Die Again To Save Tomorrow (Die Again to Save the World Book 2)

by Ramy Vance

  He jumped his fingers across the packets, and oddly, Reuben was starting to figure it out. He was saying that all these realities weren’t a time warp, that they were simultaneous universes.

  “How many universes are there?”

  He answered quickly, “A lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. I’d say seven thousand. Yeah, seven thousand sounds right.”

  “There are seven thousand universes in the air like TV signals?”

  “You live in seven thousand universes. Some we are friends. Some we are not. And some…” He encircled his eyes with his fists and peered through them like binoculars. “Some Jim is invisible man that Rueben can’t see.”

  “You mean I ignore you.”

  Jim finished arranging the packets and now piled them into a tall stack toward the back of the table. “And some…Jim’s brain not scrambled like eggs.”

  Reuben’s heart went out to the guy. There was a universe out there where he was normal? How difficult it must be to know that your brain was scrambled.

  “This is my favorite one.”

  “Your favorite what?”

  “Universe with Rueben. He is kind on this one. Tries to help, but eggs don’t unscramble.” Jim wrinkled his nose. “Rueben that ran away…he’s a bad man. I don’t like him. Bad froggy. Bad froggy. Stuck bad froggy, go away.”

  No matter how much some of this stuff lined up with Buzz’s reasonings, Rueben wasn’t sure if anything this guy said was true. There simply wasn’t a way to prove it. “So I travel to a different universe when I die?”

  Jim’s head shook erratically. “No. Good Rueben travels back in time. Bad Rueben can too, but he can also travel between universes. No universe is safe from him. Good Rueben’s universe is not safe from him.”

  Hm. That kinda made sense. It also sounded like nonsense. Aki frowned at him, but Rueben turned back to Jim. “Say I…believe you. How do I get Bad Rueben out of my universe?”

  “That…is the quest you must take. Like a hobbit to find a nest.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Monday, May 22, 8:32 a.m.

  Rosa brought out a tray and served morning coffee and Twinkies to Rueben and Aki. The pair had rounded out an hour waiting in Buzz’s living room.

  “Mr. Buzz will be down shortly. Just give him a few minutes.”

  She left, and Rueben smirked at Aki. “That’s what she said verbatim when we got here. How much would you bet he’s not even up yet?”

  Aki sipped her drink. “No bet.”

  They both laughed.

  Earlier, Aki had called Sven and gotten relieved of her duties at the summit today. She’d explained that she and Rueben were chasing down a lead that might be related to the summit's security, which wasn’t a lie. If they didn’t find a way to stop Pete, they’d probably end up at the summit anyway.

  Now Aki sank into the cream leather couch and shut her eyes. “It’s like falling into a cloud and getting a massage.”

  Rueben cleared his throat and prepared to imitate his buddy Buzz’s voice. “I’ve never understood that expression.” When Aki giggled, Rueben continued in Buzz’s voice. “Clouds are composed predominantly of empty air amid tiny particles of ice. Why would someone think they can float on them? They’d plummet to their death.”

  Aki opened her eyes to make sure it really was Rueben talking. “Thank you, Buzz.”

  Rueben winked and switched back to his voice. “Everyone seems to have some kind of religious experience on that couch. I don’t get it. It’s a good couch and all…”

  She shut her eyes, sipped her drink, and leaned deeper into the leather. “Shut it, Peet. That’s an order from a superior officer.”

  Rueben smirked. “Superior officer, huh? Well, if you’re looking for a religious experience, I could set you up with one that is quite a deal more…enjoyable.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized how stupid they must have sounded. What was he thinking? They weren’t play-acting at being engaged anymore. He was going to push Aki away like Pete had said would happen. Should he try to warp back and say something different?

  Luckily, Aki chuckled. “Is that right?’

  Rueben sighed. “Oh, that is so right. If you come over here, I’ll show you exactly what I mean.”

  She laughed harder, but then Buzz walked in with tousled hair, a bathrobe, slippers, and an irritated expression. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

  Rueben glanced at his watch. “8:42 a.m.”

