“It’s our fault. They killed those people because they looked like me and the boys.” April looked up at Agent Johnson and put her hand on his chest.
Johnson replied, “This was not your fault. It’s just a case of the Council and the Minister using innocent people to keep up their propaganda.”
Walter, who had been sitting at the front of the room, stepped up to the monitor and switched it off. He turned to the twenty or thirty in attendance and began speaking about what they had just seen.
“This is what we are up against. We’re fighting an enemy that will go to any lengths to keep what they have—and the world can’t see it. To them, we are the enemy. To them, we are the cancer in society that wants to infect the world with our principles.”
Walter grabbed a picture that had been placed face first against the wall and showed it to the room. The boys could make out a large group of people in the photo surrounding a pool of water and looking up to a man standing at a podium.
“Back in the 1960s, this man would stand before his followers and speak of equality and how all people deserved an opportunity to follow their own dreams. He spoke, and the people listened. He couldn’t be controlled to say and think a certain way. There was no Minister to keep the people from hearing his words. They decided on their own that things needed to be changed. The people listened, and the people changed.”
He set the picture on the floor and lowered his head for a moment. Walter knew what he wanted to say next, but he wanted the room to think about his previous words before he spoke.
“Words will not win this fight, my friends. We cannot go to the people while they are under the control of the Minister and the Hathmec. We must not let our fear of the world around us get in the way of accomplishing the ultimate goal.”
A faint voice agreeing with Walter echoed from the corner. “We’re with you.”
“Thank you, my friend. We will win this fight with the help of the few in this room and the few out there waiting for us to move against the Minister. That time is near. We will complete our mission. We will remove the Hathmec from the Minister, and we will set things right.”
The small crowd in the room broke into a cheer and applauded at Walter’s comments. They settled down without much fuss, and Walter made one last remark.
“The people will know what they have missed, and they will choose freedom and liberty over control and oppression. We will show them that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and to strive for greatness. Not just a select few will determine the world’s fate—all of us will. For better or for worse.”
Walter signaled with a flip of his hand, and Johnson walked to the rear door of the room. Getting the attendants’ attention, he explained that the room needed to be cleared. Everyone began exiting as Walter moved over to April and the boys.
“You three stay here. We need to talk.”
Johnson led the last of the team out and closed the door, positioning himself so that his back was pressed against its handle. He didn’t want anyone else coming in.
Walter took a seat next to Matthew and noticed how the shine of the attribute charm reflected off the clear-coated floor. He put his arm around the young man and patted his leg.
“I must say, I was getting a bit worried. But you pulled it off. You left with nothing and came back with the only other true attribute charm in existence.”
April pulled her chair closer to Walter’s while Connor got up and ambled over to Johnson.
“Do you think Walter’s mad about Amanda and Steven coming back with us?” he asked.
Johnson whispered, “I think the only thing Walter was worried about was the charm.”
Connor squinted and shifted his gaze back to Walter, who at the moment had April’s attention.
“I know this was difficult, April. I know it must have been confusing to be there, having to learn the ways of the world in the 1980s.”
Walter moved his hand from Matthew’s back to April’s shoulder. “You have done a wonderful thing, and we are that much closer to stopping the Minister.”
April trembled as she tried to explain what had occurred. “It was so strange, Walter. As difficult as it was to fit in, it really wasn’t that difficult.”
She wiped her nose and shook her head. “It was incredible. Everything that we saw was incredible. The people, the communities, the opportunity, it was all right there. All you had to do was take it for yourself.”
She grabbed Matthew’s hand and rubbed it as only a mother could. “This one was amazing. Both he and Connor wouldn’t leave without me. They stood up to things that kids their age shouldn’t have to deal with.”
April turned her head back to Connor, who was still standing with Agent Johnson. “I am so proud of both of them.”
Walter grinned and rose from his chair. “I’m proud of all of you. You accomplished your goal, and now we are the owners of Saras Liot’s attribute charm.”
Walter strolled back to the front of the room and pointed to the same monitor that had earlier shown the executions of the three citizens. “As you can see, we are no longer just lurking in the shadows, waiting to make a move. The Minister knows that we still exist, which means we’ll all be targets moving forward.”
He walked back toward April and stood behind her chair. “I am very happy about your return and the attribute charm, but you did make a tragic mistake that we need to take care of.”
April stood and confronted Walter. “I suppose you’re talking about the girl and young boy that came back with us.”
Walter’s face turned a light shade of red as he tried to conceal the anger rolling up under his skin. He didn’t do a good job of controlling it. “Of course I’m talking about the girl and boy! How could you have been so stupid?”
A brief pause followed this outburst. Walter composed himself again and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to call you stupid, but we have no idea what this could have triggered. You needed to go there and blend in—no major changes to the past.”
He paced around the room for a moment and then said, “I have no idea what your actions may have changed in this time, our time.”
Matthew looked up from the floor and said, “You weren’t there, Walter. You have no idea what we had to deal with.”
