by Keith Hughes
“My superior has determined you are no longer of use to us,” the gunman said. “You will dig a grave for you and your wife, but first you will watch as I end her life. The same fate awaits you when you are finished with your tasks.”
He shifted his gun back to his right hand, and tears dripped from Angie's face. Ness wanted to comfort her but couldn't without alerting the gunman to his plan.
“Don't you want to say goodbye to your wife?”
The German’s smile could only be described as evil. Ness wanted to rage at Angie's captor, to rush across the clearing and beat him senseless. Instead, he pressed the button on the PDA, and his grip on time faded away.
* * *
Time changed around Ness, but he arrived still kneeling in the clearing. The hole in the ground had not yet been dug, and the box was safely buried. He looked at the device and frowned at the blinking battery indicator. He hoped he had enough charge to get back. Voices from the woods drew his attention, and he quietly ran into the trees. He stopped ten feet into the woods and crouched behind a tree. Peering around a trunk, he watched as his earlier self and Angie strolled into the sunlight.
Ness faded back and circled toward the path with careful steps to minimize noise. He could only see random flashes of the clearing through the trees, but he could hear when the German appeared. It took all his restraint to continue his slow progress. His emotions, a roiling mass of anger and fear, counseled him to strike hard and fast. Intellectually, he knew such a stratagem would result in death, both his and Angie’s.
He stopped short of coming out on the actual trail, changing direction again back toward the clearing. As he neared the edge of the tree line, he could see the gunman's back. His knuckles ached with the tension he was holding in his fists, and he forced himself to open his hands. The sound of the shovel as it bit into the earth resonated in the morning stillness.
Ness waited impatiently until the cell phone rang before making his move. As the captor answered the call, Ness crept forward, half-crouched. He concentrated on keeping silent instead of covering the distance quickly. When he passed out of the trees, he felt exposed and vulnerable but did not quicken his pace.
The call finished, and the German hung up. Ness paused, still two feet behind him, and listened as he relayed the verdict of death for them both. He wrapped his fingers around the grip of his gun, which lay in the dirt behind their captor. Sliding the safety off with his thumb, Ness slowly rose to his feet and lifted the gun to firing position.
“Don't you want to say goodbye to your wife?”
Ness was standing where he could see his original self crouched by the box, but his copy remained silent and did not meet his eyes. He took the last step forward to close the distance between them. The gunman finally twigged his presence behind him, but he was too late. Before he could react, the barrel of Ness’s gun met the back of his head with a sharp thump, precluding any resistance.
It's payback time, jackass. His finger tightened on the trigger, and he could all but taste the desire to permanently end the threat to his wife’s life. But even with the primal appetites of his uncivilized side, Ness still had no desire to become a murderer, no matter how much the scumbag might deserve it.
“Don't try me.”
The German froze at the touch of the barrel.
“Arms away from your sides.”
He complied, spreading his arms out.
Ness nodded to his double, who rose and crossed the clearing to take the gun out of the German's hand. He helped Angie to her feet. She cried, though whether in fear, relief, or some combination of the two, Ness could not tell. Unable to use her arms because of the restraint, she simply leaned against her husband as sobs overtook her. His double held her tight, his left hand rubbing her back. Ness kept his gun firmly against the back of the German’s head even as sympathetic tears wet his cheeks.
“I thought...” she said through her tears, “I thought I was going to die.”
Ness watched his original self stroking her hair, murmuring comforting noises in her ear. He experienced a brief pang of jealousy, a sharp desire to be the one consoling her, but comprehended that when he returned to his home time, he would be the one holding a sobbing Angie.
Again, her pain caused his anger to flare. Gripping the gun tight, he longed to pull the trigger. Fletcher’s agent would have killed his wife, and his darker side urged him to return the favor. He could almost hear the sharp concussion of the shot and imagine the sharp tang of spent gunpowder in his nostrils. His mental image of the bullet mangling his opponent’s cranium seemed infinitely desirable, better than any other outcome he could imagine from the encounter.
As his inner killer stoked the anger and hatred roiling though him, his finger moved the trigger ever so slightly. Ness’s whole being screamed at him to fire the weapon. All it would take was a bit more pressure.
A more reasonable part of him, perhaps the arbiter of his soul, remained steadfast in the face of his inner debate. The center of his moral judgment refused to condone killing anyone, even his foe. The stress of the conflicting desires caused his hand to shake, the motion making it hard to keep the gun tight against the German’s head. That unconscious reaction finally decided the matter, as the movement reminded him of his mad future self and his homicidal desires. This path leads only to my doom. If I kill him, I'm as good as killing myself and my relationship with Angie as well.
With an exhausting force of will, he commanded his hand to relax. It took a second before his fingers responded, but when they did, he engaged the safety to prevent any accidents. While his perception of his inner turmoil had felt hours long, mere seconds had passed. When he could meet the eyes of his double, he tilted his head toward the German. “Cover him.”
His copy gently broke away from Angie and stood before the captor-turned-prisoner. He lifted the gun and aimed directly between his eyes. “Tempt me,” the double said, but the Intellisys operative stayed still and silent.
