Stolen Time
Page 18
“They did what? Overpowered one of your men? I thought these ‘soldiers’ of yours were supposed to be tough! Relevont's a photographer. His wife's a computer programmer, for God's sake. They're not military. They're freaking civilians! And yet they managed to capture you and take out one of your supposedly professional squad? What the hell am I paying you and your posse for if this is all I can get for my money?”
“Anyone can be surprised,” Karl said stiffly, disturbed at the defensive note in his voice. He gathered his confidence. “We will find them. As I said, I have already located the van, and I was on my way to call Williams when you rang.”
John sighed heavily, and Karl could hear the tension in his superior. Is he going to crack before we get this venture off the ground?
“OK, this is your last chance.” John's exasperation could not be plainer. “Do whatever you have to, but find them. One more screwup by you or your men, and all of you are gone. Not fired, gone. Do you understand me?”
“Ja.” Karl experienced an unexpected chill. He and his men knew too much of John's plans to live. He had to succeed in finding the Relevonts, or he and his men were dead. Regardless of his instinctive reaction, the ultimatum did not especially scare him. In fact, it reminded him of old times in East Berlin.
“I do have a change in your orders,” John said. “Dix is having problems again, and we might need the Relevonts’ original PDA after all. When you capture them, bring them and their effects in undamaged. Who knows what else the little shit may need to know later that only exists in Relevont's head.”
“I understand. I will let my men know,” Karl answered and ended the call.
The search program produced another photograph. The van was leaving the alley and turning once again to the south. The time stamp indicated they had been concealed from the cameras for only a few minutes. Dumping Harrison's body?
Karl directed the search program to concentrate on images from the camera at Sixteen Mile Road but got an immediate error message indicating the camera was out of order. He grumbled and moved the search to the Fifteen Mile Road intersection. After a minute or so, the program reported no results. Have they parked the van or gone in another direction?
He widened the search to encompass a five-mile radius south of Seventeen Mile Road. It was a wide enough area that it would be hours before he got any results. The basic grid structure of the roads, with a major road set every mile, created a convenient block pattern. With traffic cams at most corners, that made for relatively easy surveillance. He lifted the phone again and dialed Williams's number. The phone rang twice before being answered.
“Orders have changed,” Karl said abruptly. “We now need Relevont and his wife alive again, so when you catch them, do not harm them.”
“All right.” Williams could not hide his exasperation.
One thing Karl sometimes found amusing about Americans was how readily their emotions came to the fore. At the moment, however, it annoyed him. If his kleine Soldaten had done their jobs earlier, they would not be in their current position. “Has the car arrived yet?”
“Yeah, it just got here,” Williams said.
“Good. The van was heading south on Mound Road. Check an alley behind a medical building at Seventeen Mile Road. They were there for about five minutes before continuing south. After that, I lost them. I have widened the search, but if they've abandoned the vehicle in a residential area, I might never see it.”
“We'll check the alley and start searching south of there. It'll take some time,” Williams said tiredly.
They were all ready for a break, but with John riding herd on them, they had no choice but to keep working until the Relevonts were captured.
“I know. Let me know what you find.”
Williams acknowledged then terminated the connection. Karl stood and spent a long time looking out of the window. Yes, this business should have been completed long ago. He frowned.
Nothing had gone easily since they had initiated the pursuit of the Relevonts. He was a man used to getting results, yet they stymied him at each turn. Not being a believer in fate or providence, Karl had confidence he and his men could turn the situation around. The Relevonts' luck had to turn, and when it did, he would be there to take advantage of the situation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Setbacks
Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 10:37 a.m.
The resources of Intellisys are amazing things to behold, Earnest decided as a shiny black car approached their location. One quick phone call, and a vehicle arrives minutes later, driven by someone who won't ask any uncomfortable questions. The car came to a stop with a slight squeal of the brakes as he finished his conversation with Karl.
Earnest shut his cell phone and got into the car's passenger seat. As he expected, he did not recognize the driver, but the uniform of the Intellisys Security Directorate was all he needed to see. Reed got in the back, and the car pulled away from the Walmart.
“Head south on Mound,” Earnest told the driver. As the car left the parking lot, he twisted in his seat to look at his coworker. “New orders from Karl.”
Reed lifted an inquisitive eyebrow.
“When we catch the Relevonts, they are not to be harmed.”
Reed sighed, and Earnest supposed he much preferred the catch-‘em-and-kill-‘em orders. Even so, he knew the former soldier would do as their boss ordered.
“Fine,” Reed said.
Earnest faced the front again, silently agreeing with his associate. He wished Karl and John would make up their minds. As he absently watched the car maneuver through traffic, he ruminated about Harrison. They were friends, as much as anyone could be in their business, and had spent some time chugging beers and watching football games, and Earnest hoped Chris was all right. When Earnest came out of his reverie, he saw they were approaching the Seventeen Mile Road intersection.
“Past the light, there's an alley behind the medical building,” he said, pointing to the one-story structure emblazoned with a sign reading Throm Medical Center.
