by S. E. Babin
I reached over and grasped his hand. “He’ll be fine.” I had no idea whether he really would be, but I hoped it with every fiber of my being.
“He poisoned you.”
“He did what was necessary to save my life and everyone else’s. He knew I’d understand.”
“He should have said something.”
I snorted quietly. “Like you would have agreed?”
He fell quiet.
“He did the right thing.”
“Perhaps.” Watson untangled his hand from mine and limped from the infirmary. I sat there alone, my gaze unfocused and my thoughts on everything that had happened over the last few days.
A little while later, Aaron took the spot Watson had vacated. He slung an arm over my shoulder and pulled me in closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Is he going to be okay?”
Aaron heaved a breath. “This is a time where honesty would be more painful than a lie.”
I shut my eyes and turned my face into his chest. I wouldn’t be able to face myself if Masters didn’t make it. For God’s sake, we could control time. We could make immortals. Yet, we couldn’t fix someone with a head injury. We were almost there, but we hadn’t done it yet. My breath hitched.
I pushed away from Aaron and found my mother. She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed and her dark gaze on Masters’ pale form. I stood beside her and whispered my plans quietly.
She turned, her expression unreadable. For a few moments, time stretched while Masters’ life hung in the balance. And then she nodded and I followed her out of the infirmary. Aaron watched us as we went, his eyes haunted. If he knew what we were about to do, he didn’t try to stop us.
Neither of us spoke. I followed her through the long corridors of the halls, fully expecting her to take me back to the underground area. But she did no such thing. My mother pulled me into my father’s quarters, slapped a hand over my arm, and we disappeared into a shower of light.
13
I rested on my hands and knees, heaving in air until the urge to throw up passed. I had no idea where or when we were, only that it didn’t feel like any place I’d ever been. When I could stand without nausea, my mother helped me up.
“Mom?” I inquired.
“Hush, Penelope. This is not the right time for questions. Masters has little time.”
We were in a cave. Maybe. The trickle of liquid sounded in the distance and rocks were all around me. Some slick and smooth, others glowing within from their crystalline structures. It was beautiful.
“Watch your footing,” she said. “A simple slip could be deadly.”
I swallowed hard as I made the mistake of looking down. We were about to step onto a path that was only a couple feet wide. Below us was a deadly maze of stalagmites, but these were structures I’d never encountered before. Brilliant green, blue, and purple stones rose from the cave flooring in a wickedly beautiful displace of nature.
Or science. You could never tell with my father.
My mother stepped onto the path, her long hair unbound and flowing in the gentle wind. I moved behind her, breathing slow and even. I would place my feet only where she stepped and tried my best to stay right in the middle. When we were halfway across, my mother moved onto a brilliant green area on the path. A rumble ensued and I whimpered, wondering if we were going to get shaken off by an earthquake.
“Relax,” she said sharply. Below her, a crystalline pedestal rose from the ground. She pulled a wicked looking stiletto from her skirt and pricked her thumb. Once blood welled, she leaned down and touched the pedestal. It shimmered and before my very eyes a wall I didn’t know existed fell.
It was one hell of an illusion, fueled by powerful biometrics. Before, I’d been a hundred percent sure I was in a cave. Where the wall had fallen stood a room, brilliant and sterile white. But when I glanced behind me, all I could see was the cave. It tricked my mind and I kept blinking and rubbing my eyes.
“Come.”
I bit my tongue to keep from asking a million questions and dutifully trudged behind her. Once we were off the path, I sent a silent prayer up to a deity I wasn’t sure I believed in. But I guess that’s what we all did when we were terrified. We prayed to someone more powerful than we were in hopes our lives were still important in the long run and would be saved. We made promises we rarely kept in the hope that whatever it was we were experiencing right then would be over without too much collateral damage. I frowned at my negative thoughts and tried again. This time, I sent a prayer up that Masters would hang on until we made it back. I wasn’t sure we could set the time back. It seemed to be one of those gray areas.
My mother strode right through the room as if she’d been here hundreds of times and pressed her still bleeding thumb to the wall at the back of the room. The wall flashed a brilliant blue and with a whir, it opened to reveal an area that looked like a safe deposit box room in a bank…if it had been two hundred years in the future.
She keyed in a complicated series of numbers on symbols in a place where I was convinced there was no keyboard. One drawer to the left of us opened with a snick. She reached in, withdrew a shimmering vial, and carefully tucked it into her shirt pocket. Once the vial was gone, a feminine voice spoke.
“Vial five has been removed. Hello, Maggie.”
My mother smiled. “Hello, Constance.”
“Should I record this in the log?” Constance asked.
“Yes. Please mark it as ‘Masters’.”
“Ah,” the voice sounded sympathetic.
I looked around, trying to place where she was.
“He has more to do here,” my mother explained. “His timeline was altered.”
Constance clucked her tongue sympathetically. “By mistake?”
My mother gave me a long, measuring look. “No. Even worse. Love.”