Walter chuckled and then slammed his hand on the table. “I may not have been there with you, but I know what was to happen—and what you did was wrong. You made the wrong choice, plain and simple.”
Matthew asked, “Where are they? Where did you take Amanda and Steven?”
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Walter replied. “The only thing that matters is the attribute charm.”
Walter asked Matthew to stand up and turned to face the young boy. “I need you to go ahead and transfer the charm over to me, just as you had the charm transferred to you.”
Matthew looked to his mother and brother and then turned back to Walter. “I want to see Amanda and Steven first. Then I’ll transfer the charm to you.”
Walter stepped back from Matthew and glanced over at Agent Johnson. “We will take you to see the girl and the boy after we have had a chance to debrief them ourselves.”
To April, Walter said, “Tell your son to do as I say. It is very important that we move forward with our plans.”
Moving to Matthew’s side, April replied, “I think Matthew’s right. I would like to see Amanda and Steven before we do anything else. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
Frustration was evident on Walter’s face as he scratched the back of his head. “We will go to see the girl and boy in due time, but right now, you need to do as I say and transfer the charm.”
Connor made his way to the center of the room and said, “I’m with Mom and Matthew. We’re not handing over anything until we see Amanda.”
Johnson slammed his hand against the door and grabbed Connor’s arm, throwing him toward April and Matthew. “Enough of this! You hand over that charm, right now!”
Matthew caught his brother and kept him from falling to the floor. Enraged, he turned his attention to Johnson and shouted, “You shouldn’t have done that!”
Matthew tossed a mist of carrier stones in Johnson’s direction and then grabbed the much larger man by the shirt. Johnson tried to grab Matthew’s hands, but he was unsuccessful and was launched into the door he had been leaning against. The small glass window positioned at the top of the entryway cracked with the force of his body.
“It’s not much fun when it happens to you, is it?”
Johnson was lying on the floor, waiting for his health charm to kick in. Walter rushed over to him. “Are you ok, my friend?”
Johnson indicated with a nod of his head that he was ok, and Walter turned back to the Chance family.
“We are not enemies here! I will not have this type of nonsense within our group. This is exactly what I was worried about when I saw you had brought back the girl and the boy. They have to go back.”
At that last comment, Connor replied, “Go back? They can’t go back.”
Matthew agreed, adding, “That’s not gonna happen. You’re not sending them back.”
Walter shook his head and tried to reply, but before he could, the door flew open, and in rushed four of Walter’s top agents, a woman and three large men. The woman was still sporting the black coat she had worn outside with the crowds just minutes earlier.
She immediately saw that Johnson was on the floor and in some pain. She looked at Walter but didn’t wait for a command. The concern on his face was obvious, so she instructed the three men that had entered with her to secure the room and the intruders.
The men started making their way toward Matthew and Connor, but April stepped between them. “You stay away from my boys, or you’ll end up like Agent Johnson over there.”
The woman in the black coat leaped over to April and front-kicked her square in the face, knocking her to the ground. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, lady.”
April could feel the indention of the tread from the woman’s boot on her chin. Picking herself slowly off the ground, she replied, “No, you don’t know who you’re dealing with!”
A quick spray of carrier stones from all of the Chance family resulted in a skirmish that would make the world of professional wrestling proud. Connor had two of the large men pinned up against the wall, both of them amazed at how this kid was manhandling them.
Matthew had the third man, his knees buckled to the floor, in a firm headlock. Despite being a top-tier military officer, he was unable to get the upper hand with a boy who didn’t even come up to his chin.
April, on the other hand, was having some problems with the lady in the black coat. Even with the attribute charm and the skills April had borrowed from the woman, she was barely holding her own. She was quick, easily avoiding April’s strikes.
Walter was in the corner of the room with Johnson, watching the amazing showcase of the power of the attribute charm. “Can you believe what you’re seeing?” he remarked to Johnson. “The attribute charm allows these boys to overpower men twice their size.”
Johnson replied, “Yeah, I know. Don’t you think you should stop this?”
Walter agreed and maneuvered to the center of the room, shouting. “Stop this! Stop this right now!”
The woman in the black coat tripped April, and as April fell to the ground, the woman moved in for a final attack. Releasing the man he held, Matthew jumped in front of the woman. She went to throw a punch at April, but Matthew used his watch to block it, watching with satisfaction as the woman in the black coat fell backward from the force of her own punch.
Walter stepped between April and the woman in the black coat and then yelled, “Connor, let those men go—right now!”
Connor released the men he had neutralized. The large men walked away, rubbing their necks and arms. It would take a minute for the health charms they all wore to kick in. Matthew stood defiantly by his brother.
“You are not sending the Curry kids back to 1984, and you aren’t getting this charm until we know they’re ok.”
Walter shook his head. “You boys don’t understand. I have a plan. You just need to trust me.”