The car slowed as it passed through the intersection before turning into the alley. A hundred feet along the road was a cluster of dented dumpsters, and a pair of shoes were peeking from behind one of them. From the way they were lying, Earnest could tell they were on a body. The car came to a stop, and he got out. Reed followed him as he approached the supine form.
As Earnest had expected, they had found Chris. He had plastic restraints around his ankles and wrists. A large red welt was clearly visible on the side of his head. It looked familiar. In fact, Earnest remembered seeing a couple like it on Mays's scalp two years earlier. Crouching, he put a pair of fingers against the bound man's neck.
“He's alive.” The depth of his relief surprised him.
“Amateurs,” the older rogue snorted.
“Inexperienced or not, they got the drop on him,” Earnest said.
Reed merely shook his head.
Earnest slapped Chris several times on his cheeks, each time a little harder than the last. Finally, Chris's eyes fluttered open, and he flinched from Earnest's hand. Reed took out a combat knife he wore strapped to his leg and cut the restraints. Chris groaned as Earnest helped him to a sitting position. He rubbed his wrists, trying to restore circulation and ease the pain of renewed blood flow.
“What happened?” Earnest crouched to meet Chris at eye level.
He looked back blankly, and Earnest slapped him again, hard. Chris's head rocked with the blow, and his eyes flashed with anger. Earnest swung his hand again, but Chris caught his wrist.
“Enough,” he said roughly.
Much better. Earnest smiled at his groaning friend. At least he's functioning. “What happened?”
“I was driving to the back of the Walmart when Relevont suddenly hopped into the van at a stop sign. He had a gun and made me go to the back of the store, where his wife joined us.” Chris shuddered a bit.
“What's the matter? She not your type?” Reed wore a sardonic grin.
“Looks like it wasn't 'nearly' to me, hoss,” Reed said, looking pointedly at Chris's crotch, where a wet spot darkened the tan fabric.
“That explains the smell.” Earnest grinned. Even with his relief at seeing his coworker alive, he could not resist teasing him a little. Although doing it with Reed gave him an odd sensation, like they were sharks playing together with their food. “What else did they want?”
“Relevont wanted information about the lab, Dr. Dix, and John Fletcher.”
“And you told him?” Reed rumbled darkly, all humor gone from his face.
“Seeing as he asked with his psychotic slut's gun in the back of my head, yeah, I told him what I knew.”
“Great,” Earnest said, standing with a weary sigh. Apparently, Chris did not have the balls for wet work. He held out a large hand and helped his friend up. When he gave him a slap on the back, Chris winced.
“Oh, and by the way,” Earnest said as they returned to the car, “when we find them, they're not to be hurt.”
Chris's face clouded a little, but he bobbed his head. Once again, Earnest took the passenger’s seat. Reed took the seat behind him, and Chris sat behind the driver. They continued south in their search for the van.
“You don't look too excited at the prospect of finding the Relevonts,” Reed commented to Chris.
“I hope I never see that pair ever again,” he answered emphatically.
Earnest flipped down the car's visor and looked through the mirror to see naked fear on Chris's face.
“Listen, son, they got the best of you and had you in mortal peril,” Reed said, and Chris looked warily at the older man. “They captured you, injured you, and dumped you like a piece of garbage.”
Chris colored a little, and Reed continued.
“They took your power, and when we catch them, you have to get your power back. From the woman. How can you do that?”
He hesitated before responding. “By slapping her around?” he answered, but it sounded like a question. Reed barked a short laugh, but it had no humor in it. Earnest shook his head.
“She isn't a reluctant Saturday-night date,” Reed growled. “This bitch humiliated you. She made you piss your pants. She lessened you. You've got to show her you're a man. You could use your gun — or a more personal weapon.” Reed waggled his eyebrows, and Chris grinned a little.
This is like watching a demonic Ward Cleaver in action.
“Damn, Reed, didn't you ever have a woman of your own?” Earnest responded without considering the consequences. “One you loved and didn't treat like crap?”
Reed glared at him through the rearview mirror. “I did, once, not that it’s any of your damned business. She’s gone now.”
Earnest smiled, pleased he’d hit a nerve. “What happened to her? She get her fill of that grumpy Reed charm and hit the road? Or did you ‘show her you’re a man’ and get a little carried away? Did you kill your girlfriend, on accident-like? I bet being the woman of a man like you has a really low life expectancy.”
Before the words faded, Reed leaned forward and jerked Earnest's seatbelt taut. Helplessly pinned to his seat, he could do nothing as Reed snaked his left arm around the seat with the combat knife clutched in his fist. The cool metal pressed against the tender skin of Earnest's throat.
“You don't know nothing about me,” Reed hissed in his ear. “And you never will. Don't go making assumptions, because you will always... be... wrong.” Earnest's chest hurt as Reed emphasized each of the last three words with another pull of the seat belt. “Comprendo? Keep your ugly black nose out of my life.”
Earnest nodded carefully and traded a terrified look with the driver. Reed left the knife in place for a few seconds before pulling it away again. Just as suddenly as it had tightened, the seat belt no longer painfully constricted Earnest's chest. He probed his neck for reassurance that his life's blood was not flowing down his torso.
