Stolen Time

by Keith Hughes

  “Stay with him. Don't make him live through my pain.”

  “I won't.” She suddenly choked up, irrationally mourning the loss of the future copy.

  Ness returned, still in the process of strapping his wristwatch on, a large model that hinted at expanded capabilities. The doppelganger strode to the door and offered Ness a tired smile. “Be seeing you.”

  Ness returned the grin with a jaunty little wave. Angie watched with amused wonder. Obviously, they had done this before.

  Just as the doppelganger opened the door, another person appeared in the room in the time it took for Angie to blink. The man was a ruin, with scraggly hair and a deranged look. With a shock, she recognized him as another copy of her husband, the one who had been driven mad.

  This must be the one who would have shot me tomorrow. Her mind reeled as he moved toward her.

  “Angie,” the broken man moaned, his voice a conduit of triumph and tragedy. “I promised.”

  He raised his arm, and she became instantly aware he was holding a gun, its metal as black and dull as death. But before he could fire, the other copy charged with a shout. The two versions of her husband, one from the next day and the other from years beyond, grappled for the gun. Muscles energized by protective vigor fought those charged with desperation. The pair slammed into the glass-topped table, and the mad version of Ness grunted when the edge impacted his back.

  “Why do you fight me? They're coming, and I must save her! Angie must die!”

  As if on cue, the sound of the elevator chime came through the partially opened door.

  “They're here!” The ruined Ness's words became a wail as he increased his efforts against his younger self.

  “Get her out of here!”

  The crack of the gun stunned Angie. Her ears rang, and her heart rate climbed as adrenaline flooded her system in response to a threat she did not understand. Unable to process the war zone her home had become, she stood staring at the hole in the ceiling the bullet had produced. Ness grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the door. More gunshots rang out behind her. Ness’s double had taken the gun from his murderous counterpart and stood in the doorway, firing at the elevator to provide them some cover.

  They ran along the hallway, but Angie kept looking back over her shoulder. A man she did not recognize was sitting on the floor, half out of the elevator, with blood flowing from a wound in his chest. He looked pale and sweaty, crimson flowing through fingers, attempting to stanch the blood. He said something in a language she did not comprehend but that sounded familiar. Is he the German from the future?

  Ness snatched a gun lying near his feet, which Angie assumed the injured man had dropped, barely slowing their pace to the stairs. When they took the top step, a sudden barrage of gunfire made her flinch and stop. Ignoring the stupidity of her actions, Angie turned back to watch the violence.

  Three men burst from the elevator, shooting at the double, who had retreated behind the door and was using it as a shield. The attackers dwarfed anyone she had ever seen. Two were white, one in his thirties and another she guessed to be in his sixties. The lone black brute seemed particularly intent on killing the copy of Ness covering their escape. The insane double grabbed the doppelganger from behind and pulled him backward.

  “Oh, great,” Ness grumbled. “Thing Four.”

  She turned to look at him, but he was staring at the muscular threesome. Then he pulled at her hand.

  “Come on.”

  Before they dropped out of sight, the oldest thug spotted them. He ran for the stairway with a shout. Ness and Angie pelted down a dizzying number of steps, with heavy footfalls thudding close behind. Like a chilling blast charging her blood, Angie experienced the dread of being prey.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: On the Run

  Monday, June 7, 2010, 7:21 p.m.

  Earnest clenched his gun, his nerves tensely anticipating a threat from any direction. After he motioned to Harrison, they quietly approached the doorway. The driver had his gun out as well, although it looked unsteady in his hand. He usually stayed with his van, but Earnest refused to investigate the apartment without backup.

  The door stood ajar, but no sounds had come from within for the last minute. Either Relevont had been incapacitated, or he was out of ammo. Earnest positioned himself at the door and pointed Harrison to the other side of the opening. He held up two fingers, one for each of the people he had seen inside. Harrison nodded as he got into position, and Earnest used his free hand to swing the door wide. His gun swept over the exposed area of the apartment. I hope that mother isn't lying in wait with a couple of bullets.