Ness returned his gun to his waistband before frisking the prisoner. He found a spare gun in an ankle holster, a nasty-looking knife in a sheath strapped to the side of his arm, the decoy device, car keys, another restraint strip, and his wallet. Ness tossed the knife to his double so he could free Angie then gave the German another tap on the head with the end of his barrel. “Start walking,” he said.
Their captive complied. Angie and the original Ness followed. When they arrived at the tree line, Ness told the German to stop and sit with his back to the tree with 10 carved into it. Their captive’s eyes widened slightly when confronted with the vision of Ness standing with his double right next to him.
“Bind him,” Ness said, holding out the plastic restraint strip he had found in his prisoner's pocket.
Keeping his eyes locked on his captive, he assumed his copy took the adjustable band from his hand. Instead, he was surprised when Angie marched behind the German with the plastic strip in her hand. Her tears had stopped, and she had dried her face. In place of her earlier fear, Ness saw only rage. She pulled the prisoner’s arms around the back of the tree roughly, eliciting a sharp grunt of pain. Finally, she stood and came around where she could peer at him without getting in the way of Ness's weapon.
“Does it hurt?” Angie seemed suspiciously solicitous.
From her tone, Ness could not determine which answer she wanted. The German hesitated, as if deliberating over the correct answer to her question, but eventually bobbed his head.
“Good.” She strode away from him, her back stiff and fingers contorted into terrible fists at her side.
Ness needed to return to his home time and finish his part in their rescue. He turned on the device, his eye drawn to the red battery indicator.
Come on, baby, have enough juice. Ness’s concern was unnecessary, as evidence of his successful return stood next to him.
He knelt by the hole and oriented his body as he had earlier so the gunman would not notice anything had changed upon his return.
As his vision dimmed, his double returned the wave, grinning slightly at the small ritual he had come to share only among his other selves, then he slid in the darkness outside of mortal time.
* * *
Ness was still shaking after the capture of their would-be murderer, along with his return trip for a few minutes in the future. Regardless of his memories of subduing the German, it was still nerve-racking waiting for his other self to intervene. Seeing the fear and dread in Angie’s eyes while being unable to allay her fears took a greater toll on him than he would have imagined.
It took a determined effort to shove aside those sentiments, if only temporarily. The capture of the German had happened exactly as he remembered, though he saw it from the other perspective. He watched the moral conflict on his doppelganger’s face while Angie sobbed into his chest. He'd had a discernable expression of acceptance when he made the decision to leave their hunter alive.
Ness spent a few seconds inspecting the captive’s wallet. It contained a hundred dollars in cash, a couple of credit cards, a driver's license, and an Intellisys identification card. “Well, well, well.” Ness showed the card to Angie. “Karl Morgenstern, Vice President, Security Directorate. You know, I knew the last guy who ran your department, Paul Robbins. Do you know what happened to him?”
Karl stared at Ness but remained mute.
“No?” Ness continued as if Karl had responded. “Paul got shot twice in the forehead, and his naked body was dumped in a wave pool. Oddly enough, I saw him get shot, and again when they pulled his corpse from the water.”
Ness paused to see if Karl had any reaction to that, but he revealed nothing. Leaning in a little bit, Ness gave him a smirk. “Even though you’re a VP, and he was only a director, I wouldn't get too excited about your stock options. Odds are you won’t live long enough to collect.”
The distinctive click of a gun being cocked punctuated his statement. Ness turned toward the noise, his hand scrabbling for his weapon. Angie stood with her gun in hand, the one Karl had taken from her earlier. Her eyes radiated loathing, and he had some concern about her intentions. When Ness turned back to his captive, he could see trepidation in his gaze. He squatted to better look into his prisoner’s eyes.
“John Fletcher wanted us captured with this, correct?” Ness held up the PDA.
Karl reluctantly answered in the affirmative.
“But you got a phone call. From John?”
Again, Karl seemed reluctant to answer, but Angie was standing over them like an angel of retribution. Even without looking, Ness could sense waves of anger radiating from her, and Karl looked at her nervously and swallowed before answering.
“Yes.”
“And he told you to kill us?” Ness asked.
“Yes.” The stress in the German's voice increased, as if he expected the admission to seal his fate.
“Why?” Angie broke in.
Ness had not known so much malice could be conveyed in a single syllable, and he hoped for Karl's sake the German answered.
“Your device is no longer needed. Given the amount of trouble you have caused us already, John considered it wise to eliminate you.”
“So we're the first targets in John's grand plan,” Ness said quietly. “You know about the plan, of course.”
Karl was obviously reluctant to hand out any more information, but Angie's murderous gaze gave him pause.
“Ja, I know about it.”
“And my device is no longer needed? Why?”
“He did not say.” Karl gave an awkward shrug. His arms being pulled behind him and around a tree severely limited his mobility. “A scientist is trying to duplicate Bertrand's work from some old papers. Perhaps he succeeded.”
Angie knelt at Karl's side and pulled his cell phone off his belt. “Well, you failed,” she hissed in his ear then stood again. With a quick motion, Angie smacked the side of his head with her gun, producing a double thump as his skull rebounded off the tree trunk. The German sighed and slumped to the side.