Trying to regain his composure and bring his panicked breathing under control, Earnest pointed the driver to a side street. As they slowly scouted for the van, he reflected on Reed’s reaction. He did not know what made the subject sensitive, but he resolved not to raise it again. They drove in uncomfortable silence as they set upon the long process of a manual search.
* * *
As John marched into the PU lab, he heard liquid dripping, which set his teeth on edge. It had come to represent the audible evidence of failure, and he had experienced it far too often. He had been hoping for a different result that afternoon. But on this fourth visit of the day, his frustration level would apparently only increase.
“Interesting,” Dix said quietly.
John suppressed a growl as he joined the scientist near the lab table covered in liquid. His nose twitched at the reek of a stagnant swamp. Apparently, Dix had been liquefying animals again.
“Oh, um, hello,” Dix said when he noticed John beside him.
John gave the younger man his best I'm-in-charge stare.
“Having problems?” Keeping his voice level took an unusual amount of effort. The news from Karl in the field was not encouraging, and he needed Dr. Dix to get his machine working.
“Well, um, as you saw, the machine works great with hamsters, but I'm having trouble with larger animals.” Dix looked a trifle nervous. “The amount of borrowed time is greatly decreased. I've managed to get rabbits to travel within acceptable limits, but I'm having trouble with anything bigger.”
John pointed at the wet table surface. “What was that?”
“A dog.” Dix looked guilty.
As long as Dix got it working, John did not care if he liquefied every stray pooch at the local Humane Society shelter. He let out a big sigh. This is taking too long. “I need this to work so Karl can go back and eliminate Ness and Angie Relevont,” John murmured quietly.
“What did you say?”
John frowned. He had not intended to voice his thoughts aloud.
“Eliminate? As in kill?” Dix’s voice rose to near shrillness.
John merely shook his head. The last thing he needed was for Dix to spawn a conscience. “The uses of this technology are not your concern,” he said sternly. “Your task is to get it working.”
“I’m not sure I want to,” Dix said, a look of unease on his face. As the doctor paused to imagine the possible consequences, his expression shifted to nauseated terror. “What exactly will this time travel device be used for? And what's the hurry?”
John did growl that time, but he could only berate himself for the slip of his tongue. He had gotten used to the little man being captivated by his work and had become careless. His lack of self-discipline angered him, but he managed to keep it reined in. “Now is not the time for this, Doctor. As you know, the uses of this research are level-Alpha classified. Let me remind you that I and I alone decide who gains access to all aspects of any technology developed at Intellisys. You are only cleared through level Charlie. In short, you do not need to know.”
The reminder of Intellisys's security structure clearly did nothing to convince Dix, who gave all the signs of becoming resolute and obstinate. John's hands twitched with the need to punch something. He stoked his anger with himself and added his frustration at Dix's sudden stubbornness to the toxic stew. As pressure built, he allowed himself to use it and focus the rage into molten intensity. Before Dix could react, John had crossed the distance between them and grabbed the scientist's lab coat. Dix's feet dangled as John hauled him to eye level, where his younger employee could not help but see the seething fury roiling there.
“You will do as you are told, and I do not care if you approve of how I'm going to use it,” John almost shouted, shaking the diminutive scientist. “You will get this device working for human
s. Not hamsters, not rabbits, not dogs, not cats, or cows. Humans. Do you follow me?”
Dix nodded frantically, his eyes wide.
“And do not forget you will be the first human trial,” John said coldly. “You have twenty-four hours, then I'm putting you through the machine whether you believe it is ready or not.”
Dix's eyes shifted nervously to his right, and John followed his gaze to find a clock mounted on the wall. The hands pointed to two seventeen.
John put the scientist back on his feet and gave him a small, cold smile. “Regard it as your own borrowed time.”
Dix obviously did not appreciate his humor, but it was of no concern to him. He crossed his arms and glared at the scientist. “So what should you be doing?” He spoke as if he were addressing a grade-school student.
“W-working on getting the device functional.” Dix glanced nervously at the wall clock.
John grunted his approval and stalked over to a phone on a nearby desk. He dialed a number and waited, his eyes locked with Dix's.
“Security,” the person on the other end said.
“This is John Fletcher. I want a guard posted on the third floor PU lab for the next twenty-four hours. No one but me goes in or out.” He watched as Dix swallowed hard.
“Right away, sir.”
John set the receiver down. “Just to make sure you don't get distracted from your task.”
Dix dipped his head nervously, and John turned to the door. As he opened it to leave, he heard rapid footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Dix running for the lab's attached bathroom and idly questioned whether the scientist needed to empty his bladder, his stomach, or both. It did not matter to him, and he let the door shut behind him. Properly motivating employees is such hard work.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Gearing Up
Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 7:13 p.m.
The tensile strength of a relationship could often be an unknown quantity. It could snap under its first real pressure or remain flexible when experiencing a strain. Ness would soon discover the resilience of one of his oldest such connections. He would never have imagined calling in a favor to gain access to restricted materials, but such were the lengths his plans had driven him to. But every time I deal with Intellisys, I end up doing all sorts of new and different things.