Out of Time

by E W Barnes

  “When Richard and I shifted to the parallel earth, the community was under attack from the raiders,” Sharon said. “Now maybe we can stop that from ever happening.”

  “How can you do that? The temporal mainframe is still infected by the virus and without it we cannot use the temporal nexus,” Miranda said.

  “I guess we go back to the parallel earth and try again,” Sharon answered as she realized she didn’t know what Richard’s plan was now that they had returned to 2204.

  “What’s the status at headquarters?” Agent MacGregor asked.

  “The Chestnut Covin has taken over the TPC,” Sharon answered darkly. “Yorga Zintel is calling herself the Director, but it’s really Natalie Johnson who’s running the show.”

  “Natalie Johnson,” Miranda said sharply. “The one who wants you dead?”

  “The same,” Sharon answered with a weak laugh. “Either her or her counterpart Anna.”

  “Who’s Anna?” Agent MacGregor asked.

  Sharon described meeting Anna, Natalie Johnson’s counterpart on the parallel earth, how she deluded them into believing she was with the TPC, and how she brought them back to this time.

  “It was all a lie,” Sharon said. “She brought us back here to stop us from completing our mission.”

  “Now what’s their game plan?” Agent MacGregor asked.

  “World domination,” Sharon answered, remembering what Jonas said about the Chestnut Covin and its competing agendas.

  “Which Yorga was it?” Miranda asked.

  “What do you mean?” Sharon was momentarily confused.

  “There were two Yorgas, remember?” Miranda said. “One that fled to the future from the 'Email Timeline’ as you call it, and one that shifted to the future from her office in this timeline. Which one is calling herself director now, I wonder?”

  “Good question,” Sharon said. “As far as I know, I only ever saw one Yorga. But which one is there now, or if both are there, I don’t know. But she confessed to me that you have a saboteur here—and that she was the one who planted the virus,” Sharon added.

  “We know about the saboteur. Did she say who it was?” Agent MacGregor asked.

  “No, and Jonas says he doesn’t know either,” Sharon began, and as she did her heart sank into her stomach. “I have an idea who it might be, though,” she said sadly.

  “We had the same thought,” Miranda said when Sharon told her about history changing after Caelen arrived in 2337. “The computer recorded the existence of two Caelens at the time of your disappearance; but since then, there’s only been the one. And we’ve seen no evidence of duplicity or attempted sabotage. He’s never been left alone, and I’ve seen nothing in his behavior to make me suspect him.”

  “I have not either,” Agent MacGregor said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep a closer eye on him.”

  “I hate saying this,” Sharon admitted. “I hate even thinking it and I sincerely hope I’m wrong. But something doesn’t add up, and I’d rather be cautious than surprised.”

  There was a knock on the door. One of the TPC security agents—Agent Loomis, if Sharon remembered correctly—stuck her head in.

  “Agent Kern insists on seeing you, Director,” Agent Loomis said.

  Miranda glanced at Agent MacGregor who nodded.

  “Thank you. Show him in,” Miranda instructed.

  Richard looked refreshed. No longer covered in dust and dirt from their journey through the tunnel, he had washed and perhaps eaten, too. It reminded Sharon that she was still thirsty and sticky from their climb.

  “We need to better understand your plan for eliminating the virus in the temporal mainframe and stopping the invasion from the parallel earth,” Miranda said as the door closed.

  “Yes, of course, Director,” Richard said. “Do you still have the remote control?” he asked Sharon.

  Sharon had forgotten all about it. Now she reached into her sock and pulled it out, grateful Yorga’s security goon hadn’t insisted she change her socks. It had a few scuffs from their climb over the rock barrier but was otherwise undamaged. She handed it to Richard.

  “This is a portable interface unit from the parallel earth,” he said. “Like the ones in our universe, it executes shifts through time via the Roman Ring, their version of the temporal nexus. It also provides personal access to their version of the temporal mainframe.”

  “You mean you have access to it now?” Sharon asked in astonishment. “Even from a parallel universe?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “You can travel back in time using that, right now?” Agent MacGregor said.