  The door completed its arc, and he saw no sign of either foe. He motioned Harrison inside and followed close behind. The only body lay sprawled in the dining area. It was Ness Relevont, one copy of him, anyway, shot in the heart. Less than a minute later, they had confirmed that no one else remained in the apartment, an oddity, given they had seen two men go through the doorway. Earnest knew the assignment would involve strange things, and so far, it had lived up to expectations.

  He holstered his weapon, stepped into the hallway, and spotted the gasping German still seated on the floor. Karl's hands clutched at his gut, red with his blood.

  “How ya doin', man?” Earnest peered critically at his injured boss.

  “I feel like Scheiss,” Karl said. “It does not matter. I doubt I will last long, anyway.”

  Earnest raised his eyebrows, but he had already been briefed that the injured Karl was from the future and had some sort of limit as to how long he could stay. It sounded like someone had been tripping, but getting a phone call from Karl while the copy sat in the van had convinced him.

  Harrison joined them in the hallway, and Earnest turned to him.

  “You all right?” He pointed to a line of blood flowing along Harrison's neck.

  Harrison briefly held his hand to a small nick on his ear before inspecting the red stain on his fingers. “Yeah. It's just a flesh wound.”

  A gurgling noise rose in volume behind them, and Earnest turned back to Karl. Clear liquid poured down his face as if his sweat glands had been turned up to eleven, and his skin seemed made of clay. Earnest involuntarily took a step backward, bumping into Harrison. Karl's body transformed again into something that looked like gelatin, then in the blink of an eye, it lost cohesion and cascaded to the floor with a splash. An odd musty smell filled the hallway, like a swamp combined with a locker room's less-than-savory scents.

  “Damn,” Harrison said. “I've never seen anything like that!”

  No shit, Earnest thought.

  The hallway remained empty except for him and Harrison, so no one else witnessed the startling transformation. Apparently, Relevont’s neighbors were smart enough to stay inside during a gunfight.

  “Come on,” Earnest said, returning to the elevator. “We gotta scoot before the cops get here, and we need to get together with Reed. Hopefully, he's captured the Relevonts.”

  “Isn't Ness Relevont on the floor in there?” Harrison jerked a thumb back toward the apartment door.

  “One of him, anyway. I saw at least two, maybe three.”

  They both stared at the saturated carpet. Two Karls, three Nesses? What the hell is going on here?

  “What about...?” Harrison gestured at the wet spot where Karl had been.

  “All anyone can do for him now is bring a mop,” Earnest responded. He pushed the down button, and the elevator opened with a ding. “You wanting to play janitor?”

  Harrison shook his head and stared at the floor for one second more before entering the elevator behind Earnest. The doors closed, hiding Karl's remains as they soaked into the carpet.

  * * *

  The tired suspension of the white van groaned as Earnest climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door, causing the vehicle to rock even more. He grinned. With Karl’s double reduced to a foul-smelling puddle, he could ride shotgun. Thoughts of the duplicate German reminded him that he needed to c
heck in, so he dialed his boss on his cell phone. As the call went through, Harrison climbed into the driver's seat.

  “Karl Morgenstern,” he heard after a couple of rings.

  “It's Williams. We encountered resistance at the Relevonts' apartment. Your double took a round in the chest and didn't make it. There appear to be two or three copies of Ness Relevont too. One of them is dead in the apartment. He acted as a diversion, allowing the other Relevont and his woman to escape.”

  “So he did have the device,” Karl said.

  “Guess so.”

  “My double, he died?”

  “He... melted,” Earnest replied.

  “Interesting. You will have to tell me about it later. What's being done about the escaped pair?”

  “Reed is chasing them on foot.”

  “Good. Help Reed capture the Relevonts and contact me when you have them.”

