her. “We will be accompanied on this first insertion by Tom Andrews, who is a Secret Service agent. He's used the portal before. Our sole objective tonight is to let you recognize the portal exit. Ready?” Not expecting a response, he said, “Let's go.” Those going were all members of the elite forces. All the services were represented because of the number of men with top-secret clearance that could be freed from other duties.
Fritz looked at Tony, who nodded. He grabbed the doorknob and got a shock, opened the door, and waved the colonel and major into a dim square with a black-and-white linoleum floor, the team leaders right behind. He closed the door and looked through the window at his empty classroom. When they returned, they were as surprised at finding themselves back at the school as they had been when they got to Bagram.
“Now comes the hard part,” Fritz said to Major Barclay. “I need to change the maps and paperclips.” The two of them walked back into his classroom. “Before we do this, don't you think we should answer any questions they have now that they've seen it?”
She agreed. When she asked for attention, the hall echoed only breathing. She explained they would be going to specific locations at Bagram in the second round but wouldn't be able to see one another in the darkness. She told them to plan to stay for three minutes and then return. “Good luck.”
“Wait!” said Fritz. “Does everyone have a phone?” Barclay looked at him, puzzled. “Look, if you have a problem, I told the president you would need to be able to call here so I can adjust the portal,” Fritz said.
“He didn't say anything to me.”
Fritz considered the situation for a moment. “I'll know you have a problem if you don't come back in the order you left. So don't stay more than three minutes.” Turning to Tom, he said, “If there's a problem, someone who knows the portal will need to go in.” Tom knew that was why he was there and said he was ready.
The colonel called for the first group. As soon as they entered, Fritz went back into the classroom and placed the next map on top of the previous one. The next group entered. Seconds later, the team leader returned and said they had shown up at the same place as group one.
Fritz entered his classroom to check the map. The colonel, the major, and Ashley were right behind. “I've never tried this before. I'm not sure…”
Ashley interrupted. “When we first found the way in, the paperclips were attached to things that touched the desk. Remember the Oval Office brochure? It was at the bottom of the pile.”
“Thanks, Ash. Good point. Let's try it.” Fritz placed group two's map under the first. “Okay. Let's see what happens.”
Colonel Mitchell told the team leader to come back if they ended up with group one again and sent them in. They didn't come back. Fritz placed the next map under the others and then did the same for the remaining groups. Thirty seconds elapsed between each group of three. The first group came out after the third group went in. After that, an alternating in-and-out routine, which no one had expected, continued. The groups were all about thirty seconds apart. The entries went smoothly. The final three men came out on time, and everyone went back to Ashley's classroom. Fritz had learned how to pile the maps, and the entire exercise had taken less than an hour. As they entered, the room grew silent. Fritz thought every eye was on Major Barclay, but they were all looking at him.
The major addressed the room. “Any questions, problems, observations?”
A Marine captain raised his hand. “Major, we were the sixth group through. When we first got there, we couldn't see the portal image. It showed up about thirty seconds later.”
She asked, “Anyone else have that happen?”
Two hands went up. Groups four and five. Fritz looked at Tony, who shook his head. He didn't know.
She asked, “Group seven? That happen when you went through?”
“No, ma'am. It was as clear as in the Bagram commander's office.”
“Gentlemen, I'm going to ask you to wait here. We are going to check the maps,” the major said. The colonel, Tony, and Fritz left with her.
“Not enough energy,” said Tony, as Ashley's door shut.
“Or it could be the number of people,” said Fritz. “The portal may not be able to handle that much traffic. Though that could be the same thing. Could switching the maps affect the connection? They all have watches. We need to ask them if they show different times.” As
they were about to enter Fritz's room, Ashley's door opened and Linda, Ashley, and the McAllisters exited.
“Can you fix the problem?” asked Linda.
Fritz nodded. “Tony thinks we're not generating enough power. But if they get stuck during the actual operation, they have to be able to let us know. And there'll be more people.”
“Do you know how close they came to where they were supposed to be?”
“No, we still have to ask,” Colonel Mitchell said. “Thanks, Ms. Russell.”
“The last group didn't have a problem seeing the exit. They went in when the first groups were out. That might have increased the power,” said Tony.
“I wonder if any of them marked their positions?” said Fritz, thinking about Linda's question. “Maybe they should mark where they land and go a second time to see how close they come to the same spot. We have to be precise.” Only a few days after visiting Gettysburg, Fritz didn't want to be the cause of these soldiers walking into a disastrous unknown. Time and exact location would matter.
“Colonel, I think we should do it again,” the major said.
“Agreed. We need as much information now as possible. We'll do it until we are as certain as we can be.”
All but Tony returned to Ashley's classroom. He continued to tinker with the generator and wires.
“Don't electrocute me, Tony,” said Fritz as he left. Tony winked.
Colonel Mitchell told the men to check their watches. Groups four through seven indicated a small time difference. He asked if any had marked their entry points. None had. He explained they would repeat the entry and exit sequence twice more to mark and measure how close they came to the same spots.
The first captain raised his hand and said, “Colonel, it's very dark in the desert. What should we use to mark our spots? A flare?”
“No. You're too close to a firing line. Use pen flashlights laid flat. We're going to put you all back in, this time for five minutes. I want you to write down the times you go in and come out.”
“Colonel,” Linda said, “ after we've all synchronized our watches, let's write the times they leave as soon as the first man in each set goes, and then we and they should note when they each emerge from the portal back here. Ashley, get a pen and paper ready.” He was glad to have something to do. Linda had been taking notes through the whole process. George fanned the sweat beads on his cheeks and forehead, and Lois looked like she had a lot to say.
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