  “This hour is not for human beings. This is the hour of poultry mating calls and Catholic schoolgirls in pigtails. Why are you banging on my door so damn early? Rosa! Rosa!”

  “Yes, Mr. Buzz?”

  Buzz whined as he sank into his chair. “Get me something…something to numb this dreadful headache of mine.”

  “I’ll bring you your usual: one aspirin and one beer.”

  She left, and Buzz leaned back into his chair. “So, what is this meeting about?”

  Rueben started. “Well, we do have less than twelve hours before Pete bombs the U.N. building.”

  “Crikey. You’re right. Damn hangover. Rosa!”

  Rosa came dashing in with a beer and aspirin on a silver tray. Buzz took them both, and she left.

  Aki studied him. “Are you sure you should be drinking now of all times?”

  Buzz exchanged a look with Rueben and Rueben said, “He performs better with alcohol. Usually. It calms him. Works differently for non-geniuses like you and me.” I hope, Rueben thought. It did seem that Buzz was drinking more and more frequently and in greater quantities lately.

  Buzz washed down the aspirin with the beer. “I’m listening. Go ahead.”

  Rueben and Aki looked at each other, then back at Buzz. Finally, Rueben dove in. “Okay, so the whole time warp thing?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “We’ve semi-confirmed the thing about Evil Rueben being me from another universe.”

  Buzz scoffed and took another sip of beer. “Evil is relative.”

  “Oh?” Aki shook her head. “Are you arguing that Pete is perhaps Good Rueben?”

  “Well, no, not necessarily. I just don’t think we should judge the guy’s motives until we fully understand them.”

  Rueben nearly exploded. “His motives? I think he made his motives clear. He intends to bomb the U.N. and start a global nuclear war. How much more understanding do we need?”

  Buzz irritably tapped the arm of his chair. “Although I may lack emotional IQ, there could be a good reason for him to want to achieve this. In his mind, Pete is probably the good guy of his story.”

  Rueben didn’t say anything.

  Buzz finished his beer, belched, and set the bottle on a coffee table. “Can we please get to the point? Now that I’m up, I have projects to work on.”

  Rueben swore. “Buzz. Sometimes…”

  Buzz cleared his throat. “Guys, guys. This is not how you cure a hangover.”

  Rueben was exasperated. “If we don’t stop Pete, he’s going to start a nuclear war. We’re talking about billions of lives hanging in the balance. Global instability and chaos. This is really important, and we need to bring our A-game to the table.

  “Yes, yes.” Buzz stood and paced the room as he did when he thought deeply. “May I ask how you confirmed this about Pete?”

  Rueben didn’t want to tell him it came from the crazy homeless guy. Eh, what the hell. It wasn’t like this whole time-warp thing could get any weirder to Buzz. “You remember the homeless guy we keep running into?”

  Buzz tapped his fingertips together. “Oh, yes.”

  “His name is Jim. He’s a veritable nutcase. Can’t keep one thought together.”

  “Yes, the homeless man you keep running into. Not a warper, but he’s involved in this. I’ve been watching him.”

  Rueben sat up. “You’ve been watching him?”

  “Yes, I’ve been watching him for over a year.”

  “What?”

  “Organic Jim? A homeless man who eats organic
?”

  “Maybe we’re talking about the wrong guy. I’ve only seen this guy eat fried chicken.”

  Buzz raised a finger in a scholarly way. “Jim is a complex man. The fried chicken he eats counteracts the organic greens he eats. Think yin and yang.”

  Rueben looked puzzled. “Why Hurley’s Chicken? I’ve had it before, and it’s not out of this galaxy or whatever their slogan is.”

  Buzz chuckled. “Well actually…See, there’s a reason Jim only eats Hurley’s.”

  Aki made a “go on” gesture with her hand.

  “Hurley’s,” Buzz said, “is one of Jim’s time portals.”

  “What?”

  “Why, yes. He wasn’t always how he is.”

  “Crazy?”

  “Exactly. He used to own a chain of Hurley’s Chicken restaurants. Then he somehow—I’m not sure how—became active in the time world. Now, the only way he comes in or out of universes is through Hurley’s locations or places where a Hurley’s used to be.”