The walls around me shimmered and a brilliant green light fell upon me. “This one will soon put the pieces together for an important puzzle.” The voice paused. “Can this wait?”
My mother shook her head. “I’m afraid not. He was suffering from massive internal bleeding when we left. Brain death will soon follow.”
“Very well, Maggie.” Several beeps elicited. “My calculations show there will be consequences to this course of action.”
My mother’s stare hadn’t left mine. “Anything catastrophic?”
Another series of beeps. “Negative.”
“Very well. Please record this in the logs, Constance.”
“Of course. When Sherlock returns home, please send him my regards.”
My mouth dropped open. The hell? How did she know he was gone?
“Of course I will.”
“Please return soon, Maggie. It’s been entirely too long.”
Sadness filled her eyes. “I’ll do my best.”
And I knew in that moment, she was lying.
When we returned, Masters was still lying prone on the bed, but this time, he was hooked up to several machines. Artificial respiration. Damn.
My shoulders hunched. “Will this work?” I asked my mother.
“Did you not hear Constance?” she asked.
“Yes. I heard the word ‘complications’.”
“She means in the time stream. Not health wise.”
I wasn’t sure how she could understand anything the woman had said, but I chose to believe my mother knew what she was talking about.
With a sharp bark of orders, one of the nurses assisted us in rolling his bed out of the infirmary and into the lab. Aaron and Cass followed, but she hurried to catch up with me.
Cass touched my arm. “What’s going on?”
“He’s going to die.”
Her grip tightened. “I know.”
I turned, and with one look, dared her to go against me. “We aren’t going to let that happen.”
She stopped me and pulled me into a hug. In my hair, she whispered, “I wasn’t going to stop you.”
Cass let go and I
hurried ahead to the lab. My mother was the only one who knew what to do. I’d never touched the serum before and had no idea whether it was just a simple injection or a more involved process. Watson made himself scarce, presumably to deal with his actions. I would try to talk to him later, but right now, it wasn’t about him.
It was about my dying friend.
We’d never talked about the serum in any depth or detail. Masters knew it existed and he knew it could help his daughter, but he’d never once expressed any interest in it for himself. Perhaps he’d seen the effects it could have. But there was no way I could let him go. Not while his daughter was back home waiting on him. Knowing he was out there doing his best to find something that could help her. Her mother was gone, something I hadn’t realized until recently. Her death was an issue I didn’t pry into because it was obvious he hadn’t wanted to discuss specifics. His little girl stayed with Masters’ sister in a house full of kids, healthy kids—a fact that bothered my friend a lot more than he let on. His sister had taken on the care of a severely ill child in order to let Masters go on what many would have considered a fool’s errand—to find a cure for a disease that couldn’t be cured.
So this time, I set all my reservations aside and let my mother take charge. She wheeled Masters in next to a table full of glass beakers and tubes. From her pocket, she removed the vial and set it carefully into a holder. She peered at all the machines he was hooked up to and finally turned her attention back to us.
“Penelope, stay behind. The rest of you will need to wait outside.”
Aaron had come up to stand beside me and at my mother’s words, leaned in. “Be absolutely sure this is the best path. We are not God, Penelope.”
“If we have the technology and capability to save one of our own, we will do whatever it takes,” I said, more confidence in my tone than I was currently feeling inside.
He touched me once on the shoulder. “Very well.”
The sound of the doors clicking shut behind my friends told me we were alone. My mother picked up Masters’ right arm and tapped around for a vein.
“He’s young enough to withstand the process. He should be okay in a day or so.”
“That long?”
A small smile played over her mouth. “The serum changes your very DNA. To have it happen immediately would ensure certain death.” Her gaze met mine. “He is in competent hands. Trust me.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Good.” She picked up the vial and filled a syringe. “I need you to climb on top of the bed and straddle him.”
“Pardon?” Masters and I were friends, but we weren’t…friendly.
My mother rolled her eyes. “The process begins immediately. You need to hold him still. I’ll strap his arms and legs beforehand, but you must ensure he bucks as little as possible. We cannot risk him ripping any of his tubes out before he’s able to breathe on his own again.”
“You’re sure this will work?”
“Yes. Your father was unsure, but I know the serum will repair at least some conditions affecting the DNA. Any signs of aging, any disease present or not present could be eradicated.” She smiled grimly, but would not elaborate on how she knew that. “The only real side effect is you live forever.”
I barked out a harsh laugh. “Some days I’d rather have explosive diarrhea.”
My mother snort-laughed. “Ah, Penelope. As would I.”
I climbed on top of Masters, feeling self-conscious about it and hoping he wouldn’t remember.
“Sit down?”
“Not yet. As soon as I inject the serum and it begins to pass into his body. Hold his head steady.”
I steadied my nerves. With a short nod, my mother took the air out of the syringe and injected it into his IV.
At first, absolutely nothing happened and I wondered if we had done something wrong.
But seconds later, I saw his fingers twitching.
