“Okay. You win. We don’t have to talk about this anymore.” Linnea slid closer to her sister on the couch and put her arms around her. Oliver saw her make eye contact with Artemis. Artemis nodded ever so slightly.
Linnea stroked Sally’s back for a moment and then pulled away. “Drink your tea,” she said. “I have some other things to say to you.”
Sally took her cup and sipped it. “This really is bad.” She laughed. “I could never make it like yours,” she said to Artemis.
“It does help to purchase a higher quality of product,” Artemis noted. “I doubt you would find anything suitable for human consumption at a convenience store.”
“It’s got caffeine,” Sally said. “I think it’s all that’s been keeping me awake the last few days.”
Linnea watched as Sally drank her tea, then took the cup out of her hand and put it down on the table. “Look at me, okay? I love you so much, Sal,” she said.
“I love you, too.”
Linnea smiled wistfully. “You were my hero when we were little. I want you to know that. You still are. You’ll always be my hero.”
“Hey,” Sally said, patting her sister on the arm. She reached for her cup. “Why are you talking like that? It’ll be okay. I’ll talk to Federation Command. If they know what I know…” she looked at Tyler and frowned. “Why are you crying?”
Oliver looked over at Tyler, surprised to see that tears were streaming down his friend’s face.
“Tyler?” Sally asked. “What’s…” the Styrofoam cup dropped from her hand, bouncing once on the couch and spilling the last of its contents everywhere.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Linnea said.
Sally stared at her hand. “What the hell? I can’t feel my fingers.” Her eyes widened and she turned on Artemis. “What did you do?”
“What needed to be done,” Artemis said.
Sally tried to stand up but her legs failed her and she fell back down on the couch. “No,” she said. “No, no, no…”
Linnea put her arms around her sister and pulled her close. “Come here. It’s okay, sweetheart. Just go to sleep. Go to sleep.”
Sally made a quiet wailing noise and pushed against her sister, but she no longer had the strength to fight. A moment later she was asleep. Linnea stroked her back, tears now running down her face as well. “I love you, Sal. I love you.”
“You drugged her?” Oliver asked Artemis. “How? I never even saw you move.”
Artemis held up a small plastic bag the size of a half-dollar. “Sleight of hand, Mr. Jones.” She smiled grimly. “She is going to be very cross with me when she wakes up.”
Linnea laid her sister back on the couch and stroked her hair. “You’ll take care of her?” she asked Artemis.
“Of course.”
Linnea took a ragged breath and rubbed a tear from one eye. “Thank you. I never would have had a chance to say goodbye if it weren’t for you.” She kissed Sally on the cheek. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“The bombing hasn’t happened yet,” Tyler said. “There’s a chance, isn’t there?” He looked at Artemis. “If she gets in and gets out, she could still live, right?”
Artemis sighed. “No.”
“At least you’re honest,” Linnea said. She took a deep breath. “Gods. I’m so scared.”
“Honesty compels me to be explicit with you,” Artemis said. “Transmit the cure, and the cyborgs will be cured. They will be made human again. But you will die. Nothing can save you.”
“Maybe you didn’t have to be that honest,” Linnea said. She chuckled ruefully. “It’s tempting, you know? I could just run away. Take Sal and get out of here.”
“You could,” Artemis said. “I would not prevent you. I cannot imagine you would last very long, though. The war is in its final stages, as you are well aware.”
“Yeah.” Linnea stood up and Oliver saw that one of her legs was trembling. She put a hand on her thigh until it stopped. “Well, I guess I have to go save the world.”
“You are very brave, Linnea,” Artemis said. “I always admired you. I would have you know that.”
“Thanks. I always thought you were…very unusual.”
“I am that.”
Linnea looked at Tyler. “Take care of yourself, big guy. It was good to see you again.” She looked at Oliver. “And you…I guess you’re okay. Keep an eye on my sister for me. She’s going to be so wrecked after this. She’s going to need a lot of help.”
“I will,” Oliver said. “I promise.”
“You may take our vehicle,” Artemis said. “We will no longer have need of it.”
Linnea nodded and headed for the door. A moment later Oliver heard their car start, and then it was gone.
“I believe we will have need of those handcuffs,” Artemis said. “Before she wakes up, please, Mr. Jacobsen.”
Tyler took the handcuffs and fastened Sally’s hands behind her back. “Do we really have to do this?” he asked.
“Oh, yes. If she wakes up and kills the three of us in order to go after her sister, this trip will have been for nothing. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Jones?”
“You didn’t tell her,” Oliver said.
“Hmm?”
“You told her she was going to cure the cyborgs. You never told her Sally would kill them afterward.”
“No,” Artemis said. “I did not. Do you disagree with my choice?”
Oliver shook his head. “You know what? I don’t know what to think about anything, anymore. But honestly, screw this entire situation.”
“Well, that is one perspective,” Artemis said.
“What do we do now?” Tyler asked.
“We wait,” Artemis said. The ground below them rumbled for a brief moment, then stopped. Artemis nodded. “It has begun.”