Matthew approached Walter and said, “We should trust you like you trusted us, right?”
“Of course I trust you,” Walter replied. “You are a very important part of the team.”
The color left Matthew’s face as he said, “Then why didn’t you tell us that Amanda and her entire family were going to die?”
Walter shook his head as an expression of disappointment engulfed his face.
“It isn’t always the easiest thing in the world to lead. Sometimes you have to make decisions that no one else can understand. I have to do what I think is the right thing for a bigger purpose.”
Walter put his hands on Matthew’s shoulders and continued. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you and Connor. You should have known everything that was meant to happen, but I didn’t want you to have to live with that kind of burden.”
Connor spoke up. “Yeah, that burden would have been tough, but trying to save the future, that’s no big deal.”
Walter replied, “What you boys are doing to try to save the world from the Minister is one thing, but handling an individual’s life is something completely different.”
Walter motioned to Johnson and said, “Let’s take them down to the infirmary and let them see the girl and the boy.”
Matthew put his hand on Walter’s chest to stop his movement. “Their names are Amanda and Steven.”
Walter grinned and replied, “Yes. Let’s go see Amanda and Steven.”
April and the woman in the black coat still had their hands up as if they were about to throw a punch. As the rest of the room cleared with no further incidents, the woman in black lowered her hands and said, “Sorry about kicking you in the face.”
Without another word, she turned and followed the group out of the room. April had a strange feeling about the woman in the black coat. She couldn’t place where the familiarity came from, but it was definitely there.
Walter, Johnson, and the rest of the group made their way to what looked like a cargo elevator. It was quite large and easily accommodated all nine people. As they started their descent to the infirmary, Walter decided that introductions were in order.
“April, Connor, and Matthew, I would like you to meet Agents Bryan, Marco, Blake, and Addison. We call her Addie, for short. They are all part of my special projects team, and they’ll be helping us with the next phase of our plan.”
Agent Bryan was a tall, slender man, but he was in excellent shape. He stood six foot three and had thick brown hair that hearkened back to the days of disco. He tried to keep it pulled in under a tight cap or hat, but after the skirmish with the Chance boys, it was now on full display. Bryan was an expert in true history and was one of Walter’s most trusted companions.
Agent Marco, on the other hand, was pure physical strength. His six-foot-six sculpted frame was covered in the muscle he had vigorously cultivated over the years. A tireless worker and devoted family man, Marco had lost his wife and children to an accident caused by the Minister several years ago. He’d vowed then to get his revenge, and that is when Walter found him. They had been working together ever since, and Walter knew that Marco would do anything to further the cause of ridding the world of the Minister.
Agent Blake, having been trained in the elite order of security personnel back in the early 2100s, possessed the military and technical mind of the group. His training had focused primarily on strategy and planning rather than weaponry, and he knew how to quell an uprising and properly position assets to reduce collateral damage. His world had been changed when he was involved in a mass killing of over three hundred protesters on the grounds of the Hathmec Memorial. He had been ordered to disperse the crowds, but once the engagement began, he had been controlled into doing more than just disperse them. With the blood of more than fifty citiz
ens on his hands, he had vowed to end his own life, but Walter had found him before he did so. Walter offered him another path to make up for the wrongdoings of the Minister, and Blake had found a new purpose to his life.
Walter understood that the idea of freedom and liberty weren’t dead—they were just buried. He knew that when given the choice, the people would choose freedom over control. They just didn’t know that freedom was an option.
The woman in the black coat was Agent Addison, or Addie, as the team now called her. She was the only member of the group who had searched out Walter and Agent Johnson. A woman of many talents, she was close to thirty-five years old, not counting the years removed by the Hathmec. A gorgeous and strong woman, she had learned many methods of self-defense, like judo and karate. This had aided her in the fight with April as she understood the momentum principles of strength and speed.
Her five-foot-nine body was the perfect pedestal for her brilliant mind and head, which was decorated by a short flow of jet-black hair. Trained in both chemistry and physics, she was one of the more brilliant members of Walter’s team, and he trusted her instincts implicitly. She had been with him for over eighty years and knew everything about his operation. She was going to be a very important piece to Phase Two.
The elevator ride was quiet. When they reached the bottom floor, Walter led the group down a long hall toward a window, a portal into the workings of the infirmary. Matthew peered through the glass until he could see the face of Amanda Curry, asleep in one of the beds. Her brother was lying beside her in a separate bed. Both were attached to monitors that beeped and blinked.
Matthew turned to Walter and asked, “Why are they still asleep? Shouldn’t they have woken up by now?”
“We have them sedated,” Walter replied. “We didn’t want them waking up in a strange place and causing a commotion.”
Connor looked all around the inside of the infirmary and could see two Hathmec pendants attached to a structure at the far end of the room.
“Are those the pendants that Matthew gave to Amanda and Steven?”
Last Chance Volume 2 - The Legend of the Hathmec: Planting the Seed Page 4