Now & Again

by E. A. Fournier

  Josh looked concerned. “How close?”

  “Hard to say. I should think 90 to 100 meters. Maybe less.”

  Kendall rolled his eyes.

  Everett sniffed at him. “Oh, for those of you from Ohio, that’s…a football field or so. A bit more…” He sat up slightly straighter as he realized a new insight. “That means they had to drive all the way to Cincinnati – right into your neighborhood – to make those jumps.”

  Kendall slid down in his chair and frowned. “You’re just making this stuff up now, aren’t you?”

  Everett was busy following his new chain of deductions and was slow to reply. “No. I’m guessing.”

  “Big difference.”

  Everett fixed Kendall with a look. “Educated guesses.”

  Kendall scowled back. “Would you bet your life on ‘em?”

  “No. Not me. I’d be a lousy bet right now, anyway.” He raised a single eyebrow. “But I’m betting yours.”

  Kendall’s mouth tightened into a line. At that moment, loud voices spilled into the room from the hall as a patient was wheeled into the unit.

  * * *

  Marty Brandmeier was flat on his back on the gurney and the late middle-aged man was a long, hard road from happy. He had checked in to the ER the night before, at his wife’s insistence, for what he described as a pulled muscle in his chest. The magical words, chest pain, brought him a complete workup, a cardiac catheterization procedure and, when they saw the near total blockage in one of his coronary arteries, it became an angioplasty procedure. The doctor inflated a tiny balloon to squish Marty’s plaque against his arterial walls and, before exiting, he stuck in a stent, a small mesh tube, to keep the sludge in place.

  None of which Marty thought was necessary, and he wanted everybody to know it. “The whole thing’s bogus! All I did was pull a muscle going for a ball. That’s it! And now look at me!”

  His wife tried to shush him, or at least lower his volume, but she had no effect. “God knows how much this is gonna cost me!” he bellowed. “Look at this place! A Q-tip in here’s gonna run a hundred bucks! No wonder healthcare’s outta whack.”

  One of the CC nurses put a calming hand on the edge of Marty’s gurney. “Welcome to the CCU, Mr. Brandmeier. We’re going to take good care of you and your heart.”

  This just added fuel to Marty’s fire. “Yeah, and my wallet! It’s outrageous! I can’t have heart problems! I exercise; I don’t eat cheeseburgers; I drink diet coke; I take vacations. What a crock!”

  * * *

  One of the other nurses popped into Everett’s room and smiled an apology as she closed their door for them. Marty’s continuing rant was only slightly muffled.

  Kendall tried to recapture the conversation. “Can you tell me something that gives us any edge at all?”

  “We know the time frame. That’s something.” Everett spoke barely above a whisper. “They have to drive back from your house to somewhere near here. So, that’s how much time we have before they can strike again.”

  Josh was confused. “How do you know their main location’s near here?”

  “It’s where I would have built it, so…I’m guessing the other me’s would do the same thing.”

  “Yeah. That’s not much of an advantage.”

  “It could be.” Everett rotated the wrist with his IV to relieve some pressure. “We know their plans – they’re going to jump your minds. But they don’t know ours.”

  “We don’t know ours either, unless I flat out missed you tellin’ us,” Kendall complained.

  Everett was about to reply when the noise outside their window wall escalated, and they saw Marty thrashing on the gurney. Nurses jumped to assist him and a medley of anxious voices erupted.

  “Code Blue CCU, Code Blue CCU,” a stiff voice soon announced over the ceiling speakers.

  Outside their windows they watched a nurse pull Marty’s stunned wife off to one side. Nurses worked on Marty’s unresponsive body. A short time later a crash cart came rushing in followed by a team of quick responders. Rapid orders and immediate replies zipped back and forth between the members of the team. Marty’s heart was apparently trapped in a lethal rhythm and they fought to normalize it again.

  Kendall and Josh were caught up in the life and death struggle on the other side of the glass. Everett loudly cleared his throat to get their attention. “Josh, close the blinds, will you?” He made a downward motion with his fingers, indicating the slat blinds at the top of each window. Josh self-consciously lowered them. The last image seen was one of the medics prepping the defibrillator and lifting the paddles.