Chapter 21
The second timequake came an hour later. It was larger this time, and lasted longer than the first one. The rumbling was enough to rouse Sally into groggy consciousness. “What did you do?” she asked, squinting as if the already dim light in the room was too bright for her.
“What needed to be done,” Artemis said. “I apologize for the restraints, but I did not entertain the notion that any of us were a match for you, physically, and I could not risk you interfering.”
Sally looked around. “Where’s my sister?”
“She has gone to meet her destiny.”
“My god,” Oliver said. “Could you possibly sound any colder?”
Artemis turned to him. “Have I offended you, Mr. Jones? I have said nothing that is untrue. We must each meet our destiny, in our own time.”
Sally tested the cuffs binding her wrists. “Let me go. I can still save her.”
“You cannot,” Artemis said. “It is too late. What is done is done. What happened before is now happening again.”
“And we’re talking in riddles now,” Tyler said. “Fantastic.”
“I did not hear a riddle,” Artemis noted.
Sally glared at Artemis. “She’s my sister!” She looked at Oliver and Tyler, and then back at Artemis. “Let me go. Artemis, I promise I’ll let her finish the cure and then I’ll get her out. We don’t know when the attack is coming. I’ll take the risk.”
“I will not. The cyborgs have been searching for your sister for some time. It was her transmission of the cure program that allowed them to identify her location. Their missiles struck three minutes later. If you went there, you would only die with her. She, of course, was well aware of the danger she was in.”
“What? You never told me any of that!”
“There was little reason to. In hindsight, perhaps I should have. If you had known how important the cure was to her, perhaps you would not have reacted to her death in the manner you did.”
Sally looked around, her eyes frantic. “If you won’t let me save her, at least keep me from deploying the weapon. You can do that much, can’t you?”
“Of course not.”
“Artemis…” Oliver beg
an.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sally interrupted. “You don’t have to uncuff me. Just go talk to the me at Federation Command. Two versions of you yelling at me will be enough to stop me. Bring Tyler. Explain what happened.”
Artemis sighed. “In a short time, my other self will implore you not to seek revenge. I remember that conversation quite clearly. You chose not to heed my advice. You will make the same choice again.”
“But I didn’t know then what I do now!”
“What is it that you know now, Sally?”
Sally’s bottom lip trembled. “Damn it, Artemis, I was wrong! Is that what you want to hear? I thought it was justice, but it was just murder! I murdered all those people!” She looked at Oliver. “You know I’m right, don’t you?”
As much as he didn’t want to speak, Oliver nodded anyway. “Yes. I’m sorry, Sally, but it wasn’t justice.”
“There,” Sally said. “See, Artemis? Isn’t he your moral compass these days? You can stop this!”
The ground rumbled around them for the third time, and this time Oliver felt his chair rattling. “Unfortunately,” Artemis said, “that is also a thing that cannot be changed.”
“What?”
“It is what happened,” Artemis said. “It is done. We cannot change the past.”
“I think I’m proof that we can,” Sally said.
“You are proof of how destructive such an endeavor can be.”
“But it doesn’t have to be like that,” Sally said desperately. “So what if the cyborgs survive? The war will be over. Your world won’t be invaded.”
“But the timeline of my world would shatter,” the girl said. “Even I cannot predict how destructive that could be. When you asked me to help you, I agreed. But I told you that if need be, I would burn your world to cinders in order to save my own. That world is my first responsibility.”
“You mean you actually could save everyone?” Tyler asked.
“The timequakes indicate that I did not,” Artemis said.
“But you could have?” Oliver asked. “And all it means is Sally never went back to Earth?”
“How many times has Sally saved your life, Mr. Jones? Or yours, Mr. Jacobsen? If she had not been exiled to our world, you would both likely be dead. And you are small things, compared to some of the larger pieces on the board.”
“But all those people…” Sally said.
“They are already dead,” Artemis said quietly. “They have been dead for a long time. If you had listened to me, perhaps they would not be. My own world’s path would have been different. But you did not. You did not listen.”
“And now you’re punishing me for that?” Sally asked.
“I am not so petty as that,” Artemis scoffed. “I am putting the history of our two worlds back the way it was supposed to be. And given that the ground is still shaking, and my headache has finally gone away, I can conclude that I was successful.”
Sally thrashed against her handcuffs. “You crazy bitch!” she screamed. “I’ll fucking kill you for this!”
“Perhaps you will,” Artemis noted. “But you will not do it today.” She looked around and took a last sip of her cold tea, grimacing at the taste. “This is the final timequake. It is done.”
“Do we need to get back to the mirror or something?” Tyler asked.
“Of course not.” She turned to watch as the house’s windows began to crack from the increased shaking. “We were never here.”
And then the world went black.
Chapter 22
Oliver woke up on his couch with a nasty hangover, Jeffrey sleeping next to him. The DVD menu for Back to the Future was playing on the television on endless repeat, waiting for someone to either start the movie or enjoy its variety of special features. It would play until the end of time, or at least until someone shut the power off.
Oliver squinted against the light that was streaming in from his living room window. His mouth tasted like he’d been chewing on a dirty sock. What time was it?
He reached out and scratched Jeffrey’s back, causing the cat to stretch out and yawn.