  “Got it.” Earnest ended the call then navigated through his phone's menus and opened the GPS program. Their phones were linked, and he activated the option that showed the team's locations on the map. Harrison's cell phone showed up at their current location, but Reed’s was two blocks to the north and still moving.

  “That way.” Earnest pointed in the direction of the chase.

  Harrison turned the van, and after a block, Reed's gray head was visible bobbing among the other pedestrians on the crowded sidewalks. Earnest could not tell how far ahead their quarry might be.

  “Speed up,” he told Harrison, and the van's engine got louder.

  Smiling, he looked forward to the successful capture of the Relevonts. After all, they could not run forever.

  * * *

  It's one part running and one part slalom course, Ness reflected.

  He and Angie were sprinting along the busy sidewalk, dodging other pedestrians making their way in a less-hurried manner. Angie matched his moves stride for stride, reminding him of her athletic ability. Regardless of the circumstances, he could not help admiring her form when he looked at her. Her brown hair streamed behind her, revealing the perfect, graceful shape of her face and neck. The exercise brought a healthy flush to her cheeks and enhanced her beauty.

  I won't let them do anything to her. Ness’s lips pressed thin with grim resolve.

  His double's story chilled him to his core. The barbaric version of Angie’s future his double had witnessed stunned him, and to hear that Intellisys had come after him again after such a long time still shocked him. He had hoped that with the demise of Glenn and Paul, no one who knew of his involvement with Dr. Bertrand's work had survived. Apparently, his hope had been in vain.

  Risking a look back, he glimpsed their pursuer. If he and Angie could be compared to skiers, the thug more closely resembled a heavy ship breaking through pack ice. He ran straight ahead, shoving aside anyone in his way, leaving a wake of angry faces and raised voices. Thing Four was pursuing them relentlessly, only a half block behind and getting closer. As they neared the end of the block, he called to Angie and pointed toward the corner. She nodded her understanding.

  They turned at the intersection, and Ness skidded to a stop, almost falling in his haste. He stood with his back to the side of the building and waited. Angie ran on a little before noticing Ness had stopped, and her sneakers slid on the concrete as she halted. Walking slowly back to him, she kept her arms akimbo and was puffing heavily.

  Thing Four tore around the corner at breakneck speed. His gaze locked on Angie then turned to Ness. The brute tried to slow his pace, but his mass worked against him. Quickly gliding up to their hunter, Ness batted away the hand clutching a gun. Thing Four did not release the weapon, but his aim was spoiled for a short time.

  Spinning to his left, Ness used his motion to thrust a fist into their pursuer's solar plexus. His circular movement took him away from a vain attempt to grab at him. Ness trailed a leg behind him, and as the air whooshed out of his opponent, he tripped over Ness's ankle. At the last instant, Thing Four turned his head, narrowly missing breaking his nose on the concrete as he hit the ground hard. The gun fell from his hand and skittered along the sidewalk toward Angie.

  Ness stopped his spin and automatically settled in the ready position he had learned from his training master.

  “Good thing we paid for all those tai chi lessons.” Angie smiled.

  He answered with a brief grin and relaxed his stance to inspect his fallen foe, who was conscious but still gasping. Angie picked up Thing Four's gun and stuffed it in her waistband, pulling her shirt over it. Ness looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “What? These bozos aren't messing around,” she said defiantly. “Neither am I.”

  So far, the meddling of Intellisys in their lives had mainly resulted in bad things happening to Angie, and Ness appreciated how threatened she must feel. He had no way to gauge the effect the knowledge of her possible future might have on his wife. When he tried to imagine how receiving the same news would affect him, he grew certain that she must be intensely distressed. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to deal with either of their mental states there on the street.

  “OK, OK.” Ness raised his hands. “I never argue with an armed woman.”

  “Extremely wise of you.” Angie gave him a mischievous smile, which seemed like camouflage.

  “Come on. The rest of the Things will be here soon.” Ness’s eyes darted toward the street.

  She gave him a quizzical look.