  Rueben’s eyes widened. “That’s why he’s always sitting outside eating the chicken.”

  “Right. In another universe, he was sitting at Hurley’s eating the chicken, and he arrived in ours, still eating his chicken in the same spot.”

  Rueben nodded. “I had no idea. How did you know? This is critical information—why didn’t you tell us?” Rueben eyed the beer bottle sitting beside Buzz.

  Buzz recoiled a bit. “Because until you came along, he was one of the only people I knew of that had these sorts of powers. I’ve researched his files and have even talked to him a little. You can’t talk to him much.”

  “No, you can’t.” Rueben overlooked the fact that Buzz had been hiding information from him. Sometimes Buzz put the mad in mad scientist. “But you believe it’s legit?”

  “I didn’t fully until you came along. Now he’s starting to make more sense. His powers are different than yours. He can’t go back in time. Only through universes. Of course, it might not be a power at all but some kind of advanced technology.”

  “Jim says Pete can jump back and forth between universes. Something about being in a loop, like a frog. Pete is stuck here and brings ruin to our world or something. That only me accomplishing some sort of quest would get him out of our universe.”

  “Did he tell you what kind of quest it might be?”

  “Something about my mother? I don’t know.”

  Aki paced the room in thought. "Rueben, when I said I knew you had secrets. I could never have imagined all this—" She paused. "Wait. So your mom is also Evil Rueben's—”

  Rueben held up a palm. “Can we still call him Pete? Come on, help me out here.”

  Buzz sipped his drink. “Again, 'evil' isn't technically correct—"

  Aki held up her hand. “Guys, there is a national terrorist attack occurring in less than twelve hours. Can we please save the ethics debate for another time?”

  Buzz looked disappointed, and Rueben was relieved. He never did do well at challenging Buzz to debates. He used to get creamed in their dorm room discussions. Yeah, that entailed what they did in their dorm room.

  Buzz acquiesced. “Fine, fine.”

  Aki continued, “Why would Pete want to do this?”

  Rueben thought about this for a minute. “I don't know. Why would Alternate Universe Me do such a thing?”

  Buzz’s eyes twinkled. “Maybe you’re a conspiracy theorist.”

  “But I’m not a conspiracy theorist.”

  Buzz sipped his drink and cocked his mouth into a dubious smile. “Really? And where is it you work again?”

  “What does that have to with anything? Pete is not me.”

  Buzz shook his head. “Touché. I wish Dr. Eduardo Nunez was here. He might know how to stop Pete.”

  Rueben wanted to pull his hair out. "Let's try to focus on what we can control."

  Buzz picked up a laptop, toyed with it before tossing it back onto a couch, and sat up. “You’re right. The time for academics is past. We have to come up with a plan.”

  Aki paced the room again. “Killing him is out. He’ll come back.”

  Rueben found a stress ball under the couch. He laid back and tossed it up and down as he thought. “He kicks our asses every time we even get close.”

  Aki agreed.

  Rueben sighed. “You don’t even know how many times I've been up against him. He wins every time.”

  She frowned. “You said he's already killed me twice?"

  Rueben nodded and tossed her the stress ball.

  Her eyes flashed, and she smacked the ball away in midair. “This bastard’s going down.”

  Buzz rubbed his hands together. “But the question remains…how? We can’t kill him. We can’t beat him with brute force.”

  Rueben remembered Buzz’s homemade taser that had twice shocked the piss out of him—figuratively speaking. “We can’t beat him with technology, either. His is better.” Rueben's eyes shot to Buzz. "Wait, what about that shiny cube device you found at the barn? You said it might be able to help stop Pete. Cap his powers like he capped mine or something."

  Buzz hung his head. “I’ve been poring over it all night. It’s so advanced. Either it’s not fully finished, or it’s broken, and I don’t fully understand the technology to complete it.”

  “An alternate Buzz built it, right? Why can’t you figure it out?”

  “Because you can’t fix a circuit board from an internal combustion engine manual. I don’t know how. Given time, I’d be able to figure it out, sure. But… we’re dealing with technology that integrates with the time warping gene.”