  Everett was clearly shaken but his voice was steady. “Look, he’s gonna live or die whether we watch him or not. Okay? I think I have a plan here – it’s not pretty, but it’s all I’ve got. And I’m worried if I don’t hurry up, I could be the one they’re working on next.”

  The anxious noises outside the window wall went in waves, and with each crest the three nervously glanced at the blinds.

  Kendall leaned in to Everett so only he could hear him. “What’s to stop the mind jumpers from searching for us here? Aren’t those nanobots in this room already? Won’t they be able to hear our plans?”

  “If they can do that, we can’t stop them,” Everett replied gently.

  “What’s your…educated guess? Can they?”

  Everett sighed. “My educated guess is…yeah, they can do that and no, we can’t stop them.”

  “So, that’s it for us then,” Kendall said softly. “Done before we begin.”

  The medical sounds outside their room dropped off. Marty was wheeled off. The responders dispersed.

  Everett brightened. “No. If we make things tempting enough, there’s still a chance.”

  A dispirited Kendall looked up. “We’re listening…kinda.”

  “You can make your lines so easy to follow that they won’t bother going anywhere else.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “For whatever reason, they know you mean trouble for them, and they want you. So, if we dangle ourselves out there in plain sight, like bait…”

  “You mean us!” Kendall shot back. “You’re not out there dangling – like bait.”

  “Yeah, yeah, okay. You. If we put you and Josh out there like a hula popper, they won’t bother tracking nanos or snooping in the timelines. They’ll just go right in for a bite, and then we’ll hook ‘em.”

  “Hula popper?” Josh wore an odd expression.

  “Didn’t your Dad ever take you fishing?” Everett sounded disappointed.

  “He hates fishin’. Doesn’t clean ‘em, doesn’t eat ‘em, won’t catch ‘em.”

  “A popper’s an artificial bait that floats. A hula popper’s usually the last thing that…” Everett was disgusted. “Oh, forget it.”

  Kendall rolled his eyes. “I get it. We’re bait. And I’m a loser father who never took his kid fishing. Fine. Sue me. The part I don’t get, is the hook ‘em part. I may not be a fisherman but I know that no matter what happens to the fish, it doesn’t go well for the bait.”

  Everett was considering his reply when there was a quick knock on the door and a tall nurse stepped into the room. She looked coldly at Josh and Kendall as she inspected Everett’s clamp and the clotting. “I explained to you that visits in the CCU are limited to twenty minutes. I trust you’re not taking advantage of our recent medical excitement to extend your talk time, are you?”

  Kendall smiled innocently. “Nope. We were just wrappin’ up. Hugh’s got a real good fix on just how much time we got left.”

  “That’s good to hear,” the nurse replied flatly. She scanned the rest of the room and then started out the door.

  “Ma’am?” Josh asked.

  She paused in the doorway and glanced back. “Yes?”

  “Did he make it?”

  Her severe face softened slightly. “Yes. He made it. Thanks for asking.” She left, her soft shoes making no noise.

  Everett rearranged his pi
llow. “Where were we?”

  “Nowhere yet.” Kendall replied. “Does your plan involve us jumping timelines?”

  “Well…” Everett slowly admitted, “The middle part does.”

  “Then forget it. We can’t do it.”

  “But you haven’t heard it yet.”

  “Up to now, everything that’s happened to us was out of our control. But this isn’t. We’re not the kind of people who can kill ourselves on purpose. Even to save the world.”

  “There’s no other way. You’re the only ones who can.”

  “But it’s suicide. Suicide’s a sin! What about that?”

  “Can’t you at least listen to my plan before we drag in religion?”

  Josh glanced toward the closed blinds. “What if you’re wrong this time? What if we don’t end up anywhere else? What if we just die, and that’s it?”

  “I’m not wrong! I can’t be.” Everett struggled to stick up four gnarled fingers. “You’ve already done it four times! Besides, it’s not suicide…it’s…travelling. It’s what you and your Dad were born for.”