“Damn it!” Angie shifted her gun to her left hand then shook her right rapidly, flexing her fingers. “That hurt.”
“It takes some practice.” Ness grinned.
Angie gave him a look that conveyed annoyance and amusement in equal parts. “Next time, I'll let you smack the bad guy so I can learn at your knee, oh, master.”
Ness laughed. “Come on. Let's get out of here,” he said then tucked the key card in his pocket and threw the rest of Karl's wallet into his lap. “Get rid of his phone. I expect they can track it.”
Angie reared back like a major-league pitcher and threw Karl's cell phone deep into the woods. Again, the reaction to what had almost befallen her set in, and Ness could see her legs weaken. Before she fell, he wrapped his arm around her waist to help her stand while tears ran afresh then turned her to him and held her as she sobbed once more into his shirt.
Eventually, she regained control, and Ness led her back to the path. Her tears had stopped, but the experience had rattled her. He could appreciate her unsettled emotional state, as the danger they faced seemed much more intimate than it had before. They remained silent as they followed the path to the parking lot. A dark Cadillac sat there, and the parking lights flashed when Ness pressed the unlock button on the key fob. Both got in the car, and Ness started the engine.
He glanced over at her, not sure how she was going to react to his conclusions. “Obviously, this has become something more than just keeping my device away from them and safeguarding our lives,” he said uneasily. “If they've duplicated Dr. Bertrand's work, we need to destroy any new creations in the Intellisys lab as well.” He waited for a response.
Angie said nothing at first, staring out the windshield. Then she gave him a sweet smile as she patted his leg. “Yes, I know. I'm glad you're keeping pace.” Her countenance turned serious. “And we need to do something about this John Fletcher,” she said. “I intend to grow old with you, and I don't mean as a junkie in a locked room. No one is going to steal our time together.”
She gazed forward, radiating intense determination. Ness busied himself backing the car out of its parking spot before driving south, still mulling over the grim resolution Angie's statement reflected. He almost felt sorry for John Fletcher. The poor man had no idea what was coming for him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: So Close
Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 8:52 a.m.
For about the hundredth time, Earnest turned up the van's air conditioning, frustrated with its inability to keep a constant temperature in the vehicle. With the AC on high, it soon became much too chilly inside, but once the fan had been turned to a lower setting, the heat invaded again. It was maddening. For his part, Harrison seemed unperturbed by the shifting temperature. The driver watched with obvious amusement while Earnest periodically fiddled with the controls.
“You're gonna wear out the knobs.” Harrison chuckled, but before Earnest could reply, his cell phone rang.
“Yeah?” he barked into the device.
“It's Reed. Several people saw a man matching Relevont's description take down a drunk in the wee hours of the morning. No sign of the woman, but she might have been out of sight in the room.”
“Where?” Earnest twiddled the AC dial again.
Reed gave him the name and the address of the motel.
“OK, we're on our way now,” Earnest said, happy for something to keep them busy. They had spent the night visiting various motels near where the pair had exited the bus, but none of the places he checked had yielded any results.
Reed had left them to check a few out on his own, stating he needed to stretch his legs. They'd dropped him off near a tight cluster of a half dozen establishments about a half hour ago then driven south to visit others that were farther away but still within walking distance from where Karl had spotted the pair on camera.
Earnest gave Harrison the addres
s, and the van rolled toward Reed's location. In a minute, the sign for the motel appeared in the near distance. With effort, he refrained from adjusting the blower again, though it was blasting nearly arctic air. He would be leaving the van in a minute, anyway, and had no desire to amuse the driver any further.
He fumbled around in the glove box, flipping through several small leather wallets stored there, then opened one to inspect a shiny brass badge. It read Detroit Police, and he threw it back inside. After several tries, he found the one marked Oakland County Sheriff. He slid it into a pocket of his suit coat and closed the box. It’s real handy to work for a company who can provide such equipment. Badges are usually hard to come by.
Harrison parked the van outside of the small motel’s registration area. Reed stood scowling like a gargoyle, his default expression. Nothing changed it, not even the heat or how long they had been on the job. As soon as the van stopped, Earnest emerged into the heat of the day. The humidity had him sweating almost immediately. God, I hate Michigan summers. Of course, Michigan winters aren't much better.
“I found six people who identified Relevont in room 112 last night,” Reed said.
“All right. You talked to the manager yet?”
Reed shook his head. “Figured you'd want to do the good cop, bad cop bit.”
Earnest lifted the wallet holding the badge and gave Reed a grin. More like good cop, crazy cop, he quipped but said nothing as they entered the small lobby.
They approached the counter, and Earnest tapped the bell. The ringing reverberated around the small room, and the sounds of shuffling came from behind the door marked Employees Only on the other side of the counter. After some stomping footfalls, an overweight woman emerged. The clerk carried a massive amount of weight, and Earnest half expected her to get stuck in the doorway. Her face was red and sweaty, but she had a pleasant smile. She wore a name tag that read Cathy above her left breast.