  “That’s correct,” Richard replied.

  “Then why did we need to go to the other earth?” Sharon asked. “Why didn’t you just activate it and take us to the past from here?”

  “I needed to prime it,” he explained. “When I first got the remote control, it wasn’t connected to their temporal mainframe. The, uh, courier, didn’t know how to do that and he needed to get it to Petrone as fast as possible before they caught him with it. That’s why Petrone gave it to me. He knew I would understand how to use it.”

  “Director, we can prepare for a mission in less than 30 minutes,” Agent MacGregor said, starting to rise.

  “No,” Richard said.

  “What do you mean, no?” Agent MacGregor’s face registered both confusion and irritation.

  “It has to be Sharon and me,” Richard said.

  “Why Sharon?” Miranda asked.

  Richard shrugged. “It has to be her.”

  Miranda and Agent MacGregor exchanged looks. Finally, Miranda spoke.

  “I’ll take this under advisement,” she said. “In the meantime, let’s get Sharon cleaned up and comfortable.”

  Thirty minutes later, after she’d washed and eaten, Sharon was sitting in an office staring at the wall going over events in her mind. She felt as if she’d been in a whirlwind, unable to step away and really think. It made her feel as if she was missing something important.

  There was a knock on the door. “May I come in?” Miranda’s voice asked.

  Once Miranda was seated in an office chair and the door firmly closed, she voiced the question on her mind.

  “Do you trust Richard?”

  Sharon suppressed a mirthless laugh. “You mean do I trust the man who kidnapped me to a post-apocalyptic nightmare, shifted me to a terrifying dystopian society, and calls me ‘Your Majesty’?” She shook her head before adding wryly: “Yeah, I guess I do.”

  She held up her hand before Miranda spoke. “He was my grandmother’s best friend. He was injured by sabotage trying to protect her and despite the danger he has put me in, has done everything he could to keep me safe. I believe he knows how to get us out of this and if he says I need to be there, I believe that, too.”

  “Why do you think he’s insisting on you?” Miranda asked.

  “Maybe it’s because he trusts me—we’ve been through a lot together,” Sharon mused. “Maybe it’s because of my expertise on the Chestnut Covin, or because I remind him of my grandmother and that brings him comfort. I don’t know.”

  “If you were in my shoes, what would you decide about this mission?”

  Sharon stood up and paced.

  “On one hand, you’re being asked to approve a mission led by an injured agent using technology we don’t fully understand, tapping into resources from another universe to accomplish it. A lot could go wrong. On the other hand, the agent in question is one of the most loyal in TPC history, the technology has already worked, and we don’t have many other choices.”

  Miranda chuckled. “That about sums it up,” she said with a smile. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

  Sharon grinned at her. “I would approve the mission.”

  Miranda stood, smiling in return. “I’ll let you know what I decide.”

  It was Agent MacGregor who informed Sharon that Miranda had approved the mission. He seemed dubious about its su
ccess and worried for her, but he would follow his director’s orders to the death.

  They found Richard standing outside the temporal nexus enclosure, deep in discussion with Nizhoni Diogo and other technicians about the workings of the Roman Ring on the parallel earth.

  “While our temporal nexus uses three micro-wormholes orbiting each other to enable travel through time, the Roman Ring of the parallel earth uses six,” he was saying.

  “Six!” one technician exclaimed. “That’s overkill! It can’t be as precise as ours.”

  “Wait,” another technician jumped in. “How are the wormholes of the Roman Ring configured? What’s the formation?”

  “I’m sorry, this discussion will have to be postponed until another time,” Agent MacGregor stepped in. The technicians reluctantly dispersed, still energetically theorizing about what geometric arrangement would be best for six wormholes to create a time machine.

  “Miranda has approved our mission,” Sharon told Richard when the technicians were gone.

  “What do you need to prepare?” Agent MacGregor asked.

  “I need access to the temporal nexus. I must be in physical contact with it to activate the remote control,” Richard answered.