  Josh’s eyes flared. “It just happened before. We didn’t do anything.” His anger vanished. “And even if it works, we’ll lose everybody again.” Josh looked at the old man. “Even you.”

  “True,” Everett replied patiently. “But if you don’t try, and if the multiverse ends, we will all lose everybody, forever. Is that better?”

  “No.”

  “Who’s to say we won’t fail anyway?” Kendall added. “I’m bettin’ there’s plenty to go wrong.”

  Everett winced from a sharp pain in his side. “Who’s going to know? If you fail, nobody survives.”

  Kendall looked at Josh for confirmation. The young man bowed his head once. Kendall faced the old man squarely. “Okay, Hugh. For richer or poorer, let’s hear the plan.”

  CHAPTER 29:

  On the eastern side of the Point property, a collection of metal warehouses sat apart. The day was waning and the wind had picked up. Dark clouds were rolling in from the northeast, and the faint smell of Chesapeake Bay teased the air.

  One of the loading doors rolled open on the most distant structure. Everett’s Mercedes exited and drove off. Behind it, the wide door rapidly closed again.

  Towards the front of that same building, on the side facing away from the other warehouses, Newbauer unlocked a service door and flinched as he bumped his injured hand.

  Quyron held the stun gun against his neck and whispered, “You are a wonder, Mr. Newbauer. An absolute wonder.” She pocketed his helpful ring of keys as they cautiously opened the door and entered, Newbauer first.

  * * *

  The dim service room was typical: mops and brooms against a wall, a stained utility sink nearby, metal shelves supporting boxes of rags and bottles of cleaners. The door to the interior of the warehouse was propped open with a doorstop. Jonathan went through it with Quyron right behind him.

  The open door led directly into a poorly lit side aisle between twenty foot storage shelves filled with boxes and materials. They hugged the left side as they carefully moved toward the main aisle. Quyron noticed a waist high opening on one of the shelves arranged with flattened boxes, box-cutters, and rolls of strapping tape.

  Almost at the end of the row, Newbauer squatted and waited for her to come up beside him. When she did, he motioned around the aisle and pointed to the left, deeper into the warehouse. Quyron glided by him to the end of the row and slowly spied between boxes on a lower shelf. In the illumination from a single light, she saw a windowless, cement block construction near the back of the building. An armed guard stood in front of the solitary door built into it. She warily ducked back and carefully moved a few steps away.

  She motioned Newbauer over to her and whispered in his ear. “I’ve seen enough. Let’s get you to the doctor, while I plan what’s next.”

  Newbauer nodded eagerly and turned back. Quyron grabbed his arm with her free hand. “And easy does it. Nothing stupid.”

  Anxious to please, now that he knew a doctor was near, Newbauer meticulously retraced his steps. Quyron purposely let him get well ahead and then slowly followed.

  * * *

  Inside the spacious trunk of the Lexus, Newbauer was bound and gagged with strapping tape. He made muffled, furious sounds but his struggles were ineffective and uncoordinated. Quyron was finishing up with his legs when he kicked out at her. She easily caught his feet and spun him over, face down. “Not so cooperative anymore, are we?”

  She bent his legs at the knees to bring the feet slightly closer to his bound hands and then taped them together in a sticky bundle. She rolled him onto his side and evaluated her work. “Well, it’s not pretty, but it’ll do.”

  Checking the charge on the stunner, she touched it against his leg. Newbauer’s eyes bulged in terror as he desperately shook his head. “I’m kind of sorry about this but…” She squeezed the trigger and held it for three seconds. He convulsed and involuntarily arched his back against the strapping tape, before dropping into unconsciousness.

  Quyron quietly shut the trunk. The Lexus was parked behind the warehouse in a small truck lot next to a row of bushes. Stacks of broken pallets were nearby. She leaned against the car and checked her weapon. The charge still hovered in the green. There was a small recessed latch in the base that she flipped. A tray with wireless darts slid smoothly out of the handle. She selected one and rolled it back and forth in her fingers. “In for a penny, in for a pound.”