  “But,” Rueben said, “you have expertise in nanobots. You put one in me to track my warping.”

  “True, true. I’ll run some more simulations.” He glanced down at his watch. “Maybe I can still figure it out in time.”

  They were quiet for several moments.

  Aki finally said, “Has anyone heard from Martha?”

  Buzz raised a hand. “She was investigating a lead last night. Probably sleeping now.”

  Rueben studied Buzz’s face. His friend’s brain was obviously in overdrive now. He wasn’t focused on Martha but on trying to figure out how to crack the shiny cube conundrum.

  Aki pulled out her phone and put a call to Martha on speaker. It went straight to voicemail. “That’s weird. Even if she was sleeping, why would she turn off her phone? She knows we’re all working on this and today is Monday.”

  Rueben had a bad feeling about Martha’s silence.

  Next to him, Buzz cradled his iPad on his lap and doodled complex math equations while studying what his computers had been able to tell him about the shiny cube. Rueben remembered Buzz covering their dorm room walls with what he called his “thinking scribbles.” They were black ink only, usually cubes and arrows, and this weird little gnome man with a wizard hat who periodically changed jackets and shoes.

  Buzz had conveniently been out of town when the RA came calling about those. Rueben had ended up painting the room in the middle of the night to avoid having to explain to Marshall why a five-hundred-dollar “damage fee” had shown up on his tuition bill.

  Damn Tim Cook. Apple came up with a way that Buzz didn’t have to pay the price for his “thinking scribbles.”

  Aki broke into his trip down memory lane. “Rueben, why does your alternate universe self have to be such a straight-up psychopath?”

  Buzz’s eyes twinkled, and he tossed the iPad on the couch. “That’s it. We’re dealing with a psychopath.”

  Aki snorted. “Gee, you’re quick.”

  He ignored her. “There’s only one way to win with a psychopath.”

  Rueben picked up the stress ball Aki had swatted away and glanced up at Buzz. “How is that?”

  “He’s not playing by any rules but his, and he doesn’t give a shit. So, we do the same. Boys and girls, the only way to fight a psychopath, is with psychopathy. With rage. With…”

  Aki turned to Buzz, a light bulb going off
in her head. “I know just who to call to give us a unique perspective.”

  Rueben held his index finger up. “Don’t. No. Don’t even say his name.”

  She ran her tongue over her teeth. “Mike Fury.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Monday, May 22, 11:03 a.m.

  Rueben donned his hearing and eye protection as he stood waiting for the robot to set up the targets. After his extensive combat training for the Pout mission as well as his CIA field agent training, he’d come to find the shooting range a good place to relieve some stress. Also, the fresh air felt good.

  He stood in an outdoor pavilion on a wooden platform Buzz had fully stocked with guns and ammo. The man could have gone with typical human form cutouts for target practice, but Buzz being Buzz, said that if he was going to have a shooting range, he was doing it his way.

  That is, with robots and booze.

  Sometime after the Pout debacle, Buzz had devised an apparatus to create a shooting range with beer bottles and cans. Rosa emptied all of Buzz’s discarded libations into a separate trash can inside the house. Then, an underground pneumatic tube sucked the empties to a receptacle in the shooting range. Once someone switched on the shooting range, a robotic hand reached into the receptacle and set up all the targets. It reset them once they were all shot down.

  Rueben was alone now, and he tightened his lips and pulled the trigger. He hit an empty beer bottle dead-on from thirty yards. Then he turned his aim upon the rest of the empty bottles sitting in a neat row beside the glass shards. The robot set up the next batch of bottles, and Rueben shot faster than the robot could reload. He ran out of ammunition, and instead of reloading, tossed the weapon on the ground, grabbed another, and shot faster.

  Aki edged up into the pavilion from behind, her footsteps vibrating the wooden platform. He didn’t turn. He fired at the next batch of bottles, blasting them cleanly apart with a single shot each. A red light flashed for a break, and the robot began to sweep all the glass shards into a recycling bin. There was a surprising amount of glass to clean up.