  “Very well,” Agent MacGregor nodded. “Proceed when you’re ready.”

  There was a terrible sound like air ripping apart. One moment Sharon was waiting for Richard to activate the shift, the next she was down in the floor. All she felt was pain. All she heard was the ringing in her ears. All she saw was red.

  Sharon lifted her head. The ringing in her ears faded, and the aching changed locations as she moved. But the red in her eyes remained. It was blood dripping from a cut on her forehead. There was shouting, the sound and vibration of feet running as she eased herself against the wall, hand to her head trying to stop the bleeding.

  “Sharon,” Agent MacGregor groaned. “Are you ok?”

  “I hit my head, but I think I’m fine.” Someone crouched down in front of her, gently removing her hand to get a better look at the cut.

  “Just take it easy,” a TPC medic said. “Let’s get this bleeding under control.”

  “Richard!” Sharon blurted.

  “I’m here,” Richard said. Sharon saw him out of the corner of her eye, also leaning against the wall, cradling his arm. A TPC medic was looking him over, too. “What happened?”

  “There was an explosion. Sabotage. It had to be,” Agent MacGregor said in his deep voice as he pulled himself to standing, waving away the medic who tried to assist him.

  “How do you know?” Sharon asked. She swayed a little as she got to her feet, the medic holding her elbow to keep her steady.

  “The explosion was centered on the entrance to the temporal nexus,” Agent MacGregor answered pointing to the entrance. The double doors were hanging off their hinges, the metal a tangled and burnt mess. “There’s nothing combustible there, nothing that could trigger an explosion. It had to have been manufactured.”

  “Was the temporal nexus damaged?” Richard said leaping to his feet. The medic at his side was trying to ease Richard’s arm into a sling, but Richard pushed him away.

  “The cut isn’t bad, but we need to seal it,” said the medic treating Sharon as she moved to follow Richard.

  “Then do it,” she responded impatiently.

  The medic pulled out what looked like a large cotton swab and ran it across the cut on Sharon’s forehead. It stung for a second and then went numb.

  “There,” the medic said. “The derma-heal will keep it clean until the cut closes on its own. Try not to rub it if it itches.”

  “Fine,” Sharon said as she lurched after Richard. “Thank you,” she called out belatedly to the medic, hoping he would understand.

  There was an acrid smell near the doors and Sharon avoided touching them feeling heat still radiating from them. Richard was standing next to the temporal nexus. There was a long crack in the glass. Otherwise the temporal nexus appeared undamaged.

  “Is it ok?” Sharon asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Richard said.

  He placed a hand against the glass. As he did, the sound of another explosion thundered through the complex. Agent MacGregor left the room at a run. There was more shouting and then another muffled explosion. Richard took his hand off the glass and stood in front of the computer workstation. A moment later Nizhoni Diogo ran in followed by several of the technicians Richard had been talking to earlier.

  “They’re trying to break into the facility,” Agent Diogo said breathlessly as two technicians wrestled the smoking and mangled doors closed.

  “Who?” Sharon asked, though she already knew the answer.

  “The Chestnut Covin. They’re trying to break through the door at the opening of the tunnel. Agent MacGregor ordered us to secure the temporal nexus.”

  The two technicians were holding the doors closed as best they could while someone on the other side piled office furniture across them to keep them shut.

  “That won’t hold,” Richard said shaking his head.

  “What else can we do?” Agent Diogo asked.

  “We can shift now,” Sharon said. “Richard let’s go. We can stop this.”

  “I’ve already tried. It’s not working,” Richard said.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  2204 - Revelations

  “Why isn’t it working?” Sharon asked, her face pale.

  “The explosion disrupted the magnetic field,” Agent Diogo said as she scanned the computer screen.

  “What does that mean?”

  Dull thuds told them more heavy furniture was being stacked outside the doors. Within the room the workstation was the only piece of furniture. There was nothing with which to barricade the doors from the inside.