“Now!” my mother shouted. I put my full weight down on him and held his head within both of my hands. I was strong for a lady, even stronger with my father’s experimentation, but even I had trouble keeping him steady. Foam bubbled from his mouth and his eyes twitched and rolled.
Tears poured from me, silent and furious.
My mother monitored his vital signs and I held on to him for what seemed like forever, but was only minutes. At her sigh of relief and nod, I loosened my grip on my friend.
And as I slid off him and the bed, all I could do was hope for the best.
14
Two hours later, I jerked awake to the sound of gagging.
Masters’ eyes were wide open and he was choking.
My mother was right there beside him, stroking his hair and speaking to him quietly. “Penelope,” she said when she noticed I was awake, “hold his head steady. I’m going to remove his life support.”
I sniffed and nodded even as I choked back tears. This was a good sign.
I held on to both sides of Masters’ head as my mother removed the intubation tube.
His first breath was one of the greatest sounds I’d ever heard. I touched his hair. “Thank God,’ I whispered. “Thank God.”
“Get some ice water. His throat is bound to be sore.”
I hurried over to the refrigerator and did as she asked. Mom lifted the bed to a semi-sitting position. When I handed over the glass, she stuck a straw in it and helped Masters drink.
“In a couple more hours, I should be able to remove the rest of the machinery, okay?”
Masters nodded and accepted the drink greedily. His eyes were full of questions, but even I could see the exhaustion in his face.
When he’d drank his fill and drifted off to sleep, my mother came and sat down beside me. “It’s done.”
“Thank you.”
“Your father will be furious.”
“This was my fault.”
She patted my hand. “That’s sweet of you, but it was mine.”
“Mom—”
“Don’t. This was a long time coming, I think. All the lies coming home to roost. This was one thing I could do of my own volition. It was in my power and it was the right thing to do. So I acted.” She chuckled. “It will probably be the last time I’m allowed access to his private storage.”
“I’m sorry.” And I was.
“Don’t be.” She pointed over to the table. “I took enough serum to help his daughter should she require it. Whatever is left can be used to help with your healing experimentation. When we leave here, you must take it with you. Do not let anyone know you have it.”
“Not even Watson?”
“Not even him.”
My mind circled back to something. “Dad said he would give Aaron some of the serum if it would help him in his research efforts.”
The sides of my mother’s eyes crinkled. “At the time, did he need something from him?”
I thought about it and grew sick to my stomach.
My silence answered her question. “Penelope, if I can give you any advice, it would be not to go after your father until you’ve exhausted all avenues of your research.”
“Because he’ll take it away?”
Her mouth thinned. “He’ll be sure to destroy it.” She ran a hand through her long black hair, pulling and stroking it to release some of the tangles. “The serum is his darling. The culmination of a lifetime of research and experimentation. Never think he would share it.”
“I don’t understand,” I said faintly.
“You are his daughter. He will love you and support you in any of your endeavors, provided you do not cross him. If he has shared any of his work with you, it is because he wants you to feel comfortable and eventually complacent with him. Or,” she chuckled bitterly, “he has given you a placebo.”
I cursed under my breath as I thought about the tube I had in the lab marked “MASTERS”. If it were a placebo he’d given me, my research was probably useless.
“This is why you must keep it secret.”
I wa
nted to punch my father in his brilliant face. “So even if I do manage to come up with a true healing serum without the immortality, it would never see the light of day.”
My mother remained silent as I put the pieces of it together. He’d trapped me in a neat little box.
“If I use his serum to complete my formula, I would never be able to recreate it.” I dropped my head into my hands. “Because I’d never be able to get my hands on any more of it.”
“Bingo,” she said. She turned and touched my cheek. “But you are brilliant and wise and strong. And I know you do not need his serum to make this work.”
A grin spread over my face. “We’ll just have to get Aaron’s back.”
A belly laugh burst from my mother. “That’s the spirit.”
I loved my mother’s belief in me, but I had a feeling Aaron and I were going to have to work together to get the healing serum off the ground. We’d just have to figure out how to get around Irene Adler.
My thoughts had been so focused on my father’s subterfuge, I hadn’t thought about him being caught up with Irene. I jerked and shot wide eyes to my mother.
Her laughter grew even louder. “Your father is fine.”
“How do you know that?” I demanded.
“Irene is an intelligent woman. And your father is an intelligent man. Both respect intellect and wit. Neither will do anything to permanently damage the other.”
I wasn’t so sure I bought that. “She broke his nose.”
“I would have loved to do that several times over the years.”
“Mom.” I chuckled against my better judgment. “She took us hostage.”
“You broke into her headquarters.”
I tried another tactic. “She threatened to kill Aaron’s sister.”
“Think about all the things you’ve threatened to do since you came here.” She reached over and patted my leg. “I promise you. If he isn’t fine now, he will be.”
And something I realized immediately but tried to press down into my subconscious came flaring back. “You think they’re perfect for each other.”