  “I'll explain later. Let's go.”

  Leaving their pursuer gasping on the ground, they ran, turning around another corner and hopefully out of sight of the human jackals pursuing them.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Elusive Results

  Monday, June 7, 2010, 7:33 p.m.

  Thomas Reed had underestimated Ness Relevont, and that hubris had left his body bearing the brunt of the consequences. His diaphragm twitched at random intervals, but it allowed him to regain enough of his wind to stand. He could detect no sign of his prey. The van pulled around the corner and squealed to a stop, and Thomas limped to its open door with a frown. He eased into one of the rear seats, and they were moving again.

  Williams looked over his shoulder. “Man, what happened to your face?”

  Thomas touched his left cheek and came away with bloody fingertips. He must have scraped it on the sidewalk. Though he had not noticed it hurting before, now it stung like hell.

  “Bastard sucker punched me,” Thomas grumbled.

  Williams laughed. “So the former military man, veteran of, like, a million conflicts, able to kill a man with his little finger, got laid low by a photographer?” He laughed even louder.

  “Or maybe the pretty little lady did it. Was that what happened?”

  Thomas glared at Williams, a low rumble coming from his throat. The black man took his cue and faced the front but still chuckled occasionally. Thomas’s fingers itched for his gun, but he recalled it had slipped out of his grip during the fall.

  He grimaced and heaved a sigh. “They took my gun.” He spoke flatly, almost daring Williams to make a smart-ass comment.

  Williams turned to look at him again, the corners of his mouth showing renewed mirth. Thomas scowled at his coworker’s amusement.

  Uncharacteristically, he chose to keep quiet that time and opened the glove compartment to retrieve a Glock. He checked that the clip had been filled, slipped the safety on, and handed Reed the weapon butt first. As Williams turned back toward the front, he snickered. Reed's knuckles turned white on the grip of the weapon, and he slid the action back to chamber a round. In a deliberate act of will, he placed the weapon into his shoulder holster, all the while glaring at the back of the black man's head. Williams pretended to be unconcerned about Reed’s intentions with the weapon.

  Later, Thomas promised himself.

  “Where to?” Harrison asked.

  “Let's do a search pattern. I bet they’re long gone or have found a place to hole up, but Karl would want us to be thorough,” Williams answered with a sigh. />
  They drove around, looking for any sign of their prey, but as expected, they saw nothing. Over half an hour later, they had combed the streets of downtown Royal Oak along with the neighboring residential areas. By the end of their futile search, Reed was restless. He needed to do something, to hit someone. As they drove in endlessly slow circuits, his anger and frustration mounted minute by minute. He wanted to strike back.

  “OK, they're not out here,” Williams said. “Let's go see if the cops have left their apartment yet.”

  Harrison drove them back to where the Relevonts lived. As they arrived in the alley behind the building, two police cars departed the other end. Harrison parked the van, allowing Williams and Reed to get out. No one challenged them as they strode through the lobby and into the elevator. Fortunately, the big black buffoon kept his mouth shut.

  They arrived on the third floor to find it almost as they had left it. Williams deftly picked the lock protecting the Relevonts' home, and shortly after, both were inside. Reed shut the door behind them. Williams checked the bedrooms as Reed looked over the photographs arranged on the mantel. The smiling faces of the Relevonts were in every image, and Reed took particular pleasure in destroying each frame and ripping the pictures to shreds. Then he pulled the larger pictures from the wall and smashed them as well. The act of demolition restored him, acting as a balm for his bruised pride. This will be revenge enough — for now.

  * * *

  “They did what?” John demanded.

  Karl told him again that his men had allowed the Relevonts to escape.

  “How the hell did that happen?” John only half listened to Karl's account of the gun battle at the apartment building. He could not care less about such operational details. “I thought these guys were supposed to be experienced. Combat vets or some BS. I expected better. Their failure is on you, Karl. Find a way to bring the Relevonts in, or I'll fire you and your little soldiers.”