  CHAPTER 30:

  Kendall backed the rental car quickly out of his slot in an upper level of the hospital’s parking structure. As he drove off, he glanced up at the posted signs that clearly indicated right for the exit and left for more parking.

  “Where’re we goin’?” Josh asked.

  Kendall flashed a strange smile. “Didn’t you listen to Hugh? Don’t think, just act. I haven’t any idea where we’re going.”

  At the turning point, he suddenly whipped the car left and headed for the roof. Josh bumped against the passenger door and laughed. “I didn’t think you believed him.”

  The rental car roared onto the relatively deserted rooftop parking area and Kendall started doing donuts. “You, my boy, are the one who didn’t believe him. I’m the one who never understood him.”

  Without warning, he cranked the car the other way and did donuts in that direction. “I still don’t – but, somehow, I trust him. How does that work?” Kendall pulled a U-turn and headed down for the exit. “Just enjoy the ride. Don’t think about anything else.”

  Josh lowered his window and let the cold air blow his hair back. “You’re really gettin’ into this, aren’t you?”

  “Am I?” Kendall swerved to the side and hit the brakes. He tossed it into park, jumped out, raced around to Josh’s side, and yanked his door open. “You’re driving. Go. Go!”

  “What are you..?” Josh was flabbergasted.

  Kendall pushed him over. “Drive! C’mon, the car’s still runnin’. Let’s go.”

  Josh resisted. “I’m not…”

  Kendall shoved him. “The more random the better – that’s what the man said.”

  Josh slid over and took the wheel. “Random? Two can play this game.” He gunned the car and slid through the final turn to the exit. Ahead, an attendant manned a ticket booth in the center of a ground level ramp. He dispensed tickets to people entering the in-ramp and took tickets from those leaving. “You got that validated parking stub?” Josh asked, innocently.

  Kendall dug in his pockets. “I got it. I know it’s here…somewhere. Gimme a sec.”

  “You better hurry up, I’m almost there.” At the last minute, Josh hit the accelerator and laughed. He swung the car sharply left, jumped the lanes, and sped out the in ramp. The stunned man in the booth crouched in sudden alarm and watched them flash by with a wide-eyed stare. Josh swerved to avoid a shocked entering car and shot away from the hospital.

  Kendall sat stiff in the front seat still holdi
ng up the stamped parking stub. “That was…”

  Josh added, “Random?”

  “No. I was thinkin’ somethin’ else.”

  “What next?”

  “You’re not supposed to ask things like that. You keep it up and you’ll make another multi…thing.”

  “Multiverse?”

  “Yeah, one of those.” Kendall noticed they were passing a Silver Spring city bus. “Hey, get ahead of this bus and park.”

  “Okay, but that sounds a lot like a decision.”

  Kendall scowled. “Shut-up and do it.”

  Josh ran a yellow light and crossed an intersection. In his mirror he saw that the bus had to stop. He changed lanes to the left without signaling and made a quick U-turn. Avoiding cars, he instantly changed lanes all the way to the right and parked next to the curb on the opposite side of the street. Pleased with himself, he switched off the car. “How’s that?”

  “What the hell was that about?” Kendall shouted.

  “I passed the bus and then parked. That’s what you said.”

  Kendall laughed as he opened his door and climbed out. “You’re nuts, you know that? I meant in front of the bus…park in front of the bus.”

  “Wait! Where are you going now?”

  Kendall rushed back across the street. “I’m gonna catch that bus! C.’mon. Don’t forget your stuff!”

  Josh jumped out and then fumbled with the car doors as he had to duck back into the rear seats to grab his pack. “That doesn’t make any sense!” he yelled.

  “Exactly!” Kendall called back from the middle of the street. He waved at the oncoming bus to stop.

  Josh hurried to catch up, struggling with his shoulder straps. A car honked at him and braked. He jumped around it, making apologies.

  Smiling brightly at the driver, Kendall paid the fare and stalled until Josh climbed aboard behind him. Together they threaded their way through the riders, looking for a seat.

  “But what about the car?” Josh asked.

  Kendall squeezed onto a bench seat between two people and glanced up at him. “What about it?”