Memories battled in Oliver’s head as if trying to assert their dominance. Sally had been here last night, hadn’t she? They’d watched movies and had too many margaritas. He suspected she’d put something in his drink, something just strong enough to get his mind wandering. She’d been trying to get him to believe they had access to a working time machine. It had been important to her that he believed it. And he had believed it. He’d repaired the damn thing, albeit unwittingly. If it was still there, Oliver resolved to go down to the vault and smash it to bits with a sledgehammer.
Oliver stood up and went to look out his window. He almost expected to see cyborgs outside, patrolling on the sidewalk in front of his house. Instead he saw nothing more interesting than a man walking his dog. It was still somewhat foggy out, but it looked as if that would burn off in an hour or two. It was going to be a beautiful day.
Jeffrey stirred on the couch. “I feel awful,” the cat said. Oliver went over and sat down next to him, reaching out to massage the scruff of his neck.
“What do you remember?” Oliver asked.
The cat crawled his way onto Oliver’s lap and curled up. “There were cyborgs, and I was all alone, but your friends found me and took me to that crazy house where time is weird, but then I could remember things and talk again. And you came, and you dressed up like a cyborg so nobody could tell you were sneaking around.” The cat opened his eyes. “I waited for you, but then things changed and I woke up here just now. Is everything okay now?”
Oliver sighed. “I think so. I keep expecting something to happen, like that one cyborg is going to come in and make me eat nutrient paste for breakfast.” That cyborg had had a name, hadn’t he? No, he’d had a designation. SCI…something or other. Oliver found he was having trouble remembering parts of what had happened, as if it were a slowly-fading dream.
“But it’s not going to happen, is it?” Jeffrey looked up at him. “Let’s stay here, and you can cook me some sausages, and we’ll watch Star Trek all day.”
“As long as we skip the episodes that have time travel and other dimensions,” Oliver said. “I think I’m done with those subjects.”
“Good. I like this world better. And I can talk and think about things, which is pretty good.”
“Yeah.” Oliver rubbed his eyes. “I think I’d better go to work, though.”
“Do you have to?”
Oliver considered it. “I do today,” he said. “Tomorrow I might get my resume out and start looking for a new job. Something nice and boring.”
“Really?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
Oliver took the train into the financial district, unsure if he was in any condition to drive. He had a few bouts of intermittent dizziness and once was almost certain he spotted a cyborg patrol, but it was gone when he took a second look. He wanted very much to go home and go back to bed, but decided he could sleep later. Right now he needed some answers.
Bruce looked up at him as he entered the office’s lobby. “Good morning, sunshine,” he called from the reception desk.
“Hi,” Oliver said. He realized he had no idea what had happened to Bruce in the other timeline. He’d probably been killed or converted in the initial invasion. “How are you this morning?”
“Can’t complain. Artemis wants to see you first thing.”
Oliver watched the other man for a moment, trying to size him up, but Bruce appeared to be his normal chipper self. He’d never been to the house on Filbert Street, Oliver realized. From his perspective, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “I guess I’ll get in there, then.”
“That’s sure what I’d do,” Bruce said.
Seven rushed past Oliver in the hallway, heading for his lab. Oliver was about to stop the other man and ask how he was coping, but then realized Seven had never made it to the house on Filbert Street, either. He’d be completely unaware
of the other timeline, and the fact that he’d died in it. There didn’t seem to be much point in telling him about it. Seven would just think he’d gone nuts. Or worse, he’d believe every word of it.
Artemis was behind her desk when Oliver stepped into her office, her customary pot of tea sitting on her desk. “Close the door,” she said.
Oliver shut the door and took one of the chairs in front of her desk. “Tea?” Artemis asked.
“I’m not in the mood for tea,” Oliver said.
“Ah, yes. Sally got you drunk the night before she took the time machine. I imagine you are feeling a bit under the weather.”
“Something like that.”
Artemis nodded. “I have spoken with Maria this morning. She is well, and sends her thanks. So, Mr. Jones. How are you?”
Oliver resisted the urge to say fine. Artemis never made small talk, and he was in no mood for it, anyway. “The other timeline feels like a dream. Parts of it are slipping away. Just the small details, I guess. I remember the important things.”
Artemis nodded. “That was to be expected. Certain things will fade away entirely, but you will remember the larger matters. You may find yourself experiencing a form of post-traumatic stress. I am unfamiliar with how that feels, having never experienced it myself, but it is not uncommon for my employees to seek relief in therapy. We have someone you can speak with, if you feel it necessary. She is cleared to hear things that others may not.”
“Why am I not surprised the company has a therapist?”
“It was not always so. We are a progressive company.”
“Was that a joke?” Oliver asked.
“Not entirely, Mr. Jones. It was more of a statement that things change.”
“Not everything.”
“No, I suppose not. Are you certain you won’t have tea?”
“I don’t want any tea.”
“Then you should get to work. I require you to visit Vault 3 and conduct an inspection. I would not expect that anything has been disturbed now that the timeline has been restored, but I do dislike surprises.”
Oliver nodded. “Where’s Tyler?”
Interesting Places (Interesting Times #2) Page 17