  “The micro-wormholes are tethered within a magnetic field,” Agent Diogo explained. “Fused within the glass containment enclosure are thin filaments that maintain a consistent magnetic field. The explosion damaged some of the filaments and caused the magnetic field to fluctuate.”

  “Can we fix it?” Sharon said.

  The noises outside the room grew louder, the shouting more strident.

  “No,” Richard said, as he read the screen over Agent Diogo’s shoulder. “We don’t have the materials to repair it.”

  “There are still enough filaments to preserve the field, and eventually the field will realign itself,” Agent Diogo answered. “But it will take time.”

  “How much time?”

  The bangs and rumbles were getting closer, along with screams.

  “No more than 10 minutes,” Agent Diogo answered after checking the computer readout.

  Agent Diogo’s head popped up from the computer screen, followed by Richard’s. They were staring at the double doors. Following their gaze, Sharon realized she no longer heard the battle; there were no more screams or rumbles. The hall outside was silent.

  “I don’t think we have 10 minutes,” Sharon muttered.

  Sharon crept to the door, peering through a gap left open by the warped metal and haphazard barricade. A group of people sauntered toward the temporal nexus room. At its head she was Natalie Johnson and Anna Ivanova. Behind them was one of the Yorgas, smiling maliciously as she oversaw two large security goons who thrust Miranda and Agent MacGregor in front of them. The Chestnut Covin had taken hostages.

  They stopped several feet before the pile in front of the doors. Anna gestured to someone Sharon couldn’t see, and she heard pieces of the barricade being removed.

  “I know you can hear me,” Natalie Johnson said. “Soon you’ll be able to see me. We’ve taken over your TPC—first its headquarters, now its people. We want the temporal nexus. Cooperate, and no one else gets hurt.”

  The gap widened in the barricade. Jonas was removing the furniture and other items stacked outside the door. When he paused after trying to lift a heavy item, a guard shoved him roughly, barking at him to continue. The Chestnut Covin did not take betrayal lightly; Sharon feared Jon
as was in for far worse punishment than moving heavy items.

  “What do we do?” Agent Diogo whispered.

  “How much time before the magnetic field resets?” Sharon whispered back.

  Agent Diogo checked her readout. “Seven minutes,” she answered.

  “You have 10 seconds to release control of the temporal nexus or we start hurting people,” Anna Ivanova said.

  “We need to stall for time,” Richard muttered.

  “Agreed, but I don’t think berserker mode will work this time,” Sharon said.

  “Berserker mode?” Richard sputtered. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  Sharon took a deep breath. “Ok, let’s do it,” she said to the two technicians standing on either side of the doors. In a louder voice, she said: “We’re opening the doors.”

  “We can’t get them all the way open,” a technician grunted. “The doors will have to be removed to clear the opening completely.”

  “Good. We can use that,” Sharon nodded.

  The door scraped open until it was wide enough to see into the hallway. She clenched her fists and struggled not to gasp in dismay. Miranda and Agent MacGregor, bruised and bloodied, were held in iron grips. Other TPC staff were tied together or held at weapon point. All were staring at her fixedly and the intensity of their attention was almost painful.

  Some appeared terrified as if they hoped she could save them. Some looked desperate, not believing anyone could save them. Miranda seemed defeated and was shaking her head “no” almost imperceptibly. Agent MacGregor’s eyes were fire, and Sharon could almost see him calculating permutations of how to get out of this situation.

  A universal expression of smugness and triumph was on the faces of their captors. It was shocking to see how many the Chestnut Covin had recruited into its ranks. Sharon was chillingly reminded of the raiders she and Richard had encountered, and the air of casual violence they projected.

  But it was Natalie and Anna who held her attention. Their expressions, usually almost identical in every way, differed slightly from each other at this moment. Natalie radiated satisfaction, as if her plan was going exactly as she envisioned it. Anna looked wary as if at any minute things would go wrong and she was preparing a response. Behind them Yorga stood, arms crossed, appearing bored, waiting for the end of this affair so she could get back to running the TPC the way she wanted.